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 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Episode 214 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Memories of Gamehole Con!
Shawn and Teos look back on all of the events they attended and lessons from attending conventions. Hear why Gamehole is so special.
News: Claim Elemental Evil, Maps Adds Encounters, Audio-Only Drizzt, and more!
Contents
00:00 Stealing Credit Cards
03:08 Cleric Subclasses Setting Only?
09:21 Good Design Not Obvious?
13:57 Claim Scions of Elemental Evil
16:26 D&D Maps Adds Encounters
19:26 Audible-Only Drizzt Novel
20:32 Discord D&D Collection
21:41 Ars Magica Definitive Collection
23:25 Rodney Thompson List and Games
25:04 MT Black World War Weird
26:08 Thunder Road Vendetta RPG
27:36 Draconis Peaceful 5E
28:57 Gamehole Revisited
29:32 Whether to Attend Conventions
33:05 Wednesday Pre-Con Gatherings
38:15 Thursday's Events
47:32 Making the Most of Friday
59:27 Packed Saturday
01:04:28 Thankful Sunday Finish
01:06:39 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Episode 213 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Want to Be a Professional Game Designer?
Shawn and Teos tackle a question they hear often. Do you truly want to be a game designer, and if so, the steps to take to make meaningful progress.
News: Hasbro Q3 and Layoffs, D&D 1-Shots, CR and Dimension 20 Arena Shows, and more!
Contents
00:00 Post-Gamehole Buzz
03:03 Skills are Exploration?
11:06 The Adventure is the Game?
16:46 Campaign Without Gods or Planes?
20:50 Layoffs and Q3 Hasbro Results
32:47 D&D is Down
34:17 How Big is D&D?
35:22 DMG Lore Glossary
36:41 DMG Encounter Design
40:13 DM Screen Preview
41:35 PH and DM High Demand
43:19 D&D One-Shot Store Events
44:51 Scions of Elemental Evil
46:41 Critical Role and Dim 20 Arena Shows
48:15 Be a Professional Game Designer?
49:22 Do You Actually Want It?
53:41 Mix Games with Occupation
57:13 What Skills to Hone?
01:05:12 Team Skills
01:07:22 Making Patient Progress
01:12:11 Know the Current Media
01:13:05 Possible Paths
01:15:17 Help People Solve Problems
01:17:36 Know Your Worth and do Work
01:19:26 Become a Great GM
01:21:06 The Role of Conventions
01:27:35 Having "It"
01:29:48 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Episode 212 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Live from Gamehole: Create a Campaign With Us!
Amazing fans at Gamehole Con help us create a campaign, live!
News: Perkins’ New Job, DMG Review, What it Feels Like to Be Nr 2, and more!
Special thanks to Dante of Ghostfire Gaming for recording and processing the audio for this episode. You are the best, Dante!
Contents
00:00 Live from Gamehole Con
01:28 Number 2?
02:23 What Excited Us This Week?
05:14 Previous Edition Mechanic?
09:28 Systems we Want to Try?
11:32 Recent Influences?
15:27 Our DMG Preview
18:11 DMG and Greyhawk
19:43 Greyhawk on DMsGuild
21:55 Perkins' Last Book
24:04 Trail of Cthulhu 2E
26:19 Hundred Dungeons
27:19 Grim Hollow Transformed
27:48 Creating a Campaign Setting Live
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Episode 210 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Wardens of the Eastern Marches!
Alex Kammer tells us all about Wardens of the Eastern Marches, the new organized play program from Gamehole Publishing.
News: 2024 DMG Previews, Commander Rules Committee, Bastion is for Players, and more!
Contents
00:00 No Vaccine for Ladders
02:19 Remove Mechanics for Setting?
15:08 D&D Made for Conflict?
31:28 DMG Previews!
41:26 Bastions Preview
42:04 Player Rules in the DMG?
44:04 New D&D Licensed Products
45:19 Commander Rules Committee Disbands
50:31 Gamehole's Organized Play
51:11 Real Castle Floor Plans
51:46 The Best LLM is Your Brain
52:58 Sorcerer's Return
54:00 Grim Hollow Transformed Update
55:56 Alex Kammer and Eastern Marches
58:19 Importance of Organized Play
01:01:35 AL at a Crossroads
01:04:51 The Eastern Marches
01:09:06 Setting and Alliances
01:12:42 Where to Play
01:13:15 3rd Party PC Options
01:19:58 Exploring the Unknown
01:21:08 Saying Yes to Creators
01:22:59 Magic Item Certs
01:26:22 Releasing Adventures
01:29:16 Gamehole and 50th
01:34:57 What Makes Gamehole Special
01:38:39 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Episode 203 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Search in 2024 5E and Greyhawk’s Regions!
D&D codifies the Search and Study actions in 2024. How does this impact gameplay? We then dive into how Greyhawk regions do or don’t create actionable history, looking into Highfolk, Ice Barbarians, Irongate, Empire of Iuz, and Keoland!
News: Uni Adventure at PAXW, Deborah Ann Woll Teaches, Motley Fool on 2024 D&D, and more!
Contents
00:00 ODnD Mini Review
02:55 What is Modularity?
10:26 First Multi-Table Event?
23:31 Deborah Ann Woll Teaches D&D
28:18 Alt Cover PH Delayed Outside US
29:21 2024 Tonal Shift?
38:42 Motley Fool on D&D 2024
43:40 Uni Adventure at PAX West
45:38 Norrøngard Tales of the Valiant
46:40 Horror at Devil's Run for Foundry
47:27 Search Action in 2024
49:22 Ludonarrative Dissonance?
55:29 Search in 2014
57:33 2024 Search and Study Actions
59:12 Feat and Spell Interactions
01:04:45 The Cost of Searching
01:06:59 DM Behavior
01:13:30 Living Greyhawk Gazetteer
01:13:59 Highfolk
01:18:58 Ice Barbarians
01:21:11 Irongate
01:24:44 Empire of Iuz
01:30:02 Keoland
01:39:37 Gamehole Con Events
01:40:21 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Episode 198 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: The Living Greyhawk Campaign!
The 2024 DMG will include the setting of Greyhawk. Shawn and Teos examine the start of the Living Greyhawk Gazetteer and reminisce on the impacts of the Living Greyhawk organized play campaign.
News: Dan Rawson’s Expanded Role, D&D Stamps and Conventions, Moonbeam, and more!
Contents
00:00 Copa of Tears
01:26 Warriors of Krynn
10:58 BG3 is New to Us
12:53 Last Caravan
13:58 20-Person Game?
21:40 Robin Hood Ranger?
25:05 Barbarian Make Sense?
31:17 Goodberry is Bad?
40:53 Dan Rawson Expanded Role
42:19 Infinite Staircase Releases
42:42 UK and US D&D Stamps
45:08 D&D at SD Comic-Con
46:20 Gen Con in 2 Weeks
47:08 GameHole Events
48:53 Daggerheart Final Beta
50:18 Free Mace of Tiamat
52:05 GAMA Horizon Fellowship
53:45 Moonbeam on Backerkit
57:07 Level Up 5E Platform
58:56 Living Greyhawk
01:00:15 Living Greyhawk's Impact
01:04:41 A Living Setting
01:06:22 Regions and Travel
01:10:25 Time Units
01:12:05 Greyhawk's Difficult Concepts
01:17:28 Have Settings Advanced?
01:22:03 Settings as Lies
01:24:02 Greyhawk Differentiators
01:25:20 Actionable Lore
01:30:09 Greyhawk's Lessons
01:31:02 Chapter 1
01:34:45 Continents and Weather
01:37:31 Geographic Divisions
01:38:24 Shout-Outs
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/
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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Wednesday May 29, 2024
Episode 192 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Daggerheart GM Moves and Mechanics!
Daggerheart lets a GM act at any time, yet encourages moves that push the narrative and create fun for players. Let’s take a look!
News: Andy Collins Returns to WotC, Chaosium Hires, Gamehole News, and more!
Contents
00:00 Back in Black
01:47 Know Other RPGs to Design?
07:26 Prepared vs Extemporaneous?
17:34 Chaosium Adds Staff
20:39 Andy Collins Returns to WotC
24:48 GameHole Badge Reg
26:37 PoC Mentoring Dinner at GHC
28:10 RPGs Spur Climate Empathy
31:21 Diana Jones Emerging Designers
32:27 Blade Runner Replicant Rebellion
33:33 Daggerheart GM Mechanics
35:26 Core Roll Mechanics
36:59 GM Mechanics
41:39 Calling for Action Roles
43:13 Guaranteed Success
46:21 Experiences and Rolls
50:01 Making GM Moves
54:59 Example Moves
56:29 Adventure Considerations
01:00:43 Choosing Moves
01:07:22 Hard and Soft Moves
01:09:08 Fear
01:18:42 Countdowns
01:21:47 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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Wednesday Apr 17, 2024
Episode 186 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: How to Keep Your New Campaign Healthy and Strong!
If the average campaign lasts only 3-5 sessions, how do we avoid that fate and maintain a healthy long-term campaign?
News: Hasbro CEO Interview Reimagined, Vecna is Coming, Fallout TV Sells RPG, and more!
Contents
00:00 Kids are Alright
01:39 The Black Ballad
03:42 Is 5E Indirectly Modular?
12:45 Fallout TV Sells Books
15:49 Hasbro CEO Interview Reimagined
25:13 Vecna is Coming
27:28 Lich PCs
29:44 Nest of the Eldritch Eye
33:18 Organized Play from Gamehole
37:00 D&D Blackmilk Clothing
40:05 Monsters of Drakkenheim
41:55 Keep Campaign Healthy and Strong
43:58 1. The Right Players
47:51 2. Right Campaign for the Players
49:49 3. Right-Sized Session Zero
56:49 4. Regular Flexible Schedule
01:00:14 5. End Date
01:03:04 6. Strong Campaign Start
01:03:33 7. Engage Between Sessions
01:08:19 8. Room for Changes
01:08:48 9. Frequent Check-Ins
01:10:30 10. Climactic End
01:16:37 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/).
MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.