Grumpy Dungeon Masters

This week the Grumpy Dungeon Masters are joined by Professor Dungeon Master of Dungeon Craft and Deathbringer fame. They chat about the current Backerkit for the game, the Youtube channel, and how to be a better game master in general.

The guys went to DragonCon to play some Pirate Borg and Mutant Crawl Classics. Also they talk about the 80's Adventures that finally released. Dungeons & Dragons 5E full of 1980's film and music references. What's not to love!

This week the fellas are talking about why your game isn't the same as a live play game of Dungeons & Dragons. Also Dan dives into some books that detail the history of our hobby. Some choices stories and details in this one.

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters take a look at the new Unearthed Arcana for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 and sigh a whole lot. It's Underdark themed and includes Barbarians that make light, Dark Elf House Agents, and living as you slowly turn into a Mind Flayer.

Christopher hosted a Dungeons & Dragons Keshanar tournament this weekend. He was joined by a couple of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters and Orthane Productions. Also the guys take a look at what makes a very successful Kcikstarter.

The guys talk about Christopher going to Nerdfest and running some Dungeons & Dragons. Also companies are selling products at conventions before their Kickstarter backers receive the product. Is this fair? Dan dives into a book from 1980 that reviews wargames. It's a deep look into the history of this hobby.

Gencon was this weekend and Wizards of the Coast had a ton of announcements. A focus towards Greyhawk, return of Dragonlance, and a return of Dark Sun. Also World of Warcraft and Star Wars are coming to 5.5 edition. Listen in to see what the Grumpy Dungeon Masters think about it.

This week the Grumpy Dungeon Masters are joined by Professor Dungeon Master of Dungeon Craft and Deathbringer fame. They chat about the current Backerkit for the game, the Youtube channel, and how to be a better game master in general.

This week it's Deathbringer, the RPG from Professor Dungeon Master and the team at Roll for Combat. Currently on Backerkit. Also the Ennies awards and running bad modules.

This is the second part of Grumpy Dungeon Masters getting to sit and talk to Ed Greenwood. He is the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons and a long time author. Enjoy!

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters are joined this week by none other than Ed Greenwood. He is the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting for Dungeons & Dragons and a long time author. Enjoy!

The guys got a chance to sit down with authors Bruce & Carson Summers. Both of them are writers for the Legends of Greyhawk. An organized play campaign that is run at conventions that continues stories in the Dungeons & Dragons greyhawk setting.

Your Grumpy Dungeon Masters talk about a rule for 5.5 that should probably have more clarity, size categories for Dungeons & Dragons monsters, issues with categorizing large collections, and a Shadowdark hex crawl.

A deep talk on AI being used by ADHD people for their home games, a new Ravenloft book for Dungeons & Dragons, and the guys meeting up at a swap meet to trade games.

The GDM guys continue their talk from a couple of weeks ago about high level Dungeons & Dragons. This time they focus in on 4th and 5th editions of the game and why they break down at high levels. Enjoy!

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters sit down this week and talk Vikings with Erica Lowe, the creator of Ragnaborg. It's a Mork Borg system based game taking place during Ragnarok, where you get to play vikings and battle for your own survival! Listen in and enjoy!

The GDM guys talk about all the different editions of Dungeons & Dragons and how they each handle high level play. They also dive into the latest Wizards of the Coast fiasco and their digital downloads. Also a character death in Caverns of Thracia.

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters get a chance to talk with the creators of the Secret of Weepstone, Hunter & Heavy. It is a PC video game coming out that is based heavily on the old school Dungeons & Dragons systems. The game is atmospheric and everything roleplaying fans could want in a video game!

The guys are joined by Christopher's better half Shelley to talk about the Kickstarter Historica Arcanum: The Coven Of Salem. It's a Dungeons & Dragons 5E/5.5 setting based on historical events of the Salem Witch Trials. Also we get some more tales of Adventurers League!

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters sit down and talk with Sonja Akright, the Director of the Geneva Lake Museum. Having grown up in Lake Geneva she had an interesting childhood getting to play Dungeons & Dragons with many of the creators of the game. Many stories are told so listen in!

With the passing of Lou Zocchi, the dice world lost a legend. The Grumpy Dungeon Masters pay their respects. Also Dan plays Hero's Quest with his kid, Christopher loses at Adventures League again, and a renaissance festival!

Christopher continues to put his Adventurers League players through the meat grinder. The guys also talk about carousing in their Shadowdark game. Some people lost it all! Also Gygax's Appendix N and the inspirations within!

The guys talk about mega-dungeons this week. Both Castle Whiterock by Goodman Games and Castle Zagyg by Troll Lord Games opened up on backerkit recently. Also more info about Ravenloft: The Horrors Within and Dan got to play Greyhawk Wars.

This week the Grumpy Dungeon Masters finish up their tales from the Journey to Gary Con. It involves stories from Kingdoms of Keshenar, Indiana Jones, Ragnaborg, and Christopher running Adventures League.

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters sit down and talk with Dungeon Damsel & Xane Daniel, the creators of the Druskara setting for Shadowdark. It's a living setting with incredible art. Check out the Backerkit at https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dungeon-damsel-creations/druskara-a-twisted-fantasy-world-setting-for-shadowdark-rpg?gad_campaignid=23658262033

The guys return from Gary Con and talk about their adventures at the convention. This included several games of Pirate Borg, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, X-Crawl Classics, and some Call of Cthulhu.

Is Dungeons & Dragons starting dungeons the best way to introduce players to Role Playing Games or are their better games for it? The Grumpy Dungeon Masters look into it. Also Dungeon Crawl Classics adventures with a lich and a D&D game of Hunt the Tarrasque.

This week Wizards of the Coast released their road map for the current year. The guys take a look at what's ahead for Dungeons & Dragons. They fellas also take a look at Shadowdark Cursed Scroll #5, D&D with an AI Game Master, and play by email RPG's from the past.

The guys sit down and chat with Ahmed Suffety about his newest Kickstarter Tales From the Tape Deck. He and his partner have designed several one shot RPG's that are intended to be played along side of music to get the full experience. If you want to play some Mad Max style game to 80's hair metal, vampires missing their coffins, or possibly some androids trying to free their brethren then this is the kickstarter for you. It can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suffetygames/tales-from-the-tape-deck

Kobolds have been a part of Dungeons & Dragons forever, but they often time get no love. Well the Grumpy Dungeon Masters are here to change that! Also we have even more Zines for Zine month and we even talk miniature wargaming!

This week the Grumpy Dungeon Masters talk about a dungeon design competition using 8 bit video games. Get 3 random Nintendo games and make a dungeon out of them. Also Dan dives into 2nd edition dragons and nearly loses his mind on how much there is.

This week the guys are joined by the Storytellers Collective guys, Rick Heinz and Erik Frankhouse. They created The Black Ballad, which is a Dungeons & Dragons 5E setting which begins when your character dies. Time to play around in the afterlife!

February is Zine month and the guys are going to talk about all the wonderful roleplaying zines they get to pick up this year. Christopher talks about scams running around the RPG community and he also dives into the latest Ed Greenwood Dungeons & Dragons novel.

The guys go through the latest Dungeons & Dragons Unearthed Arcana. They also dive into the current lawsuit against the company over Magic the Gathering. Also the Grumpy DM's list their top 5 RPG's of all time.

Lots of stories this week. Christopher went to Scarab Con and met a bunch of people. Dan & Kristian played Fabula Ultima, a JRPG. Kristian talks about Delve, Jay almost TPK's his players, and Christopher gets chased by a black bear.

This week the talk is on Dungeons & Dragons books being converted to other systems. Do these books lose something in translation to other systems? Also more Caverns of Thracia talk from Jay and Chris talks about failing to get the miniature he wanted.

A new years is upon us. The guys talk about a bunch of variant rules in Dungeons & Dragons, the beginning of meta-magic, and Dan tells a story about a homebrew D&D game he's in. It involves a lot of big monster. At the end of the podcast the guys talk Stranger Things, so you can avoid spoilers for the finale.

The guys take a stab at their favorite roleplaying game products of the year. Maybe some Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowdark, or possibly Dungeon Crawl Classics. Listen in to see what you missed out on in 2025.

It's a Shadowdark holiday this week and the guys are celebrating the shortest day of the year. Christopher talks about board games needing apps to play and why it's a bad idea. Also a look at keeping up with the massive amount of D&D lore and Jay's D&D party actually dying.

This week the guys talk about Nimble. The newest Dungeons & Dragons clone on the market. It takes D&D 5E and makes it easier to use. Is it worth the swap however? Also Christopher talks about how he doesn't love his Christmas One Shot anymore and why Duergar don't drink.

The guys look at the new Dungeons & Dragons book Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. At 112 pages it's kind of slim, but does it have content? Also how to store miniatures so you can find them and a magical blowgun that will ruin your players characters day.

The guys focus heavily on some new Shadowdark stuff that is coming. The Necromancer class, new Priest spells, and Cursed Scroll 6. Also Christopher talks about a new live play series that has a Gofundme put together by a bunch of famous Youtubers.

This week Dan is on Vacation. The other guys talk about the history of the Pale Night. An ancient power who ruled the Abyss long before the current Demon Lords. What is she and how has she maintained power in the Abyss for so long?

Wizards of the Coase released new Dungeons & Dragons content, but locked it behind a paywall. Not surprisingly the grognards here are upset. Also we get tales from Christopher and from Kristian about their own campaigns. Lessons to learn are that undead are dangerous in large groups.

This week the guys talk about the new Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 book, Adventures in Faerun. It's an adventure for sure talking about it. Also Dan gets to tell a tale about how to fight black oozes with lightning.

Strahd, the big bad evil Vampire of Ravenloft castle has his yearly run in with adventurers in the adventure Strahd Must Die. This time the guys bring some street justice to him. Thanks to Orthane Productions for joining in the fun. Jay takes a deep dive into some of the most rare official Dungeons & Dragons settings.

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters have a couple of stories to tell this week from their games. Also LUG Con was this week in Atlanta and a couple of the guys made it out to it. More D&D video game talk and the ecology of the Lammasu.

Did you know Vampiric Touch was a concentration spell? Some of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters didn't either. Also the licensing of Dungeons & Dragons has begun. A new non-D&D video game is on the way with the D&D label. Dan also gets to talk about the new goodies he acquired.

Christopher talks about the lack of content in the new Dungeons & Dragons starter set. Also the guys look at their own picks as some of the worst modules of all time. Somehow Orcus is involved.

Dan is absent this week, but Christopher's wife and owner of the podcast Shelley fills in for him. They review the Crooked Moon D&D setting that had a big Kickstarter last year. If you love folk horror this is the setting for you!