International Dungeons & Dragons Show Launches From Christchurch

Dice Legenz, a world-class Dungeons & Dragons show, has started streaming from a Christchurch studio. The cast are a dynamic and hilarious combination of television and stage professionals, including well known TV presenter Ronnie Taulafo (What Now!, The Feed, Take Home Pay). Although the show’s producer, Vahid Qualls, has decades of experience in both D&D and television production, some of the cast members are new to the game, but have found the project surprisingly exciting. “This [Dungeons & Dragons] world has just freshly been introduced to me… but the brain just blew up when I found out exactly what it was all about,” reported Ronnie Taulafo. Fellow cast member Monique Clementson (The Feed) said “I have been an actress for the last 6 years. I was recently kindof trying to get out of the industry, but this has pulled me right back in.”

Streaming Dungeons & Dragons is not unique. There are a number of people that stream from their bedrooms and lounges on Twitch. But what sets Dice Legenz apart is the combination of an engaging, professional cast, studio polish, and storytelling pizzaz. Their narrative alone, including flash-backs and scene intercutting, distinguishes them from other shows, giving their audience an exciting and unpredictable experience.

The plot and setting is also unique: a low-magic adventure in a grand walled city where treachery is brewing. The heroes, far from dragon-riding mega mages, are four humble town guards that find themselves facing a rising tide of darkness threatening to destroy their city and loved ones.

Dungeons & Dragons has never been more popular. 50 million play it, 40% of them are under 25, and 40% of them are female. At the same time, livestreaming has exploded as people abandon scheduled television. Twitch alone averages more than 2.5 million viewers at any moment. Something that both D&D players and Twitch viewers desire is interaction. Dice Legenz seeks to meet that need through in-show chatting and direct out-of-show connection tools such as Discord. These tools allow the audience to feel part of the show, to contribute to the fictional world, and to connect with the cast and each other.

Dice Legenz quietly released their first episodes in January and have been sharpening their stream since then. The show’s producer, Vahid Qualls, explained “We did a soft launch in January to help us nail down a whole bunch of stuff, like when is the best time to stream from New Zealand to an international audience, to gather an initial loyal fan base, to hook up some important international collaborations, and to iron out the tech stuff... But now we’re ready to tell the world about the show.”

Dice Legenz streams on Twitch every weekend (Sat, 7pm EST / Sun noon NZT) and releases episodes a few days later on YouTube.

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