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 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 16, 2024
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Episode 211 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: Horizons Magazine with Hannah Rose!
Hannah Rose shares how she and Clara Daly are creating Horizons Magazine and what we can expect from this issue and future quarterly issues.
News: London Gets DMGs, D&D Movie Netflix Success, DMG Toolbox Previews, and more!
Contents
00:00 Happy Rebranding Day
01:33 Character Consequences?
13:48 Pivot from Curse of Strahd?
20:54 First DMGs at London MCM
23:38 DMG Toolbox Previews
32:58 D&D Movie Big on Netflix
35:38 Greyhawk 101
36:52 Cultural Backgrounds 2024
38:33 Trapped on Cyre 1313
39:46 Dungeons Reforged
42:09 Grim Hollow Transformed
43:11 Hannah Rose
44:43 Hannah and Clara
55:12 Why a Magazine?
58:34 Lessons from Arcadia
01:01:53 Playtesting
01:04:59 Mix of D&D and Other RPGs
01:09:03 Desk of Many Thoughts
01:11:48 How to Get Horizons
01:13:07 Patreon vs Site?
01:14:24 Issue 1 Contents - Travel
01:18:23 Star Dragons
01:19:43 Cloud City
01:23:55 NPC Atraxis
01:28:57 Future Plans
01:34:05 Find Wildmage Press
01:35:12 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 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 Oct 02, 2024
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Episode 209 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: 5E Stat Block Changes and Building the Perfect Campaign Guide!
We look at how 2024 5E changes stat block format, while also modifying monsters themselves. We then turn to creating the perfect campaign setting guide.
News: 2024 5E Sales, Uni Finds Beyond, Grim Hollow Transformed, and more!
Contents
00:00 Go Broncos!
00:56 Divine-Powered Goals?
19:35 2024 5E Sales
33:01 D&D on Vinyl
34:06 Uni on Beyond
36:40 Baldur's Gate 3 Minis
38:10 Horizons Magazine
41:15 Frontiers of Eberron's Creation
43:08 Grim Hollow Transformed
48:26 2024 Monster Stat Blocks
50:03 Design Goal
58:22 2024 Layout Changes
01:03:03 Changes to the Ape
01:10:34 Changes to the Imp
01:14:32 Other Creature Changes
01:20:45 Building the Perfect Campaign Guide
01:21:37 Constraints and Assumptions
01:22:40 Length
01:23:55 What to Include: The Pitch
01:26:25 Player Knowledge
01:27:29 The World
01:33:23 New Rules to Support Play
01:35:56 What Might Be Included?
01:39:15 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 Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Episode 208 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: 2024 5E’s Gods and Multiverse! Final Greyhawk!
2024 5E PH banishes all the gods and reduces the multiverse to one page and one image! We look at how this changes 5E for new players. Our final look at Greyhawk reimagines the setting format and looks at how gods and powerful organizations create interesting play.
News: MtG Netflix Revivified, the D&D Bologna Scale, Knowing Vecna, and more!
Contents
00:00 Emptying Nests
02:53 Boss Battle Origins?
06:23 Codified vs Loose Rules?
15:40 Sage Advice Fixes?
19:37 Rest of World Healing?
29:18 MtG Netflix Show Revivified
31:32 What Do We Know About Vecna
35:24 D&D Bologna Scale Tested
39:17 Daggerheart Preorders
41:10 Enter the Labyrinth
43:07 2014 vs 2024 Gods and Multiverse
44:45 Design Goals
47:35 Planes and Gods in Older Editions
52:30 2014 and 2024's Gods and Planes
56:48 Is Less Information Good?
01:05:07 Wrapping Up Greyhawk
01:06:32 Encyclopedic Approach is Dated
01:08:03 Why Greyhawk is Different
01:14:32 Geography of the Flanaess
01:15:45 Greyhawk's Powerful Organizations
01:19:49 Greyhawk's Gods
01:21:03 The Living Greyhawk Campaign
01:22:26 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 Sep 18, 2024
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Episode 207 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: 2024 5E Resting Rules and Greyhawk’s Regions!
Discover the subtle changes 2024 5E makes to short and long rests and how they compare to previous editions. We assess the potential campaigns behind the design of Greyhawk’s Rovers of the Barens, Scarlet Brotherhood, Sea Barons, Sea Princes, and Shield Lands!
News: 2024 5E and the AL, New Ravenloft Novel, When to Explain a Crime, and more!
Contents
00:00 LEGO Mini Mania
04:20 D&D Epic vs Open?
09:47 Empire of the What?
11:17 Explaining a Crime?
15:19 Why is Medicine Useless?
21:24 2024 and Adv League
31:38 New Ravenloft Novel
33:23 D&D Cartoon Theme Found
35:18 Un Millón de Monedas
40:22 Oleumancer for Draw Steel
41:29 How to Create in 2024
42:46 2024 vs 2014: Healing and Resting
43:08 Value of Conditions
44:45 Design Goal for Recovery
48:44 Recovery in AD&D
52:17 3.5 Rest and Recovery
54:05 4E Rest and Recovery
57:53 2024 Long Rest Changes
01:03:04 2024 Short Rest
01:09:39 Rovers of the Barrens
01:13:42 Scarlet Brotherhood
01:18:20 Sea Barons
01:20:43 Sea Princes
01:24:05 Shield Lands
01:28:01 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 Sep 11, 2024
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Episode 206 of Mastering Dungeons!
Main topic: 2024 5E Conditions and Greyhawk’s Regions!
We examine the design goals of conditions and how they have changed for 2024. We visit Greyhawk’s Paynims, Perrenland, Pomarj, Ratik, and Rel Astra to see how to make the most of kingdoms and rulers.
News: 2024 PH Errata, Draw Steel License, Shadowdark Hex Crawl, and more!
Contents
00:00 Tastes Like Introcaso
01:43 Alignment Problems?
16:21 Preferred Tools VTT or Table?
25:33 2024 PH Errata
30:15 Time Mag on D&D
33:37 BMG Organized Play Survey
34:49 Draw Steel Creator License
37:34 Shadowdark Hex Crawling Rules
41:17 Grim Hollow Valikan Clans
44:30 Jeff Stevens on PWYW
46:18 Frontiers of Eberron PreOrder
50:47 Conditions in 5E 2024 vs 2014
51:40 Design Goals
01:00:07 4E and Do We Need Conditions?
01:02:50 2014's Conditions
01:06:43 2024 vs 2014
01:30:24 Greyhawk's Plains of the Paynims
01:35:17 Perrenland
01:37:23 Pomarj
01:39:48 Ratik
01:41:27 Rel Astra and Solnor Compact
01:45:02 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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