All Episodes
How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM — 300 episodes
Stop Blaming Your Players. Start Coaching Your Table
How to Quickly Build an Interesting Combat Encounter
Stuck? How to Keep the Cogs of the World in Motion - C.C. S2E12
Mimics and Networking with DM Neal - C.C. S2E11
The Insecure DM Trope (And How Not to Become It)
Therapy: Your Last Day on Earth - C.C. S2E10
Is it Better if it's Homebrewed?
TTRPGs, Performance Art and Ephemeral Artforms - C.C. S2E9
Neurocinema and the Kuleshov Effect - C.C. S2E8
Why Your D&D Group Keeps Canceling (It’s Not a Scheduling Problem)
Pocahontas, Cars, Invincible, Avatar and Reskinning - C.C. S2E7
Magic Item Shops: Guardians, Pricing, and the Players Who Want to Rob You
Lord of the Rings as DnD - C.C. S2E6
Railroading: Everything You Know About It Is Wrong
Suspense vs. Surprise - C.C. S2E5
Looking Beneath the Surface: the Hidden Wishes of D&D Players
Sacred Art of Gaming Shares Wisdom about Solo TTRPGs - C.C. S2E4
How to Improv Like a DM (Without Freezing or Fumbling)
[FIXED] Reach New Heights Through Stealing and Sampling! - C.C. S2E3
About One Shots #2: 5 Guidelines and Expectations
Life Updates and Inspiration - C.C. S2E2
Roll for Chaos: A Live, Unscripted D&D Adventure (Live from FanX 2025)
About One-Shots #1: 4 Methods for Simple Character Creation
Dr. Ben Teaches Us About Authority - C.C. S2E1
Burned Out Behind the Screen: How to Reignite Your Spark as a DM (Live from FanX 2025)
Creative Contraband is back! - Season 2 Trailer
The Confidence Panel: How to Believe in Yourself Behind the Screen
Help! My Players Are Chaos Gremlins! | FanX 2025 Panel
Scheduling Your D&D Session Doesn't Have to Be a Nightmare
The 5 Senses of DMing (Part 2): Sight and Sound
Causing Chaos: 4 Tips to Add Chaos, Surprise, and Excitement to Your D&D Game
From Opera to Encounters: Turning Big Ideas into Playable Reality (ft. Esteban Senzig)
The Prop Pipeline: Journey Before Destination
So Long and Goodnight. (Veteran Advice)
The 5 Senses of DMing (Part 1): Feel, Smell, and Taste
The Art of Climaxes: What Do Pop Songs and Videogame Power Creep Have in Common?
4 Combat Expectations That Work for Both High- AND Low-level Combat
What Solo TTRPGs Teach Us About DMing
The Rules of Great Encounter Design (and How to Prep Them) – Part 2
Plot Armor: What Michael Scott and GoT Can Teach Us About Stakes in DMing
5 Underutilized Skill Checks and How To Use Them
From Chess to Rats: How to Make a Great First Impression.
The Rules of Great Encounter Design (Most DMs Miss These) – Part 1
Dentists and Comets: The Importance of the Final Scene
Going Big: Making Memorable NPC Conversations
The unexpected upside of the CASE framework: Diegesis and the fourth wall in DnD
Fixing Tempo: Athletic Conditioning for the Heartbeat of Your D&D Games
Pauses and Silences: What we say by not saying
Brevity: Say Less To Do More
3 Things Your Table Will Thank You For
Tips for Campaign Planning: A Secret of Successful Session Prep
Character, Role and Archetype: The layers of a good NPC
Every Player Gets A Turn: Tips to help every player be part of the action
Rituals in Art - Infinite solutions in a simple concept
Campaign Planning: The Secret Solve to Session Planning
Deus Ex Machina - Examples from Cinema and How to Avoid It
Should D&D Players Set Goals Too?
Be a Better DM: 6 Ways to Actually Improve this Year
Session Prep with No Time: 5 Tips to Maximize Your Time
Cliffhangers: 3 DM Tips for using them like a—
Tips for Improv: Reacting and Responding to Players’ Unexpected Choices Part 3
Lessons in Collaborative Storytelling
5 D&D Game Mechanics to Get Excited About
Tips for Better DM Improv Part 2
What to do with an NPC Companion...
Better Improv For Dungeon Masters: The Rule of Intent and Yes AND
Embracing External Inspiration in D&D Without Shame
The Secret Inner Work of Exceptional Dungeon Masters
Do Your Words Have Weight As A DM?
4 Tools for Dungeon Master Improvement
How to Make Combat Encounters Fun Again: Part 3
What To Do When Your Campaign Stops
Combat Encounters are Broken: Let’s Fix Them - Part 2
Embracing Randomness in D&D
How to Fix Combat Encounters Part 1
Points of Interest: Prepping Multiple Meaningful Options Without Losing Your Mind
7 Dungeon Master Mistakes I’m Still Making
Are You Starting Your D&D Campaign... With Fun?
Why Your Combat Slogs and How to Fix It
We’re Still Alive… But things are Changing
DM Lessons Learned from Standup Comedy with Kyle Shire
Brief Announcement + How to Restart Your D&D Campaign
Why Your Sessions Fall Flat—and the DM Energy Fix That Changes Everything
Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 6
No More Boring NPCS - Design a Better NPC with London Carlisle
The 4 Core Skills of Dungeon Mastery (Plus the Secret 5th One)
Should You Handhold New Players Into Loving D&D?
Build Cities That Breathe: Mastering “Show, Don’t Tell” in Worldbuilding
Why Doesn't Your D&D Combat Feel Fun? Plus How To Fix It!
The Hidden Costs of Using AI in Your D&D Prep - Is it Helping You or Holding You Back
How to make Lifelike NPCs with DMs Shea and Kyle from Dungeon Master Talk
Why Your Villain Falls Flat (And How to Fix It with Show, Don’t Tell) | Part 1 of the Show Don't Tell Mini Series
Diving Deep into Theme, Fate, and Storytelling with Jay Foster from Swole Initiative
GMing 101: Top DM Tips from Dragon Steel Nexus
How to Help Players Fit Into Your D&D Party
Why Your D&D Party Won’t Stay Together (And How to Fix It)
Alignment in D&D: Outdated Relic or Roleplay Goldmine?
The Lost Episode? Lessons from Ashley May King on Mastering the Art of DMing in Horror and Mystery
Long Vs Short D&D Campaigns: Which is best for you?
The Dos and Don'ts of the Early Campaign
Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 5
DND for Kids? Much Easier and More Rewarding than you Thought with The Kids Table DND
Frustration with D&D: Resolving D&D and DM concerns
Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 4
DM Coaching: Timelines and Weather with Samantha Fortune
DM Goals and Resolutions for 2025
2024 in Review and What Lies In 2025
A Simple Session 0 Checklist
Challenging Yourself With Challenge Rating in D&D
Important Lessons Learned in 2024 about being a Dungeon master
Simplify and Supercharge your World Building with Worldsmith.io
The Art of Foreshadowing: Planting Seeds for Big Reveals
To Randomize or Personalize Loot: That Is The Question
How to Start an Actual Play D&D Podcast With Brennon from the Afterlife Pod
DM Coaching: DMing for Kids and Tying Up Loose Ends with Aaron Singh
Oh No! Your party is in trouble! Deus Ex Machina, I guess??
How to Flesh Out Your Afterlife - Questions to Ask to Help Develop the Concepts of Afterlife in your Homebrew World
When Your D&D Group Loses Momentum
8 Tips for Begginner Dungeon Masters
Swole Initiative: Player Check-ins and Campaign Themes with Jay Foster
What to Spend $50 on For Your D&D Hobby
The Skills of the Dungeon Master
RAW: Voice Acting Tips from a Non-Voice Actor
Focusing on Your Strengths: What Makes You a Great DM?
RAW: How to Move DND Along
Dan Wells: What are You Good at As a GM?
How to Give Just a Little More to Your Roleplaying as a Dungeon Master
How do Bounce Back after a Bad Session | Dungeon Master Coaching with Al
Linguistic Tactics for More Realistic Characters with Ethan Myers from Lyres for Hire
How to upgrade your games with Monument Studios
In the Footsteps of Giants: Part 1
3 Questions To Determine a Combat Encounter’s Length
11 More Things Every Dungeon Master Should Remember Part 2
11 More Things Every Dungeon Master Should Remember Part 1
How to Start Terrainscaping for your D&D Games with Jay’s Tabletop Terrain
Lessons Learned My First Year DM'ing
Downtime Activities in D&D, Part 4: Running a Business
Where Have My Fingers Been & Why Players Should All Be DMs - Guest Appearance on RPG Academy
10 More Tips for Even Better One-Shots
Yes And... Why Improvisation Isn't About You | Talking Improv and Comedy with TJ from Comedy Sports
How to World Build Using Conflict: Into the mind of Jake Packham (DM of The Pact & Boon)
How to World Build in a Player and Character Focused Way
Downtime Activities in D&D, Part 3: Carousing
Easier DND Prep and Planning Through the CASE Framework
Railroading and the Illusion of Choice: Do Players Care About Being Railroaded?
Build Your Dream D&D Game Room: Top Tips from Daniel Hanzlian
Home Brew Rules From Different Game Systems on the Level Up Your Gaming Podcast
10 Places That Your Fantasy Town NEEDS!
Downtime Activities in D&D, Part 2: Crafting Items
Simplify and Streamline your Session Prep | The PUT A CLUE Framework
What Would a Fantasy Blacksmith Shop Look Like - Wastatch Forge Blacksmith Interview Part 2
What D&D 5e Gets Wrong About Blacksmiths - Wasatch Forge Interview with a Blacksmith
Bonus: Always Find Players for D&D, How to Do Lycanthropy in Your Game, The Longstrider Spell, on the Next Session Podcast
5 Tips for More Immersive World Building!
Downtime Activities in D&D, Part 1: How to Build A Stronghold
Podcast Takeover! 2nd Episode of New Actual Play D&D Show - Pact and Boon
Pact and Boon Episode 1: Podcast Takeover!
20 Tips for First Time DMs
How to DM in a Public Place | Tips for Public Dungeon Mastering with Andrew Ashby from We Geek Together
5 of the BEST online resources for a more immersive world.
When and How to Speedrun D&D Sessions
How to Write a DND Heist One Shot | Why You Should Play a DND Heist One Shot
How and When to Make Realistic, Unforgettable NPCs
The Joys of World Building, & How To Start!
Focusing on your DM "Problem Areas" + Some Announcements
Knowledge vs. Experience: How to Make D&D Character Grow Realistically
A Tour Through the Feywild
How to Use Conditions in D&D for Better Story Telling
Helping Your Players Advocate For Themselves in D&D
How to be Silly in D&D
A Tour Through the Shadowfell
2023 in Retrospect and the Prospects of 2024
Give the Gift of DMing, presented by the Ghosts of Christmas
How and Why to Add a Little Tragedy into Your Games
What to Do When a Player Is Missing
Online D&D Sessions and The Future of D&D and Generative AI: Andrew Clayton from Foundry VTT
Focus on the Positive, DMs
Villages Vs Dungeons: When and How to Use Both
A D&D Tavern: Setting Up the Iconic Campaign Element
Post-Session Reflection for DMs: Journaling Towards Success
Should You Invite Guests to Play In Your D&D Campaign?
DND, Faith, Religion and Gods: How to Do It Right
Andrew Ashby: World Record Dungeons and Dragons Game, We Geek Together the Tabletop Tavern and the Patterns of Successful DMs
Are Random Encounters in D&D Good Storytelling, or Bad?
How to Run an Expedition In Your D&D Campaign
Allowing Creative Solutions: How to Relinquish Creative Control for D&D Obstacles and Puzzles
Are your D&D Conversations too Linear? How to Roleplay D&D with More Options
How to Play D&D while Being a Parent
The Key to DM and Player Interactions in D&D: "Yes And"
Are you throwing away your Saving Throws? - Back to Basics
How to Get Someone to Play D&D
Death in Dungeons and Dragons
Familes In Your D&D Campaign: Why It's Uncommon and How to Make It Work
9 D&D and Dungeon Master Expectations That You Need to Change
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Homebrew Collaboration Part 3
Political D&D Campaigns: Let's Roll for Political Office
The Chimefall Ceremony: Homebrew Project Building with Rob Van Auken Part 2
D&D and Self-Improvement: How to Improve Your DMing Skills
How to Make Impactful D&D One-Shots
What The Future Holds for How to Be a Better DM
How to Use and Think about Alignment in D&D
Food in D&D: Gaming for the Gourmand
Committing to Characters with Victor Bevine (AKA Drizzt Do'Urden)
Homebrew Collaboration with Rob Van Auken Part 1
How to Prepare for an Online Session of D&D
How to Get Your Players to Play Together as an Adventuring Party
How to Use Animal and NPC Companions Correctly in D&D
How to Dungeon Master When You're Super Busy
How to Use Mob Combat Effectively In D&D
Driving Character Development and Conflict as a DM with Rob Wells
What to Do About Dungeon Master Boredom
Why You Need to Start Borrowing Story Ideas in D&D
How to Avoid DM Burnout Continued
How to Create a Compelling Villain for Your D&D Campaign
5 Tips to Spice Up Your Dungeons and Dragons Combat Encounter
How to Stay Excited About Being a Dungeon Master (Avoiding DM Burnout)
8 Tips for Player Management in Dungeons and Dragons
10 Reasons to Do One-Shots as a Dungeon Master
Family: Isn't it about... D&D? Family Relationships in D&D
Wizards of the Coast's OGL 1.1 (Or at Least Our Thoughts On What We Think We Know So Far)
Improve Your Roleplaying Game Immersion with Alex Aries
6 NPC Questions to Help Stimulate Roleplaying at Your Table
End of 2022 & What 2023 Holds for How to Be a Better DM
5 Tips to Make Your Dungeons and Dragons Game Christmas Themed
Catching Up With Your Players Between Sessions
Tips to Improve Your Writing Part 2
Dungeon Master Critique: Dissecting Justin's September One-Shot Part 2
Giving Thanks to your D&D Players
What is the Ruling on House Rules in D&D?
Dungeon Master Critique: Dissecting Justin's September One-Shot
Christmas Gifts for the Dungeon Master In Your Life (or for You)
Unearthed Arcana Part 2: Expert Classes
Level Up Your D&D Game with a Soundboard
Unearthed Arcana Part 1: Character Origins
5 Tips to Improve your Writing
How to Engage Unengaged D&D Players
Starting a Homebrew D&D Project with Gaming Brew
D&D Etiquette To Make Your Mother Proud
Wizards Presents & OneD&D: Updates in the World of D&D
5 Questions to Write a Better Backstory for Your D&D Character
D&D Session Prep with This Dungeon Is Occupied
An Argument For Handouts in D&D
D&D Tips for New Players and DM's
8 D&D Soundboard Tools DM’s Can Use While DMIng
The D&D Character Creation Process Explained Simply + Some Tools
Planning a D&D Campaign
Dungeon Master Essentials: 7 Tools Every DM Should have in their Dungeon
How to Make D&D More Fun
5 Common Annoying D&D Player Types and How to Deal with Them
How to Make Life-Like NPC's with Robert from Dungeons, Dragons & Psychology
Homemade D&D Props
Essential Sections of the D&D Dungeon Master's Guide
How to Make D&D More Immersive
How to Make a Dynamic Campaign with Garrett from Two25 Games
Ideas for Campaign First Sessions
Preparing for Your First D&D Session
How to Find Your D&D Group
Our Favorite Dungeon Master Enemies (For Now)
How To Deal With "That One Player"
Our Preferred Dungeon Master Setup
Tips on Describing Combat in D&D
What I Learned from a One-Shot Online and Technical Difficulties
What is a Session 0
Why Authors Should Play D&D
The Best and Worst Things about Being a Dungeon Master
What Makes a Good D&D Session
Are You Ready to Try Being a DM
How Much to Plan for One D&D Session
What do You Need for a D&D Session Online
How to Help Your Players During Character Creation
How to Prepare Your Players for a D&D Session
A Simple D&D Session Structure to Help Prepare Your Sessions
What Makes a Perfect DM
The Benefits of a Session 0
Who SHOULD Play as a Barbarian
Who Should NOT Play as a Barbarian
2 Christmas Themed One-Shots
Can You Play D&D with 2 Players
Questions to Ask Before Creating an NPC
Non-D&D DM Resources For Creating Better Stories
Who Should Play As a Rogue
Who Shouldn't Play As a Rogue
7 Campaign Ideas for Beginners
6 Tips to Make Better Non-Player Characters
5 Places to Get D&D Resources Other Than Sourcebooks
Which D&D Books to Buy
4 Tips to Help improve Narrative Skills
6 Signs of a Bad Dungeon Master
2 Simple One-Shots to Try
Mistakes I've Made As a Dungeon Master
What to Do if You’re a Nervous First Time DM
The Pros and Cons of Using Minis in Your Dungeons and Dragons Games
7 Tips to Help Keep Your Energy Up as a DM
My Method for Planning the Next Session of Dungeons and Dragons
5 Tips to Help You Plan Your First Dungeon
How to Deal with Shy Players
All You Truly Need to Play D&D
How to Find Players for your Sessions
5 Things Every Dungeon Master Should Remember
8 Tips for Dungeon Mastering Amazing One-Shots