Director's Dungeon
Director’s Dungeon is a conversation-driven podcast about the people behind the games we play—and the stories that make them matter.
Hosted by filmmaker and storyteller Chris Moreland, this series began as an offshoot of Roll For Togetherness (formerly 50 Years of Fantasy), a documentary exploring the cultural legacy of Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop roleplaying games. But as the documentary evolved, so did the community around it—and Director’s Dungeon emerged as a space to slow down, dig deeper, and talk directly with the creatives shaping the future of storytelling in games.
Each episode features a guest from the wider world of tabletop and interactive media: game designers, dungeon masters, performers, producers, and even veterans of the original TSR days. You’ll hear from names like Frank Mentzer, co-creator of the Red Box era of D&D; Clint McElroy of The Adventure Zone; and The GM Tim, known for theatrical storytelling and immersive live games. But you’ll also meet artists, activists, and behind-the-scenes builders whose names may not be household yet—but whose impact is deeply felt in the communities they serve.
This isn’t your average game history podcast. Chris approaches each conversation less as a host and more as a curious collaborator—someone who’s worked in the trenches of film, games, and event production, and who knows the power of asking the right question at the right moment. Interviews are relaxed, personal, and unscripted—just two (or more) people swapping stories and insights from across the creative spectrum.
What binds the episodes together is a love of narrative craft, community-building, and the evolving ecosystem of play. Whether it’s a chat about military service and nonprofit grant-writing with Kaylee York, or a deep-dive into horror performance and Call of Cthulhu live tours with Mark Meer, Director’s Dungeon is always looking for the why behind the what. What drives someone to pour hundreds of hours into a homebrew campaign? Why does collaborative fiction matter in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms? What lessons can we learn from 40 years of dice rolls?
And like any good dungeon, it’s a little messy. Some episodes start with mic issues. Others get derailed by talk of mycology, mini painting, or the emotional gut-punch of winning (or losing) at a film festival. But every conversation returns to the human element: the relationships, risks, and rewrites that define life in the creative world.
Director's Dungeon
Agency in Gaming: David Andrew Laws Talks Narrative and TTRPGs
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In this episode of Directors Dungeon, Chris Moreland sits down with David Andrew Laws, a passionate creator and co-founder of the popular 20-Sided Tavern. David takes us through his journey of blending storytelling and gameplay, creating immersive experiences for Dungeons & Dragons and tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) fans around the world.
David's love for D&D began in his childhood, where his stepdad, a devoted D&D player, introduced him to the world of sourcebooks and miniatures. Early on, David was captivated by the infinite possibilities that D&D offered, not just as a game but as a way to explore creativity and identity. This fascination with D&D would evolve into a deeper connection with role-playing games as a means of self-exploration, something he shares in this episode.
A major highlight of David's career has been the creation of 20-Sided Tavern, a groundbreaking live D&D show. He explains how the idea grew from an experiment in his basement to a full-scale international show. With co-creator Sarah Davis Reynolds, David reimagined how D&D could be experienced, turning the audience into active participants. The 20-Sided Tavern has allowed fans to not only watch but also engage in the storytelling, making every session unique and unpredictable. David explains how the blend of agency, curiosity, and joy has become the foundation of their work, and how this philosophy continues to shape everything they create.
Throughout the episode, David reflects on the importance of agency in TTRPGs, emphasizing how critical it is for players to feel that their decisions have real consequences. For David, the game is not just about dice rolls but about authentic choices made by characters in a world full of infinite possibilities. This mindset is something he has carried into his work at 20-Sided Tavern, ensuring that each game is crafted with care, making every player's actions impactful and every outcome rewarding.
David also shares his love for the performative aspects of D&D. As an actor and storyteller, he found a natural connection to role-playing, where he could immerse himself in imaginary circumstances and create dynamic characters. His personal character, Tamberlain the Greatest, has become a throughline in his gaming life, appearing not only in 20-Sided Tavern sessions but also in video games like Fallout New Vegas and Skyrim, showcasing the deeper connection between player and character.
- Instagram: @davidandrewlaws
- X (formerly Twitter): @DavidAndrewLaws
- TikTok: @davidandrewlaws
- Official Website: davidandrewlaws.com
- Instagram: @thetwentysidedtavern
- TikTok: @thetwentysidedtavern
- Official Website: thetwentysidedtavern.com
Support the film at: https://www.50yearsoffantasy.com/fantasy-fund
Follow our progress on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/50yearsoffantasy
X: https://x.com/50YrsofFantasy
Instagram: @dnd50years
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/50yearsoffantasy/
Produced by: Build Something Media
[01:00:25:05 - 01:01:02:07]
Yeah. So tell me a little bit about yourself, what you've done and like I'm just really curious man. Yeah. My name is David. I have been playing D&D and other TTRPGs for about 12 or 13 years. I grew up around them. My stepdad was a big D&D nerd growing up. And so I had the source books and the you know, definitely stuck a lead mini or two in my mouth as a child, which probably explains a lot. But I'm a big proponent of gameplay and narrative and gameplay being intertwined and you know, inextricable and just a big all around nerd.
[01:01:04:07 - 01:01:12:04]
So tell me a little bit more about being the co-creator of 20-sided time. How did that come about?
[01:01:13:15 - 01:01:13:20]
Yeah.
[01:01:15:01 - 01:02:21:17]
The 20-sided tavern was a real right place, right time thing for so many creatives. I had been ideating on a live D&D show at the same time that I was meeting a lot of other creatives, especially Sarah Davis Reynolds, who is one of my co-creators on the project. And I had been thinking about what it would be like to be at a D&D show and not just be watching people play D&D, but to play D&D as an audience of a hundred people, 500 people, a thousand people and how much more engaging and how much more fun it would be to have that kind of agency. So everything that I've built since then and everything that Sarah and I have built together has to do with authenticity and agency and curiosity and joy. And so creating the 20-sided tavern and watching it grow from a Zoom show to an experiment in the basement of a Gristides to off Broadway to international to all these wonderful things has been such a testament to how when you make an audience the player and when you give them the agency to play, they can really find more exciting things than you could ever hope to come up with on your own, just like D&D.
[01:02:22:24 - 01:02:24:16]
That was a beautiful answer. Thank you so much.
[01:02:25:16 - 01:02:30:17]
A funny story. The first time I ever played D&D was in a setting called Wiz-Prov.
[01:02:31:18 - 01:03:19:00]
I was on stage and the audience was giving us information on what to do. And so what you're doing has spread. And this was in Savannah, Georgia. Very cool. So it's really neat to watch something like that permeate and then talk with someone who is part of the source material for something like that to come into existence. And there are so many wonderful D&D improv shows and actual plays and podcasts and so many of those things. And what is so unique, I think, about the stuff that I like to create and that Sarah and I like to create is really drawing out the game element of that. Everything that we do starts with a story map and starts with a game map. And again, those two things are in constant communication and are always getting tweaked to make sure that every decision is satisfying, every path is equal, and every outcome is fun.
[01:03:20:01 - 01:03:20:06]
Yeah.
[01:03:21:18 - 01:03:27:20]
So let's go back to back in time a little bit. Yeah. What was it about D&D that kind of caught your attention when you were younger?
[01:03:30:08 - 01:03:44:05]
When I was younger, before I even knew how to play the game or that it was a game, when it was just minis and source books in my mind, I think it was the infinity that caught my attention.
[01:03:46:14 - 01:03:49:24]
When I think about D&D, I think about the infinite possibilities.
[01:03:51:10 - 01:04:24:12]
And I think that's definitely how I started, was thinking about it as something infinite. And I realize now that it's something better than that. It's actually something infinite within something finite. It is the extension of pressure making a diamond for me because you're put in a specific circumstance. And I grew up an actor and grew up a performer. So the idea of living truthfully in imaginary circumstances was always second nature to me. And being able to do that in this fantastical swords and sorcery environment is the best of all possible worlds.
[01:04:27:02 - 01:05:19:19]
There was also always an element of self exploration in it, whether it was actually playing D&D or playing a D&D based video game. This idea of, because I always play as the same OC. When I started playing D&D and started playing Pathfinder, actually, my original character was a half elf bard named Tamberlain the Greatest. And Tamberlain has been with me through everything. Tamberlain has been a playable character at the 20-sided tavern. Tamberlain has been the character that I use to emulate when I play Fallout New Vegas or when I play Skyrim or when I play anything I'm always playing as Tamberlain. And I think it's that exploration of self through character that's so engaging to me. I've learned about myself. I've changed the way I am as a person because of going, what would my character do? Or what will my hero do in this situation? How can I make the story of my life a little more exciting or a little more engaging?
[01:05:21:07 - 01:05:26:01]
That's always been the appeal for me. So you answered my next question right there at the end too, so thank you.
[01:05:28:04 - 01:05:46:20]
The next question I'd like to ask you, if you don't mind, is there are kind of more very basic broad questions that kind of helped me define some of the terms that we have to help the audience understand so they can be brought into D&D at the Never Play. And so could you help me define what an RPG is?
[01:05:48:01 - 01:06:28:14]
An RPG, a role-playing game, is to me a gaming experience where you are given a character or where you establish a character, where you try to make reactions in a set of parameters, both the game parameters and the character parameters. It's one where you go, I would, whether it's true to you, the actual player, you're existing in a world where you go, I'm going to make this choice because it's what my character would do. I'm going to play this way because it's what my character would do. I'm going to grow in this specific pathway because it's what my character would do. That's what an RPG is to me. Perfect. That's a great answer.
[01:06:30:08 - 01:06:38:04]
The next question is, if you were to describe D&D in three words, what three words would you use?
[01:06:40:03 - 01:07:15:14]
That's a great question. Okay, D&D in three words, not being Dungeons and Dragons. I was going to give you that answer before too. So that's what it stands for. What is Dungeons and Dragons mean to you? It means Dungeons and or Dragons. The three words that I would use to describe D&D are, I think I'm going to kick myself later if this isn't true, but my gut answer right now, D&D means infinite, joyful exploration.
[01:07:17:11 - 01:07:20:08]
That's my three words. Original answer. I like that. Yeah.
[01:07:22:08 - 01:07:27:14]
I usually don't have to check my notes, but I like that one so much. I'm going to have to check my notes.
[01:07:38:13 - 01:07:44:22]
If you were to tell a new player or a new DM, let's start with new player.
[01:07:46:18 - 01:07:53:17]
Who's very apprehensive about playing D&D. What would you say to them to help them feel more comfortable jumping into a game?
[01:07:54:23 - 01:08:11:15]
I have taught so many people how to play D&D both officially and unofficially. When I started taking up the mantle of DM, I literally would walk around the street with my friend Travis and I would just tell him a story and have him. He would be rolling a D20 on like the sidewalk or a park bench and we would just tell a story in that way and see what happened.
[01:08:12:18 - 01:08:27:09]
I would explain it to them in that way. I would tell them, I'm going to tell a story and you're going to tell me what your character wants to do. Sometimes it'll be your character deciding and sometimes it'll be the dice deciding, but at the end of the day, we're just going to tell a story together. We're going to play a game together and see what happens.
[01:08:28:20 - 01:08:29:14]
Well, that's perfect.
[01:08:31:00 - 01:08:49:00]
I think that's the most succinct version of that question. Hey. That question I've heard. Efficient. Yes. And that's useful too because everybody has, it's going to be explained like three or four different ways so different learning styles can better understand what's being said. Yeah. And so that was very proficient.
[01:08:50:05 - 01:09:17:06]
And I think that was the last of those questions. And so now from a professional standpoint, I'd like to say thank you so much for giving me some of your time. Of course. I'm very grateful for that. And you know, we're I'm working on some things beyond the film. I can tell you some background about the film, of course. Please. I've done my homework, but yeah, tell me from your side. Yeah. So about a year ago, a friend of mine introduced me to D&D. I'd never played before.
[01:09:18:07 - 01:12:39:14]
And so he brought me, of all things, he got invited to film Ernie Gygax's Wedding. Oh, wow. Yeah. So we ended up there. And so while we were there, he's like, you want to interview me about about D&D? And they're like, yes, we do. Yeah, I do now. Yeah. And so because we were at his wedding, there are a lot of people who were part of the original group who, you know, did to created it back in the 70s. And so we started interviewing them and that led to interviewing people who worked on it throughout the past 50 years and kind of and kind of built this cultural story that is built around community and togetherness and the through line that this thing creates throughout the course of 50 years, which is that a lot of times you'll create a group and you'll play with them and you'll play with them your entire life. Yeah, exactly. Right. And so there's a beauty to that that I think needs to be kind of exposed to the world because there are a lot of people who are uncertain about it. Sure. And I've learned that a lot of my friends played and never told me and I got mad at them because I know all the wasted years. Right. And so, you know, that's that's kind of the story that I found. I don't have the historical reference that a lot of folks do having played for 30 years or and read all the books and understand all of that. But I do have the lens of someone who's stepping into it for the first time and see how welcoming everybody is. Right. And and kind of that's the that's the story that's there. I think is that there's a community out there that wants you to come play with them and you should go because it's awesome. Absolutely. And we definitely found that at the 20-sided Tavern, right, was this idea of like we are all a party and just like sometimes people drop in and drop out, you know, it's the whole the whole D&D community is is one big Adventuring party. Yep, that's it. Yeah, and it's been really cool to watch that unfold and meet so many incredible people. I mean, I've met I met people who were there for OD&D all the way up to the EP of 5E. Right. Yeah. And so there is a really beautiful through line there. I think that that deserves to be told. Nice. That's what I'm telling. So it's very cool. The film is now being moved change. The title is being changed. Years of fantasy to roll for togetherness celebrating 50 years of Dungeons and Dragons. Very cool. So yeah, it's pretty exciting. We have a little bit of interest from a streaming service. And so I'm hoping that turns into something. Nice. Yeah, but other than that, that's that's where we're at. We have some projects in the works for, you know, after this thing is finished, which we're hoping to wrap up all of the editing and stuff like that. And move into the marketing phase of getting it out to the world and distribution in August, September. Okay, cool. Moving fast, but after that, we've got a thing that we're working on called Dungeon Academy. Okay. And it's essentially teaching people how to world build teaching people how to set up mechanics in your own world. And it's coming from people like you who are experts at that. And so that's something you'd be interested in. I can send you some documentation about that. Oh, definitely. I love that. Again, that's my passion. I've taught everywhere from I think the youngest is like six to, you know, adults who grew up around it and never played it. I'm very passionate about giving people agency within their own gaming. So yeah, likewise.
[01:12:41:07 - 01:12:55:01]
And so yeah, and then we're of course, we're gonna we've been spent. Have you ever in the noble night games? What is it? Sorry? Noble night games. Noble night with a K. Yeah. It's ringing a bell, but I can't place anything. So it's probably the world's largest game store.
[01:12:56:01 - 01:13:34:12]
Okay. If you go online, they have that they know they have the world's largest like like collection available to for public sale. But you can get pretty much any game ever made from them. Cool. And so we may do a thing with them where where we go and we film some of the like called very rare games where we go into like a like a pawn stars type thing. And there's a there's a game that's come in. It's worth $30,000. Oh my gosh. And then you bring in a an expert to evaluate it and stuff like that. And so if there's every opportunity for someone like you to evaluate something like that, would you be interested in me reaching out? Definitely. Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun. Yep. Nice. All right.
[01:13:36:07 - 01:13:53:00]
Yeah, so that's my professional side. Is there anything that you're working on that you need media services or know anyone who might need media services? Because that's what I do professionally. Um, yeah, almost certainly Chris. I would love to. I'm sort of like in the midst of I'm about to go out for the summer to understudy Hamlet at a Shakespeare company in Pennsylvania. Yes.
[01:13:54:00 - 01:14:06:12]
So that sort of got my focus for the next two months. But after that, I'm always doing like, you know, we're taking like four different shows to Edinburgh Fringe next year. I'm always doing weird little clowny stuff.
[01:14:07:14 - 01:14:08:22]
I'm a playwright as well.
[01:14:10:02 - 01:14:47:09]
So like yeah, I've just a connected and see how we can we can keep working together. Yeah, that'd be rad man. And would you like me to send you a preview of a small preview of the movie? So you can check it out. Yes, please. Will do. I will do that. You want to send that on LinkedIn or do you want an email address or? I'll send you a link. It's on Demio. It's just oh perfect. Great. Great. Yeah. Yeah. Sweet. Hey man. Thank you so much for your time. I know I've taken more of it than I asked for and it's all yours. I appreciate that so much. And I did record this and so I will let you know via email when things are starting to come out or actually be a LinkedIn once things start coming out. Great. Yeah, man. Thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Awesome. Appreciate you. Be well. Take care. Thank you.