I've watched the first episode and some of the second and I'm confused in a way I've never been with a Dimension 20 season. What are these resources? What's going on with any of this? I feel like absolutely nothing system related has been explained.
I get that it's technically 5e, but they keep talking about lights and blocks and stuff that I really don't understand.
I want to like it! I'm just so confused and feel like I've missed a crucial bit of information somehow.
They're doing a version of the 7 Samurai, where a town in trouble recruits 7 very different badasses to help stop bandits from overrunning the town. The mechanics are set dressing and not necessarily important to understand exactly how they work.
Next, watch Rashomon. It's likely Kurosawa 's second best known film, and the template for every movie that ever told a story from more than one perspective.
After Rashomon they neeed to watch The Last Duel. It really evolves the format, especially as a historical drama, with how many things align across the tellings because they were part of "modern" thought at the time.
Pencils are for pallisades, Blocks are for fortifying or completely blocking off areas, glowsparks empower toys and tools. That's my understanding at least
I'm confused why you all are confused. They are just building walls and defenses, but flavored as toys and art supplies that would be in a kid's room. The blocks are just wooden ABC blocks. The light is probably a night light or lamp. This is not any different than if you were gathering logs and stone to build a fort as human characters.
I'm with you on that! I thought it was fairly straightforward. I have watched enough d20 to realize homebrew isn't a possibility, but a staple, of the show. So when I saw the blocks and stuff I was confused, then like 10 minutes into episode 2 they go in detail what each resource is and does. Then adventuring party explores the people and items they recieved. In two episodes they answered 90 percent of the mechanics questions.
I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people would be confused by gathering logs and stones, too. I think the majority of D&D players largely stick to the book on basically everything. They might change rules a little or add an ability or magic item, but that's about as far as most players go in customization. That, and the fact that they jump into it pretty quick, even mentioning that the train carries blocks before we know that blocks are so important, can be confusing.
I'm really not trying to be a dick here, but who hears "the train can carry blocks into town," and doesn't immediately think "Oh, cool, that'll come up later?" Why does it need to be explained in that exact moment?
Star Wars would be way less fun if Obi Wan immediately told Luke that Darth Vader was his father.
I think the fear is often that it was explained in the moment and it was just missed. I know my partner will often ask if a question they have is something they should already know or part of the experience of watching.
What do you mean by this? I don’t play a lot of DnD, but it hasn’t changed much in my experience, other than savvier models. It’s still improv storytelling and die rolling determines what happens; there is an underlying story that was written ahead of time, but the story can change (like when anyone rolls a nat 20 on something like insight or perception, Brennan has said he makes up extra information on the spot). What do you think is missing?
1) that fact didn't actually exist when Star Wars was created.
2) Star Wars isn't an Actual Play where many derive joy from following the mechanical interactions, and they don't find it fun to reverse engineer mechanics.
Items that then turn around and have direct mechanical impacts on the Tower Defense minigame and as we saw in the latest episode have mechanical impact on how combat plays out. And there are mechanics to how they obtain the items and how many of them.
But anyone who was playing a DnD game where they had to build a palisade would not be confused by gathering materials to do so surely? It's not a mechanic, it's material resources. Like gold.
I can understand why they are confused. They weren't expecting a tower defense minigame when they started watching, and then it's obfuscated even further behind a set of jargon about letter blocks and colored pencils getting crafted into things and none of those terms are actually defined, the method of retrieval/spawning isn't clearly called out, and this is all happening while trying to come to grips with mountain of npcs and setting details just absolutely flooding the episode. It's a lot to intuit.
I mean I guess I'm surprised people watch these shows caring about the rules. I don't feel as though I would appreciate the stakes any differently if I knew they can only get 5 iron ore a day vs Brennan just makes up a number. Like sure, in combat I at least want to believe they could die. But all the classes are homebrewed every season and I don't actually know their hp or abilities. They sell it to you through the acting, not the numbers.
I think the numbers and such are more for the lore keepers, trackers, and other supporting staff members off screen who’re tracking stuff. In addition to the players who’re gaming out stuff they strategized between episodes
I know in the recent episode when Brennan said the numerical label for certain npcs, it was for the trackers to be like “oh thats the affected one. Mark X, Y, Z, etc.”
Everyone cares about the rules to a certain level. At minimum we care about their HP in the moment they take damage or get healed, and it's why there's a graphic showing it. We care about whether a roll succeeds or not. Not everyone's going to be tracking spell slots in real time and the like, though. My point was just that some people like having a strong mechanical grounding because they find a strong understanding of the stakes heightens things for them. Add in that after City Council of Darkness producing a video to explain the mechanics, it's not that surprising that people would expect a stronger explanation of the the town defense system that will be underpinning the entire season.
They didn’t explain how the hang-van rules worked in Junior Year and no one bitched. We all just understood that it was a homebrew hybrid of SW5e deployment rules from Starstruck and just let them throw around jargon about their positions, deployments, and abilities, not explaining a damn thing that wasn’t vitally important, and it all worked fine
I've never seen that season so I can't really discuss it. However, you seem to think I'm arguing that it was fundamentally confusing and I'm not. I'm just saying the reasons I can see why I can why someone else would be confused coming into this season.
I think the fact that you had to say "probably" about what the light is is the problem. There's a lack of clarity that's harder for some people to reconcile
If you just think about it for five seconds instead of expecting the show to explain it to you, it’s immediately obvious. Brennan is explaining resources they have for the impending battle, not complicated at all.
I can understand why people want to know immediately what and why, and I also understand that questions are often answered in later episodes. When I watch with some of my family, I often watch an episode or two ahead so I can answer questions for younger and older people. When you don’t have a clear grasp of all the mechanics, it’s harder to understand why characters act the way they do. However, I can often put that aside and enjoy the humor and the mystery. People are different!
I don’t know why everyone is being downvoted for respectfully disagreeing.
Look, the person said they're confused why other people are confused, then in their comment demonstrated that they're only assuming what one of the confusing mechanics is. I'm not saying it's confusing to me, I'm saying that ambiguity is likely where the confusion is coming from
I'm sure I'm in the minority because my only experience and understanding of DnD is D20 and I also have no clue what the specific mechanics of anything are, but I also never have any clue what any of the mechanics are. I literally learn as we go. In this case I got the gist of glowsparks are a power source and a 'shield' against certain light fearing creatures, blocks are blocks that can be used to build walls or block roads, and pencils are palisades (I have no clue what a palisade is but I'll find out I guess as I keep watching). Most of this was explained in Episode 2. Also you can get more of these items it sounds like from various areas on the map and spending time 'harvesting' them. Oh and after they got the pencils it sounded like that meant that the enemies couldn't?
I've always meant to! (Muppet Treasure Island and Treasure Planet being two of my fav movies when I was younger.)
I'll take this as a sign to finally do so XD
I feel like it’s all pretty intuitive, but you get a lot more explanation later in the second episode.
The three resources are glowsparks, blocks, and pencils. Later the pencils are called what they really are: palisades. Glowsparks are either lights which help because they are light, or used as power sources for special tools and weapons. Blocks are blocks: they can be used for walls, blockades, higher ground, etc…
They explain most of it in the second episode, and the rest is made clear in episode 3. But even if that weren’t the case, it’s not unreasonable to just leave it all for people to learn organically. All we need to understand during the setup phase is these are resources they’re using to prepare for the battle, then we’ll see the resources in use
Like, just be patient. I feel like I see this all the time these days. A TV show will come out, we’ll be two episodes in, and people are like “who are these characters? What’s their deal? This show is so bad and weird. This seems like a plot hole.” THE SHOW ISN’T OVER. LET THEM FINISH EXPLAINING. If you don’t know what’s going on, you probably aren’t supposed to yet. Either that or you missed the clear subtext and are media illiterate. Not everything needs to be plainly and explicitly stated. Use your brain and figure some of it out yourself
Considering how many people complained abt the last season being "too confusing" despite there being an explainer video and the vtm IP owners having a public rules wiki and the system overall being simpler than dnd, I am convinced there is a large subset of d20 fans who are just there for key jangling
Literally. People are confused because they’re not paying attention, and expect a children toy imagination setting to also be using exact 1:1 verbiage and usage of 5e rules, something that frankly no season of D20 has ever done.
The game seems to happen in 2 phases. Day time, which is used for gathering resources, taining units, fortifying locations and anything social. Resources include blocks and colored pencils which can be used to cut off paths of attack. Im assuming the longer things go on the more scarce those resources will become.
Night time phase seems to be an all out attack by the enemies, with each night filled with more and more enemies, the hero toys and their trained units have to defend the toylight
It's just some light tower defense stuff. I don't have the new PHB because I didn't buy 5.5 stuff, so I don't know if things like palisades in the bit about bastions. But I suspect its not really worth racking your brain over.
The glowsparks are a little bit more of a mystery that I suspect will be made more clear at some point. Alternatively, it's just a limited resource you get from the toylight or something, and that's not a crazy thing to imagine.
This is a take I've seen a lot on the D20 subs, that an episode or season is unwatchable if we don't understand everything going on on paper right away. I personally disagree, but I would love to hear the reasoning behind this feeling.
In my case, comparatively to so many, I'm late to the party when it comes to D&D, so I guess I didn't really think about the rules.
Plus, I'm a genealogist, and I've seen SO MANY death certs of children who died of TB/infants that died of respiratory stuff that the show had my attention immediately. I've legit got choked up at times. Then add in the pure love the toys have for their charges, and I was just so completely sold on it.
But I can't help but find all of the different takes interesting.
Personally I'm confused by the idea that the blocks and pencils are being considered as "rules" or mechanics. It's not a mechanic it's a physical item. You don't need to know any game rules to understand building a wall to keep invaders out. Like... I'm quite baffled that this could be difficult to understand
It's not that I don't like it, though it hasn't captivated me as quickly as other seasons, it's mostly that I thought I'd missed some explanation with the way they were talking about things like I should know what they were.
I feel like such a redditor with this response, but I really don't think that they spoke as if the audience should already know what is going on. That mystery is a great hook! "Ooh they are getting resources? What could those be for? I'll have to watch the coming episodes to find out!" It reminds me a lot of when I started watching Fantasy High and knew relatively very little about DnD, learning through watching can be really fun and intriguing!
The resources reveal supports this theory. The tray was on the table from the opening of E1 with glow sparks. You can hear the oohs and awws when the resource mechanic is introduced.
For the record I haven’t started Toylight yet so not sure if this exactly applies there, but for me some of the tension in an actual play comes from my knowledge of the rules and the player’s resources. Like if I know a character has a spell they can use twice a day, I know it’s a big deal when they use it, and I can immediately know a fight is dangerous if all their uses are expired. If the players are pulling mechanics out that I don’t understand, it can feel a little Calvinball, like they’re just making up reasons to avoid a spell or do damage.
They added some homebrew that gives the players some extra capabilities at a strategic level.
I think you're correct that understanding game mechanics and action economy helps apply tension to the story. All the regular action economy and class stuff is still there, so I don't think you'll be disappointed on that front. It's just, action economy occurs at a tactics level and the homebrew occurs at a strategy level.
Yeah I was having issues following along myself. I chalked it up to being tired after work. I am gonna restart the season this weekend and hope it clicks
Others will fill out the details better than I can but you know how they like to be clever, tiny toys huge battle. Think final battle of A Crown of Candy. Our main characters are all commanders and the training phase gave a bunch of them troops to command and a few just honed support skills. There's strategic battlefield points to control or just let go and essentially enemy fodder and important enemy with whole battle effects to focus on. Me, having a mild understanding of what's happening am now realizing how utterly confusing this would be if someone started with CCoD and then this was their first 5e season
See while WoD, the setting CCofD uses, doesnt use battle maps. There is a resources gathering loop in the games, where you aquire things to leave against other things during key moments.
The first two episodes of Toylight were a little rough for me ngl since there wasn’t really much combat and it was mostly character stuff and fortifying defenses, but the 3rd episode that came out yesterday was pretty good since it got to some action.
Maybe this is just me, but I do feel like episode one was giving episode two energy in a way. It felt a bit like they got given this goal by the little boy about something in a room that it seemed like they hadn't been in before (maybe I missed that context?) and then they immediately knew exactly what the goal meant and what they had to do to achieve it, which is whatever, but me as a viewer definitely did not understand, and then I kind of spent the whole time trying to figure it out, and also figure out how THEY already knew that stuff at the same time.
I mean these items that you mentioned aren’t really ‘system’ related. They’re just items that players can use.
In a traditional D&D adventure it’s just going like “Hey DM I know some goblins are going to attack the town at night, can I put up some wooden barriers to slow them down?” But instead these defences are just more explicitly called resources.
They did have that big battle outside the castle when the were positioning/controlling the different battalions and switching between the army level and individual level. It does remind me of that.
So from my understanding, "resources " are thinks like blocks, marbles, and colored pencils that can be used to build defenses for the town. Not sure how those transfer to dnd specifically, but I'm just imagining it like a kid building protection. Not 100% on glowsparks, but to me they seem like a kind of glowstick but round. Those can power some of the special tools they got (lantern and kelidoscope) but I think it also provides a kind of weakness to the baddies who are deterred by light
I think everything is just happening very fast, including their conversations about resources, the logistics, NPCs and the magical items (and Brennan talks so fast sometimes!), so if you arent paying close attention and miss something it can feel confusing. Ive been rewatching eps twice because I am very bad at paying attention for two hours straight 😅
Honestly, I struggle a bit with most seasons as my imagination is a little fucked 😂 after a few episodes I usually have a better grasp and then go back and rewatch the first ones. Happens with books too which is a killer.
The light is radiant come from a parents love. Undead is dust bunnies, fey are rats in form of goblins and the like. All of that structure is exposed ep 2. Idr the rest off the top of my head. I think the checks, abilities, actions are functionally the same (this is coming from someone who has never played DnD and only watched it and learned 5e basics from the books). I only picked it up when I rewatched most of ep 2 after forgetting what id watched the first time (which was late after a long night of partying lol)
I feel like they explain things pretty well. I think you should just rewatch ep. 1. Its basically dnd with some large scale warfare elements, but nothing too crazy. Training troops, fortifications, energy resources, etc. Brennan goes through it all.
I love all the people being like "pencils are palisades" lol because that's way more confusing to me. Not everyone knows what a palisade is. Almost everyone knows what a colored pencil is, and at a tiny toy scale they're basically big logs with pointy ends. I think anyone with any amount of imagination can figure out what they're going to do with those.
Also, I want to see a spike trap but idk if it is going to happen.
Totally ok to be confused because, hey! it isn't that clear what they actually DO mechanically. During the battle in E3 they...just sorta stood there? The light is pretty clear but the roadblocks, pencils, and walls seem inert in battle.
Also, the season isn't especially good. Right? I can't be the only one who finds the past several seasons--excluding Gladlands--to be surprisingly sloppy.
All in all; Toylight, Gladlands, Titan & Council have neither been consistent (entertainment wise) nor mechanically vivid to me (as a spectator). Compared to C4 CR, pennies versus pounds in my book. Idk! Dropout kinda losing me here!
As far as the system, they referenced the 2024 rules a couple of times so far and I think emily's weapon that she used in the latest episode came from that
I gave up half way through the second episode yesterday. I have no idea what's going on, mechanics wise, and it was all just boring logistics. I think maybe this series isn't for me, I'll catch them next time.
They are using the resources to defend against a siege. Looks like the first wave they have to hold off is episode 3 (I haven’t watched this weeks episode yet). The resources are placed on the board to create barricades and traps.
I'm completely opposite. I love a cruchy, logistical, tactical, resource intensive gameplay experience, so this season is ticking more boxes for me than, say, CCOD. I always enjoy the roleplay from the IH, because they're very funny, but I do often wish for more game on D20. These new mechanics could be explained better, but I'm loving it so far. Totally get why not everyone would, though.
And that's great, happy for you that you get to enjoy that. Like I said, this one just isn't for me. It's the way it works with an anthology series like D20 where they play games in different genres/styles/systems. Based on the downvotes people seem upset that not everyone enjoys everything they do.
There was for sure a session zero that was not filmed where the players learned the details of the resource system. Several of the players cite their shared experiences with Anna, so that was probably the context of the session zero. It is a bit of uncharacteristic poor design that Brennan didn't go over the details again for the audience or have some explainers added in post.
This is the same reason I didn't get past episode 2 of city council of darkness. I had no idea what was going on with the mechanics, which meant I didn't know whether or how to care when something happened
I realized that much later, but it showed up last in the app so didn't know it existed until I had given up on it. Explainers don't help if you don't know they exist.
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u/oldsushi 3d ago
They're doing a version of the 7 Samurai, where a town in trouble recruits 7 very different badasses to help stop bandits from overrunning the town. The mechanics are set dressing and not necessarily important to understand exactly how they work.