DMs After Dark

Our second Modified Rolls episode of 2022 leading up to (yes, really this time) our Good Society series to start off the year with class and juicy drama is all about Romance!  No matter what game you're playing, what genre you enjoy, or what you're into, most games will brush up against some PC / NPC or even PC / PC romantic tension.  How do you do this at the table without making it awkward? How...

Hello and sorry for the delay on the podcast, we hired out some freelancers to edit the episode and they sent the following excuse via handwritten message on a discarded fast food burger wrapper: "Peeplz, we ragert to anform u dat 3 raccoonz in tranchcote be late in getting posted today on pudcast for u laufs. Is due to peeplz beeing bzy and totlly not becaz we is 3 racoonz in Tranchcote. We iz a...

For our first stream of 2022, we decided to hop on and just chat about the first few months of DMs After Dark as a group, turning our hobby into a stream, and, technically, celebrating our one-year anniversary of gaming together in one way or another.   We briefly discuss our goals for 2022, as well as talk about our favorite moments thus far, games we're looking forward to running soon, and ways...

In the first Modified Rolls episode of 2022, we talk about gender as it's represented in RPGs!  This is NOT a deep dive into the mistakes that have been made over the decades, but rather a discussion about strides that have been made in RPG game design lately and our opinions on why we like playing genders not our own. When you make characters, do you prefer playing the gender you identify as, ano...

Happy Holidays and to a happy new year! Jess's first time running a game for the DMs is our 2021 holiday one-shot and our last stream of the year.  The game is 'Twas - The Roleplaying Game Before Christmas and our player DMs assume the roles of toys tasked with saving Christmas from something threatening to take over Santa's operation!  Will the toys be able to stop this powerful figure?  Will the...

Hello and happy holidays to all of you out in podcast land!  The DMs are back with a short one this week discussing how to approach running games when your players are a bit younger than your average group.  We discuss session length, different dice systems, learning moments, reinforcing good behavior, and, as always, give recommendations for good RPGs aimed at younger players.   Have you ever pla...

Avatar Aang and friends have come together to end the Hundred Year War and stop Fire Lord Ozai's campaign to impose Fire Nation rule on the Four Nations.  With the Air Nomads effectively wiped out, Avatar Aang and crew decide to build a new place in the world where all are welcome to cooperate and work toward a future where everyone comes together for a greater cause.  They choose the coastal vill...

Just in time for that wonderful time of year where you're worrying about what to get who and what you're going to do with the gifts you'll undoubtedly never use, we've got some recommendations for games that may be what you're looking to play in 2022! Christian, Rene, and Sara gush over their favorite games within multiple genres, available and upcoming, to get you hyped up for some new tabletop r...

Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Avatar Aang and friends have come together to end the Hundred Year War and stop Fire Lord Ozai's campaign to impose Fire Nation rule on the Four Nations.  With the Air Nomads effectively wiped out, Avatar Aang and crew decide to build a new place in the world where all are welcome to cooperate and work toward a future where everyone comes together for a greater cause.  The...

In this episode of Modified Rolls, the DMs discuss their ideas and approaches to running games in popular fictional worlds with established lore.  From Disney, Pokemon, Avatar, and Conan to middle age book series and, technically, even Dungeons & Dragons itself, the DMs break down ways to make sure your games don't feel like second rate stories in beloved worlds.   Have you ever played or run a ga...

Air. Water. Earth. Fire. Avatar Aang and friends have come together to end the Hundred Year War and stop Fire Lord Ozai's campaign to impose Fire Nation rule on the Four Nations.  With the Air Nomads effectively wiped out, Avatar Aang and crew decide to build a new place in the world where all are welcome to cooperate and work toward a future where everyone comes together for a greater cause.  The...

The last in our October spooky horror & (not-so-horrific) Halloween one-shot series here at DMs After Dark sees the DMs playing Renegade Game Studios' Kids on Bikes , a nostalgic tabletop RPG where the players assume the roles of kids, teens, and adults in small towns experiencing strange happenings.  Reminiscent of 80s movies like The Goonies, the 90s' Hocus Pocus, and, more recently, series like...

The DMs (& Deb!) discuss their experience playing Bluebeard's Bride and cope with the incredible tone and terror set upon them by Amber!  I don't think any of the players slept much after this episode, and it's a testament to how well written and designed this game is.  Hopefully you enjoy our suffering and can take something away for your own game of Bluebeard's!  Stay disloyal, DMs.   Please con...

Continuing our horror-themed October one-shot series, DM Amber runs the group through the feminine horror game Bluebeard's Bride by Whitney “Strix” Beltrán, Marissa Kelly, and Sarah Richardson published by Magpie Games .  The group (and our first special guest appearance from friend of the show Deb) play the various aspects of one person - Bluebeard's Bride, a simple woman newly wed to the mysteri...

In this episode of Modified Rolls, the DMs discuss how to make those tricky mysteries that pop up in games work!  We talk about how mysteries can be implemented into whatever genre you like to run, how to avoid leading your characters on a set of rails, flexing your improv muscles, and, as always, share our favorite games for running mystery series.  Sara even pitches an amazing idea for a new gam...

In this quick little bonus episode, Christian gives us a behind-the-screen look at how he approached his scenario for our Mothership one-shot.  He discusses his take on the system, his inspirations, and hopefully gives advice you can use if you want to run Mothership in the future! Find out more about Mothership and their upcoming Kickstarter here . As always, follow us and catch our live streams...

The first in our October spooky horror & Halloween themed one-shots, Christian runs us through a scenario of Tuesday Knight Games' space horror survival RPG Mothership.  Follow the crew as they investigate an unresponsive research vessel out in the reaches of space and visit a solar system orbiting a red giant that may have once held life...  Find out more about Mothership and their upcoming Kicks...

A quick (and, admittedly overdue) chat about our experience with our first ever DMs After Dark series with Shadows of Esteren! The DMs talk about what they liked about the system, how the game captures the setting and themes of the world of Esteren, and look forward to more in the future. Shadows of Esteren  is a Celtic horror RPG published by  Studio Agate , learn more and try it for yourself, le...

In this episode of Modified Rolls, the DMs discuss how to approach running horror games at the table.  We talk about how using language is key in the horror genre, how to strike fear into the hearts of your players, and the mechanics that make horror games work so well.  Amber, Christian, and for the first time, Troy all weigh in with their experience, while Jess, Sara, and Rene frantically take n...

The third and final episode in our Shadows of Esteren Twitch actual play series involves our Esteren adventurers descending into the caverns beneath Carmine Chasm, a blood red, moss-covered crevasse from where nothing good ever comes.  The injured expedition guide for the missing crew provides more moral quandaries for the group, and things are never what they seem.  Will our heroes find the missi...

The second episode in our Shadows of Esteren Twitch actual play series sees the group of adventurers coming together to investigate a missing expedition crew sent off by the College of Magience to investigate the blood red canyon that is The Carmine Chasm.  What will our crew find in this mysterious location, and will any of them live to tell the tale? Shadows of Esteren is a Celtic horror RPG pub...

In this episode of Modified Rolls, the DMs discuss what to do when a player character meets their demise.  We share stories from our tables, examples of how different games approach character death, and offer alternative consequences that may be (and often are) more interesting and narratively rewarding for the game. Have any stories about epic PC deaths, sad stories about character loss, or simil...

In the first episode of our Shadows of Esteren actual play streaming series, we go through a Session 0 and create our characters together.  If you're curious about Shadows of Esteren as a system, we go in depth about the world, lore, and roles within the game as we create the party we'll be taking through Troy's adventure!   Music Used: Mòr Forsair from Of Men and Obscurities; Composed and arrange...

Welcome to the first episode of our brand new podcast series we're calling Modified Rolls, where the DMs discuss common design elements throughout tabletop roleplaying games.  We compare and contrast how different game systems approach these topics, give advice on how and when to use certain tools, and share our experiences using them in our own games. Our first episode is about how we approach a...