Grumpy Dungeon Masters

This week the talk is on Dungeons & Dragons books being converted to other systems. Do these books lose something in translation to other systems? Also more Caverns of Thracia talk from Jay and Chris talks about failing to get the miniature he wanted.

A new years is upon us. The guys talk about a bunch of variant rules in Dungeons & Dragons, the beginning of meta-magic, and Dan tells a story about a homebrew D&D game he's in. It involves a lot of big monster. At the end of the podcast the guys talk Stranger Things, so you can avoid spoilers for the finale.

The guys take a stab at their favorite roleplaying game products of the year. Maybe some Dungeons & Dragons, Shadowdark, or possibly Dungeon Crawl Classics. Listen in to see what you missed out on in 2025.

It's a Shadowdark holiday this week and the guys are celebrating the shortest day of the year. Christopher talks about board games needing apps to play and why it's a bad idea. Also a look at keeping up with the massive amount of D&D lore and Jay's D&D party actually dying.

This week the guys talk about Nimble. The newest Dungeons & Dragons clone on the market. It takes D&D 5E and makes it easier to use. Is it worth the swap however? Also Christopher talks about how he doesn't love his Christmas One Shot anymore and why Duergar don't drink.

The guys look at the new Dungeons & Dragons book Eberron: Forge of the Artificer. At 112 pages it's kind of slim, but does it have content? Also how to store miniatures so you can find them and a magical blowgun that will ruin your players characters day.

The guys focus heavily on some new Shadowdark stuff that is coming. The Necromancer class, new Priest spells, and Cursed Scroll 6. Also Christopher talks about a new live play series that has a Gofundme put together by a bunch of famous Youtubers.

This week Dan is on Vacation. The other guys talk about the history of the Pale Night. An ancient power who ruled the Abyss long before the current Demon Lords. What is she and how has she maintained power in the Abyss for so long?

Wizards of the Coase released new Dungeons & Dragons content, but locked it behind a paywall. Not surprisingly the grognards here are upset. Also we get tales from Christopher and from Kristian about their own campaigns. Lessons to learn are that undead are dangerous in large groups.

This week the guys talk about the new Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 book, Adventures in Faerun. It's an adventure for sure talking about it. Also Dan gets to tell a tale about how to fight black oozes with lightning.

Strahd, the big bad evil Vampire of Ravenloft castle has his yearly run in with adventurers in the adventure Strahd Must Die. This time the guys bring some street justice to him. Thanks to Orthane Productions for joining in the fun. Jay takes a deep dive into some of the most rare official Dungeons & Dragons settings.

The Grumpy Dungeon Masters have a couple of stories to tell this week from their games. Also LUG Con was this week in Atlanta and a couple of the guys made it out to it. More D&D video game talk and the ecology of the Lammasu.

Did you know Vampiric Touch was a concentration spell? Some of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters didn't either. Also the licensing of Dungeons & Dragons has begun. A new non-D&D video game is on the way with the D&D label. Dan also gets to talk about the new goodies he acquired.

Christopher talks about the lack of content in the new Dungeons & Dragons starter set. Also the guys look at their own picks as some of the worst modules of all time. Somehow Orcus is involved.

Dan is absent this week, but Christopher's wife and owner of the podcast Shelley fills in for him. They review the Crooked Moon D&D setting that had a big Kickstarter last year. If you love folk horror this is the setting for you!

This week the Grumpy Dungeon Masters talk about Mega Dungeons! Huge Dungeons with Huge Adventure! Also Christopher talks Adventures League and Kristian & Dan talk about their Shadowdark game.

The guys look at the new starter set for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 to see if it's better than the previous editions starter set. Also Jay looks at starter sets from the 90's and Chris TPK's his party, without TPKing them.

This week the guys talk about magic items. They go over the crafting of magic items and should it be done by players. Also cursed magic items and how to use them properly. Done right it can be great. Done wrong and your players will hate you. Learn the right way!

Dan talks Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms Cult of the Dragon in part 3 of the dragon deep dive. Jay runs a Dungeon Crawl Classics game using AI to jump start it and will D&D become overwhelmed by outside money?

The guys chat this week about games on Kickstarter or Backerkit they are interested in. At the top of the list is Shadowrun Anarchy 2.0 and Vaults of Vaarn. Also Christopher kills another players character at Adventures League.

Dark Sun may actually be coming for Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 and the guys are grumpy about it. Also Mummies are really dangerous for low level characters and Wizards of the Coast released Exodus the TTRPG with no hype.

The guys chat about every Dungeons & Dragons video game ever made and also make fun of Jay for playing his character wrong. He deserves it.

This week it's games the guys got to run. It involved a Keshanar module that didn't go as expected and a 12 hour run of Rime of the Frostmaiden. Also Tabletop Simulator Shadowdark.

Gen Con happened and WotC announced some Forgotten Realms books. While Christopher is happy the other Grumpy Dungeon Masters are grumpy about it. Also new season of Critical Role coming and Jay found some neat goodies at a sale.

Dan takes us on a crazy dive into Dragons that covers the beginnings of Dungeons & Dragons until the mid 1980's. The guys also talk about game mechanics they like, what makes a game "crunchy", Christopher put together a D&D puzzle!