Wandering DMs

Paul and Dan get to bring back OSR guru Matt Finch to talk about his new Swords & Wizardry: Expansions, Monsters, and More!, currently on Kickstarter. What new things has Matt cooked up? And what updates has he finally made to the revered Quick Primer for Old School Gaming? Swords & Wizardry is the longest-standing retro-clone of Original D&D, first published in 2008, and now there's a...

Dan and Paul are thrilled to chat live with the master of fantasy, Michael Moorcock. What are his current thoughts on the legacy of his writing Elric, the Eternal Champion, critiques of Tolkien, and so much more? Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English–American writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as we...

Dan and Paul reflect on what we think are the biggest mistakes and errors in the first publication of original D&D in 1974. What are the biggest blemishes that troubled the game for decades afterward? What are some of our top house rules to correct the largest problems? The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set was the first published role-playing game, a fantasy game system modeled on med...

Paul and Dan check in on their annual D&D mini-convention with friends in a house on the Massachusetts shore, now in its 15th year. What went well, what could go better, what lessons will feed into our future gaming? Find WDM 01 - Asymmetric Monastery of the Deranged Berserkers on DriveThru RPG here!

This St. Patrick's Day, Paul and Dan discuss the rich history of Irish myths, legends, and stories in the D&D game. From Druids and Bards to the Banshees and Firbolg, what are some of the best ways to spice up your game with inspirations from the Emerald Isle? Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era....

How does one run a successful dungeons and dragons one shot game? Dan and Paul discuss how to condense the D&D experience to a single night of fun. They'll share techniques they've developed over the years behind the DM screen, discuss which scenarios fit the one-shot format best, and advise would-be DMs on the best road to one-shot success.

Dan & Paul discuss tips for embodying a character in body and voice when playing D&D at the table. When we compare ourselves to well-known D&D performers, what are simple simple tricks anyone can use, even if we aren't trained actors? Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of...

For Valentine's Day, Dan and Paul take a look at how romantic love is portrayed in Dungeons and Dragons. From NPCs with love-based plot lines to the infamous philter of love, we'll cover ever instance we can think of in D&D in which love plays a part. Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish, loya...

Paul & Dan celebrate the Year of the Dragon in New Year's 2024! In this 50th anniversary year for original D&D, we'll look back to our best uses for dragons, new discoveries we've made, and how best to use unusual dragon types in your fantasy RPG. The Dragon, also known as Loong, (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng; Jyutping: lung4; Cantonese Yale: lùhng) is the...

Dan & Paul analyze the -- sometimes surprising! -- list of recommended equipment in Original D&D. Sure, you should have dice, paper, and pencils. But is the 3-ring notebook and drafting equipment really needed for the referee and each player? How about the multiple other games you need, Chainmail and Outdoor Survival? And what does say about using miniature figures? The original Dungeons &...

The Wandering DMs dig into the concept of anachronisms in D&D settings. They will explore the historic roots of D&D campaign settings, and where modern objects, events, or ideas have leaked in. Does the existence of anachronism break immersion, or is the very nature of the fantasy genre open to all forms of content? Where and how do we draw the line? An anachronism is a chronological incon...

Paul & Dan dig into the buried fossils of original D&D -- like the hidden encounter table for Ice Age adventures in the original boxed set. Where else can you get to use Cave Bears, Woolly Mammoths, and Saber-Toothed Tigers in your fantasy RPG? Pour a cup of hot cocoa and bundle up for this one. In the Late Pleistocene, both marine and continental faunas were essentially modern but with ma...

Dan & Paul take a look back at published adventures for D&D in the 70's -- at the time, a revolutionary and controversial idea! And also take a look back at the pioneering contributions of Jennell Jaquays (creator of Dark Tower, Caverns of Thracia, and many more), and our other favorite early adventures. The first published Dungeons & Dragons scenario was "Temple of the Frog", included...

Paul & Dan kick of season 6 with an examination of the physical shape of RPG books. How does the choice of number of books, size, binding, and layout impact the overall design of the game? How did the three book format of D&D come to be, and why is it the one design aspect that has persisted throughout every edition? The layout and binding of a role-playing game are integral aspects that s...

Paul & Dan look back at the year in old-school D&D for 2023. And moreover, the first 5 years on Wandering DMs! What were your favorite encounters of the year? And what can we expect in the future? The Wandering DMs YouTube channel has been a hub for tabletop gaming enthusiasts, offering a diverse range of content related to dungeon mastering, role-playing games (RPGs), and tabletop gaming...

In this episode of Wandering DMs, Dan and Paul discuss the role of mentorship in teaching D&D. How did the role of mentors help the spread of D&D in the early days? How has that changed over the years? And how does the game present itself to new players who aren't furtunate enough to have this kind of personal introduction? The word mentor was inspired by the character Mentor in Homer's Od...

Dan & Paul reflect on the history of rules for flying in D&D. How easy and powerful should it be to achieve? Does it make castles and climbing skills useless? Is the standard spell sufficient, or should your PCs seek out flying mounts -- and what rules provide a market for that? From the earliest days, humans have dreamed of flying and have attempted to achieve it. Greek and Roman mytholog...

Paul and Dan reflect on Dan's epic saga playing through the AD&D Pool of Radiance Gold Box game live in 2022-2023, and dig into the 1988 print publication of the same adventure, Ruins of Adventure. How similar are they? Does this one adventure work better as a computer game, as a tabletop game, or something else? What lessons can we take for converting scenarios between different systems and m...

Dan and Paul discuss money in D&D, and how they've both independently arrived at the need for a silver standard. From measuring encumbrance in coins to stocking dungeons with treasure, to how to drain the players of their inflated wealth, the Wandering DMs will cover everything numismatic in your D&D game. Many cultures around the world eventually developed the use of commodity money. The...

Paul & Dan discuss Werewolf and Mafia-style games -- party-style games with secret roles assigned, including a hidden evil faction, and a group of mostly-innocent civilians trying to survive and uncover the adversaries. What different variants of this game work the best? What psychological lessons can we take away? And what elements can be worked into your D&D and other role-playing games?...

Dan hosts a watch party for the Fearful Ends actual play, as we roll into Halloween and the last few days of the Fearful Ends Kickstarter. Join us and watch along with Dan for the first time! Fearful Ends is a rules-light, story-centric roleplaying system for horror themed games. It features nihilistic stories about characters discovering impossible horrors. It aims to allow players to roleplay ch...

Dan & Paul are joined by Matt Finch, to talk about ways it can be more efficient in your D&D game setup to get random results with dice. Consider cards, chits, spinners, toppling block towers, or Matt's new app for the Fantasy Adventure Builder, now on Kickstarter? Dice were just the start! Physical devices were used to generate random numbers for thousands of years, primarily for gambling...

Dan & Paul host Justin Alexander, creator of the Alexandrian and the new book So You Want to be a Game Master, for an in-depth chat on the best ways to adapt content to and from D&D and other RPGs. What tricks work well? What things should you avoid? And what content is simply incompatible with other systems? Have you ever wanted to step into your favorite movie or book or television serie...

How do we play characters reacting naturally to highly stressful situations without completely stressing ourselves out? Paul and Dan discuss the variety of safety tools in use in modern roleplaying systems, and how those impacted the development of Paul's upcoming horror RPG Fearful Ends. John Stavropoulos, creator of X-Card, said on why to use this safety tool: "The X-card creates a specific mood...

With the launch of the Fearful Ends Kickstarter imminent, Dan and Paul discuss roleplaying impossible situations. How do we maintain player autonomy when the deck is clearly stacked against them? What does it mean to "play to fail", and how do we enjoy games when there is little to no hope of success? Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) defined autonomy by three themes regarding contemporary ethics. Firstly...