Dungeons & Dialectics

Matt discovers that Joe's vast capacity for useless nerdy trivia extends beyond the walls of Dungeons & Dragons. He can also identify ANY H.P. Lovecraft story with a SINGLE sentence! A little bonus treat ripped from our 2-part episode on Mind Flayers. Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes!

Join us for a deep dive into another Stranger Things Monster: The Mind Flayer! Trace the convoluted lore from a random book cover Gary Gygax saw one day to the weird shadow beast that flays minds. PLUS the secret true story behind Stranger Things that led to the creation of the mind flayer world of Ssirik Akuar in D&D. Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! S...

What a weird way to end last episode. RANDOM, some might say. Even ABSURD! This week, we'll ask if TTRPGs even NEED to make sense. Does there need to be a story? A satisfying narrative? What if we just had an absurdist game where lots happened but nothing HAPPENED? How much fun are Matt and Joe willing to sacrifice in the name of some meta-joke on the nature of storytelling? Apparently... almost a...

Whoa soooooo random! What did Joe learn about random encounters by getting mugged on the bus? What did Matt learn about life waiting for a train that never came? Is life just a series of random encounters? Does it make sense? DOES IT HAVE TO? The answer may surprise you! Or may not. Or maybe there is no answer... Who knows! It's RANDOM! Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extend...

Fresh off of finishing Stranger Things 4, Matt and Joe take a dive into each of the iconic monsters that graced the small screen. Matt is a certified Stranger Things super fan and Joe spends WAY too much time reading old D&D lore. Together, they'll demystify the history of this floral creature from the upside down through his roots as a baboon-headed demon prince, a formless symbol of popular...

"A pregnant woman was going down to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Jericho, PA, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stole her purse with her cell phone, her money, and credit cards, leaving her dazed by the side of the road..." -Margaret Kamitsuka There's a lot of bad Christian theology out there trying to restrict people's rights, but what if a pro-choice perspective is actually the MOST Ch...

If you didn't wake up today wanting to listen to two cis white guys talk about abortion, DONATE to Planned Parenthood or local abortion funds and then take a listen to some other voices: Six Must-Listen Podcast Episodes on Abortion Rights Hosted by Women Hi I'm a Pro-choice Christian! This Pro-Choice Pastor has a Word for Anti-abortion Christians If you're still here, this isn't a funny episode. B...

Our SECOND INTERVIEW with resident bad*ss Mara! Join this unlikely trio as we dive into things Matt knows nothing about: gender. What even is gender? What does it mean to be a social construct? Gender as a performance? When we roleplay as a character, do we ACTUALLY become the gender we are playing? There are no shades of grey! There is no nuance! For nothing but black and white answers, look no f...

This is a weird one. Stay after the episode for a look behind the scenes of our first ad read! Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Sources : Bingham, Caleb. "Dialogue between a Master and Slave." The Columbian Orator: Containing a variety of orignal and selected pieces, together with rules; calculated to improve youth and others in the ornamental and useful ar...

A new duo, Matt and Joe from Earth-69 (an alternate dimension characterized by anti-podcast totalitarianism and shameless hedonism) hijack the podcast! Together they'll speak truth to power as they break down the essential qualities of a Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting and reveal the fate of Earth-69's version of Joe Rogan and his luscious locks. You don't wanna miss it. Keep in touch on T...

So now that we've got all that boring sh*t out of the way, how can resurrection make your game better... or WORSE? Find out on this episode of Dungeons & Dialectics how to use resurrection in your game, and hear Matt's mouth watering review of the ham recipe shared in the previous episode's description. Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Sources : Mercer,...

Try Matt's Easter Ham as featured on Dungeons & Dialectics. You don't need the body or blood of Christ when you have this delicious Hawaiian Style Ham! Acquire 3 dollar "great value" brand ham with bonus chemical rub Cook for like 10 minutes or something, I don't know Buy pineapple slice Cook with pineapple slice Watch Your Favorite Easter Film earlier that morning  Pressure cook for 1 ho...

Matt spits on the Bible as he dares to suggest the Epic of Gilgamesh might be superior to the Word of God! BLASPHEMER! But don't worry, Joe sets him straight as we explore the ways our idea of God has changed over time. Was God always the good guy? Was Satan always the bad guy? Who was the serpent in the Garden of Eden? Does Joe know what "dialectical" means??? The answers to your most pressing qu...

Two weeks ago, Matt and Joe explored the Christian alarmism around Dungeons & Dragons during the 80s, but WAIT! Could it be that these brave heroes fighting the evils of tabletop RPGs might be... the REAL DEMONS THEMSELVES??? Find out today as Matt and Joe examine the theology of the early game and analyze the Satanic Panic from the theological framework of Walter Wink's The Powers that Be .CW...

What could be worse than mass incarceration? Mass incarceration with no games >:( Join Matt and Joe as we touch on the spectre of the Satanic Panic and the ways law enforcement enshrined anti-tabletop roleplaying game sentiment into their policies while our country continues to allow mass shootings with little to no meaningful gun control. Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for...

The 80s. With rampant homophobia, the war on drugs looming imminent on the horizon, and a rising neoliberal world order, a brave few have the courage to stand up to the greatest threat to the youth of the U.S of A: Dungeons, Dragons, and Satan. Join a generation of sh*tty parents in their crusade to deflect all blame onto a game, and listen as the church, the police, and the news media joins the f...

We're back with more from the illustrious Kevin Wong ! Buckle up for a deep dive into the ways social issues manifest in games. Can they? SHOULD THEY? How can I get these politics out of my video games??? Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Further Reading: Dear Future Me Games and Playable Media Alumni News. "GPM Alumni Spotlight: Reed, Class of 2021". 2021....

Our FIRST EVER INTERVIEW with game designer extraordinaire Kevin Wong ! Strap in as Matt, Joe, and Kevin dive into a conversation about what tabletop games and video games can teach one another, how we can build narratives together, and why Kevin is the worst D&D player we've ever met (and why that's a good thing). Keep in touch on Twitter and support us on Patreon for extended episodes! Furth...

Spend your Valentine's Day listening to our worst bonus episode yet! Does love belong in the game? Does it belong in yours? Does it belong in the Marvel Cinematic Universe??? Listen as Matt and Joe stumble through what passes for content as they show what NOT to do when incorporating love and romance at the table. Listen to the end for some classy philosophy pickup lines and show your own with us...

Or DOES IT??? Alignment can be a useful starting point, but Matt and Joe are here to uncover the ways additional nuance can help us breathe new life into our characters. This episode finally answers your most pressing questions: Where does alignment even come from? How can we use more varied questions to make characters that feel more real and fulfilling? Why do we suck the fun out of everything a...

Two weeks ago, we dove into the story of the virgin birth. But now comes the most important part: Who cares? Matt certainly doesn't, but join us as Joe tries to convince him with the true meaning of Christmas: give up sex and you too can become a lion-riding badass who shoots lightning from her fingertips just like a monk or paladin in D&D. Support us on Patreon for EXTENDED episodes! Sources...

Matt accuses Joey of being a fake Christian as the two investigate the conditions of the possibility of getting laid. Was the Virgin Mary a 'multiple sex haver' or a perpetual virgin like the Catholic Church says she is? Tune in for the surprising answer that solves the problem once and for all. As a bonus, Matt reveals the ancient secret to spinal health! Support us on Patreon for EXTENDED episod...

"There can be miracles... when you believe."  - The Prince of Egypt Just like any good Dungeon Master, sometimes God intervenes in the ordinary course of human affairs to fudge things just a little... curing disease, separating the Red Sea, and getting turnt New Testament style! But if God can intervene, how do they decide when to fudge the dice and when to let it play out? How do they decide...

If you're a huge nerd you know that "fudging the dice" is when the Dungeon Master changes the results of the die roll to suit their own narrative purposes. Maybe they save your character from a dragon's breath by lowering the damage ever so slightly. Or maybe the final blow barely misses you when you're at 1 hit point left. Or perhaps a sinister DM raises the Difficulty Class of a medusa's gaze so...

Well... do they? Christianity has a long history of an unsavory association with cannibalism beginning with Roman propaganda in the first century CE. Although if every week you get together to chant about how you're going to eat some guy's body, people might call you cannibals. But what does it mean to eat the literal body and drink the literal blood of Jesus Christ? Find out on this BONUS EPISODE...