

Taking 20 Podcast
Taking 20 Podcast
Short, bite-sized RPG advice, tips, and tricks for DMs and players of tabletop role playing games (TTRPG)
Episodes
Mentioned books

Oct 31, 2021 • 20min
Ep 97 - Curses and Cursed Items
Curses have played major roles in numerous movies and media: the ring in Lord of the Rings, the Aztec gold in Pirates of the Caribbean, Ladyhawke, Shrek, Ella Enchanged, the list goes on. How can you use these curses in your game and not have your player try to kill you with a d4? Tune in to find out.

Oct 24, 2021 • 20min
Ep 96 - Monster Series - Mimics
GMs, do your players like treasure? Sure they do. Everyone does; and that's why mimics are always medium-sized treasure chests in the corner, right? Not so fast, my friend. Mimics are more than mindless, opportunistic hunters. Tune in for some tips and tricks for using these creatures in your game.

Oct 17, 2021 • 20min
Ep 95 - Familiars, Animal Companions, and Summoned Creatures
PCs have a number of options when it comes to bringing more allies to the battlefield and to the campaign. What are some best practices for PCs who want to have a super-intelligent celestial dinosaur best friend that they can bring into this plane anytime they want? Tune in and find out.

Oct 10, 2021 • 21min
Ep 94 - Class Series - Fighters and Monks
This week we return to the class series, focusing on those classes that focus a lot on baddie hit points: fighters and monks. Do you want some ideas on how to build a Pathfinder or D&D 5e Fighter or Monk? Then this episode is for you.

Oct 3, 2021 • 20min
Ep 93-Virtual Tabletop Tips
Is your game moving online or staying online longer than you expected? Mine are staying online for a while so I compiled a list of tips that can help you and your game while using Virtual Tabletops (VTTs).
Music is:
Smooth Lovin by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4379-smooth-lovin
License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Sep 26, 2021 • 17min
Ep 92 - Travel and Exploration
Travel between adventures doesn't have to be a boring slog of survival checks or reinforcement of how empty your world is. Travel and exploration activities can spark the imagination, jump start role play and help set the tone for your entire campaign. Tune in for some ideas on how to execute your players...er...a good travel section of your adventure.

Sep 19, 2021 • 17min
Ep 91 - Safely Introducing New Gameplay Features
Fair warning: I'm doing weird episodes again. This week, I advocate taking lessons from video games and movies and introducing new class abilities and gameplay mechanics in a safe, non-lethal environment...except for the one case where it doesn't make sense.

Sep 12, 2021 • 19min
Ep 90 - The GRAPES Worldbuilding System
Building worlds, countries, and even towns can be tough. There are a lot of moving parts to try to tame and it's easy to miss preparing some important information. Luckily, the GRAPES worldbuilding system is here to help provide a framework on which you can build your world. In this episode we talk about how we can use this great tool.

Sep 5, 2021 • 18min
Ep 89 - Monster Series - Goblins
Goblins are classic low level one-note baddies that eat anything they can, kill everything else, except for the few things that they try to mate with. There's no nuance there, right? Not so fast my friends. Goblins can be just as nuanced as the other ancestries and make for great player characters and big bads for your campaigns.

Aug 29, 2021 • 21min
Ep 88 - Class Series-Holy Moley The Cleric and Druid
Clerics and Druids are more diverse than most people realize. Playing them as Healy McHealface and Joe Ent-Lover may come second nature (ba-dum-tss) but they can be played a lot of different ways to satisfy a lot of different players. In this week's episode we look at the fun and choices of playing these two classes.


