RPG veterans and game designers Teos Abadía and Shawn Merwin look at the game and the hobby of D&D from a variety of viewpoints: reporting the news, understanding the business, reviewing the products, and illuminating the design. Whether you’re a fan, a player, a DM, or a designer, Shawn and Teos cover topics of interest to you!
Episodes
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Planescape’s 5E Adventure – Turn of Fortune’s Wheel (Mastering Dungeons 166)
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Wednesday Nov 22, 2023
Episode 166 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Turn of Fortune’s Wheel!
A tale of two chapters! A spoiler-filled discussion reviews the key twists to the adventure and finds a great disparity between the play experience in the first two chapters!
News: Free D&D for Teachers, Maps Adds Features, Running Towns, and more!
Contents
00:00 No Grandparents Harmed
02:26 Black Friday Deals?
05:24 Monstrous PC?
15:20 Multiple DMs?
20:18 D&D Maps Adds Features
22:43 Free Adventure for Teachers
29:17 Harmless Denizens
31:05 Running Towns
33:38 Fernbloom's Guide
34:46 Amazing Encounters & Locations
35:46 Turn of Fortune’s Wheel
42:43 Glitch PCs
44:42 Introducing Incarnations
54:26 Our Glitch Ideas
1:00:29 Mortuary Start
1:11:50 Explore Sigil’s Railroad
1:18:34 Suggestions
1:20:05 Farrow and Undercity
1:24:54 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Wednesday Nov 15, 2023
Planescape’s Monsters – Morte’s Planar Parade (Mastering Dungeons 165)
Wednesday Nov 15, 2023
Wednesday Nov 15, 2023
Episode 165 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Monsters in Morte’s Planar Parade!
We take a look at Planescape’s monster book. We get traits to add to monsters, faction agents, and creatures from across the planes. Hear what we like and what we would change.
News: Free Inspiration Deck, VTT at PAXU, GameHole Panels, and more!
Contents
00:00 Explore the Space
01:34 Unsafe Gate Towns?
08:34 Best Planar Adventures?
14:13 Free Inspiration Deck Handout
18:28 D&D VTT at PAXU
20:57 2 GameHole Panels
23:29 Simple Reputation System
26:31 Seeker’s Guide to Enchanting Emporiums
28:00 Free Sigil 2E Locations
29:01 AL Planescape
31:08 Morte’s Planar Parade
32:01 Introduction
37:00 Included CRs
39:12 Petitioners
47:54 Planar Influences
50:07 Monster Traits
58:27 Encounter Tables
1:04:49 Notable Monsters
1:08:25 Faction Agents
1:12:13 Final Verdict
1:15:49 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Planescape 5E – The Outlands of Sigil! (Mastering Dungeons 164)
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Wednesday Nov 08, 2023
Episode 164 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: The Outlands!
Outside of Sigil are the Outlands, marked by fantastic and intense gate towns reflecting the plane beyond. Find out why we would change these up and how!
News: D&D TV Launches, Chains of Asmoeus, Biggest Crowdfunders, and more!
Contents
00:00 Scary Candy
01:58 Span the Ages?
07:23 Reduce HPs?
14:01 Session Length?
21:13 Buck Stops Here?
29:08 FAST D&D Adventures
31:43 Autism and Many Things
34:16 B&G Encounter Cards
35:42 Chains of Asmodeus
40:38 Planar Adventures Blogs
41:52 Top Crowdfunders
46:39 Forge of Foes Available
48:44 Planescape – The Outlands
52:45 Cosmic Realignment
1:00:49 Outland Characteristics
1:06:17 Gate Towns and Automata
1:07:54 Bedlam
1:08:30 Is It Too Much
1:16:38 Faunel Post-Realignment
1:18:05 Fortitude and other Gate Towns
1:23:00 Other Realms
1:25:44 This Book Overall
1:28:07 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Planescape 5E – Sigil’s Factions and Wards! (Mastering Dungeons 163)
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Wednesday Nov 01, 2023
Episode 163 of Mastering Dungeons!
This week's main topic: Planescape: Sigil’s Factions and Wards!
The City of Sigil’s factions can be hard to grasp, but they play a critical role and shape the city itself, turning the city’s neighborhoods into reflections of their philosophies.
News: WotC Recalls Many Things, Rough Hasbro Q3, D&D Anthology, and more!
Contents
00:00 Back from GameHole!
03:28 Social System?
11:42 Skill List Creativity?
20:14 Slipcase Format?
26:24 WotC Recalls Many Things
29:43 Rough Hasbro Q3
36:00 D&D Anthology Glimpses
43:46 AL Update
45:08 Sigil’s Factions and Wards
47:00 Role Factions Play
1:01:56 Ascendant Factions
1:12:09 Minor Factions
1:14:22 City Wards
1:19:06 Adventures in Sigil
1:24:19 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Live at Gamehole 2023! Pronouncing Sigil, Setting Products, D&D Digital Releases
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Wednesday Oct 25, 2023
Episode 162 of Mastering Dungeons!
This week's main topic: Live at Gamehole 2023 – Setting Products!
We discuss settings with our live audience! What do you want from a setting? Paper or digital? And is it Sigil or Sijil?
Contents
00:00 Live at GameHole!
00:47 Sigil or Sijil?
05:09 What Do We Want from Settings?
06:23 Adventure Atlas: the Mortuary
10:20 Another Mortuary?
13:11 Audience Interest
14:24 Purchase Planescape?
15:02 Planebreaker Compatibility
16:38 Shifting RPGs
18:27 Books vs Small Supplements
20:11 Tools We Use
21:12 Rereleasing Settings
23:32 Digital Format
31:25 Ideal Setting Product
33:42 Included Adventure?
34:36 Ratio of Player Content
37:58 Player Guides
44:15 Production Challenges
49:57 Setting Breadth?
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Planescape 5E – City of Sigil! (Mastering Dungeons 161)
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Wednesday Oct 18, 2023
Episode 161 of Mastering Dungeons!
This week's main topic: Planescape: City of Sigil!
The City of Sigil is a sci-fi conundrum. Let’s learn what makes the city so intriguing and how a DM can make the most of it.
News: WotC hiring, Baldman at PAXU, Unforgettable Villains, and more!
Contents
00:00 D&D Tutor
03:16 Class Sales?
08:33 Bigger Books?
10:28 Reskinning?
15:50 Dungeon Tropes?
19:54 Baldman at PAXU
22:52 WotC Hiring
24:23 Unforgettable Villains
25:31 James Haeck Channel
26:52 HeroQuest Release
29:10 Tony DiTerlizzi Book
30:10 Hellwatch
31:32 Nimble Streamlining 5E
32:43 Sigil, the City of Doors
33:20 What is Sigil?
40:52 City Weather
43:04 Magic Changes
47:29 Summoning
50:57 Portraying Life in Sigil
1:00:21 Rats and Razorvines
1:01:39 Portals
1:04:12 Lady of Pain
1:14:14 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Mastering Dungeons 160: Planescape 5E – Character Options!
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Wednesday Oct 11, 2023
Episode 160 of Mastering Dungeons!
This week's main topic: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse!
5E finally has Planescape! We take a look at Sigill and the Outlands, the first book introducing the setting and offering character options.
News: The End of Everything, D&D Adds Bastions, WotC Drops Penguin, and more!
Contents
00:00 Alex Kammer!
01:15 What is Gamehole Con?
09:30 Our Gamehole Plans
12:36 Introduce New RPG?
23:10 Bastions and Cantrips
35:12 End of Everything
44:41 WotC Drops Penguin
49:32 Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
51:09 Planescape History
52:10 2024 Multiverse Focus
53:50 Sigil and the Outlands
55:12 Definitions and Truths
1:08:04 Character Backgrounds
1:12:52 Feats
1:16:02 Spells
1:20:15 Magic Items
1:24:11 Closing
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Mastering Dungeons 159: Modiphius 2D20 RPGs – Dune, Star Trek, and more!
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Wednesday Oct 04, 2023
Episode 159 of Mastering Dungeons!
This week's main topic: Modiphius 2D20 RPGs!
We take a look at the Modiphius 2D20 RPG system, including a close look at Star Trek Adventures and Dune: Adventures in the Imperium.
News: Evil Genius Sues Netflix, Planescape Previews and Downloads, Free Lightning Keep, and more!
Contents
00:00 Boosted
01:42 Modules?
11:21 New or Modify?
17:09 Planescape Previews
28:55 Minecraft and free Lightning Keep
31:14 Evil Genius Sues Netflix
34:33 FR Wiki Turns 18
34:59 Building a French Castle
36:25 Vecna’s Book of Vile Darkness
37:21 Modiphius 2D20 RPGs
39:16 Free SRD and Previews
40:03 Basics of 2D20
45:28 Skill Mechanics
55:19 Dune – Adventuring in the Imperium
1:01:32 Star Trek Adventures
1:10:23 Closing Thoughts
1:15:43 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Mastering Dungeons
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