DoubleDM

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...

Today, we are discussing the difference between New Game Masters and Veteran Game Masters in D&D and TTRPGs. We discuss if there even is a difference and where it is apparent, and also why we think that the gap shouldn't matter one bit. We are all playing for fun (at least 98% of us), so why should it matter how much experience anyone has? Are thjere any reaö differences and can we actually le...

And today, to finish off Season 1's Worldbuilding, we play The Quiet Year, a map-drawing game that gives ample opportunities to create new and interesting locations in your world, create a community of people living in your world, and give that world many different dangers that players can explore later! With this, the first Season of Realm Forge is over. We have built the world of "Omen", Celesti...

Complexity is a double-edged sword, oftentimes more complex systems, like politics and law, make a TTRPG game feel more real and immersive... but at the same time, too complex systems make the game feel dragging and overbearing... So where is the middle ground? We talk about systems and how co0mplexity is a great lever for GMs to apply at the right moments, with the right amount of caution... its...

Prep is an essential part of the TTRPG hobby, at least for one side of the GM Screen. DMs need to prepare for their sessions and some DMs prepare a lot of stuff while others just wing it. We talked about that before, however we didn't talk about one thing, the way prep can lead to GMs railroading their players and controlling the game... Can that actually happen? How does it happen? What do we hav...

Today we discuss the importance of failure in TTRPGs. Especially if Failure should be more important than success at your D&D and TTRPG tables. We talk about the reason why we want failure, what failure really means at the table and why you as the GM should never really work towards your players failing, however should embrace it once it happens. Check here for all further information: You can...

Today, we discuss what makes a great Dungeon Master for D&D, and a great Game Master for TTRPGs. We talk about the most important and impactful qualities that create a good table environment. We discuss a GM's role and their responsibilities. We were inspired by this video from Todd Kenreck talking to Chris Perkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsJviwZyhvM Check here for all further informa...

And today we are here once again to talk about Worlöd Building, but this time not on Realm Forge but on DDM, so let's get to discussing the techniques and tactics you can use to raise interest in your setting and worlds. We were inspired by a video by Mystic Arts about a Worldbuilding Formula. We are not going over everything mentioned in that video, and highly recommend watching this video too: h...

Today, we are discussing the villains we create in our D&D settings. Especially making them intelligent. We are talking about how to make them intelligent and howintelligent to actually make them in the end? Is there something too intelligent? We think so, your villains aren't all-knowing like you, the DM, and sometimes we catch ourselves realizing that we are using meta-knowledge or making th...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Let's talk about 2026 in this episode, what we plan to do in TTRPGs and Podcasting this year! We talk about our Bucketlist für cool things to do and what we want the year to have in store for us! What is on your Bucketlist, and what do you want to do with TTRPGs in 2026? Check here for all further information: You can find us on the Web under these Links: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https...

Welcome back to another episode of Realm Forge. This time, we focus on a city, a traveling, flying, magical city. To create and build this city, we are using "I'm sorry did you say Street Magic?" Through the different phases we create and build an interesting city that enriches the setting of Omen. You can check out the game right here: https://seaexcursion.itch.io/street-magic Check here for all...

In today's episode, we discuss the busy schedules that control our D&D and TTRPG happy times, more specifically, we talk about what to do after we have taken a break from playing and how we can get back into the seat in the right way! We discuss how to deal with the break and what to do with it, what to do right after the break to ensure a great game feeling, and make sure we, as a group, stay...