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 Feb 19, 2025
Wednesday Feb 19, 2025
Episode 229 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: New Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard Subclasses!
We examine the Winter Ranger, Rogue Scion, Spellfire Sorcerer, and Bladesinger Wizard – new subclasses coming in November to the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide.
News: Netflix D&D TV Show, Kickstarter Recovers, Evil Hat Shares Finances, and more!
Contents
00:00 I'll Do Anything for Podcasts
01:16 Advice on Plot and Story?
13:25 Games without Levels and HP Gain?
20:01 Playtesters are Wrong About Fix?
27:21 Netflix D&D TV Show!
30:09 Baldman Games Awards
33:46 Evil Hat Shares Finances
36:54 Kickstarter Reports 2024 Growth
40:01 Dark Sun Lost Cities of the Trembling Plains
41:21 Keith Ammann's Making Enemies
42:29 D&D Version of Horrified
44:08 Unearthed Arcana
45:17 Shawn's Subclass Crisis
52:20 WotC's Role vs 3rd Parties
55:23 Winter Ranger Concept
59:14 Winter Ranger Features
01:08:04 Subclass Challenges
01:09:46 Rogue Scion of the Three Concept
01:12:06 Rogue Scion Features
01:23:08 Spellfire Sorcerer
01:27:58 Bladesinger Wizard Subclass
01:33:29 Shout-Outs
01:37:44 What Should We Do Know?
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 Feb 12, 2025
Wednesday Feb 12, 2025
Episode 228 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Purple Dragon Knight and Oath of Genies Paladin!
We take a look at new fighter and paladin subclasses coming in November to the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide. How do lore changes impact the design?
News: Free D&D Adventure, D&D on Netflix, WotC Hires Worldbuilding, and more!
Contents
00:00 Winter Fantasy Key Cards
05:57 Flipping Campaign Script?
11:54 Goal of Organized Play?
31:24 Free Adventure Hold Back the Dead
36:40 D&D Movie to Netflix US
37:17 Daggerheart End of May
39:13 WotC Hiring Worldbuilding Designer
40:57 What World Should D&D Create?
43:53 D&D Free Rules Adds MM
45:03 Tangled in Shrouds
46:53 Unearthed Arcana part 2
47:28 Survey is Up
48:16 Purple Dragon Knight Lore Change
54:51 Purple Dragon Knight Features
01:11:54 Oath of Noble Genies Paladin Lore
01:13:30 Paladin Oaths
01:16:20 Noble Genies Features
01:35:35 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 Feb 05, 2025
Wednesday Feb 05, 2025
Episode 227 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Forgotten Realms Unearthed Arcana!
New subclasses are out for playtest feedback and will be part of the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide out this November. We take a look at playtesting and the first two subclasses for Bard and Cleric.
News: D&D Movie Licensing, New D&D Books and Settings, Sigil VTT Changes, and more!
Contents
00:00 Winter Fantasy Cometh
02:57 What RPG Jobs Do?
20:36 Running Interesting NPCs?
28:33 D&D Movie and TV Licensing
34:10 Battlemarked Game
35:05 New D&D Books Announced - Eberron
38:59 Dragon Delves and Borderlands Starter
40:18 FR Player's and Adventure Guide
41:10 New Settings Coming
42:20 Sigil VTT Changes
45:05 New Fallbacks Novel
45:27 Universal D&D Fan Fest Tickets Available
46:01 Ethan Yen Launches PREQUEL
47:39 Punch Nazis on Bundle of Holding
48:25 Jared Rascher Hangs Up Review Hat
49:34 Brandon Sanderson Lectures
50:25 New Unearthed Arcana
52:09 What is Helpful Feedback?
01:03:44 Bard College of the Moon Concept
01:06:24 Bard Subclass Benefits
01:20:10 Cleric Knowledge Domain
01:32:42 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 Jan 29, 2025
Wednesday Jan 29, 2025
Episode 226 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Monster Manual Design!
We review the latest monster previews and continue to examine how 2024 has changed monster design.
News: ENNies Changes AI Policy, Dimension 20 Rocks Garden, Kickstarter Breakdown, and more!
Contents
00:00 Dimension 20 Rocks Garden
03:11 How Restart Campaign?
10:23 Emergency Takeoff Scenario?
20:46 Do You Fudge Dice?
29:50 New MM Previews
37:53 ENnies AI Policy Change
43:33 Kobold Press on Kickstarter Business
50:01 Keith Baker on Fiendish Gnolls
54:33 MM Design Comparisons
55:18 Empyreans
01:11:48 Ancient Gold Dragon
01:19:44 Semi-Alphabetical Actions
01:26:47 Vampire Familiar
01:34:48 Gargoyle
01:37:02 False Appearance Changes
01:39:10 Mimic Shapeshift
01:41:27 Which Mini Wore It Better?
01:42:34 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 Jan 22, 2025
Wednesday Jan 22, 2025
Episode 225 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Monster Manual Comparison!
We review the recent monster previews. How do 2024 5E monsters compare to 2014, and what do we think of the design?
News: Diamond Files Bankruptcy, Ray Winninger on 5E History, Student Trains AI on CR, and more!
Contents
00:00 Deadlands and Playtests
02:16 Handout Prep Worth It?
10:52 Rolling Under Pressure?
22:26 Diamond Files Chapter 11
28:51 Ray Winninger on 5E History
41:04 Legends of Greyhawk News
47:37 Grad Student Trains AI on CR
49:41 WizKids Glo in the Dark Minis
52:42 Encounters Under the Shadow of the Dragon Queen
54:37 Monster Manual Comparisons
56:02 How Previews Work
57:53 Ancient Green Dragon Preview
01:01:56 Legendary vs Reactions
01:07:03 Spellcasting and Theme
01:13:16 Numerical Changes
01:15:47 Kuo-Toa
01:24:54 Cyclops
01:38:15 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 Jan 15, 2025
Wednesday Jan 15, 2025
Episode 224 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: The Monster Overhaul!
Shawn and Teos review the Monster Overhaul, a book that irreverently aims to become an indispensable tool at your table, providing tons of ideas for fun monsters.
News: Critical Role Publishing Deal, Chaosium $500 Convention Pack, Morale Rules, and more!
Contents
00:00 Back to Normal
01:57 Desert Island RPG?
06:26 Is 2024 5E Deadlier?
14:58 2024 Distrusts DMs?
31:33 Chaosium $500 Support Pack
33:08 Mearls on Morale
51:46 McMillan Carries CR
53:25 Monster Word Play
55:33 Public Domain Image Archive
56:39 Cairn 2E in Spanish
57:29 Shout Out to Luz_Tak
58:11 The Monster Overhaul
59:02 How Our Brains Work
01:01:06 Book Introduction
01:02:58 Do You Love Tables?
01:09:23 Random Encounter Tables
01:18:38 People
01:19:23 Dungeon and Goblins
01:23:58 Dragons
01:25:10 Harpy and Will-o-Wisp
01:27:10 Froghemoth
01:27:43 Vampires and Biscuit Golem
01:28:54 Eye Tyrants
01:30:42 Overall Thoughts
01:32:15 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 Jan 08, 2025
Wednesday Jan 08, 2025
Episode 223 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Monster Manual Previews!
Previews have begun for the 2025 MM! Shawn and Teos discuss the preview and just how hard it is to create monster books.
News: Pinball Wizards, Most Anticipated RPGs, Singapore GMing, and more!
Contents
00:00 Rip Off the 2025 Band-Aid
02:50 New Crafting Rules?
11:29 Games for Campaigns vs One Shots?
27:08 Pinball Wizards
30:28 2025 Most Anticipated RPGs
32:19 Appelcline's Year in Review
39:45 Singapore Professional GMing
42:40 Universal Fan Fest D&D Details
43:58 Will Doyle on Directive 8020
45:53 Kobold Press Monster Vault 2
46:16 Shawn Merwin's Design Tips!
46:59 Monster Manual Previews
49:14 The Challenge of Monster Books
51:26 Describing Monsters in the World
57:38 New Art to Represent D&D
01:00:52 All Paths Lead to CR
01:09:35 What Changed and Monster Families
01:11:45 Monster Type Changes
01:16:46 Bloodied and Exhaustion
01:18:29 Biggest MM Ever?
01:19:49 The 2014 DMG is Bigger than 2024
01:21:07 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 Jan 01, 2025
Wednesday Jan 01, 2025
Episode 222 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Looking Back on 2024, Forward to 2025!
Shawn and Teos revisit the year’s biggest stories, the show’s main topics and guests, and look forward to what will impact our hobby in 2025.
News: Bigger Monster Manual, CNBC on D&D’s Financial Success, Beyond Ranked Skills, and more!
Contents
00:00 Happy New Year!
02:37 Vancian Magic Limits Narratives?
12:03 Adjust DCs Based on PC?
23:41 Bigger Monster Manual
25:33 CNBC on D&D Financial Success
30:09 Using Third Places
32:32 How to Do a Character Voice
34:42 Weapons of Lore
36:13 Beyond Ranked Skills
40:00 Clank Acq Inc 2
41:00 Looking Back, Looking Forward
41:16 2024 Highlights
57:25 Our Guests in 2024
59:17 Our Main Topics
01:02:25 Our Fans
01:03:14 Our 2024 Favorites
01:07:58 Our Questions for 2025
01:26:14 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.
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