D&D: Watch Joe Manganiello Play D&D With Founders & Legends & Mike Mearls
It is not often that you see a sterling example of some high-level play, but in celebration of the Founders & Legends event, an 18th level party that included luminaries like Joe Manganiello, Luke Gygax, and run by 5th Edition Founder Mike Mearls, showed us exactly that.
D&D is kind of amazing in that it’s a game with dials that go from 1-20 (making the humble d20 not just the method through which disputes are resolved, but also the bounds of the game, D&D essentially is a d20), and rules that support play all the way up in the highest tiers, but you don’t often see it. Most games take players to around 6th or 7th level. Some will reach 10-12th, but the drop off for that is pretty steep, and steeper still once you get into the teens. So you don’t often see what the game can really do when all its cylinders are firing.
Well the gang of the Founders & Legends events aim to change that, with D&D clothing magnate and actorman Joe Manganiello landing a critical hit dealing upwards of 300 damage, some clutch stealth maneuvering, and a whole lot of skin-of-the-teeth scrapes that show how even a high level party can nearly be taken down. Plus they’re all just lovely people to watch playing D&D.
Even if you’re not normally a stream watcher, this one’s something special. It benefitted Extra Life, an (I believe) still does–but it features D&D’s past and present all in one. Luke Gygax, whose last name you might recognize from the 1st Edition Books for some reason or another, has been really championing D&D of late:
Luke Gygax teams up with his friends at Wizards of the Coast, Iron Wind Metals and Dwarven Forge to reflect on the foundation of Dungeons & Dragons and celebrate its phenomenal resurgence. Join Luke and host, Satine Phoenix, as they discuss the origins of D&D from its creation in the tiny town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin in 1974, to its massive influence reflected in the popular culture today.
So it’s pretty amazing to get this slice of D&D History and a pretty good game all in one. So grab some popcorn–or if you prefer, Cheetos and Mountain Dew, and kick back with the Founders and Legends of Dungeons and Dragons.
How many times was there almost a TPK? I count at least 3.
