Paramount’s Upcoming D&D Show Must Include This 1 Suspenseful Element Of The Game

Paramount’s upcoming Dungeons & Dragons series should find a way to include the nail-biting death-saving throw rolls on screen. Many titles based on the popular tabletop game usually avoid including the rolls the player would traditionally make. Instead, it is the settings, creatures, and classes that are carried over, leaving the mechanics behind for the sake of smooth storytelling.

After the release of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Paramount announced that a Dungeons & Dragons show had been green-lit for its streaming service Paramount+. Despite the film’s box office failings, Paramount has continued to promote the upcoming series as the future of the franchise. The series is still in development with Paramount having ordered eight episodes and enlisted WeCrashed creator Drew Crevello as the main showrunner.

Paramount’s D&D Show Should Include The Death Saving Throws

Paramount’s new Dungeons & Dragons TV show’s inclusion of the death-saving throw rolls would not only pay homage to the original tabletop system but also add a level of both suspense during serious scenes and levity during comedic moments. Death saving throws are meant to symbolize a character hovering on death’s door and, depending on how they roll, if they will either spring back to life or move on to the afterlife. A player traditionally rolls three times in order to get the result, with the GM deciding if other factors will affect the outcome.

The party in the Dungeons & Dragons show could have these rolls projected to audiences in several ways if they take a fatal blow. Perhaps a D20 could be projected above them, spinning until it lands, with the camera cutting back and forth much like a true round of combat to build anticipation. Alternatively, the character could make the roll in that in-between space as they are dying, creating more character moments and tension for both the party and the audience.

The Death Saving Throws Can Amplify These Deadly Moments

Through the inclusion of these rolls, this TV show could build on Honor Among Thieves by highlighting what made the tabletop game so popular: the character development. Not only would audiences see the character’s defining traits as they face death, but the tension of the scenes would get all the more amplified as their fate is a literal roll of the dice. The character’s reactions could also add to or close out their development, as audiences can see how those characters grapple with that fate and how those around them cope with it if they should fail.

Alternatively, these roles could also add to the comedy of the series. Having a character simply walk off a fatal wound because they rolled well holds a lot of comedic potential, especially if the other party members or villains comment on it. Another possibility is the character suffering a humorous injury, rolling badly, and needing to be revived, giving the party a wild side-quest that could interrupt the narrative much like a real campaign. In either case, having these rolls would give another layer of characterization as well as pay homage to the many tense moments in a true Dungeons & Dragons game.