Mastering Dungeons

Episode 168 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Planescape’s Adventure: Gate Towns! Seven gate towns must be visited! How well does the 4-page format work, and what would we change? Find out as we look at Chapters 5-11 of Turn of Fortune’s Wheel. News: Ghostfire and Dungeon Dudes on DDB, D&D 50th Anniversary Products, D&D Stamps, and more! Contents 00:00 Holiday and PAX Miracles 05:05 Progression Complexity? 14:56 Publishing Process? 24:02 Converting Adventures? 31:23 DDB Ghostfire Dudes 41:09 D&D 2024 Panel  43:17 Caverns of Tsojcanth 45:43 Vecna Eve of Ruin  46:58 Infinite Staircase  49:44 Making of OD&D  51:56 Core Rules Preview 55:53 D&D Stamps 57:22 Planescape’s 5E Adventure  59:22 Gate Town Goals 1:04:06 Automata 1:15:16 Design and Advice 1:21:15 Excelsior 1:25:16 Faunel 1:32:44 Closing Thoughts 1:39:22 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. 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/).

Episode 167 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Turn of Fortune’s Wheel: Casino and Outlands! Casino games are more fun when player goals align. This and the villain present challenges for the DM, if not the players. We venture into the Outlands and experience a castle out of a Miyazaki film. News: D&D Move Sequel, Peril Design, Gygax Shoes, PAX U Events, and more! Contents 00:00 Holiday System Shock 02:32 Is Death the End? 16:50 Peril Design? 32:27 D&D PAXU Events 37:29 Heroes’ Feast Adventure 39:57 New Deck Date 40:39 Playtest Packet 8 42:53 D&D Movie Sequel? 44:49 Enchanting Emporiums 46:19 Gygax Shoes 47:01 Scale Tail & Claw 47:26 Stormlight RPG Team 49:08 Fortune’s Wheel 50:02 Our Story So Far 50:48 Chapter 3 Casino 53:29 Games vs Goals 59:30 Meeting Shemeska 1:03:21 Levels and Story 1:10:13 Into the Outlands 1:13:49 Walking Castle 1:18:13 Mosaic Mimir Quest 1:28:09 Closing Thoughts 1:29:55 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. 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/).

Episode 166 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Turn of Fortune’s Wheel! A tale of two chapters! A spoiler-filled discussion reviews the key twists to the adventure and finds a great disparity between the play experience in the first two chapters! News: Free D&D for Teachers, Maps Adds Features, Running Towns, and more! Contents 00:00 No Grandparents Harmed 02:26 Black Friday Deals? 05:24 Monstrous PC? 15:20 Multiple DMs? 20:18 D&D Maps Adds Features 22:43 Free Adventure for Teachers 29:17 Harmless Denizens 31:05 Running Towns 33:38 Fernbloom's Guide 34:46 Amazing Encounters & Locations 35:46 Turn of Fortune’s Wheel 42:43 Glitch PCs 44:42 Introducing Incarnations 54:26 Our Glitch Ideas 1:00:29 Mortuary Start 1:11:50 Explore Sigil’s Railroad 1:18:34 Suggestions  1:20:05 Farrow and Undercity 1:24:54 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. 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/).

Episode 165 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Monsters in Morte’s Planar Parade! We take a look at Planescape’s monster book. We get traits to add to monsters, faction agents, and creatures from across the planes. Hear what we like and what we would change. News: Free Inspiration Deck, VTT at PAXU, GameHole Panels, and more! Contents 00:00 Explore the Space 01:34 Unsafe Gate Towns? 08:34 Best Planar Adventures? 14:13 Free Inspiration Deck Handout 18:28 D&D VTT at PAXU 20:57 2 GameHole Panels 23:29 Simple Reputation System 26:31 Seeker’s Guide to Enchanting Emporiums 28:00 Free Sigil 2E Locations 29:01 AL Planescape  31:08 Morte’s Planar Parade 32:01 Introduction 37:00 Included CRs 39:12 Petitioners 47:54 Planar Influences 50:07 Monster Traits 58:27 Encounter Tables 1:04:49 Notable Monsters 1:08:25 Faction Agents 1:12:13 Final Verdict 1:15:49 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. 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/).

Episode 164 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: The Outlands! Outside of Sigil are the Outlands, marked by fantastic and intense gate towns reflecting the plane beyond. Find out why we would change these up and how! News: D&D TV Launches, Chains of Asmoeus, Biggest Crowdfunders, and more! Contents 00:00 Scary Candy 01:58 Span the Ages? 07:23 Reduce HPs? 14:01 Session Length? 21:13 Buck Stops Here? 29:08 FAST D&D Adventures 31:43 Autism and Many Things 34:16 B&G Encounter Cards 35:42 Chains of Asmodeus 40:38 Planar Adventures Blogs 41:52 Top Crowdfunders 46:39 Forge of Foes Available 48:44 Planescape – The Outlands 52:45 Cosmic Realignment 1:00:49 Outland Characteristics 1:06:17 Gate Towns and Automata 1:07:54 Bedlam 1:08:30 Is It Too Much 1:16:38 Faunel Post-Realignment 1:18:05 Fortitude and other Gate Towns 1:23:00 Other Realms 1:25:44 This Book Overall 1:28:07 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. 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/).

Episode 163 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Planescape: Sigil’s Factions and Wards! The City of Sigil’s factions can be hard to grasp, but they play a critical role and shape the city itself, turning the city’s neighborhoods into reflections of their philosophies. News: WotC Recalls Many Things, Rough Hasbro Q3, D&D Anthology, and more! Contents 00:00 Back from GameHole! 03:28 Social System? 11:42 Skill List Creativity? 20:14 Slipcase Format? 26:24 WotC Recalls Many Things 29:43 Rough Hasbro Q3  36:00 D&D Anthology Glimpses 43:46 AL Update 45:08 Sigil’s Factions and Wards 47:00 Role Factions Play 1:01:56 Ascendant Factions 1:12:09 Minor Factions 1:14:22 City Wards 1:19:06 Adventures in Sigil 1:24:19 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 162 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Live at Gamehole 2023 – Setting Products! We discuss settings with our live audience! What do you want from a setting? Paper or digital? And is it Sigil or Sijil? Contents 00:00 Live at GameHole! 00:47 Sigil or Sijil? 05:09 What Do We Want from Settings? 06:23 Adventure Atlas: the Mortuary 10:20 Another Mortuary? 13:11 Audience Interest 14:24 Purchase Planescape? 15:02 Planebreaker Compatibility 16:38 Shifting RPGs 18:27 Books vs Small Supplements 20:11 Tools We Use 21:12 Rereleasing Settings 23:32 Digital Format 31:25 Ideal Setting Product 33:42 Included Adventure? 34:36 Ratio of Player Content 37:58 Player Guides 44:15 Production Challenges 49:57 Setting Breadth? Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 161 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Planescape: City of Sigil! The City of Sigil is a sci-fi conundrum. Let’s learn what makes the city so intriguing and how a DM can make the most of it. News: WotC hiring, Baldman at PAXU, Unforgettable Villains, and more! Contents 00:00 D&D Tutor 03:16 Class Sales? 08:33 Bigger Books? 10:28 Reskinning? 15:50 Dungeon Tropes? 19:54 Baldman at PAXU 22:52 WotC Hiring 24:23 Unforgettable Villains 25:31 James Haeck Channel 26:52 HeroQuest Release 29:10 Tony DiTerlizzi Book 30:10 Hellwatch 31:32 Nimble Streamlining 5E 32:43 Sigil, the City of Doors 33:20 What is Sigil? 40:52 City Weather 43:04 Magic Changes 47:29 Summoning 50:57 Portraying Life in Sigil 1:00:21 Rats and Razorvines 1:01:39 Portals 1:04:12 Lady of Pain 1:14:14 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 160 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse! 5E finally has Planescape! We take a look at Sigill and the Outlands, the first book introducing the setting and offering character options. News: The End of Everything, D&D Adds Bastions, WotC Drops Penguin, and more! Contents 00:00 Alex Kammer! 01:15 What is Gamehole Con? 09:30 Our Gamehole Plans 12:36 Introduce New RPG? 23:10 Bastions and Cantrips 35:12 End of Everything 44:41 WotC Drops Penguin 49:32 Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse 51:09 Planescape History 52:10 2024 Multiverse Focus 53:50 Sigil and the Outlands 55:12 Definitions and Truths 1:08:04 Character Backgrounds 1:12:52 Feats 1:16:02 Spells 1:20:15 Magic Items 1:24:11 Closing Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Episode 159 of Mastering Dungeons!  This week's main topic: Modiphius 2D20 RPGs! We take a look at the Modiphius 2D20 RPG system, including a close look at Star Trek Adventures and Dune: Adventures in the Imperium. News: Evil Genius Sues Netflix, Planescape Previews and Downloads, Free Lightning Keep, and more! Contents 00:00 Boosted 01:42 Modules? 11:21 New or Modify? 17:09 Planescape Previews 28:55 Minecraft and free Lightning Keep 31:14 Evil Genius Sues Netflix 34:33 FR Wiki Turns 18 34:59 Building a French Castle 36:25 Vecna’s Book of Vile Darkness 37:21 Modiphius 2D20 RPGs 39:16 Free SRD and Previews 40:03 Basics of 2D20 45:28 Skill Mechanics 55:19 Dune – Adventuring in the Imperium 1:01:32 Star Trek Adventures 1:10:23 Closing Thoughts 1:15:43 Shout-Outs Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.