Welcome to the second episode of i cast pod, a podcast about Dungeons and Dragons! Every two weeks I’m going to be talking about various aspects of D&D, with plenty of tips and tricks to add flavour to your own roleplay sessions. Here’s a rundown of the episode: 00:49 - What’s Involved? (In being a DM,.) 1:38 - What Makes A Good DM? 03:30 - What Makes A Bad DM? 4:58 - Responsibilities 6:14 - Session 0 8:40 - Rules You Should Know 10:47 - House Rules 11:42 - Homebrew Vs Pre-Built Campaign 12:43 - Preparation Time 13:14 - Maps & Minis Vs Theatre Of The Mind 15:16 - Describing The Scene 17:27 - Tools 21:02 - Music & Ambient Sounds 21:38 - NPC Tips 22:41 - Designing Encounters & Scenarios 23:23 - Monsters 24:10 - Handling Awkward Players 27:15 - It’s OK To Have To Look Things Up 28:10 - The DM Screen & DM Magic 29:53 - Reward Your Players 30:39 - DM Guidelines 31:41 : Wrap up Total runtime: 32:42 Linkshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVdb9Yr8fc05_VbAVfskCA (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkVdb9Yr8fc05_VbAVfskCA)- Matt Colville’s Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/wilwheaton (https://www.youtube.com/user/wilwheaton) - Will Wheaton’s Youtube channel https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/facilitator (https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/facilitator)Collins Dictionary definition of ‘Facilitator’. https://www.dndbeyond.com/ (https://www.dndbeyond.com/) D&D Beyond - online DM tools. https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/sac/sage-advice-compendium#RulesReferences (https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/sac/sage-advice-compendium#RulesReferences) - The Sage Advice Compendium - loads of good DM rules stuff. http://roll20.net/ (http://roll20.net/ )- Roll20 online TTRPG playing site https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php (https://www.fantasygrounds.com/home/home.php)- Fantasy Grounds https://dm-helper.itch.io/dm-helper (https://dm-helper.itch.io/dm-helper)- DM Helper https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounter-builder (https://www.dndbeyond.com/encounter-builder) - D&D Beyond Encounter Builder Mapping: https://inkarnate.com/ (https://inkarnate.com/)Inkarnate - Browser based map maker https://www.wonderdraft.net/ (https://www.wonderdraft.net)Wonderdraft - Desktop based map maker https://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp (https://www.profantasy.com/products/cc3.asp)Campaign Cartographer - Windows based map maker https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/ (https://azgaar.github.io/Fantasy-Map-Generator/) Azgaar - another browser based map maker. Links with: https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator (https://watabou.itch.io/medieval-fantasy-city-generator) Medieval Fantasy City Generator Music/Sounds https://syrinscape.com/ (https://syrinscape.com)- Syrinscape https://tabletopaudio.com/ (https://tabletopaudio.com) - Tabletop Audio http://www.bluefacegames.com/dmdj/ (http://www.bluefacegames.com/dmdj/)- DMDJ https://www.worldanvil.com/ (https://www.worldanvil.com)- World Anvil, Worldbuilding software https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Halma-Plastic-Playing-Pieces/dp/B01DCXSH5Q/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Big+Cherry+40x+Halma+Pawns&qid=1582240707&sr=8-1 (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cherry-Halma-Plastic-Playing-Pieces/dp/B01DCXSH5Q/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Big+Cherry+40x+Halma+Pawns&qid=1582240707&sr=8-1) - Amazon.co.uk link to multicolour player token Pawns. https://www.reddit.com/r/rpghorrorstories/ (https://www.reddit.com/r/rpghorrorstories/) - RPG Horror stories on Reddit. Worth a browse to see what NOT to do. Stat Block Generator https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html (https://tetra-cube.com/dnd/dnd-statblock.html) 5e Stat Block Generator - I used this to create a Statblock for my Picklezilla monster that I posted on Instagram. (@icastpod) Episode TranscriptCold Open Welcome to I Cast Pod, a podcast about D&D. I’m Mike, your host, DM, and... Support this podcast