Dungeon Master of None

DMs Matt and Rob talk building monsters, from inspiration and concept down to armor class and damage immunities. First, we take a look at Appalachia's version of Big Foot: the Mothman ! Then, we fill out the ranks of any respectable wizard's staff with the Parchment Golem .  Music: "Half Light" by Low with Tomandandy "Paper Planes" by M.I.A.

Matt and Rob answer your letters! Helping new players learn to role-play...hacking other systems into 5e DnD...balancing player goals...ditching random encounters...Chekhov's magic sword on the mantle...inclusivity in Pathfinder 2nd edition...Eurocentric humans in the Player's Handbook...the Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin...getting "a head" with the Speak with Dead spell...Hellboy 1 is the...

We have done a crazy thing. Rob and Matt sat down and watched 1982's made-for-TV movie,  Mazes and Monsters.   We are now the Maze Controllers and have absolute authority! So grab your maps and get ready for a strange journey of 80s DnD panic, Tom Hanks, bad parenting, dungeon love, 9/11, and WASP angst. Your intrepid hosts deduce the rules-as-written of the Mazes and Monsters RPG, determine which...

Matt and Rob dive into the good, the bad, and the tedious inside Paizo's new playtest for the 2nd edition of the Pathfinder Role-Playing Game. The rule book, bestiary, and short adventure path can all be found at the following link:  http://paizo.com/pathfinderplaytest    

Matt and Rob are joined by special guest Natasha , an amazing DM and co-host of the Metamashina Podcast, a show about genre fiction from the feminine perspective.   WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 26 OF CRITICAL ROLE BEGIN @ [03:40].   Your DMs discuss how to handle character death, the problems of custom class mechanics, and fan reaction to the episode.  [Discussion ends 40:10] Matt, Rob and Natash...

Matt and Rob discuss WotC's surprise announcement of a Magic: The Gathering and  Dungeons and Dragons  crossover:  The Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica.  While we are mostly disappointed and unenthused about this mixing of games, your hosts try to salvage some useful silver linings in the upcoming  Ravnica release.  Then, Matt gets way into MtG's "Color Wheel" for a few minutes. On to what we really...

Matt and Rob recap the controversy over the new 5th edition of Vampire: The Masquerade . [07:20] This is a chilling reminder that the  alt-right and actual Nazis are using our hobby—specifically fake controversies like Gamer Gate and DnD Gate—to recruit people to their reactionary and racist ideology. On to Unwanted Advice, the segment where we answer the questions you didn't ask about RPGs: How d...

DMs Matt and Rob bite into the 5th edition campaign: the Curse of Strahd! We just finished the whole thing and would like to en-frighten you with our experience. If you are considering running this campaign, then this is a must listen episode for any would be horror Dungeon Masters. Even if Strahd isn't your cup of blood, you'll find tons of great tips for running horror games and lessons for stru...

Listen to a hungover Matt and Rob go over the news of the day, including the newly announced WotC module, an interesting Tweet from Adam Koebel, and more! Yeah, we're a little behind the curve, but tune in for a conversation about urban campaigns and GM fiat anyway.

Matt and Rob write a Dungeons and Dragons one-shot adventure on-the-fly in under an hour!  Writing adventures is not hard or scary.  It's something that just takes practice.  We hope our brainstorming and adventure planning will help inspire and encourage you to get those plots prepped.   The adventure will be available for free on our homebrew page about a week after release.  Feel free to downlo...

Matt and Rob share their first impressions of the sixth rule book in the Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition: Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes .  There will be war.  There will be blood.  There will be a Blood War.  Your hosts talk about the upgrading the Tiefling with the new stuff in this book.  The new Githzerai and Githyanki are full of flavor and story-telling potential; the other section of races an...

This week Matt and Rob talk mazes and monsters -- no, not the classic 1982 Tom Hanks movie about the dark side of gaming, we're talking Planescape, which is full of both! Your favorite DM duo talk about the theme and setting of the wackiest D&D setting out there, give some ideas on how to run a campaign, and generally geek out about what makes it cool. Make sure to listen carefully for a rare inst...

Lot going on here! Matt and Rob chat about the news of the week, talk elf phrenology, discuss the end of our recent campaign arcs, follow-up on a listener e-mail, and give some more unasked-for advice, addressing staying organized, homebrew content, and, of course, how to freedom. RPG Round-up 2:20 How to end a campaign arc and deal with players leaving 10:00 Follow-up letter 29:30 How to Stay Org...

Sure, D&D is fun, but have you ever severed an orc street sam's head with a monofilament whip, or confronted the eldritch horrors of the universe with nothing but your service revolver and a flashlight? Matt and Rob talk a little bit about the other systems that they've played and run, what makes them fun, and why you might want to branch out from D&D and 5e, and how to approach a different system...

This week's episode takes us into uncharted territory, with a sweeping discussion of TTRPGs, crafting unique worlds, and exploring themes within your games, featuring our first guest, Michelle Nickolaisen, DM and host of Serendipity City. Michelle talks to us about Powered by the Apocalypse and what you can draw from it, how to run a game that's going to be shared online, creating interesting and...

Your favorite DM duo finally get down to the business of published modules -- what good are they, how can you use them, when should you use them, and which ones are the best for new and experienced players? Matt and Rob use Paizo's signature AP, Kingmaker, as an instructive example as to what works, what doesn't, and how to make modifications of your own.

Matt and Rob get around to their month-log backlog of listener questions (sorry) and dispense some dubious, but explicitly wanted advice. (3:03) Gordon writes in asking about how to find a D&D group to play with. Matt and Rob have some suggestions, some of which might even be useful! (9:30) Adrian writes in about how to reduce prep time and for advice on being comfortable improvising. We wisely ad...

Matt and Rob set out to do a full episode with lots of moving parts but end up spending the whole time giving dubious advice. Listen to some of our general tips for DMing, hear some new unwanted advice, and hopefully come away enlightened about the process of becoming a good DM. And sorry about all the dick jokes.  

Let's homebrew some classes!  Wizards has set their sights on two iconic classes: the Mystic (aka the Psion) and the Artificer.  These classes are essential for running games in Dark Sun or Eberron. However, the playtest classes for the Mystic and the Artificer are not quite there yet.  We dig into why these proposed classes fall short and how we would fix them.  Our "crunchiest" episode yet! Link...

Matt and Rob put on their dueling gloves and throw down with a couple of games that claim to be historically accurate — but are in fact, nothing of the sort (also, uh, "historically accurate" isn't really a thing, but we'll get to that). Your fearless DMs get to the root of what people are REALLY talking about when they talk about authenticity and historical accuracy, and as you might imagine, it'...

In "Couatls Conquer Europe" Matt and Rob discuss the re-launch of the Dragons Conquer America Kickstarter .  Your DMs plunge headfirst into the jungle of, uh,  problems that arose during the kickstarter's initial failed run.  After tackling the basics of "How to Train Your Dragon to Conquer America," the DMs get into successes, challenges, and opportunities of setting a fantasy game during the Spa...

Matt talks about how to handle intra-party disputes by ending your sessions at the right time (00:30) and Rob shares tips on how to run games for a large number of players (05:00).   Then, the duo discusses campaign settings.  Specifically, why D&D's "default" setting in 5th edition, the Forgotten Realms, a.k.a. Faerun, is so frustrating and boring (14:00).  Matt and Rob break down the bad (and go...

Matt and Rob talk about the most recent D&D roundtable ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFbCxuvknWM ), featuring Mike Mearls, Matt Mercer, Matt Collville, and Adam Koebel. We discuss character death, performing for an audience, game design, and the future of Wizards of the Coast releases. Come for the keen analysis of D&D, stay for the incessant fanboying.

Breaking news: Paizo has announced a 2nd edition of Pathfinder!  Matt and Rob have a special headline news edition of Dungeon Master of None, full of hot takes, hopes, dreams, and predictions.  

We're starting a side-project, "Now This is Podcasting!" to complain about Luke Skywalker's new Jedi powers (this is totally not a joke).   Rob and Matt review the recent RPG kickstarter news (4:40).  Big daddy Matt Colville's new book " Strongholds and Followers " has more than 1 million dollars pledged.  Check it out!  There are only 5 days left!  Then, we make ourselves sad by remembering the "...