D&D’s Virtual Tabletop Showcase/Live Play Game Video is Surprisingly Spicy
Want to see D&D’s virtual tabletop in action for yourself? How about Astarion and Karlach discovering that Love is a Legendary Action?
D&D is becoming aware of who its audience is and what they want. At least parts of the apparatus are. Whoever put together this year’s Gen Con live play game deserves a medal. And a tall glass of water, because if the game is anything to go by, they are pretty thirsty.
Titled Love is a Legendary Action, the new video does two things at once: a.) it gives players a first look at the virtual tabletop WotC has been so hard at work on, which is cool and all, but more importantly b.) it features Neil Newbon, Samantha Beart, Brennan Lee Mulligan, Anjali Bhimani, and Aabria Iyengar at the same table, with the first two reprising their characters from Baldur’s Gate 3.
Astarion and Karlach are an excellent choice, and I can all but guarantee you won’t have seen the last of them. Larian developed the thing that WotC desperately wants: beloved player characters, and here they are in action. I’d bet there’s even more Baldur’s Gate 3 in D&D’s future. But for now, let’s look at Love is a Legendary Action.
Love is a Legendary Action – A Surprisingly Horny Preview of D&D’s Project Sigil
Here’s the video in all its glory.
D&D’s star-studded live show at GenCon celebrating the game’s 50th anniversary, previewing the 2024 rules update and an exclusive look at Project Sigil, the immersive 3d sandbox from Wizards of the Coast. Astarion and Karlach from Baldur’s Gate 3 strike out on their own adventure after Tav doesn’t choose them for their adventuring party, meeting new friends and encountering challenges as they explore the Underdark.
And again, this is meant to show off the new VTT, but what really gets me is the setup for this. It’s Astarion and Karlach setting off on their own adventure while Tav is off doing Tav things. Tav usually is. And this is another great Larian character, which is notable because even Larian’s “everyman” has personality.
But, over the course of two hours, Astarion and Karlach do exactly what you imagine they’d do in an adventure titled “Love is a Legendary Action.” Including watching as the adventure goes completely off the rails. I think it’s very telling about the state of the virtual tabletop and the user experience that we don’t get to actually see it until about halfway through the game (the 1:16:00 mark in a two hour video).
When they come back, it’s there for a big setpiece battle. And maybe that’s how it’ll see the most use? But maybe it’s part of the vagaries of doing it both live in-person and then also showing off a virtual tool. It does seem that WotC wants even in-person groups to maybe use this, though. Here’s some of the combat, below.
And to really get a feel for it, you can either watch the video, or sign up for the Closed Beta and get your own firsthand feel later this year.
