Wandering DMs

Dan and Paul debrief the highs and lows of their latest birthday D&D actual play. Last weekend, Paul celebrated his birthday the best way he knows how: by dragging his friends into the depths of Skull Mountain! Dan, Max, and Lauren joined him for a live-streamed old-school dungeon crawl in over 12 hours of play, with special guests Mike and Tonya dropping in for the chaos. Now, the Wandering D...

Paul and Dan pull back the veil on GM screens — what they're good for, when they're essential, and when to ditch them entirely. They compare the old-school cardboard panels, DIY screens with swappable inserts, GMing from behind a laptop, and more. What belongs on the GM side? What’s worth showing to players? From reference tables and monster art to clipped-on initiative trackers and Paranoia’s pla...

Paul & Dan wade deep into the swamp to uncover the shifting role of lizardfolk across Dungeons & Dragons editions. From their earliest days as faceless wilderness threats to complex cultures with alien worldviews, how has D&D's portrayal of these scaled humanoids evolved? We’ll dive into classic modules like Danger at Dunwater and Tomb of the Lizard King, trace their pulp fantasy roots...

Dan and Paul coach you in how to disrupt an enemy wizard's spells in D&D. And it varies a lot by what edition you play! From classic editions where casting in combat is strictly prohibited, to those where initiative tells the tale, to later editions where skills and counter-skills try to one-up each other. For house-ruling DMs, what's the fairest mechanic to use?

Paul and Dan tackle the age-old question of initiative in tabletop RPGs. From the simplicity of group initiative to the complexity of individual modifiers and segment counting, initiative rules can shape the entire feel of combat. We'll explore how different editions and indie games handle turn order, what those choices say about their design philosophies, and how your own table might benefit from...

Dan and Paul do a deep dive on the "Magic Jar" spell that's been in every edition of D&D to date. First edition said, "Magic jar is a very unusual spell" and gave it a completely unique school of magic. Put your soul in an object and you can possess any other creature's body you desire. Total safety from destruction, right? But detail vary wildly by edition: Should it be eternal duration, or m...

Paul and Dan get to chat with father of the OSR Matt Finch, about the 20th anniversary of OSRIC, his ground-breaking retroclone of 1st Edition Advanced D&D. Plus: the new 3.0 version of OSRIC, currently crowdfunding on Backerkit. What's prompted a new version? What's new and good for new players? How can GMs write official adventures for OSRIC? Plus a whole lot more! Back Matt's OSRIC 3.0 on B...

Dan and Paul return from the Rising Phoenix Game Con with tales from the front lines of fast-paced dungeon creation! In this episode, they break down their latest Dungeon Design Dash, crafted live in front of a seminar audience and then playtested at the convention just two days later. What worked? What didn’t? And what did the players do that nobody expected? Whether you’re a dungeon designer loo...

Dan & Paul get to chat with R. Alex Murray, one of the cast members of Twenty-Sided Tavern, a live theatrical D&D stage production! TST has had a smash year off-Broadway in New York City, and now they're about to take the show across the country. What's the difference between playing D&D at home with friends, versus entertaining hundreds of audience members every night? What elements o...

Paul & Dan chat with the legendary Bill Webb, founder of Necromancer Games and Frog God Games. Bill's back with a new, even-more-old-school TTRPG ruleset -- the Necromancer's Game, naturally! We find out how "wild man" Bill Webb runs his own regular home games, and what "First Edition Feel" means in 2025. Plus more surprises! Join the Kickstarter for Bill's Necromancer's Game here

Should the DM keep their D&D adventure map hidden, or reveal it to the players at the outset? Dan & Paul discuss the sometimes-surprising benefits of giving your players more information instead of less. From partial dungeon maps as treasure, to visualizing the layout of the wilderness, to games where the map's the thing, we'll share everything we know.

After a packed weekend at their annual house convention, Dan and Paul return with fresh insights into the mechanics behind the games they played. From the moves-based mechanics of Powered by the Apocalypse titles, to Quest's streamlined abilities, D&D's shifting focus across editions (from old-school attribute checks to modern skill lists), and the freeform chaos of Fiasco, they examine how di...

Dan & Paul chat about Elementals in D&D. Where do they come from, and how often do they get used? Are they really a good option for high-level wizards to conjure? And how have they evolved into the newest Monster Manual for D&D 5E 2024? Read Dan's blog on Conjure Elemental Through the Ages And more on the problem of the Air Elemental Whirlwind

Hasbro/WOTC announced this week that their long-anticipated virtual tabletop tool (VTT), Sigil, is suddenly end-of-life. How did they come to spend so many resources into a project like this, only to cancel it? Does it disrupt their overall strategy for the brand-new 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons? What's the landscape of VTT's for D&D look like today. And… is anyone really surprised?

Dan and Paul are joined by Tom McGrenery, game designer and co-host of the podcast Fear of a Black Dragon, to discuss the surprising common ground between OSR and story games. Do they have more in common with each other than either has with modern traditional RPGs? Find out what they discover in this thought-provoking episode of Wandering DMs!

Can an AI truly run a game of Dungeons & Dragons? In this episode, Paul & Dan review Paul’s recent live-streamed experiment, Martha the AI DM, where he played a session of Basic B/X D&D with an AI as his Dungeon Master. How well did Martha craft adventures, roleplay NPCs, and adapt to unexpected player choices? Did she bring the magic of tabletop storytelling — or did she fall into mec...

As a DM, should you offer different subject matter to your players when the real world looks grim?

Paul & Dan dive into the art of running a game with absolutely no materials on hand. Whether it’s an impromptu one-shot, a lost character sheet crisis, or a full-on “I forgot my dice bag at home” scenario, we’ll explore how to keep the adventure rolling with just your wits and a table full of eager players.

Paul & Dan review the first add-on to Original D&D in 1975: Supplement I, Greyhawk! Presenting content and rules changes stemming from Gygax's home campaign, we get new classes (the Thief and Paladin), spells, monsters, and magic items. But how much of it was a boon to D&D in general, and how many were mistakes?

Dan & Paul follow up on our chat about mysteries in D&D: Turning things around, how is the average Thieves' Guild member meant to ply their trade in the world? Given all the magic detection, location, ESP, and other powers, what steps will the average assassin-for-hire take to complete their mission and not get caught?

In this episode of Wandering DMs, Dan and Paul explore the art of running mysteries in Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs. From crafting compelling clues and red herrings to balancing player agency with narrative tension, they share tips and tricks to keep your players engaged and invested in unraveling the plot. Whether you’re running a murder investigation, solving ancient riddles, or divin...

Dan & Paul chat about the role of critical failure and fumble systems in TTRPG systems. Do they add appropriate surprise, unpredictability, realism, and danger to the adventure? Are they more punishing to the players or their opponents? Or are they just more trouble than they're worth?

Paul & Dan are back for Season 7, this time diving into the age-old debate: splitting the party. When is it a clever strategy? When is it a recipe for disaster? And what can DMs do to keep the game running smoothly when the group goes their separate ways?

Paul & Dan look back on the year 2024 for the Wandering DMs. It's been a momentous year: The 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons, a new version of the D&D game, the Chinese Year of the Dragon, in-depth looks at Original vs. Basic D&D, and special guests like Michael Moorcock, Luke Gygax, Jon Peterson, an Matt Finch. Share your high and low points, and we'll share ours! A year-in...

Dan and Paul discuss ways to create satisfying recurring villains in your D&D campaign. How do you balance the desire for epic, climactic showdowns with the unpredictable, open-ended nature of a TTRPG campaign? Should your villain be the untouchable mastermind pulling strings from the shadows, or someone your players can engage with directly throughout the story? Join us as we share tips, pitf...