DnDiscussions: Recent Episodes
DnDiscussions
Ryan and Ben talk about D&D Beyond’s Maps VTT, the Heroes of the Borderlands release, and revisions to some of the new and updated Unearthed Arcana Arcane subclasses. Then they delve into the world of deities.
Community Pages: D&D Beyond Maps VTT; Heroes of the Borderlands; Designer Insights from the Unearthed Arcana Arcane subclasses; No B.S. Interview with Matt and Travis; Power Word Meal fundraising.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dig into what’s new with Wizards of the Coast, D&D Beyond, and Critical Role, then discuss initiative.
Community Pages: Emworld’s write up on D&D’s Franchise Model; Games Industry interview with John Hight; D&D Beyond’s Party Inventory; Mega Dungeon Decent Live Play in the Abomination Vaults; Critical Role campaign 4 details and character art; DMs Guild Top Content Humble Bundle; Brennan Lee Mulligan’s Life Changing D&D Advice.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dig into the new Unearthed Arcana of Apocalyptic Subclasses then discuss differing goals between PCs.
Community Pages: Critical Role Campaign 4 details; Designer Insights from Unearthed Arcana: Apocalyptic Subclasses; Todd Kenreck’s UA breakdown; Apocalyptic Subclass UA PDF; Grim Hollow D&D Beyond Bundle; Todd Kenreck’s preview of Tales of Woodcreek; Silver Dragon Games’ Extra Life page.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben look into some Gen Con leftover news and then discuss running in game romance.
Community Pages: Collaborations and Partnerships interview with Laura Hohman; Todd Kenreck’s Starter Set Deep Dive and Stranger Things Interview; Ginny Di’s How to do D&D romance without making it weird; Sadie Lowry’s Critical Role announcement post; Tales from Woodcreek Teaser Trailer.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben go over the news from Gen Con 2025!
Links: Welcome Back to the Table: D&D’s New Direction; Forgotten Realms Ultimate Bundle; Everything You Need to Know About the New Forgotten Realms Books; Pathfinder’s Abomination Vaults Adventure Path; Cthulhu by Torchlight; Mutants and Masterminds 4E update; Draw Steel; Polygon Draw Steel article; Draw Steel’s Delian Tomb episode 1 actual play; Daggerheart announcements; Todd Kenreck’s Daggerheart interview; Variety interview with Brennan Lee Mulligan; Legend of Vox Machina renewal and Mighty Nein announcement Variety article; Legend of Vox Machina Season 4 teaser; Might Nein season 1 teaser; Justice Arman’s SDCC Blue Sky post.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about Dungeon Alchemist’s newest update, news about the new Dungeons and Dragons Starter set, and reasons for battling good aligned creatures.
Community Pages: New edition of Mutants and Masterminds; Critical Role Videogame.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben delve into the new Arcana Subclasses then come up with some subclass themes they’d like to see in the future.
Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana: Arcane Subclasses video; Arcane Subclasses PDF; Dungeons and Dragons Fanatics Arcane Subclasses review; Humble RPG Bundle.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss a multitude of news, then take a look at using flashbacks.
Community Pages: Todd Kenreck’s Bluesky post; Cynthia Williams resigns from Wizards of the Coast; Jess Lanzillo resigns from Wizards of the Coast; Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford join Darrington Press; Gunslinger class added to D&D Beyond; Dragon Delves preview; International Day of Play module.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dig into the Unearthed Arcana release of the Psion, then discuss ways to mix Alt Fantasy and High Fantasy by adding new technologies.
Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana The Psion video; Unearthed Arcana The Psion PDF; SRD conversion; Project Sigil miniatures.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss the new Horror themed subclasses, take a look at new D&D Beyond Marketplace items, and brainstorm ideas to make fetch quests a bit more interesting.
Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana 2025: Horror Subclasses video; UAT Horror Subclasses PDF; Eberron: Forge of the Artificer bundle; A Map for Every Journey; Film Genres; Ginny Di’s How to be a Dungeon Master.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben answer some questions from you about holding characters in dungeons and overly cautious players.
Community Pages: Sage Advice & Errata
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben look at some of the most recent news and then discuss making legendary resistance a bit more fun.
Community Pages: Dragon Delves intro video; Dungeon Delves pre-order; Map stickers; Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins leave D&D design team; Publish your own 2024 Content; 2024 Core Rules Errata; What people get wrong with session zero.
Nevermore’s Space Bunnies VoD; Donate to Extralife; Nevermore’s Twitch; Nevermore’s Bluesky.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben lament the newest Sigil updates then take a turn toward the dark side and discuss what it takes to play the villain.
Community Pages: Emworld Sigil article; PC Gamer Sigil article; Chase Taylor-Carter Sigil post; Alphastream’s How to Create a Monster; The Blind Bard’s TikTok.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about the new starter set, look into the updated artificer, and delve into Sigil.
Community Pages: D&D Starter Set; Gamesradar sneak peek; Enworld sneak peek; Enworld’s deeper look; Welcome to Sigil; Brennan Lee Mulligan answer’s Wired questions.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben explore some ideas to have a heroic backstory as a level one character and then discuss how to handle solo motivations.
Community Pages: An Open Letter to D&D Beyond; I got my grandma to play D&D with me.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben go over the new and updated UAT subclasses, give their first impressions on the 2024 Monster Manual, and discuss ongoing comfortability in your campaign.
Community Pages: Forgotten Realms Subclass video; Forgotten Realms Subclass UAT; Dungeon Master Essentials miniatures and scenery humble bundle.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about the new Undead, Monstrosities, Aberrations, and Fey videos then discuss how to switch your current campaign to the new 2024 rules.
Community Pages: Undead preview video; Undead video summary; Monstrosities preview video; Monstrosities video summary; Aberrations and Oozes preview video; Aberrations and Oozes video summary; Fey preview video; Fey video summary; D&D Beyond monster variations article; Updating your games to 2024 rules; 2024 Changes; 2024 transition guide; 10 biggest 2024 changes.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben return to the DnDiscussions table to dig in and take a look at the new Artificer Unearthed Arcana, the 2024 Monster Manual, and a sneak peek of the new dragons!
Community Page: Artificer video; Artificer Unearthed Arcana; Monster Manual video; Monster Manual summary; Dragon video; Dragon video summary; Griffon’s Saddlebag.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about running holidays in your game and then tackle their yearly tradition of brainstorming a holiday themed oneshot.
Community Pages: DMs Guild As Time Goes By; Monster stat blocks and hit point tracking come to D&D Beyond’s VTT; Voltron TTRPG Kickstarter; D&D Beyond 12 days of D&D; Kobold Press ADVENTure Calendar.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Alyssa Visscher joins Ryan and Ben to discuss consulting on the 2024 DMG.
Alyssa’s pages: Alyssa’s Bluesky; Fate’s Lingering Shadow; Up the Beanstalk; Alyssa’s website.
Community Page: The Illrigger Class added to D&D Beyond.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben give their first thoughts about the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide and then discuss some DM regrets.
Community Pages: Screenrant Balance article; Initiative combat tracker added to the D&D Beyond VTT; Scions of Elemental Evil
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dig into the 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide videos and then discuss your player characters’ renown and reputation.
Community Pages: DMG New Magic Items and Crafting video; Magic Items and Crafting video recap; DMG DM’s Toolbox video; DM Toolbox video recap; Lore Glossary video; Greyhawk video; 2024 DM Screen video; Bell of Lost Souls DM Screen preview; Polygon DMG article; Polygon PHB article; Enworld Chris Perkins promotion; Ginny Di’s 2024 DMG video.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dive into the new information on the 2024 DMG and then discuss how to incorporate level 3 subclasses in Clerics, Paladins, Warlocks, and Wizards from the 2024 PHB.
Community Pages: 2024 Dungeon Master’s Guide video; 2024 DMG recap article; Bastion video; Bastion recap on Enworld; The Legend of Vox Machina Season 3 episode 1; Mashable’s Legend of Vox Machine Season 3 review.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss some of the news coming from and about Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, and the 2024 PHB then dig into soft and hard campaign resets.
Community Pages: Hasbro CEO and AI; 2024 PHB is the fastest selling D&D book; Uni and the Hunt for the Lost Horn; Transition Guide and Changelog for the 2024 PHB; Polygon’s article on Horizons.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss the D&D Beyond changes and update then look into how to run and play with large scale and permanent consequences.
Community Pages: D&D Beyond Changelog; D&D Direct Recap; Ginny Di’s Let’s Make a 2024 D&D character; Ginny Di’s I ran a $5k D&D game (and had a panic attack).
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss the newest update about Bastions in the new 2024 DMG and then discuss some questions from the community.
Community Pages: Ginny Di’s “‘Yes, and’ isn’t the great D&D advice you think it is” video; Deborah Ann Woll Teaches Jon Bernthal Dungeons and Dragons; Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere RPG Kickstarter.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben go over the info coming out of GenCon and then look at various aspects of a running a chase scene.
Community Pages: PHB 2024 backwards compatibility; Artificers and the 2024 PHB; Chris Perkins interview about the new DMG; Ancient Green Dragon Stat Block; DM Screen Pic; Monetization job posting; Project Sigil sign up; All D&D announcements from Gen Con 2024; Ginny Di’s Should I switch to D&D 2024?; PHB Reviews; D&D Live from GenCon.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben continue to look into the new Player’s Handbook class videos delving into monks, sorcerers, clerics, and bards.
Community Pages: 2024 Monks; Monk video bullet points; 2024 Sorcerers; Sorcerer video bullet points; 2024 Clerics; Cleric video bullet points; 2024 Bards; Bard video bullet points; The Gamemaster’s Book of Traps, Puzzles, and Dungeons; Silver Dragon Games; Tabletop Game and Hobby.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben continue their journey through the deluge of 2024 PHB information taking a look at Warlocks, Druids, Wizards, Rangers, Spells, and Crafting.
Community Pages: 2024 Warlocks; Warlock video bullet points; 2024 Druids; Druid video bullet points; 2024 Wizards; Wizard video bullet points; 2024 Rangers; Ranger video bullet points; 2024 Spells; Spell video bullet points; Crafting video; Crafting video bullet points; Adaptable NPCs.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben dig through the new Player Handbook information as well as new information on Fighters, Paladins, Barbarians, and Rogues.
Community Pages: 2024 Player’s Handbook video; 2024 Fighter video; Fighter video bullet points; 2024 Paladin video; Paladin video bullet points; 2024 Barbarian video; Barbarian video bullet points; 2024 Rogue video; Rogue video bullet points; Surprise rule update; Donjon fantasy calendar.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben take a look at the new Monster Manual cover are, discuss the Roll20 Demiplane news, and then try out a new segment all about combat encounters!
Community Pages: Monster Manual cover art; Roll20 purchases Demiplane; Captains and Cannons; Star Wars 5th Edition; Ginny Di’s Youtube Channel; How to make your players stop talking and fight.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss some of the newest updates then take a look at each other with insight checks!
Community Pages: Flee Mortals! on D&D Beyond; Where Evil Lives on D&D Beyond; Flee Mortals’ Creature Roles; Game Informer: Art of Dungeons and Dragons; Reddit Game Informer TLDR; Animal Adventures: The Faraway Sea.
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about some of the most recent Wizards of the Coast News and then discuss campaign and adventure length Matt Colville’s video “How Long Should an Adventure Be?”
Community Pages: How Long Should an Adventure Be?; D&D Beyond’s VTT map tool updates; Expanding the SRD; Polygon’s Vecna: Eve of Ruin review; Adventure Lookup;
Of Dice and Men: The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
Socials: Discord; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben are joined by Jeff Reynolds to talk about running longform campaigns, the Curse of Strahd, and implementing horror elements.
Community Pages: Jeff’s Twitter; Legends of Barovia; A Guide to Curse of Strahd; Monster Loot – Curse of Strahd; She is the Ancient: A Genderbent Curse of Strahd; How Long Should An Adventure Be?
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss different gameplay styles and options between High, Low, and No level Magic Settings. Then a Monster Fixer with an Animated Armor and discuss animating other items.
Community Pages: LEGO Dungeons and Dragons Game Night; Dumpstatadventures: Keep it risky or lose the fun.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
A bunch of news dropped out of Gary Con and Ryan and Ben take a look at it. Then they dig into the idea of Narrative Adventures in D&D using fifth edition.
Community Pages: New wizard character art; News about Vecna: Eve of Ruin; Dungeons and Dragons Look Back on the Past; Consulting with Matt Mercer and Deborah Ann Woll; All the news from the 50th Anniversary panel from Gary Con; Interview with Chris Perkins on new editions; Worlds Beyond Number and running a narrative adventure; LEGO Dungeons and Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale set; Kobold Press’s Tome of Beasts 1; Descent into the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth; Daggerheart vs. the MCDM RPG.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben take a moment to answer some questions from the mailbag. Then they peek at the open beta of Daggerheart before introducing the updated edition of “Of Dice and Men The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It” by David Ewalt. And lastly, we peer through our telescopes at the most recent release by NASA?
Community Pages: Daggerheart; Demiplane’s Daggerheart Nexus; NASA’s The Lost Universe; Lin Codega’s review of “If Dice and Men The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It.”
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben discuss the possibilities available when running an evil campaign and then spend some monster fixing time on bandits.
Community Pages: Dev Update Core Rulebooks, Maps, and Third Party Content; Vecna: Eve of Ruin, Everything You Need to Know; Daggerheart.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky.
Ryan and Ben discuss the plethora of news released in the past 2 weeks and then peek into the lairs of black dragons.
Community Pages: Dungeons and Dragons turns 50; PC Gamer’s D&D coverage; Vecna: Eve of Ruin preorder; Everything you need to know about Humblewood; Bricktastic Dungeons and Dragons article; Mr. Rhexx’s Black Dragon video; Viva La Dirt League’s D&D Logic Playlist.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky.
Ryan and Ben take a peek at the latest playtest survey results and then discuss the odds and ends of multiclassing.
Community Pages: Playtest Survey Results; Screenrant’s 10 D&D Rule changes; D&D Beyond’s Playtest 8 Summary; Wargamer article for fixing CR; Mike Mearls 5e point encounters; Puffin Forest’s Most Abserd Character; Loke Battlemaps Terrain Set 2 kickstarter; Loke Battlemats.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky.
Ryan and Ben discuss the best practices for prepping for your first session after a hiatus and then dig into the best way to drop a big pile of lore!
Community Pages: 2023 Unrolled; The Physical Edition of the Deck of Many Things Releases; MCDM Where Evil Lives; Newsletter of M.T. Black Games.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky.
Ryan and Ben spend some time taking a look at some Wizards of the Coast news, spend some time monster fixing the abominable yeti, and create our holiday one shot!
Community Pages: Hasbro Layoffs; Christian Hoffer’s twitter post; D&D Beyond Dungeons of Drakkenheim; D&D Beyond Lairs of Etharis; Vecna: Eve of Ruin and Quests From the Infinite Staircase announcement; A Peek at the 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook; How the Lich Stole Christmas
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky.
Ryan and Ben discuss the highs and lows of Unearthed Arcana 8 and what it means to be a Warforged.
Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana 8 summary; Playtest 8 PDF; Playtest 8 video; Heroes’ Feast Adventure Book; Heroes’ Feast: The Joys of Running a High Level Adventure; Stonefold Kingdoms Magnetic Dungeons and Foldable RPG Terrain Kickstarter.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben celebrate episode 100 by discussing giving feedback and then looking into fixing a few golems.
Community Pages: D&D Beyond maps; Deck of Many Things physical book update; DMsGuild; Hero Forge.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s Bluesky; Ben’s Bluesky
Ryan and Ben talk about using passive abilities and then run the Awakened Tree and Corpse Flower through the Monster Fixer.
Community Pages: Deck of Many Things delay; Chains of Asmodeus; One-Shot Wonders.
Socials: Discord; Twitter; Bluesky; Ryan’s BlueSky; Ben’s BlueSky.
Ryan and Ben take a quick look at the newest Planescape release and discuss the use of cursed items.
Episode Links: Playtest 7 survey; Brennan Lee Mulligan and Planescape; The Problem with Cursed Items by Ginny Di; The Talent by MCDM.
Ryan and Ben summarize the new UAT 7 and 8 playtests and talk about a player character changing classes.
Links: Playtest 7; Playtest 7 summary; Playtest 8; Playtest 8 summary; Introducing maps video; Maps on D&D Beyond; Claim Lightning Keep; How to build glitch characters in Planescape; Claim Lost Mine of Phandelver.
Ryan and Ben are in need of a long rest. The next episode will be up in a week or two. Until then, be good to each other.
Ryan and Ben talk about building a one shot and then discuss the greatness of firbolgs.
Community Pages: Tal’dorei Campaign Setting Reborn; Baldur’s Gate Gazetteer; Simple 5E Microsoft Word Template Beginner’s Guide.
Ryan and Ben gush about Baldur’s Gate 3 and talk about some of the differences between fifth edition rules and rules of the game. Then they take a look at some of the news coming out from Wizards of the Coast. Community Pages: Gamerant’s Biggest Rule Changes in Baldur’s Gate 3; Community Update on AI … Continue reading "Episode 95 – Baldur’s Gate 3 discussion and WOTC news"
Ryan and Ben discuss ending a campaign and take a look at the different kinds of Genasi. Community Page: Tabletop Joab: Campaign Aftercare; Playtest 6 survey; Baldur’s Gate 3.
Ryan and Ben take time to dig into the preview of Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants and then attempt to tackle the massive new Player’s Handbook Unearthed Arcana. Community Pages: Everything You Need to Know Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants; Unearthed Arcana Player’s Handbook Playtest 6 full video; Playtest 6 PDF; Playtest 6 notes; … Continue reading "Episode 93 – Player’s Handbook Playtest 6 and Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants"
Ryan and Ben discuss how to set the mood for home and online games and then take a crack at fixing oozes. Community Pages: Intro video to Playtest 6; Unearth Arcana Playtest 6; Kenku FM; Phandelver and Below preorder; Tome of Beasts 3; Further Ancestries and Cultures.
Ryan and Ben discuss some recent news and talk about the 2014 Druid and subclasses. Community Pages: D&D Community Update; Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants; Nerdist sneak preview of the 2024 update; What are the 2024 Fifth Edition Core Rulebooks; Tome of Mystical Tattoos; Tome of Mystical Tattoos II completed Kickstarter; Celebrate Pride!
Ryan and Ben discuss the Paladin and Druid UA results, look forward to the Players Handbook survey, and then discuss some of the optional rules found in the Player’s Handbook and the DMG.
Community Pages: Paladin and Druid UA Survey Results; Player’s Handbook UA Survey Launch video; UA 5 Player’s Handbook Survey; Optional Rules guide; DM’s Guild Fantastic Terrain.
Ryan and Ben dissect the massive amount of information in the new Player’s Handbook Unearthed Arcana.
Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana Player’s Handbook; D&D Community Update Page; Misplaced Monsters Volume 1.
Ryan and Ben take a look at the sneak preview of the new DMG, then talk about bringing in new players and new player characters.
Community Pages: Pathfinder 2nd Edition Harvest Compendium; Anne Gregersen’s DMs Guild list.
Ryan and Ben are joined the Daniel Kwan to talk about cultural consulting, representation, and the D&D Summit.
Daniel’s pages and work: D&D Summit Summary; Daniel’s Twitter; The Asians Represent Podcast; Daniel’s supplements; Daniel’s itch.io page.
Things mentioned on the show: Shou-Chiang: The Shou Alphabet; The Star Wars Chandrilan clothing on Andor.
Ryan and Ben talk about the latest D&D Direct, look into ways of speeding up combat, and answer a listener’s email.
Community Pages: D&D Direct 2023 Announcement Showcase; D&D Virtual Tabletop: A Closer Look; Druid & Paladin Survey Launch; Loke BattleMats; DnDBeyond sale.
Ryan and Ben talk about righting your wrongs and mistakes and then spend some time fixing celestials!
Community Pages: Professor Gilroy’s Heavenly Handbook; D&D Beyond Community Update; Adventuring Academy XP vs. Milestone Leveling.
Ryan and Ben take a look at the newest UA with changes for Druids and Paladins as well as touch on fitting in player backstories into your module and homebrew campaigns.
Community Pages: Survey Results and the Future of Playtest; Druid and Paladin UA; Demiplane 5e Nexus announcement; Daughter of Frankenstein Kickstarter.
Ryan and Ben discuss the outcome of the Wizard’s of the Coast OGL drama. Then they tackle how to handle turn ending effects like stun, paralyze, and charm.
Community Pages: OGL and Creative Commons announcement; SRD 5.1-CC; OGL discussion summary from the 3 Black Halflings Podcast; Mastering Dungeons interview with Kyle Brink; Polygon’s OGL controversy fuels rising indie sales article; The best actual play podcasts that don’t use D&D.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Dr. Emily Friedman to discuss the rise and reason behind TTRPG actual play shows.
Emily’s Info: Website; Polygon page; Twitter; Youtube.
Community Pages: Lost Atlas; Morvold Press.
Ryan and Ben attempt to summarize the recent goings on with Wizards of the Coasts OGL 1.0 and discuss the various aspects of Unwinnable Fights.
OGL discussions: #OpenDND open letter; Gizmodo article; MyLawyerFriend article; DnDbeyond OGL update; Gizmodo Subscriptions article; LegalEagle video; Kobold Press announcement; MCDM announcement; Paizo Open RPG License.
Community Page: Abyssalbrews Twitter.
Ryan and Ben discuss the results of the previous playtest and take a peek at the newest Unearthed Arcana. It’s also that time of year for our holiday one shot!
Community Page: Cleric and Revised Species UA; D&D Adventure Calendar 2022.
Ryan and Ben answer an email which sparks a conversation about binary outcomes and then take a shot at an Undead Monster Fixer
Community Pages: D&D Beyond sale; Dragonlance releases Dec. 6th; Tome of Beasts 3.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito from Dragon Talk to talk about the Welcome to Dragon Talk and the growth of D&D. Community Pages: Preorder Welcome to Dragon Talk; Dragon Talk Podcast; Shelly’s Twitter; Shelly’s website; Greg’s Twitter; Greg’s Instagram; Re:Engage podcast; One D&D Expert Classes Survey; The Light Package … Continue reading "Episode 78 – Welcome to Dragon Talk with Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito"
Ryan and Ben are joined by Ryan Servis to discuss 3rd and 4th tier play! Community Pages: Ryan Servis Twitter; 2C Gaming; Total Party Kill Bestiary Vol. 1; Total Party Kill Bestiary Vol. 2; Grimoire of the Grave Kickstarter; One D&D Expert Classes Survey.
Ryan and Ben discuss round two of the One D&D Unearthed Arcana Playtesting material. Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana Expert Classes; Anansi’s Tapestry of Lives; Dungeons and Dragons x LEGO Ideas.
Ryan and Ben discuss Blue Dragons and fix them up a bit as well running a one shot during player absences. Community Pages: MCDM The Workshop Watches; Monster Loot.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Alyssa Visscher to talk about exploration off the beaten path. Community Pages: Alyssa Visscher’s Twitter; Dora the Explorer method of travel; Fate’s Lingering Shadow; What Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos Teaches Us About Good Storytelling; Don’t Lose Focus! Your Guide to the Rules for Concentration in D&D How to … Continue reading "Episode 74 – Exploring the World with Alyssa Visscher!"
Ryan and Ben discuss the information that came from the most recent Wizard Presents. Community Page: Wizards Presents recap; Planegea.
Ryan and Ben talk about balancing with Artificer magic items and the need to give a little help now and then. Community Page: Dragnacarta Challenge Ratings 2.0 and Radiant Crossroads.
Ajit George joins Ryan and Ben to discuss the ins and outs of Journeys through the Radiant Citadel. Community Pages: Ajit’s Twitter; Ajit’s Facebook; Ajit’s Website; Saturnalia; Journeys beyond the Radiant Citadel; Wonders of the Multiverse Unearthed Arcana.
Ryan and Ben discuss the challenges of splitting the party then take a look at kobolds. Community Pages: Free Spelljammer Academy Supplement; Roll20’s joint venture with OneBookShelf; Kill Every Monster Podcast.
Ryan and Ben are joined by the wonderfully knowledgeable LegalKimchi to talk about creating and running a high political campaign. Community Pages: LegalKimchi’s Twitter; LegalKimchi’s Youtube page; Political D&D Games: Power; The Prism Class at DMsGuild is Free for Pride Month;
Ryan and Ben discuss the importance of using backstories and the impact they can have when explored. Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana Giant Options; MCDM Psionics and the Talent; Beastheart and Monstrous Companions.
Ryan and Ben take a swing at a little monster fixing on mimics as well as discuss some ideas and practices to fill in the details on maps! Community Pages: Dungeon Alchemist; Inkarnate; Lost Atlas; DM’s Guild Monster sale.
Ryan and Ben discuss the announcements from the D&D Direct and dive into the domain of Clerics. Community Pages: Alphastream write up of the D&D Direct; D&D Beyond Monsters of the Multiverse FAQ; Deborah Ann Woll’s House Rule; The Game Master’s Book of Non-Player Characters; Campaign Builder Cities and Towns Kickstarter.
Ryan and Ben discuss Wizard’s of the Coast’s acquisition of D&D Beyond along with some of their wants and hopes. Then take another attempt at some monster fixing Lemurs and Imps. Community Pages: D&D Direct; Flee, Mortals!
Ryan and Ben sit down with Mick Montgomery to talk about subverting expectations as well as describing your world as a 3D space. Community Pages: Mick’s Twitter; Dungeon Alchemist; and Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel.
Ryan and Ben are joined by RJ Cresswell to discuss professional DMing, D&D in schools, and more! RJ’s pages: Start Playing; Twitter Community Page: New Unearthed Arcana
Ryan and Ben delve into some discussion about combat intent as well as discuss ways to help new players with RPing and mechanics. Community Pages: Leon Barillaro’s telegraph information thread; Claim the Sky; Cypher System; Masks.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Sadie Lowry to talk about editing, creating, and villainy! Community Page: Burn Bryte; Sadie’s Twitter; Sadie’s Instagram; Arcadia issue 11; Devil’s Bridge kickstarter
Ryan and Ben take a crack at gnolls for their monster fixing as well as introduce a new segment, Encounter Themes. Community Post: DMs Guild Underwater Campaigns; Ryan’s Arena Map
Ryan and Ben reflect on lessons learned in 2021 and cast out their hopes and dreams for 2022. Community Pages: Devil’s Advocate A Guide to Infernal Contracts; DnDBeyond Encounter Builder in Beta; Beastheart and Monstrous Companions; AllthingsDnD Youtube channel
Ryan and Ben have a small therapy session as they discuss Imposter Syndrome as well as take a shot at another holiday themed one shot! Community Page: Bloodied and Bruised Monster Manual
Ryan and Ben are joined by Celeste to talk about treasure, pricing, and the new Rewards and Rarities Kickstarter campaign! How to find Celeste and Rewards and Rarities: Rewards and Rarities Kickstarter; Celeste’s Twitter; Celeste’s website; and Venture Maidens.
B. Dave Walters returns to join Ryan and Ben to chat about horror, tension, and the World of Darkness. B. Dave’s projects: LA by Night Seasons 1-3, LA by Night Seasons 4-5, Black Dice Society, Demiplane, Trials of Tiamat, Heroes of the Planes, Champions of Lore, Gaxx Pack, and Long Beach by Night.
Ryan and Ben take a look at Black and Red dragon abilities, playing a Tabaxi, and a whole slew of new official and unofficial content! Community Page: Traveler’s of the Multiverse UA content; Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep; Companion and Beastmaster Public Beta; Spellshaper Wizard.
Ryan and Ben talk about the info coming out of D&D Celebration and discuss some Homebrew. Community Page: Ryan’s subclass the Shadowgrasp, Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Strixhaven summaries, The Future of D&D.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Jeff Reynolds to break down and discuss his first time DMing! Community Pages: Jeff’s twitter; Amy Vorpahl “Behold Her Dreams” Kickstarter; Combat Wheelchair Version 3.0
Ryan and Ben take a stab at sprucing up some elementals and then follow the bread crumbs to adding plot hooks and side quests to your world. Community Page: Tome of Mystical Tattoos
Ryan and Ben attempt to spruce up giants and then take some time to step into the shoes of halflings. Community Page: Epic Legacy Hero’s Handbook Kickstarter
Ryan and Ben talk about the information released about the 3 new books from D&D Live and take a look at Bronze Dragons. Wild Beyond the Witchlight: Gamesradar article, CBR.com article, Wizards of the Coast page. Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons: Polygon article, Reddit Breakdown, Wizards of the Coast page. Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos: Polygon … Continue reading "Episode 50 – Info from D&D Live and Bronze Dragons"
Celeste Conowitch joins Ryan and Ben to talk about high level play and to drop a mind blowing truth bomb! Celeste’s projects: Twitter, Website, Venture Maidens Kickstarter, Venture Maidens Twitch, and the 2C Gaming Patreon page.
Ryan and Ben talk about the newest announcements from Wizards of the Coast and answer an email question! Community Pages: The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos, Mages of Strixhaven Unearthed Arcana, Settings Update, “Shia LaBeouf” by Rob Cantor, Actual Cannibal Shia LaBeouf Stat Block.
Ryan and Ben discuss the advantages of DnDBeyond and other programs that foster accessibility as well as the value of interludes. Community Page: Prism: Light & Magic
Amy Vorpahl joins us as we explore a little section of the Candlekeep Mysteries. Amy’s sites: Twitter, Youtube, and Website.
Ryan and Ben are joined by Enrique, the NewbieDM to talk about running modules, previous editions, as well as a bunch of fun stories. Enrique’s sites: Twitter, Website, RPGKids, and Patreon Community Pages: DnDBeyond Subscriber Perks, Star Wars 5th Edition Rules, The Monsters Know What They’re Doing
Ryan and Ben discuss some of the challenges in scheduling and dealing with various lengths of time between sessions as well as talking about incorporating Group Skill Checks. Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana Draconic Options, and the Auroboros Kickstarter
Ryan and Ben discuss the ferocity of White Dragons and the advantages of Drop In Adventures. Community Pages: MrRhexx’s White Dragon Video, Owlbear Rodeo, The Lazy DM’s Workbook on Amazon, and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master on Amazon.
Ryan and Ben talk about balancing around unbalanced parties as well as various roles in and out of game for players. Community Pages: Fey Folk, Pixels Dice Kickstarter
Ryan and Ben talk about RP during combat and answer some questions from the mail bag. Community Pages: Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft announcement, CHofferCBus Investor tweet thread, and Dungeon Alchemist Kickstarter.
Ryan and Ben discuss whether or not there are wrong choices in Dungeons and Dragons as well as the importance of Storytelling Downtime. Community Pages: The Combat Wheelchair and Arcadia issue 2
Ryan and Ben talk about Warlocks, patrons, dragonborn, and much much more! Community Page: Sharing Dice Results on D&D Beyond, Dimension 20, The Dungeon Run, and Relics and Rarities.
Adam Bradford takes some time to sit down with Ryan and Ben to talk about storytelling, D&D life lessons, introducing the game to new players, and much more! Community Page: Candlekeep Mysteries Announcement and Arcadia.
Ryan and Ben take some time to talk about gods and deities and discuss ideas for what we’d like to see released in 2021. Community Page: The Deck of Multitudinous Things
Ryan and Ben tackle the challenge of fixing magic item imbalances and integrating different campaign worlds into your own. Community Page: A Crap Guide to DD
Ryan and Ben take some time to do a little shopping trip as well as discuss what to do with uncooperative dice! Community Page: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything table of contents.
Ryan and Ben tackle ideas on how to bounce back from a total party kill and green dragons! Community Pages: The Darrington Press, D&D Beyond gift giving, Unearthed Arcana Subclasses part 5, Justice’s Guide to the DMs Guild.
Ryan and Ben discuss various ways and reasons to run a session 0 as well as talk about reasons behind and solutions to fight burnout. Community Page: DM’s Guild Mythic Bundle
B. Dave Walters joins Ryan and Ben to talk about all things Dungeons and Dragons. Pull up a chair and take a listen. Community Page: B. Dave Walters Patreon; B. Dave Walters Twitter
Ryan and Ben sit down with the best selling DM’s guild supplement author, Beadle & Grimm’s tinkerer, and DM extraordinaire Justice Arman Community Page: Justice Arman’s blog
Ryan and Ben discuss the difficulty of story balance and gush about monks. Community Page: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything announcement.
Ryan and Ben take a little bit of a road trip together and discuss some positive player habits. Community Pages: Exploring Eberron, Reddit 100 random social encounters on the road, DnDSpeak 100 Travel Complications, and NerdsonEarth 100 Dungeons and Dragons Roadside Encounters.
Ryan and Ben discuss some ideas and activities to do during in game downtime. Community Page: Downtime Expanded.
Ryan and Ben discuss the joys of running a Beholder and playing a Half-Orc. Community Page: Unearthed Arcana feats.
Ryan and Ben discuss how to develop an economy for your game and take a look at the paladin class. Community Page: Sane Magic Item Prices
Ryan and Ben share some of their favorite magic items. Community Pages: Artifacts of the Guild, DnDBeyond Homebrew
Ryan and Ben discuss the various aspects, actions, and ways to handle player death. Community Page: The Lingering Soul
Ryan and Ben discuss the ins and outs of running a Silver Dragon and playing a Tiefling. Community Page: Legendary Dragons 3D printable files Kickstarter.
Ryan and Ben take some time to talk about crafting a betrayal and the magic of sorcerers. Community Page: Wizards of the Coast free Dungeons and Dragons material.
Ryan and Ben spend some time with Kyle Fergusson to talk about various aspects of playing Dungeons and Dragons. Community Page: Inkarnate version 1.0
Ryan and Ben answer a question about abrupt changes to your campaign and delve into the life of a Barbarian. Community Page: Happy 5th year anniversary Critical Role!
Ryan and Ben open up a portal and take a look into different planes and the multiverse, then bring the discussion back to the material plane and talk about dwarves. Community Page: Towns & Taverns Kickstarter
Ryan and Ben look a bit at the dark side by discussing vampires, then open up the mail bag and answer a couple questions. Community Page: Matt Colville’s Skill Challenges! Running the Game #21
Ryan and Ben chat about various single monster and multiple monster combat tactics and their love and appreciation for the simple bard. Community Page: Action Oriented Monsters (Running the Game #84 by Matt Colville)
Ryan and Ben discuss the finer points of traps and working with your DM to create a backstory. Community Pages: DnDbeyond is having a New Year’s Sale: ” Happy New Year and welcome to the “Rolling 20’s!” Use these codes at checkout to secure some savings: LEGENDARYTHANKS ($150 off the Legendary Bundle), SOURCEBOOKTHANKS ($75 off … Continue reading "Episode 15 – Traps and Backstories"
Ryan and Ben create a Christmas themed one shot on the fly and discuss various house rules! Community Pages: DMs Guild and Drive Thru RPG
Ryan and Ben dig into and discuss Gold Dragons and peer into the diverse world of Elves. Community Page: MrRhexx’s youtube page.
Ryan and Ben discuss the Big Bad Evil Guy and dabble in a little magic with some Wizarding 101. Community Pages: Matt Mercer’s GM Tips
Ryan and Ben discuss some map building methods and touch on the Unearthed Arcana. Ryan’s Campaign maps: Ben’s Campaign maps: Community Pages: Inkarnate, Wonderdraft, Unearthed Arcana, and Errata.
Ryan and Ben sit down and talk with Beau Schwartz about Homebrewing content. Community Page: There Will Be Dungeons
Ryan and Ben talk about handling players’ curve balls and discuss the finer points of Feats vs. Ability Points. Community Page: Zee Bashew and the Animated Spellbook
Ryan and Ben break into the complex and interesting world of dragons with a bit of magic thrown in to boot! Community Page: Elminster’s Guide to Magic
Ryan and Ben discuss the various status effects found in Dungeons and Dragons. Community Pages: Thingverse Status Indicators; Viridian Gaming Supplies
Ryan and Ben discuss loot distribution and magical items. Community page: Seth Skorkowsky’s youtube page.
Ryan and Ben dig into some ideas on DM encounter design as well as discuss some out of the box encounter solutions
Join Ryan and Ben on the premier episode of DnDiscussions as they have a chat about campaign and character creation.