How Not to Dungeon Master

Season 2 Starts January 12th! Support the Show! Affordable Tiers, Amazing Perks: https://www.patreon.com/hn2dm?fan_landing=true (HN2DM Patreon) Social Media Links, Podcast Platforms, Affiliate Links, Guest Appearance Links, and More: https://linktr.ee/hn2dm (HN2DM Linktree)

This week's guest is... me! And features the lovely Rachel, my partner, as my guest host. Rachel grilled me on my origins, the good and bad parts of my game, and we chatted about fun moments from our home games we share together. This is the Season One Finale! Thank you so much fo every single listener. Thanks for sharing the show with friends and family, for being my friend, and for taking the ti...

This episode’s guest is Steph, creator of the TTRPG Kids blog. Steph created the site to compile games for kids, and has started a lot of other cool projects along the way, including reviewing tons of different indie games geared for kids and creating games of her own! TTRPGKids Links https://linktr.ee/TTRPGkids (TTRPGKids Linktree) Steph's Links https://twitter.com/stephcampb7 (Twitter) How Not t...

When Beth started playing DandD she quickly discovered the vampire module, Curse of Strahd, and just as quickly found it to be problematic. She started small with making changes in her own game as she ran it, and as she made more changes, decided to try and put all her thoughts and ideas together for others to use too! Thus, "She is the Ancient" was born! After getting a little taste of the thrill...

This show’s guest is Ty, DM of Side Character Quest! His show is unique among actual play podcasts because it features many different guests playing the roles of side characters in his world, and each game is a self contained story and played with one DM and one player. Ty has been a great friend to me personally as well, giving me podcast advice as I had questions because he’s been at this longer...

This episode’s guest is the multi-talented Fiona, host of two TTRPG podcasts! What Am I Rolling, and The DM’s Book Club. Fiona has run several dozen TTRPG systems as part of her podcasts, which gives her a very unique perspective on running games and the role of the GM. She’s also interviewed some incredible people from the TTRPGs, and written for Dragon+, the official WoTC DandD magazine. Watch o...

Russell is the DM of a brand new DandD Actual Play and stream called Spawn of Chaos! Born from a spark of ingenuity and kept alive by the sheer willpower of the cast and crew, Spawn of Chaos is an upstart show with lofty ambitions. Russell himself is quite the character, and has been dreaming up fantasy worlds and practicing crazy character accents since he was a kid. You could saw he’s been worki...

Julian and his team have been working non-stop on their brand new TTRPG - Dark Veil. We talked about creating a TTRPG from the ground up, what it’s like to start and run a game publishing company, and much more! Julian / Dark Veil Links https://www.darkveilstudio.com/ (Dark Veil Website) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/darkveil/dark-veil-roleplaying-game (Dark Veil Kickstarter) https://twitte...

Di found TTRPGs a few years ago, and fell in love with the narrative style possibilities for creation. She’s been playing, writing, and running TTRPGs ever since. Di also had the unique and challenging opportunity to judge 2021’s ENnie nominations, and worked hard with her four counterparts to select the best of the best from each of the categories. We talk about her gaming experience, and also ab...

Fernando and Matthew together make the dynamic homebrew duo that is Abyssal Brews! They’ve been churning out magic items and homebrew rules and add-ons for DandD 5e since February, and show no signs of stopping! We chatted about what they each bring to the table, their TTRPG journeys, and much more. Check out their website for links to their cool creations, or follow them on Twitter to track their...

B. Dave Walters is TTRPG Royalty, and not just because he’s a pretty face! If he’s not your favorite GM/DM and player, look that person up now, and chances are they’ve played with B. Dave at some point. He’s been a player, GM, designed games for, and produced some of the most popular TTRPG streams to date, which means his advice and experience are worth their weight in gold coins. B. Dave's Links...

Shaun has been playing TTRPGs for a few years now, and saw a need for players to have a quick reference of their own to remember rules, conditions, and more while playing DandD. He couldn't find anything out there that solved the problem, so he set out to create the 5E Player's Screen! The screen is meant for neurodivergent players but also helps players new and old remember rules and have more fu...

Weston has been making music far longer than he's been playing TTRPGs, so it makes sense that the niche he saw he could fill in the community was bringing awesome free music for everyone to use in their own games! Weston's free to use RPG music and parody videos have been spread far and wide across the internet. Chances are you have seen him with his signature scarves and hilarious song parodies b...

Hope is a force for good in the TTRPG community! She got her start as a podcaster, got into the social media marketing side, and as her podcast crew decided to go on hiatus, she looked for new ways to get involved! Hope and friends created the #ttrpgfamily hashtag and an incredible community of creators all intent on supporting each other and growing together. On a personal note, I've seen a lot o...

This episode’s gust is Michael, aka Declan Feralborn from Feralborn Trading Company! Michael has been homebrewing items for his account for almost two years now after getting back into TTRPGs a few years ago. His Instagram page is full of awesome items, subclasses, ideas, and more, which make for amazing inspiration in your own games. Michael has also met lots of really supportive people from his...

Jake is one of those DMs who started recording their games almost immediately after starting to run their own games. His players have incredible improv and voice acting skills from theater days that really add to the listening experience. Jake and I talked about the difference between running a pre-written adventure and a homebrew one, and also about the importance of pacing in any TTRPG game, but...

Jenny is a really funny person which means that both her DandD games and her TikTok content are must-sees. I laughed out loud in my first scroll through her videos and knew I wanted to get her on the show so she could impart her wisdom and wit to all of you. Her streamed game, The Tabletop Tavern is entering its third and final act, so make sure to tune in when they're streaming, and also make sur...

Ben is a content creator for DandD 5e that has some awesome advice on getting started in the TTRPG publishing game! Ben has been doing it for a while, and has some great ideas for spicing up your DandD game, making sure you and your players are aligned, and building memorable encounters. If you're looking for tips on writing content for DM's Guild, Drivethru RPG, or want to get a Kickstarter off t...

Josh and I talked about a ton of different things including why anything you create has worth, Kickstarter advice, and his best advice on being an amazing Dungeon Master. If you're looking for creative motivation, listen to this interview and let Josh pump you up! Josh has been a part of or the driving force behind two incredibly well-loved and well-made actual-play DandD podcasts; Sneak Attack an...

Jeff is the incredible DM of the live stream DandD show The Dungeon Run which I discovered a little over a year ago. The show has a really cool and unique audience participation aspect that made it stick out to me at first, but I kept coming back for the awesome roleplay and story the the whole cast was creating together. Jeff has some amazing insights about running your campaign so it's fun and e...

Mike is the English teacher you wish you had in school, the kind who you could talk TTRPGs with after class! He started playing TTRPGs when he was a kid and hasn't stopped since. He first discovered play by post TTRPGs when his life became too busy for a weekly game. Mike talks about what makes play by post so appealing to players who have 5 games going on at a time or none. We also talk about how...

Brian has played more TTRPGs over the past 15 years than most people do in a lifetime. His experience running lots of different games makes him a perfect fit for the show Two Weeks One Shot, and for How Not to DM! You can find Brian on https://twitter.com/HelixMissionary (Twitter), or streaming on https://www.twitch.tv/helixmissionary (Twitch) on Mondays at 9 pm Eastern. You can listen to him and...

Benjamin knew a few things when he started Lawful Great Adventures. He wanted to flip the typical TTRPG trope of going on an adventure to some unknown place and instead made it a journey home, and he wanted to really lean into the cast when he was crafting the story so the world was as real to his players as it was to him. We chatted about these choices, as well as about what he might have changed...

Cam Banks is an incredibly accomplished game designer who spends his time creating games out of the movies, TV shows, and books he loves. He's authored over 20 different games and supplements for properties such as Marvel, The Masters of the Universe, Dragonlance, Smallville, Serenity, and more. Most recently he's been working as a Creative Director at https://twitter.com/fandomtabletop?lang=en (F...

Andrea and Blair are the power couple of the Vancouver, BC TTPRG scene. They own https://adventuredice.ca/ (Adventure Dice), organize https://terminalcitycon.ca/ (Terminal City Tabletop Convention), and also created the annual cancer fundraiser https://andreasadventurers.ca/ (Andrea's Adventurers). Their inspiring story is one everyone can get behind. The livestream event for Andrea's Adventurers...