Mastering Dungeons

Episode 291 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Famous and Infamous Tomb of Horrors! We look back at one of the most feared adventures across RPGs! We discuss how to have fun with this adventure and revisit the most interesting challenges it presents. News: D&D Beyond Drops, Hasbro’s CEO on D&D’s Digital Future, Enormous Crowdfunders, and more! Contents 00:00 Sheep and Hikes 04:20 Patent Clarification 05:20 Converting AL to Home Play? 10:50 5E Release Freelancer Impact? 18:57 D&D Beyond Announces Drops 35:03 Chris Cocks on D&D's Digital Future 41:32 WotC Union Not Recognized 42:38 DMAP Waxworks Play-Along Pack 45:05 Tim Harford on Lee Gold 46:02 Weapons of Lore for Draw Steel 46:48 Enormous Crowdfunders 50:49 Tomb of Horrors 52:48 Product History 01:02:38 Premise and Approach 01:08:01 How to Have Fun With This 01:13:12 Introduction 01:19:23 Rooms 3-13 and Illustration Book 01:28:28 Best of Rooms 14-21 01:32:09 Best of Rooms 22-30 01:39:01 The Final Crypt 01:47:43 Shout-Outs 01:52:15 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 290 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Tomb of Annihilation! Welcome to the jungle as we explore the hottest parts of Tomb of Annihilation! News: D&D on Ted TV Show, D&D Beyond Class Packs, Small Kickstarter Math, UBI and Creative Hobbies, and more! Contents 00:00 Weekend of Annihilation 02:11 Publish Updated Adventures? 06:58 What Do You Mean by a Good Story? 18:12 D&D on Ted TV Show 22:51 Diamond Bankruptcy Update 25:21 DDB Class Packs 27:41 Mist Horrors DMAP Play Pack 29:47 D&D Rules According to Past Players 31:55 AI Popularity Drop in Music 34:13 UBI and Creative Hobbies 37:18 Draw Steel Magazine 38:32 Math of Small Kickstarters 41:15 Tomb of Annihilation 44:28 Product History 49:55 Premise and Approach 54:37 Intro and Adventure Structure 57:18 Port Nyanzaru 01:03:56 AL, Adept, and Other Add-Ons 01:05:19 The Land of Chult 01:13:25 Dwellers of the Forbidden City 01:17:36 Fane of the Night Serpent 01:20:19 Tomb of the Nine Gods 01:23:36 Cradle of the Death God 01:27:04 New Rules and Monsters and Handouts 01:28:39 Shout-Outs 01:33:03 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 289 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Against the Giants G1-2-3! We revisit the classic Against the Giants Dungeons & Dragons adventure, including the very first adventure ever published for D&D! Join us as we walk the halls, glacier, and steading to find the best of this influential series. News: WotC Team Unionizing, Free Zombie Clot Encounter and Draw Steel Treasures, WotC’s AI Patent, D&D Encounters Explained, New UA, and more!  Contents 00:00 PC Roles in Daggerheart 07:58 ToV Giants for Patreon! 08:47 Converting Old Adventures to 5E? 16:10 Dungeon Masters AP is Live 20:10 Free Zombie Clot Encounter 22:37 Gremishka's 2nd Play Pack 23:37 New DMAP Soundtrack 25:00 D&D Encounters Explained 39:54 WotC's AI Patent 45:54 MtG Arena Team Unionizing 46:37 UA Villainous Options 2 48:45 Free Draw Steel Magic Items 52:07 New Official Terrain 54:04 Against the Giants 56:00 Additional Disclaimer 57:20 A Brief History 01:01:03 Premise and Approach 01:11:52 Introduction 01:16:56 Wheels Within Wheels Structure 01:19:01 Steading of the Hill Giant Chief 01:24:16 Glacial Rift of the Frost Giant Jarl 01:29:20 Hall of the Fire Giant King 01:40:00 Amazing Elder Elemental God Area 01:47:16 Shout-Outs 01:51:18 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 288 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: How Good is D&D’s New Website? We take a look at D&D’s new site and discuss how well it works for new players, community, Baldur’s Gate fans, new Ravenloft and actual play reveals, and much more! News: New Ravenloft Details, Dungeon Masters AP, Daggerheart Hope and Fear, Legends of Greyhawk, and more!  Contents 00:00 Little Giant Patreon Creations 04:13 Is 5E Oatmeal? 10:07 Montages? 21:28 Ravenloft Horrors Within Details 23:10 D&D's New Actual Play Dungeon Masters 25:42 Actual Play Play-Along Packs 27:37 Legends of Greyhawk on DDB 30:32 Daggerheart Hope & Fear Date 32:08 Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG 34:01 Dice are 12000 Years Old 35:58 Human-Made Alternatives Guide 36:44 Indie Groundbreaker Awards 37:28 Legends of Eleanora Charity Livestream 38:28 D&D's Website 40:50 Looking Back Through Newbie Eyes 45:43 Initial Welcome Screen 49:30 Discover the Feeling of Play 53:14 Your Inner Hero 01:00:34 CPU Intensive 01:02:17 Dungeon Masters New AP 01:08:04 Community? 01:13:21 Inspiring TTRPGs 01:14:38 Digital Games 01:17:14 Cinematic 01:22:19 Ravenloft Landing Page 01:24:58 Preorders and DDB Focus 01:31:44 Shout-Outs 01:36:47 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 287 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Storm King’s Thunder! Bring the thunder with this giant-filled D&D 5E adventure! Shawn and Teos review what truly makes this adventure shine. News: Big Patreon News, New D&D Job Speculation, Hasbro’s AI Principles, Ravenloft Comics, and more!  Contents 00:00 Back and Inspired 02:18 Big Patreon News! 05:12 Skip the Boring Bits? 17:19 New Ravenloft Comics 19:31 What a New D&D Job Tells Us 31:47 Evil Hat on Inflation 35:11 Hasbro's AI Principles 40:11 Darrington Press' Great Survey 44:37 Best of Storm King's Thunder 46:22 Storm King's History 52:03 Premise of Ordning and Shakespeare 56:31 Approach and Intro 01:08:31 Starting at 1st vs 5th Level 01:10:22 Chapter 1 Nightstone 01:17:38 Chapter 2 Choice of 3 Towns 01:20:01 Chapter 3 and Quests in the North 01:27:16 Chapter 4 Giant Temple 01:32:17 Chapter 5 Giant Lair 01:38:23 Chapter 10 Maelstrom and Storm Giants 01:41:23 Chapter 11 is James Bond 01:44:01 Chapter 11 Showdown with a Dragon 01:49:39 Shout-Outs and Patreon News 01:54:39 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 286 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Curse of Strahd! One of 5E's highest-rated adventures! Jeff Mueller joins Shawn to discuss why it is so good and how Jeff is running it yet again - this time for Daggerheart! News: MegaDungeon Month, BG3 TV Show Delays, UA Villainous Options, and more!  Contents 00:00 Introduction 34:29 Curse of Strahd Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 285 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Out of the Abyss! Out of the Abyss may be one of the finest Underdark sourcebooks D&D has created… and it’s also an adventure! See what really shines in Out of the Abyss. News: We Try D&D Beyond’s Quickbuilder, Colbert Helms Lord of the Rings, Cookie Brigade’s History, and more!  Contents 00:00 Teos Has a Sad 01:30 Elemental Evil Update 03:13 Indonesia RPG Scene Update 05:04 Fantasy Properties Into Games? 07:46 Quality of D&D Reviews? 13:48 What Makes Great Adventures 14:50 Starter Set Localized in EU 15:56 D&D Beyond Character Quickbuilder 17:47 Stephen Colbert Writing LotR Movie 19:27 Survey on Tabletop Designer AI Use 22:13 New Dragonlance War Wizards Novel 23:22 History of the Cookie Brigade 24:32 Tatters of Myth Drannor 25:15 Best of Out of the Abyss 26:11 Product History 32:41 Premise and Approach 35:54 Chapter 1: Prisoners of the Drow 42:55 Chapter 2 as Underdark Sourcebook 46:07 The Darklake and Kuo-Toa 49:01 The Instigating Plot 51:28 Gracklstugh, Neverlight Grove, Blindengstone 56:08 Escaping the Underdark to Go Back In 59:36 Mantol-Derith and Fraz-Urb'luu 01:04:42 Gravenhollow and Establishing Facts 01:08:32 Vizeran and His Plan 01:11:23 Wormwrithings and Faction Play 01:14:46 The Fettid Wedding 01:16:55 Against the Demon Lords 01:20:25 Appendices 01:22:27 Looking Back on Its Ranking 01:26:47 Shout-Outs 01:31:52 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Shawn and Teos Do Things For the First Time! Welcome to a special edition show, modeled after YouTube's increasingly hard-to-attain quality standards. Contents 00:00 First Read of ToEE! 00:26 First Time Rolling Dice 01:08 First Time Seeing 5.5 Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 284 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Temple of Elemental Evil! Shawn and Teos dive into the classic Temple of Elemental Evil, inspiring countless spinoffs including 5E’s Princes of the Apocalypse. From elemental factions to demigods, we look at the best of this design. News: D&D Greyhawk Announcements, Codex Pricing Reveal, Modules Returning, RPG Growth in Indonesia and Iraq, and more!  Contents 00:00 Sweetest 16 01:22 5E Monsters Either Boring or Deadly? 08:56 Struggling with Prep? 15:18 New D&D Survey 16:40 D&D News from GaryCon 26:51 MCDM Codex Pricing 28:28 Indonesia's Tabletop Scene 30:58 RPG Community in Iraq 33:16 Origins Game Finalists 35:01 D&D Provides Critical Awakening 36:46 Trading Card Manipulation 39:05 Green Games Guide 39:36 Pirate Borg Winds of Hell 40:07 Black Ballad for Shadowdark 40:43 Temple of Elemental Evil 42:12 An Often-Played Classic 44:53 Origins of Elemental Evil? 49:55 Temple's History 54:49 Temple's Legacy 56:51 Hommlet as Innovation 01:01:21 The Moathouse 01:04:25 Cults and Imprisoned Zuggtmoy 01:10:25 Lessons in Boxed Text 01:12:46 Map Booklet 01:13:51 Resting and Travel 01:15:40 Elemental Evil Factions 01:17:58 Interesting Dungeon 01:20:27 Shout-Outs 01:23:46 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 283 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Encounters Program with Chris Tulach! Chris Tulach, organized play manager for D&D, shares how the revised D&D Encounters program will work for stores and home play, including the upcoming celebration event! Chris also discusses the latest with Adventurers League and Legends of Greyhawk. News: No Tariff Lawsuits, NeoPets Withdraws License, Chris Cocks Interview, Codenames Critical Role, and more!  Contents 00:00 Intro 01:40 Monster Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities? 11:35 Fair Stat Block Manipulation? 17:44 Tariffs Don't Require Lawsuits 21:49 D&D HeroClix 23:26 Hasbro's CEO on AI 29:15 NeoPets Withdraws License 33:15 20 Years of Kobold Press 35:05 D&D Reverse Dungeon Comic 36:02 Codenames Critical Role 38:22 Beyond the Silt Sea Annatan Coast 40:02 D&D Encounters with Chris Tulach 40:29 Chris' Path Through Organized Play 47:53 Longest Org Play Tenure 49:27 Goal of Organized Play 51:41 Measuring Benefits 54:52 Why D&D Encounters Rocked 01:04:37 D&D Encounters in 2026 01:06:32 Celebration Kick-Off Event 01:07:45 Seasons and D&D Encounters Timing 01:12:45 Encounters Through D&D Beyond 01:16:27 Working With Stores 01:17:48 Seasonal Cadence 01:20:02 WPN Store Incentives 01:23:37 Adventurers League 01:26:18 Legends of Greyhawk 01:32:55 Organized Play Options 01:37:06 AL and LoG Seasonality 01:39:22 Follow Chris Tulach! 01:42:31 Shout-Outs 01:46:32 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 282 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Matt Colville Blows Our Minds on MCDM and the TTRPG Industry! Matt Colville is here to absolutely blow our minds on how MCDM operates, how it pays, how it has worked to reach an audience, and what the rest of the industry might learn from that! News: D&D’s New Seasonal Roadmap, Is it Really 5.5, New D&D Website, What is Season of Champions, and more! Contents 00:00 Go Broncos! 02:03 Making Someone's Idea Ours? 10:52 Our Favorite Projects? 15:56 D&D's 2026 Roadmap! 17:11 Season of Horror and Ravenloft 21:16 Season of Magic and Arcana Unleashed 26:19 Season of Champions 27:33 Other Roadmap Items 30:32 D&D 2024 is 5.5 Maybe? 38:45 New D&D Website 40:48 D&D Beyond Q2 Partner Schedule 41:28 Creating Villains & Lairs 43:08 Matt Colville on MCDM 44:21 Matt's Formative Moment 50:45 What Led to MCDM? 56:31 Lessons from MCDM's 5E Era 01:02:00 Launching Draw Steel 01:09:30 MCDM's Financial Approach 01:15:03 Unique in the Industry 01:22:24 Redefining Industry Rates 01:27:20 Our Struggling Industry and YouTube 01:39:03 Perils of Distribution 01:47:08 Charting MCDM's Future 01:52:11 The Codex and VTTs 01:59:22 Shout-Outs 02:02:52 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 281 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Beyond’s Staff Looks to the Future! Brian Perry (DDB Executive Producer) and Zac Cohn (MAPS Product Manager) join Teos and Shawn to share D&D Beyond’s bold future! News: New D&D London Expo, MCDM Hires for the Future, Critical Role Hires from Hallmark, and more!  Contents 00:00 Weekend Wins 01:36 Why Don't NPCs Fix the World? 06:16 Campaign vs Adventure Design? 10:51 D&D Fan Expo London 14:08 MCDM's Future Includes Paul Hughes 16:25 IGDN Diversity Scholarships 17:25 Industry Sues for Tariff Refunds 19:42 Amber Glenn and Olympic Magic 21:12 Critical Role Hires from Hallmark 23:00 Renegade to Publish Exodus 24:48 BEASTS by Adrian Mejia 26:36 Dragon Rider's Primer 27:42 Fractus the Broken World 28:44 State and Future of D&D Beyond 29:16 Brian Perry and Zac Cohn 34:56 How Wizards and D&D are Organized 39:03 Deciding Priorities 44:03 Rebuilding D&D Beyond 47:23 Quickbuildear and New Players 52:07 DDB as a Honda Accord 55:19 More Features vs Simplicity 56:41 New Functionality 01:02:09 Fully Integrating 3rd Parties? 01:06:24 Use of AI? 01:08:59 Expand the API? 01:10:18 Building a Walled Garden? 01:11:26 Goal of Shifting Play to Digital? 01:13:50 Physical Versions of Digital Dice? 01:15:00 Find Brian and Zac 01:17:15 Shout-Outs 01:20:57 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 280 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Princes of the Apocalypse! Teos and Shawn share the best of Princes of the Apocalypse, an adventure that brings back elemental evil and the elder elemental eye to D&D! News: D&D Beyond’s Roadmap, AEG Parts with Dancey, More WotC Hiring, and more!  Contents 00:00 Intro 01:58 Important to Research Lore? 12:43 Help Players Understand Choice? 18:24 D&D Beyond Roadmap 23:23 WotC Hiring Continues 24:45 AEG Parts with Ryan Dancey 28:47 D&D Cartoon Comics 29:30 Record Pokémon Auction 31:06 Princes of the Apocalypse 31:39 A Positive Analysis 35:12 Product History 37:14 Premise and Approach 44:51 Red Larch is a Great Town 47:59 Low-Level Adventures 50:40 Elemental Cults and Themes 52:46 Adventure Rhythm and Adapting Story 01:03:14 Elemental Nodes 01:07:41 Shout-Outs 01:11:17 What Are We Gonna Do Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 279 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Why is Red Hand of Doom So Good? Teos and Shawn share the best of Red Hand of Doom, a fan-favorite adventure from 3rd edition D&D! News: Hasbro vs Wizards Q4 Results, How AI is Used at Hasbro, Dark Heart of the Wood, and more!  Contents 00:00 Bringing the Loopiness 02:27 Players Always Team Up? 10:48 What Was or Is D&D Encounters? 15:56 D&D Encounters Returning? 17:46 Hasbro Q4 and 2025 Earnings! 20:24 WotC Q4 and 2025 Results 25:06 Upcoming Partnerships 29:00 Chris Cock on AI at Hasbro 35:04 How Big is D&D? 37:50 MCDM Has a Dark Heart 39:02 D&D's Therapeutic Potential 41:59 Portland Promotes Games 42:48 Evil Hat on RPG Finances 45:17 Nine Worlds and Bad Blood 46:48 Monsters & More for Nimble RPG 47:26 Curse of Stoneshatter Tomb 48:09 Red Hand of Doom! 51:05 Red Hand's History 54:04 Designer Notes 56:53 Premise and Approach 01:01:15 Repeated Approach 01:05:01 Starting Attitudes and Tracking Time 01:09:41 Approach Matters 01:12:20 Part 1 Witchwood 01:15:22 Part 2 Ruins of Rhest 01:17:17 Part 3 Ghostlord's Tower 01:19:19 Part 4 Enemy at the Gates 01:23:31 Part 5 Fane of Tiamat 01:31:50 Shout-Outs 01:36:16 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 278 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: What Made Tyranny of Dragons Great? Teos and Shawn look back at the first 5E hardback adventure, Tyranny of Dragons, discussing our favorite aspects of Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat! News: Baldur’s Gate 3 HBO TV Show, Polygon on Vecna, Teos Completes Lifetime, and more!  Contents 00:00 Herald's Guild Awards 03:38 BMG and Greyhawk Reveals 04:58 Too Much In-Character Talking? 10:09 WotC Interactions Change Over Time? 15:14 HBO BG3 D&D TV Show 20:03 Beadle & Grimm Spoiler? 22:13 Polygon on Obelisks and Vecna 29:21 Horrified Adds Ravenloft 31:24 Best of Tyranny of Dragons 32:17 Interesting Product History 35:45 Adventure vs campaign 37:37 An Awesome Premise and Approach 40:59 Additional Encounters 42:58 Campaign Villains 45:41 Campaign-Focused Character Options 48:29 Greenest in Flames 52:08 Caravan Chapter 54:42 Memorable Locations and Council of Waterdeep 59:57 Dragon Masks 01:01:21 The Cult Strikes Back 01:02:43 Epic Conclusion 01:06:50 Shout-Outs 01:10:28 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 277 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Working in the RPG Industry! Shawn shares a panel he had with Jackson DiCarlo at the Running GAGG Gaming Conventions. They discuss working in the RPG industry, sharing the insights of Shawn’s long career and Jackson’s two-year experience as a designer! News: Cosmere’s Apple TV Deal, 5th New WotC Hire, D&D + Fortnite + Hytale, and more!  Contents 00:00 Winter Fantasy Bound 02:42 Happy 37th Birthday to 2E 05:08 Two Organized Play Campaigns? 23:55 Taylor Ann Navarro Joins WotC 25:53 D&D, Fortnite, and Hytale? 28:51 Variety Covers GMs 29:27 D&D as Organized Social Fun 31:41 Asmodee Partners for Wellbeing 32:31 Cosmere's Apple TV Deal 34:24 D20play Spotlighted! 36:12 TTRPG SRD Card Creator 37:07 Working in the TTRPG Industry 38:11 Shawn and Jackson's Backrounds 40:28 Getting Started in the Industry 49:59 Seizing Opportunity 56:14 How to Get Started 58:19 Design and Conventions 01:05:46 Technical Vs Creative 01:15:39 The Skill of Writing 01:18:19 Questions and Answers 01:22:54 Shout-Outs 01:27:15 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 276 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Rethink Your Session Zero! Shawn and Teos rethink all that a session zero is trying to do and how to approach each of the many goals to start your campaign! News: D&D Beyond’s Partner Schedule, D&D Proves AI’s Shortcomings, AI RPG Scams, Shawn is a Warlock, and more! Contents 00:00 Shawn is a Warlock! 05:59 How Should Death Saves Work? 27:10 Jean Rabe Passes 29:59 DDB Partnered Content Schedule 34:50 Hasbro's New Board Members 36:31 Demiplane Adds Campaigns 38:23 4th Player Theory of RPG Design 43:19 D&D Proves AI Shortcomings 46:10 RPG Maps Bundle AI Scam 48:45 How to Please Your Layout Designer 49:42 Rethinking the Session 0 52:03 FEYPOP's Video on What is a Session 0 55:57 Effective Safety Tools 01:01:54 Challenge Level and Behavioral Expectations 01:04:23 Theme, Tone, and Characters 01:10:01 Allowed Sources 01:12:32 Collaborative Campaign Planning 01:14:38 Character Creation 01:16:21 First Adventure? 01:19:12 As a Social Event 01:20:22 Shout-Outs 01:24:12 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 275 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Legends of Greyhawk and RealmsBound with Savannah Houston-McIntyre Savannah Houston-McIntyre is acclaimed for leading excellent projects. She walks us through the Legends of Greyhawk organized play campaign, RealmsBound with Ed Greenwood, and more! News: Games Workshop Bans AI, Proof of Stranger Things Growth, Mystic UA, and more! Contents 00:00 Oh Captain my Captain 03:24 Arcadia's 1-on-1 Rules? 10:50 Mental Load? 17:50 3-D Combat Options? 25:29 New Mystic Subclasses UA 30:13 Erin Roberts is a Wizard 32:13 Bob Worldbuilder on Stranger Things Growth 37:35 KC Chiefs Teach D&D 39:12 GW Bans AI for Staff 41:11 Get Dune Free from Modiphius 42:55 The Savage Arctic 43:58 Planet Money's Board Game 45:13 Savannah Houston-McIntyre 53:11 Getting Started with Design 57:12 Leading Design Projects 01:00:28 Legends of Greyhawk 01:04:53 Greyhawk's Regions 01:10:18 Virtual Weekends and Writing for LoG 01:13:23 RealmsBound with Ed Greenwood 01:25:12 Find Savannah! 01:26:41 Shout-Outs 01:30:53 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 274 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Start a New Campaign for the New Year It’s a new year, the perfect time to think on how to launch an awesome campaign, even if you have never DMed before! News: Stranger Things Effect? Matt Mercer Simpsons Crossover, D&D Romantasy Novel, Ed Greenwood’s RealmsBound, and more! Contents 00:00 Full of Fear 02:05 What is a Gameplay Loop? 11:10 Teaching Game Design? 14:38 Stranger Things Effect 19:27 Stranger Things' ET Ending 22:09 Leon Barillaro Hired at WotC 24:14 New D&D Romantasy Novel 26:06 Ed Greenwood's RealmsBound 31:22 Matt Mercer Simpsons Crossover 33:58 D&D and Moral Imagination 38:20 D&D Loungefly Backpacks 39:08 The Bridgewell Chronicles 40:21 Merryshire Detective Club 41:19 A New Campaign for the New Year 41:59 New Gamemaster Month 43:22 Where Can We Learn to DM? 51:52 Why Should You DM? 01:02:04 Not Knowing the Rules 01:11:13 Planning Your Campaign 01:22:59 Establishing a Theme 01:25:00 Shout-Outs 01:28:53 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 273 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Future of RPGs in 2026? Teos and Shawn look at 2025’s huge impacts on RPGs and what 2026 might hold for our hobby! News: Daggerheart’s Executive Success, James Haek and Introcaso Changes, City 26, and more! Contents 00:00 Intro 00:59 Mastering DnD the RPG? 07:55 How to Get Noticed? 17:08 Tim Kask Passes 19:38 Daggerheart's Executive Success 25:17 James Haek Joins WotC 25:55 Who Replaces James on Lorecast??? 27:25 James Introcaso Focuses on Crows 29:11 D&D and Court Rooms 30:06 Seniors and Dragons 30:56 City '26 Challenge 32:38 Jeff Stevens on 2025 2026 33:30 Crack the Sun Success 35:32 Looking Back at D&D in 2025 40:02 WotC's Positive Moves 42:13 Crawford and Perkins Join Critical Role 45:14 Economic Uncertainty 49:12 AI Slop 50:03 Cosmere, Daggerheart, Draw Steel 55:28 What Might 2026 Offer for D&D? 01:06:30 Will the Hobby Grow? 01:09:21 More Big RPGs? 01:11:05 If We Had 1 Wish! 01:15:10 Shout-Outs 01:19:34 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 272 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Future of the DMs Guild? Teos and Shawn look at the decline of the 10-year-old DMsGuild and lessons for all platforms, such as D&D Beyond! News: KC Chiefs Play D&D, Mythic Crowdfunding Disaster, Foundry Hiring for New RPG, and more! Contents 00:00 Our Trees Were Fortunate 03:04 National Comedy Center 05:10 Crowdfunding Replaced DMsGuild? 10:18 Can We Stop Platform Decline? 19:14 New D&D Workbooks from PRH 25:49 Best-Selling RPGs on Fantasy Grounds 28:15 KC Chiefs Play D&D 30:06 WA Sec of State on Gaming 32:24 Foundry Hiring for New RPG 35:14 Mythic Games Crowdfunding Disaster 38:20 Books Leaving Grocery Stores 42:48 Moonshae Isles Omnibus 45:03 Crack the Sun Final Days 46:03 DMsGuild Turns 10 47:22 Keith Baker Era 50:10 Print on Demand and Quality Jumps 52:43 Race to the Bottom 54:56 Guild as Stepping Stone 58:29 What Killed the Guild? 01:10:13 WotC as Competitor 01:15:49 Looking to the Future 01:34:48 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 271 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The DMs Guild’s Complex History! Teos and Shawn enjoy a video by Trekiros and think on the incredible history of the 10-year-old DMsGuild! News: James Ohlen’s Exodus, Cosmere’s Roadmap, New Legends of Greyhawk Region, and more! Contents 00:00 Happy Holidays! 02:25 Non-Combat Enctr Objectives? 17:44 Dungeons Best for 1-on-1 Play? 25:32 Diamond Distributors Bankrupt Again 28:31 New Legends of Greyhawk Region 30:27 Gen Con Participation Grants 31:30 Cosmere Announces Roadmap 36:31 James Ohlen and Exodus Change 44:00 DMsGuild Turns 10 44:41 Trekiros Video 46:12 Our History with the Guild 47:28 History of Licensing Pre-Guild 49:26 The OGL and 3E 51:30 Shawn's DMsGuild First Day 52:57 AL's Huge Early Sales 55:58 Early Days and Royalties 01:07:13 Launching Creators 01:11:00 Struggle for Quality 01:15:41 Adepts Program 01:26:28 Creator Expectations 01:34:18 Shout-Outs 01:38:33 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 270 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Dying and Campaign Building with Prequel and Ethan Yen Ethan Yen joins Shawn and Teos to discuss Prequel, the amazing game where you know you will die to the big bad… but get to create a campaign defined by the secrets these heroes discover! News: D&D Beyond’s New Goals, Crack the Sun’s Big Start, Big Staff Changes, and more! Contents 00:00 Conventional Wisdom 03:34 Teaching with RPGs? 13:00 Easy to Convert? 18:26 D&D Beyond's New Goals 24:52 Warlock Video Game Announced 27:57 Justice Arman Promoted 29:05 Jason Carl Departs World of Darkness 32:25 Perkins and Crawford on Acq Inc 35:47 Crack the Sun's Huge Start 39:59 Ikea D&D Book 42:47 Draw Steel Quick Reference 43:17 Quests from the Keep on the Borderlands 44:06 Ethan Yen and Prequel 45:34 Ethan's RPG Path 49:45 Creative Influences 58:45 All About Prequel 01:06:10 Phases of Play 01:12:39 The Big Fight 01:20:53 Campaign Building Conclusion 01:23:53 Zine Format Tips 01:30:46 Gamehole PoC Programs 01:37:58 Find Ethan 01:38:55 Shout-Outs 01:43:18 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

How is an RPG Book Made? (Alphastream Collaboration) While Shawn and Teos are away, we share with you a recording Teos made with Scott F Gray, sharing the intricacies of the process for creating an RPG book. This recording appeared in two parts on the Alphastream YouTube channel and we are sharing it here for your enjoyment.  Contents 00:00 Intro 00:46 About Scott 04:15 Who this video is for 09:09 Starting with an idea 12:54 When is my idea ready? 26:53 What to know when I start writing 39:04 Understanding words per page 43:00 After writing and types of editors 01:02:22 Development 01:04:10 Sensitivity Reading 01:07:10 Proofreading 01:10:11 Layout 01:14:47 Initial Layout Design 01:19:05 Flowing Copy and Word Processor Choices 01:24:39 Art and Art Orders 01:36:46 Bleed 01:39:26 Rewriting After Initial Layout 01:45:27 Don't Write in Layout 01:49:24 Final Proofread and Layout 01:55:34 PDF vs PoD vs Offset Printing 02:11:25 Offset Printing and Timeline 02:15:20 Crowdfunding 02:18:55 Rising Tide on Manufacturing and Shipping 02:21:12 On Collaboration 02:26:27 Support the Show Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Gamehole Con 2025 and Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Beautiful Mess of 5E! (Gamehole Con 2025) While Shawn and Teos are away, we share with you a recording of a panel at Gamehole con where Mike Mearls, Mike Shea, Shawn, and Teos discuss the many forms of 5E available both officially and through third party companies. We look at how D&D 5E was designed in a open way and how this impacts our hobby.  Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 269 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Brindlewood Bay’s Cozy Horror Cozy on up with our review of Brindlewood Bay. Being an elderly widow, cutting to commercial, detailing our cozy home, and drawing on classic TV? Sign us up! News: Eberron Forge of the Artificer, MCDM’s Summoner and Blackbottom, Cosmere Actual Play, and more! Contents 00:00 Clue Advent and Alien Evolved 03:32 Player Goals First? 12:34 Crawford Perkins Critique and Praise? 16:45 Eberron Forge of the Artificer is Out 21:15 MCDM Releases Summoner 21:42 Fall of Blackbottom Adventure 23:40 Initiative D&D in NYC 26:10 Cosmere Actual Play 27:23 Jubensha Grows Internationally 30:47 Nominate Most Anticipated RPG of '26 31:43 Brindlewood Bay 32:16 Game and its Vibes 35:30 Elderly Widows as PCs 37:57 Game Play Basics 39:44 Why the GM Can Push Hard 42:33 Gear as Your Cozy Home 45:08 PbtA Moves 56:35 Maven Moves 58:45 Being a Keeper or GM 01:00:24 Clues and Void Clues 01:02:42 One-Shots vs Campaign 01:08:09 Shout-Outs 01:12:15 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 268 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Can We Fix 1-Player Dragon Delves? While a full fix would take more work, we do quickly test a fix and find it is a ton more fun as we conclude our 1 DM and 1 Player adventure! News: Daggerheart’s Big Expansion, Acq Inc Switches, D&D’s Digital Releases, Leaked Financials, and more! Contents 00:00 Shawn is Horrified 02:46 D&D Version of Andor or Office? 11:18 Must Fun Single-Class Party? 15:18 Lorwyn First Light Released Digitally 20:32 Daggerheart New Expansion 24:26 Daggerheart PAX News 27:46 Acq Inc Switches to Daggerheart 30:48 Leaked 5E Sales Data 37:28 Free Fantasy Grounds 38:51 If RPGs Adjusted for Inflation 40:13 Temple of the Lightbringers 40:37 Stabracadabra 41:32 Crack the Sun for Draw Steel 42:12 Drakkenheart 43:00 Kickstarter Union Prevails 43:35 Baker's Doesn't Conclusion 44:07 Our Test So Far 46:59 1 on 1 Play as a Concept 55:25 Shawn's Proposed Changes! 01:04:21 Underground Jail 01:10:34 Yummy Mummy 01:14:29 Our New Solo Combat 01:25:48 When Mummy is Daddy 01:31:00 Facing Nibblecheeks 01:35:39 The Heroes We Made Along the Way 01:41:25 Final Thoughts 01:48:15 Shout Outs 01:52:04 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 267 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Does 1 Player Really Work with Dragon Delves? Shawn runs Teos through Dragon Delves and they find out whether the adventure’s rules for one player work. Spoiler: no, listener, they do not work! News: Mighty Nein on Amazon, D&D Challenging for Netflix, Draw Steel Codex, 5E on Demiplane, and more! Contents 00:00 FR Goodness 01:03 DnD Bologna Contestants - Die Egg Cup 02:32 DnD Press-On Nails 03:54 People Mag and DnD Wedding Cakes 06:17 What Should WotC Design? 18:01 Demiplane 5E Support 23:14 Mighty Nein on Amazon Prime 25:27 D&D on Netflix is Challenging 30:45 Draw Steel Codex 32:51 Codex Draw Steel Marketplace 33:32 Crack the Sun! 35:54 Amazon Warhammer 40k Shows 38:03 Baldur's Gate Adventure Jam Released 39:38 D&D Municipal Ethics Adventure 40:56 Beast RPG 43:55 Alpha Star Magazine 44:33 Darrington Press Seeks Creators 45:38 Dungeons of Drakkenheim for Daggerheart 46:20 DM and Player Gaming 50:06 Story So Far 52:00 Forest and Candy Trail 56:10 Investigating the Outside 01:07:05 Exploring the Interior 01:10:01 Taffy and Bugbears 01:14:22 Discussing 1 Player Combat 01:17:57 Secret Passage 01:22:10 Critical Hit! 01:33:57 Reflecting on 1-on-1 Combat 01:35:27 Saving Asger 01:39:23 Additional Thoughts Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 266 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Solo Actual Play with Dragon Delves! Can solo play work? Shawn runs Teos through Dragon Delves. See their ridiculous antics and what they think about the design! News: Daggerheart’s New Bloodhunter, Moonbeam Shuts Down, WotC Restores Educator Resources, HeroForge and Daggerheart Dilemma, and more! Contents 00:00 Playing All the Games 04:08 Reasons Why PCs Have New Features? 12:18 Lost Art of Dungeon Design? 22:47 Favorite Community Program? 27:54 Moonbeam Shutting Down 30:01 Organize Play Adds FR Options 32:58 DnD EU and AP Release Dates 34:26 WotC Restores Educator Resources 35:51 Daggerheart Playtests Blood Hunter 37:37 HeroForge and Daggerheart Dilemma 41:21 Solo Play with Dragon Delves 42:55 Using Maps VTT 45:58 Solo Play Rules in Dragon Delves 50:27 Adventure Starts with Fire 57:01 Saving the Halfling 01:01:41 Investigating the Fire 01:09:58 Golden Lizards 01:14:21 Mischief at the Bakery 01:28:41 Behind the DM Curtain 01:30:08 Shout Outs 01:33:38 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 265 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Shannon Appelcline and Designers & Dragons Origins! Renowned RPG historian Shannon Appelcline joins Teos and Shawn to discuss his new 4-book series capturing the amazing stories behind every D&D product from OD&D, AD&D, and Basic! News: New Daggerheart folio, Tales of Woodcreek starts with a bang, Free FR preview, and more! Contents 00:00 Thankful for community 03:44 Draw Steel allows roleplay? 06:38 Get players to make stuff up? 19:32 Netflix and Hasbro KPop Demon Hunting 20:48 Hasbro Q3 report 22:54 WotC Q3 results 24:07 Videogame costs 26:49 Hasbro's 45-50 shows and movies 29:34 WotC explains D&D well, actually 35:34 How big is D&D? 42:13 Are we getting a Dragonlance show? 45:15 Sigil will be no more 52:06 Daggerheart on class design 54:41 PAX Unplugged BIPOC demo days 55:37 Drakkenheart 57:07 Draw Steel recoveries and respites 57:52 Ending combat 01:03:02 Balancing adventuring days 01:06:23 Recoveries 01:08:12 Resting and victories 01:11:23 Respites and downtime 01:21:52 Project roll 01:23:34 Project events 01:28:13 Rewards and downtime 01:32:52 Shout-outs 01:37:19 What are we gonna do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 264 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel – Resting and Downtime! (MD 264) The Draw Steel RPG has a unique and deliberate approach to what it takes to rest and what you can do during your rest. Respites become a key element, bridging combat recovery with larger campaign and personal goals. News: Hasbro KPop Demon Roleplay, Hasbro Q3 Results, Dragonlance TV Show? Sigil has 1 year, and more! Contents 00:00 Thankful for community 03:44 Draw Steel allows roleplay? 06:38 Get players to make stuff up? 19:32 Netflix and Hasbro KPop Demon Hunting 20:48 Hasbro Q3 report 22:54 WotC Q3 results 24:07 Videogame costs 26:49 Hasbro's 45-50 shows and movies 29:34 WotC explains D&D well, actually 35:34 How big is D&D? 42:13 Are we getting a Dragonlance show? 45:15 Sigil will be no more 52:06 Daggerheart on class design 54:41 PAX Unplugged BIPOC demo days 55:37 Drakkenheart 57:07 Draw Steel recoveries and respites 57:52 Ending combat 01:03:02 Balancing adventuring days 01:06:23 Recoveries 01:08:12 Resting and victories 01:11:23 Respites and downtime 01:21:52 Project roll 01:23:34 Project events 01:28:13 Rewards and downtime 01:32:52 Shout-outs 01:37:19 What are we gonna do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 263 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Live from Gamehole Con -  Complexity in RPGs! We discuss complexity with our live audience! News: Asmodee Controls Lord of the Rings, Circle Magic, Biggest Industry Surprise, New Kobold Hires, and more! Contents 00:00 Live with pants 01:13 Gamehole games so far 03:53 Modularity of RPG for GM? 06:16 Odds of Dark Sun 5E? 09:06 What do I do this week? 10:05 Biggest surprise in the industry? 12:28 Survivability of games with financial changes? 16:22 Financial shift to premium products? 17:08 Asmodee controls Lord of the Rings 19:00 Circle Magic and New Spells 26:31 New Kobold Press hires 27:23 Your Creator Corner 29:05 Complexity in RPGs 29:46 Character complexity 40:29 RPG rule complexity 50:21 Thank you! Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 262 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Combat Encounters! Teos and Shawn examine how the Draw Steel RPG handles player turns, including forced movement, damage, and dying! News: D&D Hellfire at Target, Free Daggerheart Roll20 Quickstart, Drakkenheim for Daggeheart, Our Approach to Learn New RPGs, and more! Contents 00:00 Gamehole Peak Prep 02:11 Remembering Rob Weiland 04:29 Our Daggerheart and Draw Steel Games 09:12 Our Process to Learn an RPG? 16:30 Hellfire Club Released 20:03 Daggerheart Quickstart on Roll20 and Demiplane 22:07 Hellfire in Target 23:09 Hasbro's SORRY Mobile Game 24:05 Licensing D&D and MtG 25:21 Drakkenheim for Daggerheart 29:43 How Much Magazine Stuff 31:05 Designers & Dragons Origins Preview 34:29 Keith Ammann on Writing About Dragons 35:22 Allies & Enemies for Shadowdark 36:18 Jerry Garcia's Cosmic Journey 36:56 Fred Armisen's 100 Sound Effects 38:46 Draw Steel Combat Encounters 39:42 Three Action Types 45:47 Tactical Details 48:09 Forced Movement 53:10 Critical Hits 59:49 Damage and Stamina 01:04:54 Daggerheart Damage Comparison 01:10:17 Shout-Outs 01:15:39 See you at Gamehole Con! Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 261 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Combat Basics! Teos and Shawn examine how Draw Steel creates tactical, cinematic, and heroic play with its combat system! News: New D&D Video Game Studio, Demogorgon Crunch, Kickstarter’s Union, and more! Contents 00:00 Miles of Games 03:08 Designing for Someone's IP? 15:05 D&D New Video Game Studio 19:38 D&D Hiring a Game Designer 22:27 Revised Psion UA 25:23 Designing to Guarantee Effects 30:31 Kim Mohan in Hall of Fame 32:33 Acq Inc Pirate Borg! 34:20 Demogorgon Crunch 35:30 Kickstarter's Union Wants Protections 36:29 How Much Setting Stuff Is There? 41:55 Designers & Dragons Origins 43:51 Draw Steel Combat Basics 44:36 Beastheart Playtest News 45:25 Power Rolls in Draw Steel 46:44 Tiered Outcomes 49:03 Power Rolls and Gameplay 54:32 Potency 56:29 Gating Outcomes 59:02 Draw Steel and Daggerheart Similarities 01:02:00 Example Actions 01:04:12 Edges and Banes 01:08:52 Hero Tokens 01:11:39 The Map 01:20:11 Initiative, sort of 01:32:29 Shout Outs 01:36:16 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 260 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Kits and Complications! (MD 260) Teos and Shawn finish creating their characters, reviewing the cool rules for Kits, how Complications wildly spice up a game, and Perks! News: Salvatore May Retire Drizzt, Lorwyn Digital-Only D&D Setting, Cosmere New Releases, and more! Contents 00:00:00 War torn 00:02:36 Do elaborate mechanics create narrative? 00:21:44 Lorwyn is a Digital-Only D&D Setting 00:25:15 DDB adds Maps and Party Inventory 00:26:02 Heroes of the Borderlands tutorials 00:26:30 Stranger Things product info 00:27:44 WizKids smaller dragon Trophy 00:30:29 MtG enters Federation Space! 00:32:32 Salvatore may retire Drizzt 00:35:34 Cosmere New Releases 00:37:18 The Last Caravan - Westward Bound 00:38:11 What's My Foundation? 00:39:08 Our Draw Steal Character Creation 00:40:19 Step 6 - Kits 00:54:56 Perks 00:56:55 Step 7 - Add Free Strikes 00:59:49 Step 8 - Complications 01:12:11 Step 9 - Details 01:13:05 Step 10 - Connections 01:17:10 Thoughts on Advancement Speed 01:24:49 Shout-Outs 01:30:24 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 259 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Character Classes, Careers, and Cultures! Teos and Shawn create two characters, reviewing how Draw Steel creates engagement through complex classes, careers, and create-your-own cultures! News: Daggerheart Void Update, Diamond Selling Disputed Stock, Baldur’s Gate Jam, and more! Contents 00:00 Pirates and Cowpokes 02:57 Should Serving Your Deity Matter? 16:51 What Would We Create? 23:40 DM Retcons Okay? 29:39 Unearthed Arcana - Arcane Subclasses 31:15 Update on Diamond Selling Disputed Stock 36:32 New D&D Educator Resources Location 38:39 DMsGuild Baldur's Gate Jam 40:19 Demiplane is Hiring 41:29 Daggerheart Playtests Adversaries and Environments 41:53 How Much D&D Stuff Is There? 47:04 Cypher Revised Final Days! 48:07 Draw Steel Character Creation 50:37 Creating Our Cultures 55:32 Career Background 01:01:20 Draw Steel Classes 01:05:17 Tactician and Troubadour Classes 01:06:49 Class Basics 01:10:04 1st Level Class Features 01:16:45 Kits and Other Class Features 01:32:49 We Really Liked This! 01:34:34 Shout-Outs 01:38:41 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 258 of Mastering Dungeons! No News Segment this week! Main topic: Inside Heroes of the Borderlands: Justice Arman on creating D&D’s new starter set! Justice led the project to create a new Starter Set updating the famed module B2, The Keep on the Borderlands! Justice joins Teos and Shawn to share what it was like creating the set. Contents 00:00 Justice Arman! 01:35 Settings with Limited Options? 10:04 Justice's Path as a Creator 14:28 Teos Likes this Set 15:56 Creating a New Starter Set 19:28 Starter Set Goals 22:08 Design Challenges 29:40 Keep on the Borderlands Revisions 35:14 Fun Innovations 42:23 Future Class Boards? 44:17 Advice on Running the Adventures 47:23 How it was Playtested 51:44 Board Game Entryway 01:02:17 Wisdom from Justice 01:04:04 Providing Feedback 01:04:57 Find Justice! 01:05:47 Shout-Outs 01:09:10 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 257 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Character Generation! Shawn and Teos discuss character generation approaches, then plunge into Draw Steel’s first character generation steps! News: Wizards CEO on Franchises, AI, and Video Games. Starter Set Previews, Kobold Press on Multiple RPGs, and more! Contents 00:00 One of Us is Rested 02:32 Daggerheart Simplicity Redux 10:19 Rules-Lite Spellcasting? 19:19 John Hight on Franchises and Video Games 26:19 Hight on AI 30:38 Hight on MMOs 34:16 Starter Set Previews 39:08 Dark Sun on Tabletop Journeys 39:44 Apocalypse World Burned Over 40:45 Kobold Press Unprecedented Times? 48:04 Aetherial Expanse Drowned God 48:39 Surviving Strangehollow on GameFound 50:53 Draw Steel Character Creation 51:15 CharGen in General 01:05:31 Draw Steel General Guidance 01:09:43 Step 1, Think 01:16:15 Step 2, Ancestry 01:22:27 Shout-Outs 01:27:02 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 256 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Mike Balles and Spanish Language RPGs! Mike Balles and Teos examine the state of Spanish-language play and support across companies, conventions, and creator spaces. Mike shares the programs he is involved in and how you can support those efforts! News: Treantmonk on UAs! Acq Inc Switches to Daggerheart, Stranger Things at Target, and more! Contents 00:00 Chris Honkala aka Treantmonk! 01:16 Premiere Organizers 02:05 Pick One RPG? 03:47 Daggerheart Too Simple? 07:23 Acq Inc Rewrites Reality to Daggerheart 09:51 Stranger Things Target Exclusive 13:20 Chris' Origin Story 16:11 Chris on WotC UAs 31:09 Should WotC Respond to Fans? 38:55 5E Subclass Design 42:52 Analyzing the Apocalyptic UA 56:42 Survey is Live 58:26 Find Chris! 59:00 What Are We Gonna Do? 59:38 Mike Balles! 01:00:59 PAX Unplugged 01:02:21 Mike's Origin Story 01:08:48 Streaming and Wizards of the Coast 01:13:29 Improving Gen Con and PAX 01:21:57 San Diego Comic Con 01:24:33 Connecting Creators 01:27:18 Gamehole Con PoC Program 01:35:38 Localizations and Translations 01:50:37 Translated 5E Character Sheets 01:54:51 Exploring Regional Opportunities 01:59:33 Spanish Language Creators and Games 02:10:57 Support Latine Lounge 02:17:09 Find Mike and Claudia 02:19:29 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 255 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel Negotiations and Montages! Shawn and Teos discuss how the new Draw Steel RPG’s systems for montages and negotiations felt during their recent game, reviewing the lofty goals and interesting design. News: Is Dark Sun Coming? Critical Role Chooses D&D West Marches, Shadowdark Org Play, Why Crawford and Perkins Joined CR, and more! Contents 00:00 Teos at PAX West 02:28 Dan Ayoub Confidence in 2024? 12:03 Insight Check as Lie Detector? 22:36 Unearthed Arcana - Dark Sun? 25:59 CR Chooses 5E West Marches 33:00 Crawford and Perkins' Motives 39:41 Shadowdark Org Play 41:01 Draw Steel Summoner Playtest 42:01 Free Draw Steel Minis 42:22 Pirate Borg Localizations 44:10 Exodus RPG Encyclopedia 45:17 ARPIA Award Finalists 46:21 Grim Hollow Transformed on D&D Beyond 48:30 Negotiations and Montages 51:19 Montage Rules 54:05 Negotiation Rules 56:43 Larger Gameplay Concepts 01:07:23 Our Play Experience 01:18:39 Montage Outcomes 01:26:17 Negotiations in Our Game 01:34:59 Considering Alternate Systems 01:40:57 Shout-Outs 01:44:54 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 254 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Draw Steel RPG at Level 1! Shawn and Teos play Draw Steel on the D20 Play channel. We discuss how the game plays at level 1, including the goals of the RPG and how well they worked. We also discuss how it felt to play a Talent (psion) and Troubadour. News: D&D in the Heart of London, D&D at the Ballpark, Starter Set Delays, and more! Contents 00:00 Beloved Corrections 04:36 Future of Organized Play? 18:35 Wild West Campaign? 21:43 Is Complexity Good? 27:03 How to Hook Friends and Family on D&D 39:41 Starter Set Delayed in EU and UK 41:05 Baseball and D&D 43:22 D&D in London 44:36 Legends of Greyhawk Videos 45:50 Cosmere Print Date 46:18 Battlezoo Secret Tomes 47:07 Surviving Strangehollow on Gamefound 48:09 Aetherial Expanse: Dreasm of the Drowned God 49:25 Draw Steel at Level 1 50:42 We Love Games! 53:33 Tactical Heroic Cinematic Fantasy 56:28 Tactical and Heroic Play 59:51 Cinematic Play 01:03:09 Talent at Level 1 01:09:00 Troubador at Level 1 01:15:56 Complexity 01:23:03 Monsters in Draw Steel 01:28:51 Designed to Make Players Into DMs 01:31:57 Shout-Outs 01:35:08 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 253 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: How to DM Parenting with Shelly Mazzanoble! D&D’s Shelly Mazzanoble joins us to discuss her new book: How to Dungeon Master Parenting! This hilarious and insightful book offers a lot for DMs and parents. We discuss how the two compare and Shelly’s storied past where she has worked to promote women in D&D and D&D’s philanthropic efforts. News: Japan’s D&D Initiative, Diablo RPG, Tropes that Ruin RPGs, and more! Contents 00:00 We're 159! 03:18 Is D&D Scrutiny New? 07:55 RPGS Cannibalizing Each Other? 14:48 If We Knew 1 Spell? 18:28 Criminally Overlooked Game Design? 26:14 D&D in Japan 28:04 New Fallbacks Novel 29:27 5 Tropes Ruin D&D 33:36 Stranger Things Minis 35:11 Metaphor vs Mechanics 39:00 Diablo RPG 40:21 Shelly Mazzanoble 41:15 Shelly's Amazing D&D Contributions 43:45 Shelly's and Global Philanthropy 48:59 Women and New Players in D&D 57:37 How to DM Parenting 01:10:07 Child Stat Blocks 01:13:10 DM and Parenting Styles 01:21:06 Find Shelly and Her Book 01:24:24 Shout-outs 01:28:45 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 252 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: New Era of RPG Revolution? Huge Gen Con announcements and kickstarters have us asking… is this a new era of RPG Evolution? We look at why it is so hard to compete with D&D and why maybe companies should not want to compete at all! News: Daggerheart Makes Big Moves, Draw Steel Released, FR DLC, and more! Contents 00:00 Climb Gen Con Harder 01:36 Shawn on Tabletop Journeys 02:25 Gen Con Review 06:20 WotC Out of Adventure Ideas? 12:16 Forgotten Realms DLC 13:50 Netheril's Fate 15:27 Astarion's Book of Hungers 18:07 Draw Steel Released in PDF! 21:44 Daggerheart is Serious 24:50 How Many Demiplane PCs? 33:42 Cosmere Minis 34:29 ENNie Awards 36:36 Cypher Revised Announced 37:52 DeMinimis and Tarrifs 39:39 Era of RPG Revolution 40:55 2025 May Be Different 42:39 The History of D&D Challengers 44:38 D&D's Market and Brand Advantage 48:44 Licensing 49:51 Actually a Great Game 55:23 Economies of Scale 58:49 What Does Competition Look Like? 01:02:51 Ocean vs Pond 01:10:41 Competition Isn't the Only Endgame 01:18:22 Dan Ayoub and How WotC Evolves 01:23:19 A Rolling SRD 01:24:30 DDB Maps for All Subscribers 01:26:24 D&D Advisory Group 01:27:19 The Future We Envision 01:32:43 Shout-Outs 01:37:23 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 251 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Listeners Have Their Way! It’s a Listener Corner extravaganza as we fill our regular segment with tough questions from our awesome listeners! News: Hasbro Disastrously Beats Q2 Expectations, Critical Role Expands Shows, and more! Contents 00:00 Transforming News 04:10 Teos Ghostfire Breaking News 04:55 Happy 251st Show! 05:44 Hasbro Q2 Disastrously Beats Expectations 08:48 WotC Q2 Results 12:38 D&D Q2 Revenue 14:16 Comparing 2024 to 2014 Revenues 15:04 Critical Role Expands Shows 17:01 Cover Reveals for FR Books 19:37 Cthulhu by Torchlight Exclusive DDB 22:15 Weapons of Legend for Draw Steel 22:59 Kobold Ancestry for Draw Steel 24:10 Listener Corner Extravaganza 25:32 Dragon Delves and Arora? 29:18 Resolving Player Conflict ? 36:22 Comparing Non-D&D RPGs to Each Other 46:27 Favorite RPGs and Adventures to Read? 55:42 What We Wish Designers Would Stop Doing? 01:00:38 Shout-Outs 01:05:52 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 250 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries! Does Daggerheart provide a compelling system of monsters for GMs? We take a look at the design and whether it might hook GMs into running Daggerheart for years to come! News: Stranger Things Boxed Set, D&D Staffing and Franchise News, Eberron Delay, and more! Contents 00:00 Grimhollow Transformed 03:54 D&D Stranger Things Boxed Set 07:22 Jess Lanzillo at White Wolf 08:36 Dan Ayoub Franchise VP 13:46 Cynthia Williams Departs Funko 15:27 Starter Set Higher Price 20:03 Eberron Delayed 23:20 PAX West DMs Wanted 24:56 Critical Role Video Game 27:26 Black Flag in CC 28:49 Daggerheart Adventure 29:34 Daggerheart Incredible Creatures 30:15 Six-Gun Doomsday 31:41 Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries 32:37 Why Monsters Matter in an RPG 36:04 Daggerheart Stat Blocks 38:51 Creature Type 45:34 Experiences 48:33 Monster Features 54:45 The Adversary Types 01:00:56 Looking at the Overall System 01:16:11 Shout-Outs 01:20:03 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 249 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Campaign Frames!Daggerheart provides an interesting structure for campaign settings. How well does this work? Let’s find out! News: What is Narrative-First, D&D Italian Translation Problems, Offset Printers, and more! Contents 00:00 Naprage Week 01:40 Daggerheart Adventure Differences? 09:57 What is Narrative-First? 22:52 Italian PH Problems 25:12 Wolfgang on Offset Printers 26:51 Quickplay Maps on Beyond 28:07 Daggerheart Campaign Frames 30:38 Campaign Frame Components 33:42 Lore Dump? 36:54 Frame Breakdown 37:53 Step 1: Pitch 41:50 Step 2: Foundations and 3: Characters 45:43 Step 4: Build the Map 48:42 Step 5: Session Zero and 6: Adventure 51:40 Age of Umbra Campaign Frame 01:04:34 Included Campaign Frames 01:06:52 Shout-Outs 01:09:55 What Are We Gonna Do Now? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 248 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Leveling Our Daggerheart Characters!We level up our Rogue and Warrior all the way to level 6 and share how the design enabled our concepts. News: Dragon Delves Pre-Release, Daggerheart New Classes, Cosmere Hiring, and more! Contents 00:00 MVP is Sleep 01:08 Leaving Blanks? 08:24 Daggerheart Demands Good GMs? 15:22 Dragon Delves Pre-Released 17:47 UA Arcane Subclasses 19:31 Gen Con Needs DMs 21:36 New Daggerheart Witch and Assassin 26:12 Demiplane adds Playtest Classes 26:37 Updated Daggerheart License 27:35 Origins Awards 28:18 Cosmere RPG is Hiring 34:13 Leveling Daggerheart Characters 36:51 Daggerheart's Tier Leveling System 37:39 Tier 2 Benefits 40:43 Level 2 Choices 48:19 Level 3 Options 52:56 Level 4 Options 58:31 Tier 3 Benefits and Multiclassing 01:09:35 Level Choices 01:12:42 Design Considerations 01:24:30 Gear and Leveling 01:27:33 Shout-Outs 01:30:45 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 247 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Our Daggerheart Characters! What it is like to create Daggerheart Characters, with real examples of our Rogue and Warrior. News: WotC Layoffs, Dragon Delve Previews, Daggerheart Staff Changes, and more! Contents 00:00 Dual-Wield Chainsaws 02:02 Dungeon Crawls Gone? 12:39 Universal and Unique Lore? 16:38 Dragon Delves Previews 18:50 Wizards of the Coast Layoffs 20:07 Ivan Van Norman Departs Darrington 23:04 Diana Jones Finalists 25:30 Evil Hat Cancels Tomb Raider RPG 27:14 DarkHorse Brings Fallbacks 28:44 Treasures from the Dark 31:04 Our Daggerheart Characters 33:30 Getting Started Section 37:42 Class and Subclass 49:00 Subclass 52:14 Heritage - Ancestry and Community 59:11 Character Traits 01:03:17 Additional Info 01:05:57 Starting Equipment 01:15:44 Background 01:16:52 Experiences 01:19:47 Domain Cards 01:25:12 Connections 01:29:07 Shout-Outs 01:32:18 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 246 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Initiative! What happens when a player of GM can take any number of turns in a row? We take a look at Daggerheart’s initiative and consider games that have similar approaches. News: Critical Role Hire Perkins and Crawford, Jess Lanzillo Departs WotC, Daggerheart Translations, and more! Contents 00:00 We Are Stunned 00:49 Will Daggerheart Stand the Test of Time? 01:21 Crawford and Perkins' New Jobs 15:55 Jess Lanzillo Departs WotC 24:54 Daggerheart Being Translated 25:55 Mearls on Character Maps and Psion 28:27 Kickstarter Pre-Launch vs Funding 32:02 Standing the Test of Time? 40:35 Daggerheart Initiative 41:16 Our Experiences 45:26 Game Flow 47:08 The Spotlight 51:20 Adapt Over Time? 52:06 On Your Turn 53:50 Duality Dice 56:26 GM Moves and Adversary Actions 58:52 How Rules Play 01:08:30 Optional 3-Token System 01:14:36 Shout-Outs 01:17:31 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

Episode 245 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic:  2025 D&D Psion Subclasses! The new psion can blow minds with new Disciplines, spells, and Subclasses. News: Perkins and Crawford’s Jobs, We Play Daggerheart, Get Free Goblin Trouble, and more! Contents 00:00 Daggerborg Below 02:37 Mythic Fantasy Tips? 10:33 Transition to Another RPG? 19:14 Good RPGs for Drama and Participation? 23:49 Crawford and Perkins Jobs Open 28:47 Free Goblin Trouble Adventure 32:37 Shawn and Teos Play Daggerheart 43:30 Daggerheart Card Editor is Live 44:20 Staff Changes at Chaosium 45:32 Book Distributor Feedback 50:06 The Devoured Labyrinth 51:39 Save on Steve Conley's Irregulars 52:45 Bundle of Pride Games 53:34 Psionic Subclasses and Disciplines 55:17 Psionic Disciplines 58:12 Design Patterns 01:14:13 New and Revised Spells 01:19:14 Psion Subclasses 01:34:12 Shout-Outs 01:38:09 What Are We Gonna Do? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.