Dungeons & Debriefing

Aydan is back for another episode!  Jeff and Aydan do a recap of the next session. They talk gods, storms, encounters without enemies, and Tenan's future. They also spend some time discussing how to build a mystery in D&D. Aydan is interested in running an "episodic murder mystery" style campaign and gets Jeff's perspective and advice.  What do you think? Does a Murder Mystery style campaign sound interesting to you? 

As Aydan continues to navigate the adventure that is the last few weeks of school, Jeff interviews another member of this party. Anibal, who play Aloric the Circle of Stars druid. Anibal also played Zaryn, who is the only player death that this party has experienced and the one that sent Fran into her life altering self-exploration and sort of redefined the party. Enjoy this interview with Anibal and the experience of listenting to yet another perspective  of The Noble Thorns. 

Aydan is back this week and Jeff and them are reacting to Liz's interview, who plays as Tildy. 

Jeff interviews another one of the players at the table. Kanyon plays Archie, the Warforge Artificer. Please enjoy this insight into another player's experience.  Aydan is continuing to focus on the high demands of their personal life but will be back behind the mic shortly!

*We had audio issues this episode. Our recording software defaulted to the wrong mic. We apologize! This week Jeff continues his interviews. This time he interviews his good friend Nick, who plays in the campaign as Sebastian the Dragonborn Barbarian Paladin.  We're so glad to be doing these interviews and giving you all a chance to meet the other players in the campaign. We know you'll enjoy listening to them as much as we enjoy playing DnD with them. 

Jeff interviews Liz/Tildy for this episdoe. Our first interview with a PC (Player Character) from this campaign. Aydan is a taking a back seat for this, and upcoming, interviews in an effort to focus on their last semester of school. But don't worry, they will be back next week with their thoughts and reflections on this episode. In the meantime, enjoy this insight into the campaign from Tildy's perspective. 

Jeff and Aydan discuss mistakes they've made at the table. Specifically the biggest mistake they feel they have made. The discussion didn't go the way they had initially planned, and we think you'll be pleasantly surprised. 

Jeff and Aydan discuss the challenge of building up roleplay scenes in your head and dealing with the disappointment if they don't go as planned. Part of being a good role player is investing in your character, but that can come with a level of expectation. But there are multiple people and even more factors that go into a scene and that means nothing is certain. Learning to find the balance between investing in your character and roleplay while also being flexible, is not always an easy endeavor. 

Jeff and Aydan wrap up the Ghaulk fight and discuss the aftermath. Who made it out alive, what they plan on doing next, what's happening in the world around them, and where they're headed next. It's the beginning of a new chapter for the Noble Thorns and everyone is a little excited and nervous about it. 

We finally get to start talking about the battle between the Noble Thorns and Ghaulk the Beholder! The team encounters a proper dungeon and eventually find themselves face to face with Ghaulk the Beholder...there are a lot of twists and turns...and not just because its a dungeon! Follow us as the dice begin to tell a story with this much anticipated battle. 

Jeff and Aydan have a vulnerable and, sometimes, challenging conversation about disability respresentation. Not only is it important for them to have representation in-game, they also want to make sure their games are accomodating and respectful for those differently abled. This is a topic that they are passionate about and are sure that it will come up again in future episodes. 

Jeff debriefs Aydan on the session they missed. It includes a bulette fight, that's a large earth shark...not ammunition. They are significantly more dangerous than they sound...or just as dangersous as they sound. What happened, where is the party, and will they survive? 

Jeff and Aydan talk encounter design in this episode. It was a bit surprising to discover how challenging it can be to create encounters that an adventuring party find enjoyable, seem natural to encounter, and that put enough of a challeng before them that causes them to think and strategize.  This episode is a bit of a peek behind the curtain into the world of a DM (Dungeon Master) and the work that goes into not only creating a world to play in, but also encounters in that world. 

Jeff and Aydan dive right into this episode and cover a wealth of topics. They beging debriefing about the characters that are being played in the campaign and the people playing them. They discuss the underdark, where the party currently is, and they begin a discussion about mental health in DnD and at the table.  Get to know your players in this session and dive even deeper into where their journey has taken them thus far!

You've found us! Two people with a healthy obsession for Dungeons and Dragons.  Your hosts are Jeff and Aydan.  Jeff is the creator of this world and the DM of the campaign. Aydan is a player in this campaign.  In this first episode we introduce ourselves, talk a little bit about why we got into DnD and why we got into this campaign specifically. We are jumping right into the middle of a campaign but, don't worry, we give plenty of backstory.  We are so excited for you to join us on our journey! Sit back, grab a snack, and travel into the wonderful world of DnD, as we debrief about our exciting campaign.