148 - Dungeon Master Book Club - The Fifth Season

DMs Matt and Rob explore N.K. Jemisin's Hugo award-winning novel, The Fifth Season

Plus, your DMs take a brief aside into "DragonLaw: The Contract Chronicles" with an update on the Weis & Hickman lawsuit and into the idea of Minor Advantage/Disadvantage in 5th edition. 

Links:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Numenera RPG

"I build a world with fantasy master N.K. Jemisin" on The Erza Klein Show

Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Carole King - I Fell The Earth Move.

DMs Matt and Rob explore N.K. Jemisin's Hugo award-winning novel, The Fifth Season.  Plus, your DMs take a brief aside into "DragonLaw: The Contract Chronicles" with an update on the Weis & Hickman lawsuit and into the idea of Minor Advantage/Disadvantage in 5th edition.  Links: The Fifth Season by N.K.

146 - Cyberpunk RED

Get out of that Cyberfunk and start playing Cyberpunk RED, the brand new edition of the classic Cyberpunk RPG by R. Talsorian Games! 

Link: Cyberpunk RED

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; 3RA1N1AC - Flash RAM. 

Get out of that Cyberfunk and start playing Cyberpunk RED, the brand new edition of the classic Cyberpunk RPG by R. Talsorian Games!  Link: Cyberpunk RED Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; 3RA1N1AC - Flash RAM. 

BONUS - Eyes Unclouded

DM Matt dives deep into Eyes Unclouded, a heartwarming and thought-provoking adventure anthology for Dungeons and Dragons inspired by the films of Studio Ghibli. 

Link: Eyes Unclouded Anthology

DM Matt dives deep into Eyes Unclouded, a heartwarming and thought-provoking adventure anthology for Dungeons and Dragons inspired by the films of Studio Ghibli.  Link: Eyes Unclouded Anthology

145 - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (Part 3)

We finally get to the really good stuff, the Dungeon Master sections of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: how to use Group Patrons, Tasha's magic items and artifacts, and a delightful section of supernatural manifest zones. Then, DM Matt and Rob force themselves to discuss the puzzle section at the end of the book and how to create better puzzles that won't make your players hate you.

We finally get to the really good stuff, the Dungeon Master sections of Tasha's Cauldron of Everything: how to use Group Patrons, Tasha's magic items and artifacts, and a delightful section of supernatural manifest zones. Then, DM Matt and Rob force themselves to discuss the puzzle section at the end of the book and how to create better puzzles that won't make your players hate you.

144 - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (Part 2)

DM Rob and Matt continue deep diving into the new player options for Dungeons and Dragons presented in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Monks, Sorcerers, Rangers, Rogues, Paladins, Wizards, Warlocks, feats, and spells! 

Links: ThinkDM - "Blade Cantrip Changes"

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Mott the Hoople & David Bowie - All the Young Dudes.

DM Rob and Matt continue deep diving into the new player options for Dungeons and Dragons presented in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. Monks, Sorcerers, Rangers, Rogues, Paladins, Wizards, Warlocks, feats, and spells!  Links: ThinkDM - "Blade Cantrip Changes" Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Mott the Hoople & David Bowie - All the Young Dudes.

143 - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything (Part 1)

DM Matt and Rob are back and diving deep into each tasty bit of the newest Dungeons and Dragons supplement: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything. 

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Thurston Harris and the Sharps - Little Bitty Pretty One; David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things.

DM Matt and Rob are back and diving deep into each tasty bit of the newest Dungeons and Dragons supplement: Tasha's Cauldron of Everything.  Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Thurston Harris and the Sharps - Little Bitty Pretty One; David Bowie - Oh! You Pretty Things.

REPLAY: Everyone Can DM

DM Rob is England and DM Matt's school is fighting a COVID outbreak, so here is our first ever replay of one of our favorite episodes, "82 - Anyone Can DM." There is a lot we can all learn from the basics and some good Dungeon Master thinking here. We hope to bring you more of these types of episodes in the near future. See you next week! 

Episode 82 - Anyone Can DM
DMs Matt and Rob discuss the basics of what a Dungeon Master is and what a Dungeon Master does. Today, we review the DM advice presented in the 5e D&D Essentials Kit. But first, a game of "Weal or Woe," in which, Rob has to guess whether the RPG product is real or fake! 

Matt and Rob discuss the roles presented in the Essentials Kit: referee, storyteller, and role-player. They break down the core mechanics and goals of any Dungeon Master.
Conclusion: Anyone can DM!

 

Letters:

Dalton asks: "Do I need a wizard in my party?"

Adam writes: "Aren't there times when it is good to hide your DM dice rolls?" 

Alexander writes: "Where are my half-feats?"

 

Links:

Matt's Homebrew Half-Feat Rules

 

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; BTS (featuring Hasley) - Boy with Luv; Weezer - In the Garage

DM Rob is England and DM Matt's school is fighting a COVID outbreak, so here is our first ever replay of one of our favorite episodes, "82 - Anyone Can DM." There is a lot we can all learn from the basics and some good Dungeon Master thinking here.

142 - Hexcrawl

Special OSR Correspondent Andy explains the joy of hexcrawls in Dungeons & Dragons! Learn how to build a sandbox exploration game, one hex at a time. 

Links:

Hex TML

Hexographer

US GIS Maps

Swordfish Islands, a system neutral hexcrawl

Arcana of the Ancients

X1 The Isle of Dread

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps. 

Special OSR Correspondent Andy explains the joy of hexcrawls in Dungeons & Dragons!

141 - Dungeons and Demography

It's the return of the classic Dungeons Master of None reading series as we go back, back to the future, to 1984 and read one of the most bizarre articles ever published in Dragon Magazine. Then, your hosts head to into the 9th Layer of #DnD TikTok Hell. 

Here are the accompanying equations and tables you will need to master to play D&D:

Links:

https://thealexandrian.net/ 

https://slyflourish.com/index.html 

https://thinkdm.org/ 

https://writingexcuses.com/ 

http://oneshotpodcast.com/ 

http://oneshotpodcast.com/interview-discussion/asians-represent/ 

https://systemmasterypodcast.com/ 

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do with It?


It's the return of the classic Dungeons Master of None reading series as we go back, back to the future, to 1984 and read one of the most bizarre articles ever published in Dragon Magazine. Then, your hosts head to into the 9th Layer of #DnD TikTok Hell.  Here are the accompanying equations and tables you will need to master to play D&D: Links: https://thealexandrian.net/  https://slyflourish.com/index.html  https://thinkdm.org/  https://writingexcuses.com/  http://oneshotpodcast.com/  http://oneshotpodcast.com/interview-discussion/asians-represent/  https://systemmasterypodcast.com/  Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Tina Turner - What's Love Got to Do with It?

BONUS: Dragonlance v. Wizards

DM Matt and Special Legal Correspondent Brent discuss Dragonlance authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast. 

Links: 

Margaret Weis, LLC and Tracy Hickman v. Wizards of The Coast LLC

Brent's Twitter

Story first reported by Cecilia D'Anastasio of Wired

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Belle and Sebastian - Legal Man. 

DM Matt and Special Legal Correspondent Brent discuss Dragonlance authors Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's lawsuit against Wizards of the Coast.  Links:  Margaret Weis, LLC and Tracy Hickman v.

140 - Full Frontal Tom Bombadil

Dungeon Master advice served hot and fresh, plus our rule of three wish list.

Questions:
Do I need to make my party roll some healers? Can I design my own monster for the Shadowfell? Why do the geeks love fascism so much? Is offline one-to-one communication with players a good thing? Is my worldbuilding idea too much for my players to handle? Will you review Against the Giants? What is your advice for getting back into D&D? 

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Nickel Creek - In the House of Tom Bombadil; Grandmaster Flash - Apache. 

Dungeon Master advice served hot and fresh, plus our rule of three wish list. Questions: Do I need to make my party roll some healers? Can I design my own monster for the Shadowfell? Why do the geeks love fascism so much? Is offline one-to-one communication with players a good thing?

137 - Spelljammer

It's Dungeons and Dragons....IN SPAAAACE! Finally, DMs Matt and Rob take a look at their favorite but flawed campaign setting: Spelljammer

Links:

Spelljammer Books

Wildspace Commercial 

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Bob Marley & The Wailers - Jamming; David Bowie - Space Oddity. 

It's Dungeons and Dragons....IN SPAAAACE! Finally, DMs Matt and Rob take a look at their favorite but flawed campaign setting: Spelljammer!  Links: Spelljammer Books Wildspace Commercial  Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Bob Marley & The Wailers - Jamming; David Bowie - Space Oddity. 

136 - Lore You Shouldn't Know

Oh, you like Dungeons and Dragons? Then, name five dragons. We'll wait. 

DMs Rob and Matt are here to prove the uselessness of lore knowledge by beating the nerds at their own game...the most dangerous game...the game of trivia. 

But first, a discussion of what to except from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and the coming of Magic: The Gathering to Toril. And last, should I adapt my favorite novel into a D&D game? 

Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; The Meters - Hand Clapping Song; Funkadelic - Can You Get to That  

Oh, you like Dungeons and Dragons? Then, name five dragons. We'll wait.  DMs Rob and Matt are here to prove the uselessness of lore knowledge by beating the nerds at their own game...the most dangerous game...the game of trivia.  But first, a discussion of what to except from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything and the coming of Magic: The Gathering to Toril.

Episode 135: An Interview with Mikayla Ebel

Writer and designer Mikayla Ebel joins Matt and Rob to talk about the upcoming WotC release, Icewind Dale: Rime of Frostmaiden, and how they ended up writing for the big leagues. Goats, labor relations, anxiety -- folks, this interview has it all.

Follow Mikayla on Twitter or visit their website!

Writer and designer Mikayla Ebel joins Matt and Rob to talk about the upcoming WotC release, Icewind Dale: Rime of Frostmaiden, and how they ended up writing for the big leagues. Goats, labor relations, anxiety -- folks, this interview has it all. Follow Mikayla on Twitter or visit their website!

134 - Would You Like to Know More?

Another week of piping hot Dungeon Master advice, served with a smile! Plus, join us for a discussion of Kate Welch's departure from WotC and some amazing analysis of fascism and 40k from Special Warhammer Correspondent CthulhuBen

What is the best old UA subclass? How should I build a campaign around a city in the Feywild? What is the deal fascism in Warhammer 40k? How to create some great homebrew subclasses for the monk and sorcerer? How does a DM deal with role-playing multiple NPCs in one place?

Links:

Ben's Twitter 

David Roth's on "Starship Troopers"

When Warhammer Was Radical: The Egalitarian Origins of the Fantasy Battle Game

Ur-Fascism by Umberto Eco 

Bolt Thrower vs. Neo-Nazi Scum

Music:

Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Cake - Frank Sinatra; Bolt Thrower - The Killchain; Look at Miss Ohio - Gillian Welch

Another week of piping hot Dungeon Master advice, served with a smile! Plus, join us for a discussion of Kate Welch's departure from WotC and some amazing analysis of fascism and 40k from Special Warhammer Correspondent CthulhuBen!  What is the best old UA subclass? How should I build a campaign around a city in the Feywild?

Episode 133: Encounter Design

Rob is back with a functioning microphone, and the DMs are talking about WotC surveys, APPS, and of course, encounter design. If you're mad that Matt said "WILLIAM Dafoe", don't worry, so am I.

https://dnd.wizards.com/articles/news/dd-survey-2020

Inclusive TTRPG List

Music:

Pac Div -- Roll the Dice
Nightwish - Wishmaster
Imagine Dragons - Warriors

Rob is back with a functioning microphone, and the DMs are talking about WotC surveys, APPS, and of course, encounter design. If you're mad that Matt said "WILLIAM Dafoe", don't worry, so am I.