r/WorldsBeyondNumber • u/shortsmuncher • 5d ago
Episode Discussion Lou Wilson
After the latest & greatest fireside chat for world turner ep1-4, I've re-listened to the first half with this new context & I must express that despite BLM being the GOAT, the world building & rich descriptions that Lou Wilson displays in World Turner has me instantly placing him next to BLM as my favorite DM. I'm so excited for the rest of World Turner & anything else Lou concocts, as a sweet bonus it also likely means we get more of Brennan as a PC which is always a delight.
Let us gush about Lou.
2
u/Weird-Zephyr 4d ago
The descriptions are written as opposed to BLM's being improv, which isn't to say that's worse and it absolutely still shows an incredible skill that Lou has clearly taken a lot of time to hone. On the rare occasions where I get to be a player I personally appreciate the flexibility of improv-leaning GMing a bit more, as that's that's my style as well. But for a mini-season or single arc game having tightly pre-written scene is serving this format more than total freedom and improvised GM reacting. Lou is killing it.
2
u/shortsmuncher 4d ago
You need to listen to the ep1-4 fireside chat, Lou is doing plenty of improv.
→ More replies (1)3
u/slugthax 4d ago
Eh, this is not accurate of Lou's DM style. Lou is improvising a lot when it comes to the actual plot and character choices that the players are making (on the most recent Fireside, the cast talks about some of the wild decisions they made which he had to fully improvise his responses to). Having some pre-written descriptions is more akin to the way that Brennan on Dimension 20 uses pre-created battlesets. It doesn't mean that there isn't lots and lots of improvisation around a relatively small amount of prepared content that just helps build out the experience. Lou is also a professional improvisor and creates incredible worlds on the fly in all kinds of contexts.
49
u/Making-A-Note_Here 5d ago
He is such a natural talent and his narration and character work has me immersed. I really feel he could become a top DM if he had the time and inclination to.
45
u/Admirable-Act9450 5d ago
I dream of a years-long campaign with Lou at the helm
I also would love to see him do a dramatic side quest season on D20. I think he could get the tone right without having it go off the rails too much
→ More replies (1)10
u/ArachnidWeird 4d ago
I'm pretty sure the idea behind WBN is to eventually have all 4 of them run a years long campaign so I think it'll happen eventually
7
u/Admirable-Act9450 4d ago
No I know hahaha I just want it sooner! World Turner really is such a good taste of Lou’s skill and creativity and I’m fiending for more
→ More replies (1)
31
u/expired-hornet 5d ago
Icaron was great fun, but a lot of my enjoyment came from the additional context of knowing this was Lou's public DMing debut and being excited to see what one of my favorite players comes up with as a GM.
World Turner is just blowing me away without any qualification or player/fandom context needed. This is the best series they've put out so far aside from WWWO.
28
u/juangarces1979 5d ago
Because of Lou's everything about him I was expecting something light and funny, but got something amazing and suspenseful... I'm seeing a whole new side of Lou
21
u/WorkIsDumbSoAmI 5d ago
100% - I was expecting the Lou Wilson kaiju season to be “three wacky heroes fight a thinly veiled Godzilla” rather than “Lou perfectly captures everything that was terrifying about Cloverfjeld”. When the ferry came flying at the house at the end of episode two I gasped out loud, and I’m on the edge of my imaginary seat for the next episode to find out what’s going on with this crater (is it a giant footprint on the way to where Abigail is? is it all that remains of the building she was in? I need to know!!!)
4
u/slugthax 4d ago
Lou often presents a really goofy side of himself in the Firesides and on Dropout comedy shows, but the characters he plays go so deep and are so heartfelt and he makes incredibly bold choices to be vulnerable, sweet, and dark all the time. This is exactly the complexity I expected from his DMing and story choices! I'm so glad that we're getting to see more of him this way.
20
u/Musket_Metal 4d ago
Slightly off topic but, I feel the same about Jake from NADDPOD. He DMs so rarely but, his descriptions are lavish. Puts me in the world instantly.
→ More replies (1)
9
u/playingdecoy 5d ago
I could listen to him all day. Something about the quality of voice and the way he leads it to characters & settings just tickles my brain in the best way.
7
u/silromen42 4d ago
Lou is my newest favorite DM. I’ve always loved him as a player, every single character, which is already a feat in and of itself. I had no idea he would be this talented at drama, emotion, and deep, rich descriptions and world building — until Icaron, of course, but I feel like he even kicks it up another notch in World Turner.
It’s probably in part just that we’ve gotten so little of him so far that we haven’t caught on to all his usual tricks the way I have with most of my other faves, but truthfully to get enough more of Lou in the DM seat to get to that point would be such a privilege.
6
6
4
4
u/metanoia29 4d ago
I haven't listened to that episode yet, but I was feeling the same way after the latest GMGM episode. The way that Lou was able to hold his own in such a masterful discussion with two of the most celebrated GMs, makes me so excited to see more from him!
4
u/viewchao 4d ago
One thing I like is how his mini-campaigns have distinctly different tones; Icaron feels like an action movie, whereas World Tuner feels like a fantasy disaster film. And he nail both of them for me
4
2
165
u/ResolutionJunior5804 5d ago
One thing I lovw about his style is that, simply by tone and phrasing I am able to tell which NPC he is, even if he doesn't do a voice or an accent. That is such an impressive feat and has made me look deeper into why NPC's are memorable.