Taking 20 Podcast

I have been guilty of trying to craft stories from an overview, a 50,000 foot view, if you will, and neglecting the individual encounters, scenes and scenarios.  In this episode I encourage you to do the opposite of this, focus on crafting these individual scenes to give you the flexibility to allow the PCs to take the story whatever direction they would like.   #dmtips #dnd #pathfinder #learnfrommistakes #orclicense

There are a few common tips and tricks that DMs can use to make monsters scarier or merely seem that they are.  In this episode I discuss ways that you can get rid of that same-old-same-old feeling with your monsters and keep your players on their toes.   #dnd #Pathfinder #opendnd #dungeonsanddragons #dmtips

I've given the WOTC Pinkerton issue a couple of weeks to marinate and I wanted to give my thoughts on the matter.  Also, I wanted to give my wonderful GMs out there a useful tool:  one question you can ask your players to keep them from making a preventable mistake. #DMTips #Dnd #OpenDnd #Pathfinder #WOTC #Pinkerton

In this episode I point out how to find inspiration in a book that is 125 years old and use the building blocks to make quests and backstories that are just as compelling today as they were then.   #dnd #opendnd #Pathfinder #DMTips #StoryDesign  Resources: https://www.storyanddrama.com/the-36-dramatic-situations-of-georges-polti/   https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirty-Six_Dramatic_Situations   http://ifxgroup.net/plots.htm

Oozes may seem like boring combatants at first, mindless blobs of acidic gels that don't exactly have complex motivations or rich histories but they can be so much more than that.  In this episode I talk about how DMs can use oozes and a couple of particularly nasty encounters that include them.   #dnd #pathfinder #opendnd #DMTips #oozes

On a very special super-sized edition of the Taking 20 Podcast I interview David Carter of the competitive D&D 5e tournament on Youtube called Crucible of Fate.  We talk about running PvP and the challenges of running a 5e competitive game show.  Thank you David for being so generous with your time and your expertise!   #CrucibleofFate #dnd #PvP #DMinterview #DMTips   Resources Crucible of Fate Youtube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJ5d0XblyYA7Sh6sWVhGFw  Crucible of Fate Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/crucibleoffate/  Crucible of Fate Discord server:  https://discord.gg/hjDAER9DWb Crucible of Fate Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Crucible_ofFate 

In this episode I talk about giving life to your campaigns by making your quest givers more dynamic and how you can use quest givers to steer the campaign the directions you'd like.   #dnd #Pathfinder #opendnd #orc #DMTips

This week I'm picking a fight and a lot of DMs will disagree with me.  I talk about what Armor Class and Hit Points really mean and how that can affect narrative combat.   NOTE:  Fixed the audio edit error about 11 minutes in.  Sorry about that.   #dnd #opendnd #pathfinder #narrative #combat

In this episode I give a brief review of the new D&D movie Honor Among Thieves and talk about how DMs should not use social skills like persuasion, diplomacy, and intimidation to rob a player of agency over their character. #dnd #opendnd #Pathfinder #DMTips #persuasion #diplomacy #intimidation   Resources: Dungeons and Dragons:  Honor Among Thieves Startplaying.games Warhorn.net Looking for Players & Groups D&D Beyond board D&D Beyond Discord

In an episode idea from generous donor Tim McKenzie, this week we talk about hags, especially their penchant for deals and their lethal abilities.  What makes hags tick?  What are their motivations and how can GMs use them in their campaign?  Tune in and find out.   #dnd #Pathfinder #opendnd #DMTips #hags   Resources: Monsters Know What They’re Doing - Hag Tactics - https://www.themonstersknow.com/hag-tactics/ The Monsters Know What They’re Doing - Hags - https://www.themonstersknow.com/hags-revisited-part-1/ Volo’s Guide to Monsters