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All Episodes

Inside the GM Studio — 286 episodes

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Title
1

Side Quest-ion: How do I Become Comfortable Running Sessions I Can't Fully Prepare For?

E
2

Additions We Want

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3

Side Quest-ion: Rules Over Setting, or are they the Same Thing?

E
4

System-Agnostic GM Skills to Cultivate

E
5

Side Quest-ion: What do you like about RPG events?

E
6

Familiars, Pets, and Companions

E
7

Rival or Villain
8

Side Quest-ion: NPC Actions
9

Lore and History
10

Keeping up the Tension
11

There's More Than Death

E
12

Side Quest-ion: Push the Rules Aside

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13

Phandelver Emails

E
14

Side Quest-ion: What Books to Read and How to Read Them

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15

Actual Plays

E
16

Mounted Combat

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17

When Players Leave

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18

What's Your Fantasy?

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19

Religions, Dietys, and Theocracies

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20

Side Quest-ion: Is He Being Derailed?

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21

Rests and Downtime

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22

Side Quest-ion: How to Lie

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23

Listener Emails

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24

Side Quest-ion: Pulling Rank as a GM?

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25

Why Medieval Fantasy

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26

Side Quest-ion: Do you Have a Tail in Low Fantasy?

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27

Side Quest-ion: Be a Better Story Teller

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28

Table Horror Stories

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29

XP and Progression

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30

Side Quest-ion: Another Adventure in the Sandbox?

E
31

Feats are Better than Subclasses

E
32

2025 Year in Review

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33

Side Quest-ion: Working the GM Muscle

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34

Initiative, Which Fits Best for You?

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35

Side Quest-ion: Expecting the Power Gamer

E
36

Side Quest-ion: Framing a Faction

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37

Do We Really Need A GM?

E
38

Does Multiclassing Suck?!?!?!

E
39

Side Quest-ion: Making a Module for the PCs

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40

Cultures of Play

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41

Side Quest-ion: Cyberpunk Bad?!?!?!?

E
42

GM Tools

E
43

Side Quest-ion: Don't Let the Players Know

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44

GM Myths

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45

Side Quest-ion: OSR Love

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46

Designing Your Dungeon Crawl

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47

Side Quest-ion: RP in Combat

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48

Writing for a PC

E
49

Side Quest-ion: PCs Loosing Memories

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50

Our GM Mistakes

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51

Games for Daves

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52

Side Quest-ion: Prophesy?

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53

Yes And... With Dice?

E
54

Side Quest-ion: What Should be Asked?

E
55

It's All About Timing

E
56

Side Quest-ion: Raw vs Rai

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57

Get to Know David

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58

Side Quest-ion: What Makes Horror Really Scary?

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59

Inside the GM Workshop

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60

Forging Character Relationships

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61

Side Quest-ion: Stealth is Unfair?

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62

Inside the Character Studio

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63

Side Quest-ion: Long Intro

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64

All Day Gaming

E
65

Side Quest-ion: Main Campaign Getaway

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66

Tier Lists

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67

Side Quest-ion: Ambushing Player Agency

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68

The Differences of Story and Plot

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69

Side Quest-ion: Notes and Story

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70

What We Miss Through the Editions

E
71

Side Quest: How to Murder Mystery

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72

Our Favorite Mechanics and Homebrews

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73

Choose Your Own Adventure Games

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74

Side Question: Speed Up Combat

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75

Homebrew and Player Agency

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76

Side Quest: How to Start a One Shot

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77

(Dot) .Dungeon Review

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78

Side Quest: Survival Campaign

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79

How to Homebrew

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80

Side Quest: Ballroom Quiz

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81

Rolling with Purpose: Why Mechanics Matter in TTRPGs

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82

Side Quest: Don't Give a PC a Kingdom

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83

Inner Demons

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84

Who are Vampires and What Do They Do?
85

Recaps are the best Icebreakers
86

Side Quest: Should I Let My Players Write Their Own Ending?
87

May the Fourth Special
88

Side Quest: How Important is Theme
89

Introduction of the Main Villain
90

Side Quest: What's Your Process?
91

How to Warlock
92

Side Quest: Fluid Narration
93

Horror Stories, at and between the Table
94

Side Quest: Does Skill of the GM or Mechanics Make the Game?
95

Testing Homebrews and Fleeing the Plot
96

Side Quest: Should I Do This, You May Ask?
97

Skill Challenges
98

Side Quest: Heist Night!
99

Keep That Spark Alive
100

Side Quest: Lost the Magic
101

Aerial, Underwater, and Mounted Combat
102

Side Quest: How to One Shot
103

What Makes the Movie?
104

Side Quest: How to Write My Story
105

News Week
106

Side Quest: Know Your Roll
107

Character Development
108

Side Quest: Wrap it Up
109

Goals and Motivations
110

Side Quest: Is Failing Really That Bad?
111

Cloudbreakers Alliance Review
112

Side Quest: Random Encounters
113

Reusing Adventures
114

Cliches and Avoiding them
115

Side Quest: Players Notes
116

Plot Armor
117

Side Quest-Navigating Character Driven Campaigns

E
118

What is Storytelling

E
119

Side Quest: Epilogues

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120

2024 Year in Review

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121

Side Quest: Our Favorite Dice Mechanics

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122

Good Character Deaths

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123

Side Quest: Old School Players and the Connection to Their Characters

E
124

Stormlight Review

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125

Side Quest: Speed Up Large Dungeons

E
126

Bastions? Home?

E
127

Side Quest: Attacking an Outpost!! How to Run It

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128

Espionage...

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129

Side Quest: Turn Up the Tension

E
130

Meta Currencies and OSR's

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131

Side Quest: How Many Sessions Should You Plan Ahead?

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132

Impromptu Social Scenes

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133

Hirelings!!!

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134

Side Quest: What Makes a Good Role Playing Game?

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135

What Would We Do?

E
136

Side Quest: Fear and CR Management

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137

Rules Over Rulings
138

Side Quest: Too Many Puzzles?

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139

Why Do We Love Horror Games?

E
140

Low Magic Setting!

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141

Redemption Arcs

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142

Side Quest: Tournaments!

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143

TRAPS!!

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144

Side Quest: Sentient Weapon

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145

We're Back with RPG News

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146

Side Quest: Endearing my Villain

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147

The Final Fantasy 14 TTRPG Review

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148

Side Quest: Adventure on a Global Scale

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149

The Darkest Hour

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150

Teasing out Flavor from the Players

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151

Side Quest: Work those Backstories

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152

Dungeons and Drama

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153

Community Question: Extending Quests

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154

Raising the Stakes of the Story

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155

Community Question: Low Magic Settings

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156

Define the Stakes

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157

New Crafting Rules and the Future of D&D

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158

Community Question: Magic Law and Order

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159

Fantasy Age System 1st Edition Review

E
160

Side Quest: Spell Component Shenanigans

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161

Plot Devices

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162

Community Question: My player can't pick up on plot hooks!!

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163

Dilemmas Part 2 and some RPG Horror Stories

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164

The Art of Creating Dilemmas for your Players

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165

Community Question: NEXT!! How to role play Rank

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166

Character Secrets

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167

Exposition

E
168

Community Question: Wrapping Up A Campaign

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169

Episode 100!!!!

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170

Community Question: Give "ALL" info when casting identify?

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171

Tools that could be a Punishment?

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172

Community Question: Make the Party Love a New City

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173

Ryuutama Review

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174

Inside the GM Game Show Special

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175

Creating Expansive Lore

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176

Community Question: Lack of Feelings

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177

Going from short campaigns to longer forms

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178

Community Question: Highlights from the Past

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179

The Problem with Notes and how to take them effectively

E
180

Community Question: Players and their Money

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181

Power Gamers

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182

Community Question: Linear to Sandbox

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183

Ups and Downs of Published Adventures

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184

Community Question: Long Combats

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185

For those First Times

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186

Plot Twists!!

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187

Daggerheart Beta Review

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188

Community Question: Scripting?!?!?!?!

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189

The GM Curveball

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190

Community Question: Epic Battle Skill Challenge

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191

Having GMs at the Table

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192

Community Questions: Hard Choices

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193

Why we GM

E
194

Community Question: Travel Options

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195

Atmosphere

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196

Community Question: Help bring sports into the game

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197

Death of NPC’s and the Impact it has

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198

Community Question: Player Stress

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199

Mail Bag

E
200

Community Question: Dungeon of the Mind

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201

Initiative and the ways to use it

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202

Community Question: First Fight Balance

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203

Spell Points and Variant Rules

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204

Community Question: Players Can't Take it Seriously

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205

Dungeon Delves and the Women who love them

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206

Fudging the Rolls

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207

Our Year in Review!!

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208

Running Large Scale Encounters

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209

Memorable NPCs

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210

Character Intros

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211

Managing NPCs

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212

Pulling Rank in Play

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213

RPGs and Whiskey

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214

Designing Homebrew Monsters

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215

Rounding out Battle with other mechanics

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216

State Your Case: Rules Lite is Better for Combat

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217

The Mechanics of Traps

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218

Welcome to Mechanics Month

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219

Using description to liven up combat encounters

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220

State Your Case: Railroading

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221

Plot Hooks

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222

Players Comeuppance

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223

Shoe Leather

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224

Incorporating Backstory

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225

Setting Tone

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226

High Tier Play

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227

Creating a Good Villain

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228

New and Old GM Mistakes

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229

Making a good Ally

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230

Plot Point Campaigns

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231

House Rules. How and When to Use Them

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232

Why we play the roles / classes we play

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233

Story Items

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234

TPK! TPK! TPK!

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235

Teaching the Rules, is there a right way?

E
236

The new DM, Chris

E
237

Initiative! What is it good for?
238

Cinematic Descriptions

E
239

Marvel Superhero Special

E
240

Difference Between Railroad and Sandbox

E
241

Troubleshooting an Adventure

E
242

What we miss about being players
243

Recurring NPC's

E
244

Dave Makes a Movie

E
245

Creating a One Shot

E
246

Rotating Gm's

E
247

Keeping the Players Invested

E
248

The Balance of Encounters

E
249

The Right Reward for the Right Quest

E
250

Giving Permission

E
251

Dealing with that "Problem Player"

E
252

The Spotlight Quest

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253

WTF is an OGL?

E
254

Gritty Realism

E
255

5 Bad Rules

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256

Gifts for Gamers

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257

Dave's Quiz

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258

Infusing RP into combat encounters

E
259

Game of the Month

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260

Spicing Up Downtime And Travel

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261

Minis vs TotM

E
262

The Rule of Cool

E
263

All About the Players

E
264

Halloween Special
265

The “Transfer” between stories. Going from one bad guy to the other.

E
266

The Importance Of Creating A Character

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267

The Most Difficult Things To Balance As A GM

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268

Time Management And Moving The Adventure Along

E
269

Building Party Cohesion

E
270

Table Etiquette

E
271

Things You Learn GMing That Make You A Better Player

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272

RPG Horror Story's

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273

Make the world as alive as the characters

E
274

How to create scenarios to test the party temperament

E
275

The Apocalypse!!

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276

Heroic Moments and Player Egos

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277

We answer your emails

E
278

So you're new to the hobby

E
279

Mechanics & Homebrew

E
280

Player Power

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281

All about Notes

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282

Episode 5: Spelljammer and other new settings

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283

Episode 4: Creating a good villain

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284

Episode 3: Creating flavor through challenges

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285

Episode 2: New racial modifiers in D&D
286

Episode 1: Cyberpunk