Cartoon Based on D20 Modern Setting

Despite rumblings of a new Dungeons and Dragons cartoon, the first Wizards of the Coast setting that will see production as a television show is apparently Urban Arcana. UA is one of the canned settings offered by Wizards of the Coast in its d20 Modern roleplaying game. Despite this announcement, it's not going to be in front of your eyes for some time. From the article: "...the Sci-Fi Channel and Fox Television Studios are developing a television series based on the Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast D20 MODERN campaign suppliment URBAN ARCANA for the '06-'07 season."

After these messages...

[TheCamper]

I mute the commercials with my +4 JVC remote of silence!

My prediction

[Allaran]

It'll be tons better than the Dungeons and Dragons crap^H^H^H^Hmovie, and nowhere's near as good as the original Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the 80's.

Re:Amen brother

[mink]

Heh, you forgot the old D&D Live action TV show from the 80's.

Well

[Koiu Lpoi]

I never played Urban Arcana. For my modern day fix, I prefer Shadowrun. More room for craziness, and I never liked the D20 system anyways.

Re:Well

[BDZ]

I have to agree. I much prefer to play Shadowrun. Also, I think the Shadowrun setting would make for a very interesting show if done right, but then that's always what it comes down to: "if done right." Sadly, "done right" is a rarity.

Re:Well

[mbourgon]

Still playing SR after 15 years, personally. Don't know as I'd call it a "modern day" game, but hey, why not. SR4 supposedly due out at Gencon, and also supposedly will be a flagship title for Xbox2. Not holding my breath for either, but here's hoping it works out for the best.

Poke who?

[secolactico]

Another game to tv cartoon? Should we expect a thinly veiled infomercial?

Have you seen the Yu-Gi-Oh cartoon? All that it's missing is the price and a phone number to call.

Still, I'd prefer that to the old He-Man cartoons, where at the end they'll hammer a "moral of the story" on you.

Re:Poke who?

[Golias]

The He-Man cartoon was also a thinly-veiled commercial for He-Man toys.

The "moral" segments at the end were added because FCC regulations require that a certain percentage of Saturday morning airtime be dedicated to "educational" broadcasting.

By adding a 2-minute "lesson" to the end of cartoons, the networks manage to avoid having to give up the occasional full half-hour slot to educational programming.

(It's also the reason ABC came up with "Schoolhouse Rock"... it's all about complying with the FCC at t

GI Joe Public Service Announcements

[l3ert]

http://ebaumsworld.com/gijoe.html [ebaumsworld.com]

Forget Reality TV...

[Plaid Phantom]

I'm waiting for a show based off Monopoly.

Monopoly? Feh...

[Thedalek]

Me, I'm waiting for the cartoon based on Breakeys [slashdot.org].

Monopoly

[tepples]

In fact, in 1990 there was a bad game show based on Monopoly [wikipedia.org].

Re:Forget Reality TV...

[Metsys]

I'm waiting for a show based off Monopoly.

They actually have an entire station based on monopoly, it's called MSNBC.

No Dresden Files, then...

[EvilMagnus]

And they passed up the Dresden Files [amazon.com] for this pablum? Critical Failure!

Not the first d20 based TV series

[tepples]

Do we all forget the D&D animated series [answers.com]?

Re:Not the first d20 based TV series

[BDZ]

I have to admit that I try to.

Re:Not the first d20 based TV series

[softspokenrevolution]

That's not the d20 system you fool.

Not D20 based.

[Arivia]

Remember, D20 doesn't refer to a game using D20s, it refers to games using the D20 system-the system first introduced with D&D 3.0, and used in D&D 3.0, 3.5, the last two Star Wars pen-and-paper roleplaying games(the ones WotC has done), the Everquest pen-and-paper roleplaying game, the Wheel of Time pen-and-paper roleplaying game, and the D20 Modern game(including Urban Arcana, D20 Future, and D20 Past), and a few others I've forgotten. The D&D cartoon was based off of 1e D&D, IIRC, which

"Traditionalists" indeed.

[2Flower]

So let me get this straight -- we're going to get a d20 Modern cartoon package, and the D&D MMORPG is going to be based on Ebberon and promises a world of magic and science... ...and yet WotC rejects nearly complete modules Bioware was trying to sell for Neverwinter Nights because they aren't "traditional faerun" enough.

Go figure. Wish they'd make up their minds.

That actually makes sense.

[Arivia]

Let's see...
UA cartoon: There's plenty of room in that framework.
Eberron: See http://games.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=145400&c id=12182177 [slashdot.org] for why Eberron was possibly the only option for a D&D MMORPG.
Bioware: A proven track record for trampling all over Realmslore.(7 games/expansions. How many broke Realmslore? 6. SoU had the stupidity that was stingers in Anauroch. For some reason, I'm thinking Tales of the Sword Coast broke something, but I can't remember anything exactly, so for now, it's the

Re:"Traditionalists" indeed.

[godscent]

Ebberon and promises a world of magic and science

Just magic, no science. Eberron doesn't really have any more science than your typical D&D setting. It just has more magic used for everyday conveniences (magical street lights, magical carriages, magical flying ships, etc.)

Not a cartoon

[Paul McMahon]

The title says it's a cartoon, however the article simply calls it "an action series". Nowhere in the article does it say that it is a cartoon.

Here's all the new Sci-Fi shows.

[mbourgon]

Considering how "well" they've done lately, maybe they will come up with some non-craptacular shows. I still think their best years were several ago, when they had Farscape, Invisible Man, etc. Snide commentary follows.

• An untitled project executive-produced by Academy Award-winning actor/producer Michael Douglas, based on the work of the late author Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House). Storylines and themes from Jackson's catalog of supernatural short stories will be woven into her real life ex

I loved playing D&D back in the 70s and early

[hey!]

I'd still play if I had time.

But what I can't understand is why anybody would want to watch a cartoon or movie based on it. The appeal of the game, at least to me, is social problem solving. It's play pure and simple. Well, pure at least.

My daughter has a first grade friend with whom she plays this game. They're dogs, Rex and his sister Regina, who go on all kinds of adventures in places like "Diamond Land". Adults may be better at kids at picking up heavy objects; at analyzing; at planning. But one t

Oh yea

[Taulin]

Unless Hanna Barbara makes it, and has at least one kid with some kind semi-talking animal, it will be a flop. Or maybe I have that backwards...

Eh

[Lord_Dweomer]

I'm sure this will be right up there with the original Dungeons and Dragons cartoon in terms of quality and entertainment value. And I'm sure they will merchandise the living hell out of it.

That being said, this stuff happens so rarely for RPGs that I'd welcome any attempt at it, even a butchered one. It might encourage more to do it and someone might finally get it right.

It will have to be...

[SyscRAsH]

damn good to pull me away from Dragon Booster, perhaps the best damn cartoon airing right now.

I happened on this show by accident, just flipping through channels one january saturday morning. It was the quality of the animation and art in the show that instantly caught my eye. I hadn't watch a toon in years, so I gave it a go. I was delighted to find the story telling of the show, while typical of the hero genre, is quite entertaining. I now watch the show religiously every saturday morning at 10:30 am (ES