Mastering Dungeons

Mastering Dungeons
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Oct 29, 2025 • 1h 38min

Draw Steel – Resting and Downtime! (MD 264)

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.
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Oct 22, 2025 • 51min

Live from Gamehole Con - Complexity in RPGs! (MD 263)

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.
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Oct 15, 2025 • 1h 16min

Draw Steel Combat Encounters! (MD 262)

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.
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Oct 8, 2025 • 1h 37min

Draw Steel Combat Basics! (MD 261)

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.
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Oct 1, 2025 • 1h 31min

Draw Steel - Kits and Complications! (MD 260)

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.
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Sep 24, 2025 • 1h 39min

Draw Steel Character Classes, Careers, and Cultures! (MD 259)

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.
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Sep 17, 2025 • 1h 10min

Inside Heroes of the Borderlands: Justice Arman on creating D&D’s new starter set! (MD 258)

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.
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Sep 10, 2025 • 1h 28min

Draw Steel Character Generation! (MD 257)

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.
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Sep 3, 2025 • 2h 20min

Treantmonk and Mike Balles! (MD 256)

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.
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Aug 27, 2025 • 1h 46min

Draw Steel Negotiations and Montages! (MD 255)

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.

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