Taking 20 Podcast

In this burboun-soaked episode, Jeremy discusses the different types of quests available, some of the variations on the themes, how to modify them by adding complications, and finally provides some tips and tricks for good quest design.

In this episode Jeremy talks about the different rules for Critical Hits and Misses in Pathfinder, Starfinder, and 5e; discusses some alternate rules and gives advice for how he handles these situations in his games. Finally, he gives some advice about what food you should NEVER bring into the bedroom.

Elementals are a foreign concept in a lot of ways.  Creatures made up of water or air that are relatively intelligent, can be summoned or spontaneously created, and aren't just a humanoid in an element suit just seem weird.  If you ever wandered where they come from, what they can do and how the fight, give this episode a listen.   I want to specifically thank Keith Ammann and his great book The Monsters Know What They're Doing.  I cannot recommend this book highly enough.  It's an amazing read!

Happy Holidays one and all!  Didn't get enough of the Blood War last time?  Good.  Let's talk some more about Demons and Devils slaying each other by the billions in a fight that's lasted damn near forever.  But what about the Celestials?  Who is the Lady of Pain?  Where do these fights happen?  Tune in and find out!

It's easy to come up with NPCs.  What's hard is coming up with NPCs that feel like more than a one dimensional cariacature of someone real.  In a topic suggested by Michael K. in Illinois, we discuss a simple 3-bullet technique for GMs to make realisitic NPCs and a similar technique for players to make compelling backstories.   Also, Jeremy gets sent to horny jail.

This week we talk about two specialized martial characters:  the Paladin and Ranger.  These are not dumb fighters or mindless barbarians.  These characters have options when it comes to fighting and can really give you lots of options when it comes to running a character...with some caveats of course.

Continuing last week's discussion on encounter design, this week we tackle the environment, tactics, stakes and motivations of the combat.  We discuss variety of the above and how to make combats feel different and better for our 5e and Pathfinder players.

This episode is a deeper dive into what makes for a good encounter and how we GMs can make them more memorable by adding variety to the monsters, the location, the motivations and the stakes of the encounter.

Exploring creative alternatives to starting a campaign in a tavern, from catastrophic events like sinking ships to uniting against sorcerers. Tips on initiating a successful campaign include low stakes, clear objectives, and tone establishment.

Kobolds are just moronic annoying little tunneling monsters who are just goblins in a different body, right?  WRONG!  Kobolds aren't like other monstrous humanoids.  They build complicated lairs, work with other races, and are masterful hit-and-run combatants.