Reading D&D Aloud

Pirate Borg designer Luke Stratton is a true polymath. Not only did he make the setting and the rules for his brutal, fast, and fun pirate RPG, but he also did the art! Additionally, he is a famous lighting designer who traveled the world lighting grunge gods, the Smashing Pumpkins! Want to hear Call of Cthulhu creator Sandy Petersen discuss game design with Trail of Cthulhu creator Ken Hite? Then you NEED to join our Patreon! Patreon subscribers get access not just to special episodes like the one just mentioned, but Ben is also digitizing his document archive. Discover hidden secrets of RPG history! And there is even a patrons-only Discord. All that, for only $3! Click here to join today!   Luke Stratton's THE GAME is here. 

Ed Greenwood may be the most successful Canadian fantasist of all time. His work has been translated into novels, comic books, games, movies, and (hopefully) a Netflix TV series. Come and learn the secrets of world-building from the creator of the Forgotten Realms! Pry loose the arcane secrets of Ed by subscribing to his Patreon here! Are you intrigued by Reading D&D Aloud? Tempted? Get the full experience by supporting our Patreon! Get access to our Discord, access special Patron-only episodes, and see vital documents from the history of TTRPGs as Ben digitizes his archives! 

Owen KC Stephens is the legendary game designer who co-designed the SAGA edition Star Wars RPG and Starfinder, but ask him if game designers are cool, and he'll tell you cool is for other people. We cover snake people, pirates, Cthulhu, and imposter syndrome on this week's episode of Reading D&D Aloud! Entertain your mind with Owen's visions by contributing to his Patreon here! Keep Owen in fine financial fettle for his fight against cancer by contributing to his GoFundMe here! Are you intrigued by Reading D&D Aloud? Tempted? Get the full experience by supporting our Patreon! Get access to our Discord, access special Patron-only episodes, and see vital documents from the history of TTRPGs as Ben digitizes his archives!   

Today, we continue our discussion about "Wish" in with 5E co-lead designer, Mike Mearls! And once that discussion is complete, I ask Mike a question that has fueled endless internet speculation since 2019: Why did Mike leave D&D? Did you know that in 1995, TSR sold $1 million of modules, but $1.2 million in Monstrous Compendiums? Become a Patreon subscriber and you too can learn fascinating facts like that as Ben digitizes his archive! Every week, receive another historical document from the golden age of D&D! All that and a Patreon and special episodes just for you! Click here to support us!

Richard Dansky was one of the core voices during the golden age of White Wolf. In this episode, we discuss one of the most unusual parts of the most unusual game published by White Wolf in the 90s: the Shadow, a player at the table who played the voice of the devil in your head. Pickup Dansky's books here! Ben has begun to digitize his D&D history archive. Every Wednesday, he will be releasing one new digital document on the show's Patreon Discord. Last week, it was campaign setting sales per category, 1983 to 1993. (Did you know Greyhawk sold 11 million products in that time, while Dragonlance moved 20 million, and Forgotten Realms 24 million, even though the Realms was published last?) A mere $3 a month gets you access to such historical gems, the Discord, and special patrons-only episodes! Click here to support us!

Erin M. Evans wrote seven Forgotten Realms novels, and she joins us today to talk about what happened when she referenced sex in her novel, The Adversary... Pick up Erin's novel, Empire of Exiles, here! Ben has begun to digitize his D&D history archive. Every Wednesday, he will be releasing one new digital document on the show's Patreon Discord. Last week, it was campaign setting sales per category, 1983 to 1993. (Did you know Greyhawk sold 11 million products in that time, while Dragonlance moved 20 million, and Forgotten Realms 24 million, even though the Realms was published last?) A mere $3 a month gets you access to such historical gems, the Discord, and special patrons-only episodes! Click here to support us!

Behold the dark and deadly dungeons beneath the desert's sands! TSR alumna Sue Weinlein joins Ben Riggs to discuss the 2nd edition Al-Qadim supplement, Cities of Bone.   

Billy Wardlow was executed in Texas on July 8th, 2020. He spent his last few weeks of life playing D&D. We only know about it because of the fantastic journalism of Keri Blakinger. Today, Ben Riggs and Dr. Aaron Trammell discuss her article, "The Dungeons & Dragons Players of Death Row" with Keri herself. Read Keri's article here. Like what we do? Support the show on Patreon, and you'll get special episodes, such as Ben Riggs reading the Dungeon Masters Guide aloud with Dr. Scott Bruner! Hear Ben's seminars on D&D history! Chat on our Discord! All that, for a mere $3 per month! Click here to support us!

Sometimes, you catch lightning in a bottle. That is what happened in this conversation between 3rd ed designer Jonathan Tweet, 4th ed designer Rob Heinsoo, and controversial D&D historian Ben Riggs about the spell "Wish" in D&D." Like what we do? Support the show on Patreon, and you'll get special episodes, such as Ben Riggs reading the Dungeon Masters Guide aloud with Dr. Scott Bruner! Hear Ben's seminars on D&D history! Chat on our Discord! All that, for a mere $3 per month! Click here to support us!

Wish is a spell that is ridiculously powerful, ridiculously fun, and (perhaps) ridiculously broken! We're going to do a deep dive and look at the spell across editions. Helping us look at the spell in 2nd and 3rd edition D&D are designer Skip Williams and show stalwart, Eliza Lambert! Like what we do? Support the show on Patreon, and you'll get special episodes, such as Ben Riggs reading the Dungeon Masters Guide aloud with Dr. Scott Bruner! Hear Ben's seminars on D&D history! Chat on our Discord! All that, for a mere $3 per month! Click here to support us!