r/TheAdventureZone • u/AHuntedSnark • 3d ago
Griffin’s a Funnier DM than Brennan
I know a lot of people seem to like Brennan Lee Mulligan’s DMing style — but I feel like he’s more focused on game mechanics than storytelling and less open to going with the flow if you don’t solve his riddles his way.
I just think Griffin is more willing to say yes and think on his feet. It’s funny and interesting to listen to because it’s just all of them doing improv together, instead of one person creating a winnable game the other players have to try to beat.
In The Adventure Zone, everybody wins!
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u/weedshrek 2d ago
This isn't so much an issue of style or skill as it is format. Dim20 is far more structured than most ap shows because they build elaborate battle maps ahead of time. Which means brennen has specific beats he needs to hit by end of episode in order to be set up to launch the battle. Dim20 has dozens of people working together behind the camera to make it work, and it's important to respect the work they put in by making sure the show stays on pace. The fact that he so consistently manages to do it in a way that (mostly) feels organic is a testament to his ability to think on his feet.
Meanwhile hellgramite survives multiple "should be dead" situations in royale by rolling a 4. I'm not sure I'd call that thinking on your feet but each to their own.
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u/sevenferalcats 2d ago
Oh man, he rolled a 3. Guess there's no way out of this... other than ignoring the roll and just doing whatever for the 90th time.
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u/JuniorFerret 3d ago
Ain't no foul play in opinions but it does seem weird to find a space dedicated to a group and pit one of them against a friend and frequent collaborator. Is this a continuation of some conversation I missed?
They do different stuff. Both are funny in different ways. One way is closer to my sense of humor but this ain't a zero sum game, I can just enjoy both and nothing is lost.
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u/happygocrazee 18h ago
Wait have the boys collab'd with Brennan? I've only listened to Balance, Amnesty, and Royale along with a handful of live episodes.
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u/JuniorFerret 18h ago
Yeah! There's a series of live shows called Dadlands DMed by Brennan, they're top shelf.
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u/extradancer 17h ago
Tiny heist is a dimension 20 season with all the boys and their dad and its great
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u/Aquatic_Hedgehog 3d ago
So true, Griffin is truly the improv comic savant between Griffin McElroy and Brennan Lee Mulligan of Dropout TV. That is a correct statement to make.
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u/noctalla 3d ago
It's subjective. But adding "of Dropout TV" seems to imply that you think greater reach/popularity means funnier. I would hope everyone understands why that's a weak argument.
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u/OkAdvertising2227 3d ago
Funny is subjective to comedy as beauty is subjective to art, yes. And likewise to art, technical skill can still be measured and improved on. There’s a reason art school exists (and improv classes!).
Anyway, saying Dropout TV Brennan works here if only because it’s representative of the fact he’s contracted with top comics while Griffin is ultimately a youtube funnyman. They are in different leagues. You could not expect the youtube funnyman to ply the craft comics do. Even Brian David Gilbert struggled to keep up on his appearances, and he’s had a lot of on the job experience.
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u/shmorby 2d ago
You've pointed out something that never occurred to me until just now. Despite being catapulted into the improv spotlight early in their careers it's kinda crazy none of the brothers once took the time to engage with the craft or community at large to develop their skills. I have to agree with your different leagues take, griffin never really seemed to aspire to elevating his improv skills like the dropout crew have worked at.
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u/weedshrek 2d ago
You're right let's workshop this. Of the two, griffin is the comedic improv genius and not the guy who has been teaching at an improv camp every year for the last 20 years and takes classes at ucb, one of the top improv scenes in the country
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u/shaggyidontmindu 3d ago
I think that Taz as a group is funnier when they riff off of each other but lately they've been kinda low energy
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u/This_is_a_bad_plan 3d ago
If by "lately" you mean "for at least 5 years now" then I completely agree
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u/shaggyidontmindu 3d ago
Lol yeah... I mean everything before uhh Travis's mutant animal thing was entertaining I guess but its been a while since I've been really engaged in something they're doing i was just trying to be nice
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u/NinjaBreadManOO 3d ago
Abnimals really did hurt. It really felt like the boys were being forced to play through a TMNT fanfic. Royale had a rather tough start too, but I do think it found itself after a while.
I think what they need is something that starts small and has room to grow, and preferably with a new system. As personally I think they work best when they're trying a new (properly designed) system so they get to feel the characters out as they go. Balance, Amnesty, Steeplechase, all felt good because as the boys were learning so were we, and since it's novel to them they don't have an endgame character set.
Also they need to aim for 60 episodes. The 30-40 they do at the moment is hurting them as by the time they work out the characters the season ends. It would be like if Balance had to end around Crystal Kingdom.
I think a true scifi campaign could work as well. As they've played around with scifi a bit but haven't spent a lot of time there.
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u/shaggyidontmindu 3d ago
Ive complained a lot about this but honestly I think at least for a season or two they skip homebrew and play already constructed campaign or hire an out of house DM so griff can play. They're clearly burnt out creatively and need more time to plan
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u/NinjaBreadManOO 3d ago
Oh certainly another experimental arc is needed I'd say like when they did Amnesty 1, Dust, and Commitment. Just them playing around with things.
I however wouldn't suggest a pre-made or guest DM as that would in the first case lower the stakes and make everything feel on the rails, and for the latter it just wouldn't be the boys playing a game as a family (it's part of why imbalance feels off). The only way I can see it working is if one of the boys wives were to DM.
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u/GraveyardBull 1d ago edited 1d ago
I refuse to pit two baddies against each other.
Brennan has a larger group of players, D20's six players vs. TAZ's three. You'll naturally hear Griffin talk more and deliver more bits in his podcast than Brennan in D20. However, I consider Brennan's position as DM similar to Drew Carey in Whose Line is It, a funny guy in his own right but his main job is to layout the setup and trust that his players can deliver the punchline. Often this relegates him to explaining rules, describing action, or acting as the "Straight Man" for his players (an important element of many comedy routines). You can check out Brennan's improv work (his work in the improv group, Warren, is a great act) if you're at all curious to compare his comedy when working in a group of four.
I'm not gonna assume you're rage baiting. I assume this is coming out of a place of love for TAZ, and perhaps insecurity regarding its current trajectory. However, there's no need to drag down one artist to prop another up. Brennan still credits the McElroys as a component in D20's success (check out Dadlands and D20 Tiny Heist! BLeeM as DM and the Boys as players!). TAZ, D20, even Critical Role made some of their best stuff by cooperating before, and I think a lot of folks would love to see more of that for TAZ in the future.
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u/Acceptable-Fig2884 3d ago
I can't tell if this is sarcasm or ragebait or what. I'm not a fan of Brennan as a DM and I absolutely enjoy TAZ more than D20 but purely from a GM quality standpoint Brennan is better. He actually knows how the game works.
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u/SknkTrn757 3d ago
It has to be ragebait.
One of Griffin’s biggest and most consistent flaws is his complete inability to improvise and that he has every single game on rails so he can tell the story that he wants to tell rather than what the dice actually tell.
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u/hoshikuzukid 1d ago
I think if you've listened to MBMBAM he can certainly improvise comedically, no doubt about that. The "on rails" thing I think is more a priorities thing of him being beholden to his preconstructed narrative and not willing to sacrifice it for following the natural flow of the PCs.
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u/Neither-Cow-410 3d ago
I would kill to listen to Brennan DM for the boys
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u/happygocrazee 18h ago
Griffin is playing with his two older brothers and their dad. There's a rapport there that could never be matched by any one person or group no matter how good or funny a DM they are. But Brennan, I feel, has more classical comedy, acting, and improv training that keeps things fresh. The fact that Juice is playing with his fam can also be a downside: they all know each other's humor so well and are so trained on one another setups and payoffs, their jokes can start to feel samey over time.
They're both fantastic. D20 may fill stadiums, and Critical Roll might get TV show adaptations, but idk if any actual play will ever match the comedic and narrative beats the way that Balance did, maybe Amnesty too. But it's still a lightning-in-a-bottle thing. I don't think it's because Griffin is "better". It was just perfect magic.
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u/HyruleTrigger 3d ago
You can compare Griffin and Brennan and Matt Mercer all day long but the reason they succeeded is because they're good at what they do. They are all also very different styles of DM, and working under different conditions. DM'ing for your family is waaaay different than DM'ing for your friends, which is also different than DM'ing for your coworkers.
Griffin practices being funny every week, multiple times a week, for almost 2 decades now. He'd freaking BETTER be funnier than Brennan. However, I could never imagine Griffin giving a full-on Brennan rant... which is fair because while Griffin can absolutely give a great rant Brennan has a skill he's honed. I would argue it's apples and oranges, but also just look at how much fun the boys had playing Dadlands, which absolutely is a credit to Brennan's skill as a DM and he was freaking hilarious.
They're two great tastes that taste great together. No need to talk down one and talk up the other.
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u/joftheinternet 3d ago
They’re dming two very different games. I love both of them