132 - The Village of Hommlet

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Is T1 - The Village of Hommlet by Gary Gygax the best adventure for novice players and new Dungeon Masters? Should you run it or adapt it for your group? Is it even any good?

DM Matt and Special OSR Correspondent Andy do a deep dive into this classic of grognardia. Your hosts go into the history of Hommlet, the reasons why you might want to play T1, and how to learn DM skills by converting and putting your own spin on this old school adventure.

The Village of Hommlet by Gary Gygax on the DMsGuild

Links:
Tales of the Iron League Rules by Andy
The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon
The Delian Tomb Intro Adventure by Matt Colville

Music:
Pac Div - Roll the Dice
Iris DeMent - Our Town

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Is T1 - The Village of Hommlet by Gary Gygax the best adventure for novice players and new Dungeon Masters? Should you run it or adapt it for your group? Is it even any good? DM Matt and Special OSR Correspondent Andy do a deep dive into this classic of grognardia.

BONUS - Review of Lancer and Mechwarrior: Destiny

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In a special bonus episode, DM Matt reviews two new big, stompy robot RPG systems: Mechwarrior: Destiny and Lancer. Matt explains why the Battletech Universe kicks ass (01:50), how Mechwarrior: Destiny fails to harmonize its narrative and simulationist mechanics (22:20), and why you should play the Lancer RPG (36:00).
Spoilers: there is a free version of the Lancer rules and it does what Mechwarrior fails to do, combine rules-light play and fun tactical combat mechanics. 

Links:

Lancer RPG

Mechwarrior: Destiny

Free Intro to the Battletech Universe

Music: Zipper Interactive - Opening Cinematic to Mechwarrior 3; Flight of the Conchords - Robots; Mechwarrior 2 Soundtrack by Jeehun Hwang, Gregory Alper, and Kelly Walker Rogers - Sable Flame; Yoko Takahashi - A Cruel Angel's Thesis; Ragtime Revolutionaries - Chicks Dig Giant Robots.

In a special bonus episode, DM Matt reviews two new big, stompy robot RPG systems: Mechwarrior: Destiny and Lancer. Matt explains why the Battletech Universe kicks ass (01:50), how Mechwarrior: Destiny fails to harmonize its narrative and simulationist mechanics (22:20), and why you should play the Lancer RPG (36:00).

131 - Too Many Hobgoblins and Other DM Problems

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How many hobgoblins are too many? How can you mix up antagonists so your players aren't bored? What is the best system for a Last Airbender game? How can you get your foot in the door if your group is all experienced Dungeon Masters? DMs Matt and Rob do their best to answer these and other questions! Plus, they discuss a refutation of the erasure of people of color in medieval Europe from a fan, new RPGs on the horizon, the joy of one of your players taking over as Dungeon Master, a pro-D&D take from a Christian Dungeon Master, and some kick-ass Icelandic runic spells and world-building! Never fear a Tilberi as long as you have your Butterknot stave handy. Trust us, that'll make sense after you listen. 

Links:

Carta Marina

Icelandic Staves

Jacob's Amazing Map for "Tremors"

The Christian Response to D&D

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Louis Armstrong - You're the Top; Sigur Rós - Starálfur; Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand; Ozzy Osbourne - Fire in the Sky; Kaleta & Super Yamba Band - Jibiti

How many hobgoblins are too many? How can you mix up antagonists so your players aren't bored? What is the best system for a Last Airbender game? How can you get your foot in the door if your group is all experienced Dungeon Masters? DMs Matt and Rob do their best to answer these and other questions!

130 - Exploring Eberron with Keith Baker

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It's our favorite Dungeons and Dragons world-builder himself, Keith Baker! Keith is here to talk about his awesome new book, Exploring Eberron, out now! We discuss Keith's "Rule of Three" for world-building details, how to include fairy tales in your lore, how to fight a war with magic, what 5th edition gets right, why you should start small and build out, how to plan history with random tables, when to follow your players, and more Eberron advice from the Hellcow himself! 

Links:

Exploring Eberron on the Dungeon Masters Guild

Keith Baker

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice 

It's our favorite Dungeons and Dragons world-builder himself, Keith Baker! Keith is here to talk about his awesome new book, Exploring Eberron, out now!

129 - iHunt with Olivia Hill

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DMs Matt and Rob are joined by special guest Olivia Hill to discuss her new tabletop RPG, iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy. Stay tuned for a discussion of RPG design, FATE mechanics, writing games for working and marginalized people, and some great game master insights from our guest! Can you guess who the real monster is? (Hint: It begins with "capitalist..." and ends with "...mode of production.")

Links:

iHunt the Tabletop RPG: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy by Olivia Hill and Filamena Young

Machine Age Productions  

Olivia and Filamena's Patreon  

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice 

The Coup, Lakeith Stanfield - OYAHYTT

DMs Matt and Rob are joined by special guest Olivia Hill to discuss her new tabletop RPG, iHunt: Killing Monsters in the Gig Economy. Stay tuned for a discussion of RPG design, FATE mechanics, writing games for working and marginalized people, and some great game master insights from our guest!

BONUS - Feat Picks

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DMs Matt and Rob discuss the character options in the most recent Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana on Feats!

Links:

Unearthed Arcana - Feats

Matt's Half-Feat Rules

 

Music

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow

DMs Matt and Rob discuss the character options in the most recent Dungeons and Dragons Unearthed Arcana on Feats! Links: Unearthed Arcana - Feats Matt's Half-Feat Rules   Music Pac Div - Roll the Dice Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow 

128 - The One-Page RPG Expo (and DM Advice)

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Welcome to the World of Tomorrow! DMs Matt and Rob take you on a tour of both host and listener created one-page Role-Playing games. Thank you to everyone who submitted a game!

Then, it's on to some Dungeon Master advice: how to deal with a party that has a magical solution to every problem, how to set prices for magical stuff in 5e, and how should we think about Tolkien's racism and colonialism? 

One-Page RPGs:

Guns & Butter by Rob

Suplexes & Sliders by Matt

Pomp & Circumstance by Steve from Yorkshire

Streeps & Turings by Callahan from Denver

Bad Day in Superhero City by @infinitebrooms

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice 

Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction

Fight Like Apes - I'm Beginning To Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 To Me

Johnny Paycheck - Take This Job And Shove It

Traditional - The British Grenadiers

Karla Devito - We Are Not Alone

John Williams - Superman Theme 

Led Zeppelin - Ramble On

Welcome to the World of Tomorrow! DMs Matt and Rob take you on a tour of both host and listener created one-page Role-Playing games. Thank you to everyone who submitted a game!

127 - How Did We Get Here?

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DMs Matt and Rob attempt to take stock of the failures of the corporations that control Dungeons and Dragons (Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and OneBookShelf) over the past decade and discuss recent goings on in both D&D and Magic: The Gathering. Then, we answer your letters on dealing with overpowered homebrew classes and speeding up combat with large parties! 

Links of stuff discussed:

Orion D. Black's Itch Page

Eat the Rich Anthology

Asians Represent Podcast

Oliver Clegg's DMG Page

Olivia Hill's #iHunt: The RPG

Zaiem Beg, "The Wizards I Know"

Lizbeth Eden 

"Wizards of the Coast, Nic Kelman, & Hypocrisy" by A.E. Marling

Send Us a One-Page RPG by Sunday July 12th 

Performance of She Kills Monsters on July 12th 7pm 

 

Contact Us:

Email or at the DM Hotline (774) 203-4629‬

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

The Coup - The Guillotine 

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime

Rodriguez - This In Not A Song, It's An Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues lyrics

DMs Matt and Rob attempt to take stock of the failures of the corporations that control Dungeons and Dragons (Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and OneBookShelf) over the past decade and discuss recent goings on in both D&D and Magic: The Gathering.

125 Diversity and One-Page RPGs

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DMs Matt and Rob discuss successes and limitations of Wizards of the Coast's recent statement. Then, we discuss One Page Role-Playing Games! Perfect for breaking you out of a quarantine Dungeon Mastering rut. 

 

Links:

BIG GAY ORCS

Lasers and Feelings

Everyone is John

Honey Heist 

All Outta Bubblegum

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Fight Like Apes - I'm Beginning to Think You Prefer Beverly Hills 90210 to Me

David Bowie - The Man Who Sold the World 

DMs Matt and Rob discuss successes and limitations of Wizards of the Coast's recent statement. Then, we discuss One Page Role-Playing Games!

Episode 124: Mailbag of Holding Mark II

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Matt & Rob answer more letters! We've got fire! We've got edition wars! We've got cool initiative stuff! Plus your regular tangents on vaguely related topics. Also make sure to check out the Black AF Roundtable!

Fate Worlds Volume One: Worlds on Fire
Perilous Wilds

Music:

Pac Div -- Roll the Dice
Billy Bragg -- The World Turned Upside Down
Anna Mae - Can't Knock Me Down

Matt & Rob answer more letters! We've got fire! We've got edition wars! We've got cool initiative stuff! Plus your regular tangents on vaguely related topics. Also make sure to check out the Black AF Roundtable!

BONUS Actual Homebrew MEGA-EPISODE

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Howdy Dungeon Masters, in this bonus episode, DM Matt walks listeners through some homebrew magic item (0:02:45), spell (0:25:30), and monster (0:44:00) creation before reflecting on revising the Advanced Artificer (0:57:00) and reviewing a listener undead supplement (1:11:00) and adventure anthology (1:18:00). It's a MEGA-EPISODE. Let us know if you like it! 

Links:

BlackAF Round Table 

Throne of the Crescent Moon Items, Spells, and Monsters

The Advanced Artificer 2.0: Revised and Upgraded

Restless: A Guide to Laying Incorporeal Undead to Restby V.J. Harris

The Princess Project by Ashton Duncan, Carlos Cisco, Catherine Evans, Sharene Gilchrist, Noah Grand, Emily Harmon, Peter Harris, Brittney Hay, Jessica Marcrum, Harry Whitelaw

Music:

Roll the Dice - Pac Div; Say You’ll Say So - Geoffrey Landers;  Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann’s Earth Band; The Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel; Ghostwriter - RJD2; My Favorite Mutiny - The Coup; Write This Down - George Strait; Enter Sandman - Metallica; Gimme Some Lovin’ - Spencer Davis Group; Walking with a Ghost - Tegan and Sara; Boss Ass Bitch - PTAF

Howdy Dungeon Masters, in this bonus episode, DM Matt walks listeners through some homebrew magic item (0:02:45), spell (0:25:30), and monster (0:44:00) creation before reflecting on revising the Advanced Artificer (0:57:00) and reviewing a listener undead supplement (1:11:00) and adventure anthology (1:18:00). It's a MEGA-EPISODE.

123 Mythic Odysseys of Theros

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Dungeons and Dragons is back with another Magic: The Gathering crossover campaign setting: Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Dungeon Masters Matt and Rob review the ideas that we love and critique the executions of those ideas that falls woeful short. Strap on your winged sandals, burnish your shield to a mirror shine, and grab your friendly Bubo, because it's time to get Greek with D&D! 

Links:

Mystic Odysseys of Theros

Odyssey of the Dragonlords

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Hedwig & the Angry Inch - The Origin of Love

Donovan - Atlantis 

Locomondo - Odysseia 

The Who - Athena 

Dungeons and Dragons is back with another Magic: The Gathering crossover campaign setting: Mythic Odysseys of Theros. Dungeon Masters Matt and Rob review the ideas that we love and critique the executions of those ideas that falls woeful short.

122 Dungeon Master Book Club - Throne of the Crescent Moon

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This week DMs Matt and Rob read Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. Dungeon Master of None highly recommends this excellent novel! Come for a discussion of action and adventure in a world modeled on D&D ideas, and stay for the great characters, items, and world-building to steal for your own campaigns.

Links:

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

"Judgement of Swords and Souls" by Saladin Ahmed 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Dick Dale - Misirlou 

This week DMs Matt and Rob read Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed. Dungeon Master of None highly recommends this excellent novel! Come for a discussion of action and adventure in a world modeled on D&D ideas, and stay for the great characters, items, and world-building to steal for your own campaigns.

Episode 121: A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons

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Sit down by the fire and stoke your pipe, because today Matt & Rob put on their academics' robes and read a classic of D&D history. We revisit the halcyon days of the Satanic Panic with "A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons: A Catechism for the New Age". Come learn why D&D is "the most effective introduction to the occult in man's recorded history". Fun AND educational!

Sit down by the fire and stoke your pipe, because today Matt & Rob put on their academics' robes and read a classic of D&D history. We revisit the halcyon days of the Satanic Panic with "A Christian Response to Dungeons & Dragons: A Catechism for the New Age".

Episode 120: Lost Mine of Phandelver

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DMs Matt and Rob dive deep into the Dungeons and Dragons introductory adventure from the 5e Starter Set, Lost Mine of Phandelver. Tune in for a discussion of how to prep, how to make the module your own, and how to punch up the key NPCs of LMoP! 

DMs Matt and Rob dive deep into the Dungeons and Dragons introductory adventure from the 5e Starter Set, Lost Mine of Phandelver. Tune in for a discussion of how to prep, how to make the module your own, and how to punch up the key NPCs of LMoP! 

Episode 118: Dungeons and Dragons: The Movie

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Dungeon Masters Matt and Rob brave the lowest point in D&D history: the 2000 New Line film by Courtney Solomon. Joined by guests Adam, Katie, and Sam we watch this entire film full of Garbage Dwarves, Stuffed Cats, and Jeremy Irons' O-face. 

The instructions for watching along with us are in the show so you can experience the beautiful pain along with us! 

Dungeon Masters Matt and Rob brave the lowest point in D&D history: the 2000 New Line film by Courtney Solomon.

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Episode 117: Running D&D for Kids

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DM Matt and special guest Andy discuss every aspect of Dungeon Mastering D&D and other RPGs for kids and teens. 

Links:

Jamboard

Ryuutama RPG

The Quiet Year

Dungeon World (SRD) (Review Episode)

Amazing Tales

Beyond the Wall

Hero Kids RPG

Black Hack 2e (Open Game Content)

Tiny d6

BASH RPG

Fate Accelerated (SRD)

 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice

Kim Wilde - Kids in America

P.O.D. - Youth of the Nation 

DM Matt and special guest Andy discuss every aspect of Dungeon Mastering D&D and other RPGs for kids and teens.  Links: Jamboard Ryuutama RPG The Quiet Year Dungeon World (SRD) (Review Episode) Amazing Tales Beyond the Wall Hero Kids RPG Black Hack 2e (Open Game Content) Tiny d6 BASH RPG Fate Accelerated (SRD)   Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Kim Wilde - Kids in America P.O.D.

Episode 116: Worldbuilding Settlements

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Matt and Rob build out the sleepy little town of High Cyre and come up with some truly terrible names in the process. Get some tips on building settlements for fun and profit (well, maybe not profit).

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice
Will Smith - Wild, Wild West
Linda Ronstadt - Desperado
The Animals - The House of the Rising Sun
Ennio Morricone - The Ecstasy of Gold

Matt and Rob build out the sleepy little town of High Cyre and come up with some truly terrible names in the process. Get some tips on building settlements for fun and profit (well, maybe not profit).