DoubleDM

HAPPY 250 Episodes!!!! Yes this is our 250th episode of the show, holy shit thank you all!! Today we talk about mind control, a sensitive topic in storytelling. It can be used for vile things and can be quite problematic... However, if used safely and correctly in the TTRPG Context, it can lead to very cool and epic moments around the table, but how do we do that? That is todays episode, talking a...

Jester Lavorre is known as being Laura Bailey's D&D Character from Season 2 of Critical Role, but why does everyone need her at her tables? We thought about it and what Jester brought to the table, and why you want that at your tables too There is a lot about Chemistry in TTRPGs; it's the foundation that builds the character interactions we love while playing. And Jester (and Critical...

Flying, Second Floors, and whatnot all? There are many ways for D&D and TTRPG Combat and Challenges to get infinitely more complicated just by adding the third dimension to them. But how do we deal with that as Game Masters? That is what we are here to discuss today, we discuss how flying and 3-dimensional spaces can make them game very complex but also very fun. Check here for all further inf...

D&D is beginner friendly, right? At least thats what a lot of people say about the game often, it gets played by the most amount of new people to the hobby, but is that really because it's so good for beginners? Not really, at least when you're asking us... The game is great... But it's not that great at helping beginners play the game and learn what TTRPGs are all about, but is there really a...

GMing is different than being a player at the end, but what does it mean to be a Game Master that now has to be a player? Is it fun? for sure! Is it insightful? Heck yes But what about it?`Is there differences in having a GMs mind and being a player? Is it an advantage or maybe it's more of a disadvantage? Thats what we will find out today Check here for all further information: You can find us on...

Characters are the lifeblood of TTRPGs, without them, there is no game, and most importantly, characters are what make a TTRPG game actually good. But does that mean all you need is some kind of Joe to play? Not really Character Concepts are the Outline of your character, they're a phrase, an image, something that really sparks that idea of the character for not just you, but mainly you! But how d...

One Shots are a big part of TTRPG culture: sitting down, playing a Game and Character for a few hours, and then getting back up and moving on. But is it that simple? Sometimes yes, sometimes no That's why we discuss One Shots again today. We have done so in the past, but never focused on the structure of one-shots around pacing, build-up, planning, and executing the one shot. Check here for all fu...

Factions are important players in your D&D and TTRPG Campaigns. They're much more influential and bigger than NPCs, but oftentimes they also don't take as big a role as these NPCs They are, after all, groups of NPCs, today we discuss creating easy factions and how to make them matter at your tables to create the effect that all of these factions are useable for. Check here for all further info...

We watched a phenomenal video by Edariad on Youtube, this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhmlT8crkG4 Edariad talks about several exercises to get better at Gming TTRPGs without actually sitting in the seat. And they are amazing. So we thought we would expand on the Video, give our own takes, but also not just copy what Edariad put into the video. We only talk about a small portion of the Vid...

Character Identity is something that every character has, after all who are they if they don't have one? And that is exactly what we are discussing today, the identity and how to define it fopr your TTRPG characters. We talk about how the identity helps you put your character into the world around them, how it helps you play them and how crucial it can be in making sure your character feels amazin...

Session Aftercare is what today is all about. But what exactly is Session Aftercare? It's another tool to help you run your games in a comfortable, sustainable, and engaging way. But how does that work? Session Aftercare is the idea that after a session, the group stays together and talks about the game, what they liked and didn't like, to help align the game with everyone else's goals and needs....

Critical Strikes are a staple of great moments in D&D and many other TTRPGs. But why? Just because you roll a special number on a plastic dice? No, because we make them special through many different simple techniques. We talk about raising the stakes to make a crit pay off even more, making the crit actually hit hard like a truck and what it means to actually roll a critical hit. And any of t...

One of the biggest pieces of advice you hear about creating the best villains is to make them Morally Gray, Understandable, and maybe somehow fixable... But is that actually great advice, or does this just create problems around the table when we want to whack some bad guys? Yes and No, the answer is as always "It Depends", on one hand a villain should be complex with motives, feelings, and goals...

There is always the best choice of what to do with your turn in D&D and TTRPGs. But what is that? Well, that is what today is about... or more specifically, what is the tactical best choice for you to make in D&D? We talk about combats and tactical choices, and how incredibly easy it is to make these tactical choices to have an incredible effect on the game and how the combats feel. We dis...

How do you build NPCs? One of the most central questions of running TTRPGs, but how do you answer it? The building of NPCs is very unique to the gamemaster you are, but there are some certain aspects of NPCs we all have to build but how do we build those aspects? Thats the NPC Toolkit, how do we build our NPCs to be used at our tables. Check here for all further information: You can find us on the...

There is no singular right way to Game Master, we said that for over 200 episodes already and this episode is no different. This episode is however about a Game Mastering Style we call "The Right Way" GMing. "The Right Way" is often defined by one singular path forward and the Game Master trying to bring their players to do exactly that... sometimes that can be a good thing, and sometimes its a re...

D&D is the golden standard of TTRPGs, but why is that? And is that even true? There are many other games, with very different mechanics and playstyles out there, so why do so many people play just D&D or mostly D&D? Well, that's what today's episode is for! We discuss the eternal struggle to get your players to play something else, how to do it right, and how to find new games to try....

Sandbox is a term often used to describe games and campaigns that are less narrated along a plot and story and much more focused on exploring a world with hidden treasrues, different people and interesting locations. But does that really work? And how do you prepare for that? That is what we are discussing today, Nils and Emil have both been thinking about running sandbox games and discuss how the...

Backstories dictate how your character acts, feels, and works. Of course, they're just stories that we tell in our little heads, but they're important. So let's talk about them, especially the tropes most backstories rely on. What tropes do you hate? What tropes do you love? Those are the questions we ask ourselves today. We discuss some tropes and why we love/hate them and what makes a good backs...

Today is all about Solo Journeling TTRPGs, how they play and what they feel like. And especially answering the question: What can we learn from them for our group based TTRPGs like D&D? What different aspects can show us how to run our games or are the different styles of gameplay so different that we should be seeing them as different mediums of storytelling and entertainment? That's what we'...

Homebrew Content is a staple of the TTRPG/D&D Space. It makes our games greater and more interesting, but it sometimes can also mess with our games and destory them in ways we don't even realize at first, but how can we make sure Homebrew content will enrich our games like it supposed to? We discuss the place of cvustom content, why it doesn't work sometimes and why its such an important part...

Progression in terms of TTRPGs is hard to define, but to us its generally the feeling of moving the game forward and keeping it engaging and interesting by always having something prepared to throw at your players. But how do you even manage that? How do you know when to throw the next plot point out there? How do you manage so many different plot points at once? Check here for all further informa...

Puzzles are a point of contention in the TTRPG space, do they belong in games or not? Well, the answer is a little harder than expected since yes they are fun, but only if they work and are engaging... So how do we do that? Today is exactly about that, keeping puzzles immersive, engaging and fun while playing them and what the divide between GM and players means in the case of puzzles. Check here...

Combat is an integral part of our games, but what is combat exactly? How do we look at combat and what fallacies are created by looking at combat from just one angle? This is our topic today, we discuss some takes we and others have on combat and how you can learn to make your combats more interesting from simply changing your perspective of the game. Check here for all further information: You ca...

NPCs are the blood of any good TTRPG Campaign; they are the people of the setting and the most important cornerstones of any good roleplay session. But how do we get players to even care about these NPCs? That is what we answer and talk about today We discuss the ways an NPC can become important and players get emotionally attached to them, what you can do as a Game Master and what you can't do an...