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Time to Run Your D&D Games Like a Kid’s Sitcom

As my kids grow up, they occasionally ask questions about cartoons and TV shows from my own childhood. A number of shows from the 80s had a singular villain that was defeated time and again. While a smart villain can easily have a number of ways of getting out of trouble, an idiotic villain might have a harder time always getting away.

So how is this done in a tabletop role-playing game like Dungeons & Dragons? The most important matter is to change a few of the dynamics of a game like Dungeons and Dragons. Step 1 start the game or campaign as a tier 1 D&D game. Make everything non-lethal, combat could in fact be a last resort as it should be wits that solve the problems not fists. Your D&D sessions could be episodic based on a specific location.

Having a tier 1 D&D game means there are fewer options for each character. Lower-level characters don’t have access to high-power spells that just solve the problems straight away. Characters are expected to solve their problems with their wits. DCs for things should range from 12-15. The low DCs sets challenges within the grasp of the adventurers but still offer a chance at failure.

When it comes to damage, unless the story dictates it, all damage is a temporary thing and nothing is fatal. In a game like D&D, this is a lot harder to swallow and does take a bit of thunder out of the Dungeon Master, but instead of the threat of death, the impact is failing to stop the bad guy or failing to rescue a friend. If a dragon breathes fire, it destroys the ground and scorches anyone nearby, but does no permanent damage. The nature of the resting mechanics fits nicely and still offers some threat of doing damage to the player characters.

Illustration: Devil’s Hospitality from Out of the Box Encounters
by Kim Van Deun

Episodic adventures offer a number of useful elements. First and foremost, having an established location allows the players to build a home that can easily be continually threatened. Shows like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the D&D cartoon show, and heck even the Adventures of the Gummi Bears all have a fantasy element to them that can give you an adventure style and flow.

I like these kinds of shows as they always offer some kind of inspiration for my D&D games. Whether it be ideas for new items, plot hooks, interesting NPCs, or even monsters these kinds of shows are always a great source of inspiration. After a bizarre conversation with my daughter, we started watching Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears on Disney +. At first, I was worried that the kid’s show would be unwatchable, but after getting through the first couple of episodes, I saw a nice pattern emerging and it inspired me to go down this little rabbit hole(or gummi bear hole).

While the show is geared towards kids, there is plenty of things that can be extrapolated into a D&D world, as there is rich lore. The gummi bears are merely fantasy and legend and those who know about them are asked to keep the secret. Hundreds of years of history come out here and there. The ridiculous Duke Igthorn always fails, but never seems to go away.

Between ogres working for humans, potions that function differently from humans than they do for the bears, rich lore, secrets, and the sitcom nature of the show, I feel that even though it is a ridiculous kid’s show there is a lot of things that could easily translate into a great D&D game.

Thanks for reading. Until Next Time, Stay Nerdy!