Mastering Dungeons

Episode 148 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 5 – Urban and Unusual Environments! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG by following Chapter 5. The rest of the chapter covers Urban and Unusual Environments, plus Traps. What would Shawn and Teos add to the 2024 DMG? News: Critical Role heads to London, Free HeroQuest, D&D at SDCC, and more! Contents 00:00 Italian PHB 02:57 Effective Clues? 10:42 Not Enough Coverage? 17:32 Session Highlight? 19:55 Campaign Planning? 24:51 D&D at SDCC 26:26 Critical Role in London! 28:59 Blog Comeback 31:11 Aquatic Campaigns 31:40 Wandering Monsters 32:37 One-Shot Worldbuilding 33:24 Free HeroQuest  35:22 Gloomhaven RPG 40:42 Urban Environments 47:28 Law and Order 53:42 Underwater 1:00:21 The Sea 1:06:05 The Sky 1:08:46 Traps 1:23:23 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 147 of Mastering Dungeons This week's main topic: James Introcaso of MCDM joins Shawn to discuss the difference between writing a custom RPG vs creating for 5E! News: Owlbear Love, ENnies, Gen Con Online, and more! Contents 00:00 James Introcaso! 01:57 Creating for WotC 06:22 Success Failure Spectrum? 13:29 Character Arcs? 22:26 True Owlbears? 24:41 New Systems? 29:41 Ennies 35:16 Gen Con 37:40 Bear Love in BG3 42:18 Dragonlance Shadow 44:06 Aetherial last call! 44:34 Flee Mortals Comes 48:48 5E Content vs Custom RPGs 51:47 Business Considerations 56:13 Does 5E Fit Bear Romance? 58:04 Audience 1:01:59 Setting and Genre 1:06:28 Conflict Resolution 1:12:11 Character Creation 1:17:07 Story Flow 1:23:41 Game Loop 1:34:10 Pillars 1:38:48 Jim’s Question 1:41:15 Shout-Outs 1:42:49 Find James Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 146 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Mike Shea joins Shawn to compare the benefits of Organized Play vs Home Games! News: D&D Playtest 6,  Baldur’s Gate Date, Final ORC License, and more! Contents 00:00 Swimming 01:07 5E Splinter? 10:24 Adventure Design? 27:45 Playtest Packet 6 30:26 Final Orcs 39:06 Beadle & Grimm’s 44:16 Baldur’s Gate Date 45:39 Savage Worlds 46:39 Aetherial Expanse 47:30 Forge of Foes! 48:30 Home vs Org Play 49:18 Mike’s Experience 51:01 Comparing the Two 59:21 Skill Differences 1:02:55 Variance 1:05:32 Teachers 1:07:21 Fan of Players 1:09:10 Learn from Home 1:14:50 Writing 1:22:39 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 145 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 5 – Wilderness and Settlements! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG by following Chapter 5. Do they get lost in creating and traversing a wilderness? Do they find the worst settlement table ever? News: America is Neutral Good, Blood in Baldur’s Gate, Origins Awards, Diana Jones Finalists, and more! Contents 00:00 Origins 05:13 Slowing the Game? 22:00 Blood in Baldur’s Gate 25:27 Origins Awards 26:35 Diana Jones Finalists 31:48 NG Americans 34:24 Art Costs 39:29 Congrats Kobolds 40:28 Aetherial Expanse 41:29 DMG Wilderness  43:12 Montage vs Hourly 44:58 Hemingway vs. Faulkner 49:22 Key Questions 56:55 Mapping Wilderness 1:00:55 Wilderness Features 1:04:55 Wilderness Survival 1:07:21 Settlements 1:11:33 Buildings 1:13:52 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 144 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 5 – Adventure Environments! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG by following Chapter 5 and rolling up a random dungeon. Is the result satisfying or does it fall apart? News: Reddit Woes, Renegade Oversteps, Freelancer Pay Survey, Gamehole Events, and more! Contents 00:00 Whole Enchilada 02:11 Memorable Campaign? 08:42 Swingy d20?  15:43 Dice Design? 20:40 Shine as a Player? 24:35 Favorite RPGs? 25:54 Raiding Mechanics? 27:27 Gamehole Events 29:08 Reddit Woes 24:38 Renegade Oversteps 38:56 Freelancer Pay Surveys 41:38 Aetherial Expanse 42:48 DMG Adventure Environments 44:52 Dungeons 49:07 Let’s Roll 55:55 Inhabitants 58:33 Ecology 1:02:15 Mapping a Dungeon 1:06:55 Left Out 1:12:35 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 143 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Celeste Conowitch on Designing Tales of the Valiant! What does it take to design a new variant of D&D? Hear the valiant tales of Celeste Conowitch, Senior Game Designer at Kobold Press!  News: Upper Deck Sues Ravensburger, 2024 Update, Final Rivals Stream, Creator Spotlight, and more! Contents 00:00 Shawn Issues 00:55 DM Fiat? 04:59 2024 Concern?  11:10 Go-To Adventure? 14:15 Community Update and Video 18:54 AL Stream 20:34 Upper Deck Lawsuit 22:27 Final Rivals Stream 24:02 Creator Spotlight 24:38 Core20 RPG 25:52 Last Caravan 27:07 Curse of Vecna 28:25 Celeste Conowitch! 35:12 Valiant Kickstarter 37:00 Project Inception 43:38 Playtest Lessons 49:00 Teamwork 51:25 Goals and Targets 55:54 Kickstarter Success 59:01 What Comes Next? 1:05:42 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 142 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 3 – Creating Nonplayer Characters! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG. From ideals and bonds tables, to hirelings, to villain motives, does this tell a would-be-author how to craft a great NPC?  News: Candela Obscura, Valiant Kickstarter, Sharkadia, D&D Pride Gear, and more! Contents 00:00 Across the Masterverse 03:42 Other Genres? 10:00 Martial vs Spell?  19:02 DriveThru to Roll20 23:50 D&D Pride Gear 24:19 Sharkadia 25:54 Astral Ethereal  27:35 Valiant Surges 32:20 Girl by Moonlight  33:55 Illrigger  34:25 Candela Obscura 39:44 DMG Chapter 4 NPCs 41:09 NPCs as DM Tools 42:17 History of NPCs 46:52 Characterization 49:28 Designing NPCs 01:08:18 Hirelings and Patrons 01:18:54 Villains  01:27:02 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 141 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 3 – Creating Adventures, part 2! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG. From event-based adventures to the encounter building rules, does this tell a would-be-author how to craft a great adventure?  News: D&D Marketing Summit, 2023 Product Reveals, Price Increases, Planescape Hopes, and more! Contents 00:00 Geeky Guardians 01:42 Limit or Oversight? 11:23 Homebrew vs Published?  17:42 D&D Marketing Summit 23:50 Demographics 27:32 5E is 2E 30:23 Staggering for Printers 32:04 Price Increases 37:35 Bigygnome Presents 39:07 Guide to Dragons 40:36 Phandelver 41:49 Planescape 49:52 Deck of Many Things 50:46 DMG Chapter 3 51:22 Event-Based Adventures 59:09 Mysteries  01:05:00 Intrigue 01:08:05 Complications 01:09:51 Creating Encounters 01:21:23 Random Encounters  01:30:20 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 140 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 3 – Creating Adventures! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG. We look at Creating Adventures. Does this tell a would-be-author how to craft a great adventure? News: UA Survey, D&D Producer Job, Russ Nicholson Remembered, Flummox, Dungeon Secrets, and more! Contents 00:00 Speaking of Geeks 02:19 Automating Complexity? 07:33 Weapon Persona?  14:26 Weapon Templates? 26:04 UA Survey and Videos 37:47 D&D Producer Job 39:34 Russ Nicholson RIP 40:47 Secrets to Dungeon Fun 41:35 Jeff Stevens Flummox Heist 43:26 Crowdfunding Round-Up 45:18 DMG Chapter 3 46:10 Creating Adventures Intro 51:03 Great Elements 54:53 Published Adventures 56:48 Adventure Structure 58:47 What is a Story? 01:03:54 Location-Based  01:14:58 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 139 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: The 2014 DMG Chapter 2 – The Multiverse! Shawn and Teos revisit the 2014 5E DMG. We look at Creating a Multiverse and whether it even belongs in Chapter 2. If it does, what should it look like in the 2024 DMG?  News: Unearthed Barbarians, New Hasbro eOne Streaming Channel, Critical Role Launches New Stream and RPG, and more! Contents 00:00 Hydration 00:57 Rejoin at Level 1? 06:22 Golf Bag?  17:03 2024 Barbarian 29:56 Community Update 39:04 D&D Streaming Channel 45:17 CR New RPG and Stream 47:57 Crowdfunding Round-Up 48:57 DMG Chapter 2 across Editions 51:09 Creating a Useful Multiverse 01:02:23 Planar Travel 01:04:25 Astral and Ethereal 01:06:56 Feywild and Shadowfell 01:09:30 Inner Planes 01:10:47 Outer Planes 01:12:26 Other Planes 01:13:58 Closing Thoughts 01:16:20 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.