It’s A Mimic!

So much of our favourite pop culture is based upon destroying the status quo, making a hair-brained scheme, and then fighting the insurmountable odds, but in D&D the hair-brained scheme is often overlooked.  So how do you offer opportunity and agency without having the session go wildly off the rails?  Adam and Dan walk you through what it means to go from storyteller to audience, and why Dungeon...

Theros is all about big personas, gifts from gods, epic monsters, and heroic journeys, and in this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, the titans on the panel of Dungeon Masters clash together to Gather the Magic and go on a odyssey of mythic proportions as they explore the newest campaign setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.  But even it all seems Greek to you now, there's enough divine...

In this first half of the discussion on Sharn, City of Towers, Dave leads Adam through the basic layout of the city, and does a tour of both the richest and poorest areas of the city. Remember that the neighbourhoods are called "Quarters", each neighbourhood includes three vertical regions called "Wards", and each ward has multiple "Districts".   Quarters: Central Plateau Dura Menthis Plateau Nort...

Aha! Bet you didn't see it coming! Out of nowhere, here comes an episode on the worst kind of surprises in D&D: Betrayals! This episode sees Dan and Adam break down the why, when, and how of using effective, meaningful betrayals in your Dungeons & Dragons campaign.   Takeaways: - Some players will blame the Dungeon Master for a betrayal, and focus on the DM as the adversary. The best way to avoid...

In this week's episode, the panel of DM's goes chrome.  That's right, this is the week Dan has been waiting for as the It's A Mimic! podcast finally details Silver Dragons.  The goodest of the good, Silver Dragons cause a great divide between the hosts, and spurns on the debate about what is good and how it is allowed to affect your party.  All this while inspiring some shiny combat and social enc...

This episode rambles about the planes of Eberron nearly as much as our hosts ramble about other topics and bad jokes.  But one thing is certain: This planar landscape is very different from the Forgotten Realms' planes.  So bear with Dave and Adam as they traverse these multiple landscapes and try to find parallels and theories about why these planes exist in the ways that they do.   Planes: Danvi...

Overland travel, wilderness encounters, and chases aside, there's another common kind of activity in the wild: Scouting.  On this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam encourage their players to get proactive and take the fight to their enemies.   Takeaways: - Scouting relies on stealth, self-sufficiency, strategy, and speed - Patrols and guards are the direct opposition to scouts.  - The...

This week, Dave and Adam get pious, faithful, and organized in another episode of Touring the Multiverse.  But, like all things in Eberron, things are not as straightforward as they seem at first.  From the appropriate use of hashtags to dirty hippy sects and a couple of happy takes on necromancy, there's something for everyone to get behind in this campaign setting!    Sovereign Host - Aureon - A...

In this week's episode, the Dungeon Masters rock out to the gale force winds and let the engulfing waves wash over them like it was the 21st night of September (Yes, thats an Earth, Wind, and Fire joke).   Thats right, this week on the It's a Mimic podcast, we're covering the biggest and baddest of all the Elementals; the Leviathan, Zaratan, and the Elder Tempest!   But don't you worry, fans of th...

Cooperative Game.  Collaborative Storytelling.  Teamwork.  On this episode of the Campaign Builder, we sit down together and shine the light on different aspects of tabletop roleplaying games that new Dungeon Masters should think about when prepping for sessions.  It's never too late to start promoting cohesion among the party members, and a lot of the time, there are things that DM's can do to he...

What does a novice Dungeon Master need to know about leveling?  How should new players think about alignment?  And how closely should a party watch their consumable items like ammo and spell components?  The panel of DM's sit down to answer these questions for this season's Instagram giveaway winner, @eeyowensdoodles!  So buckle up as Dan, Terry, and Adam have another go at these topics and each o...

In this week's episode, Adam, Dan and Megan discuss the options found in Xanathar's for the fast-fighting, fast-running, fast-drinking, fast...  Look, they're just fast.  It's the Monk.  As with every second pass-through for the classes, we cover the flavour options from XGE first, this time discussing the merits and flaws of the monastery, the token, and the master.   Next, the Dungeon Masters ta...

In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam finish their discussion about Dragonmark Houses. Travel, rivalries, and the combinations of industries begin to reveal the complexities of the beloved world of Eberron!   House Cannith - The Mark of Making Humans led by three different leaders: Baron Zorlan d'Cannith in Korth Enclave, Karrnath Baron Jorlanna d'Cannith in Aundair Enclave, Aun...

Well, the party has been captured and all hope is lost... I guess the only thing left to do is... ESCAPE! In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam run you through the ins and outs of running a manhunt and keeping the party on the run!   Takeaways: - Applying degrees of success and failures is incredibly useful when dealing with a scenario as reliant upon skill checks as escape - Playe...

In this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, a very special guest star joins the panel of Dungeon Masters to break down the natural casters in Xanathar's Guide to Everything!  The funny and amazing @lilisparx teams up with Dan and Adam as we return to our conversation about Sorcerers and dig into both Shadow Magic and Storm Sorcery! Available On:  iTunes  |  Spotify  |  Podbean  |  YouTube Don’t...

In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam go back and forth in a discussion about half of the Dragonmark Houses. Intrigue, plot hooks, and complex politics add a lot of flavour to the unique world of Eberron, and there's so much that this episode had to split in two... just like one of the houses!   House Medani - The Mark of Detection Half-Elves led by Baron Baron Trelib d'Medani H...

Stop. Put down your dice. Sit back and listen. Because in this episode of the It's A Mimic! Campaign Builder, we're taking away agency from the people around the table. Capture and imprisonment are old standards for Dungeons and Dragons, but they often result in real people getting really upset. So how do you handle this as a DM? Well, if you trust us... Just sit for a bit and listen to what it me...

In this week's episode, the panel of DM's discuss the brash, short-lived, skilled, and incredibly numerous Humans.  While the mechanics are kinda bland (humans being the gold standard of game design) the flavour options presented in SCAG offer far more story driven customization in the nineteen societies your human can call home on Faerun.  Adam, Megan, and Terry break down the histories and in so...

Bloodlines! Power creep! House benefits and racial variants! In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam explore what it means to have a Dragonmark and what the houses have to offer in the way of plot hooks, backgrounds, and back stories! Organization: The Twelve Dragonmarks and the Houses: Mark of Detection - House Medani Mark of Finding - House Tharashk Mark of Handling - House Vada...

What exists between urban and wilderness settings? Well, the farmland, of course! Join Dan and Adam this week as they take a stroll down some dusty roads to find out what farming might look like in a magical setting, how people might react to a party's presence, and what dynamic encounters they can bring to the table as they slowly begin to gear up for the next big plot reveal. Takeaways: - While...

In this week's episode, Dan hands out wilderness explorer badges to Dave and Adam as they tackle the vast expanse of the jungles of Chult, the brutal setting of the Tomb of Annihilation adventures released for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.  With all that's going on this island (peninsula?), Dan hits the highlights while trying to stay as spoiler free as free as possible for Tomb of Annihilation. The Du...

This episode of Touring the Multiverse focuses on the distant lands of Eberron, which is thematically on point, as Dave and Adam seem to be all over the map, with their talk of Dragon Horns, a city in the Forgotten Realms' plane of fire, and which nation in Eberron is the cleanest. Also, they get distracted by the Draconic Prophecies for a little while, which seems about on par...   Continents: Kh...

It's Petrified Ent Liches, evil dragons as PC's, and lycanthropic players!  This special mailbag episode runs the gamut from personal truths to ridiculous puns and everything in between. So buckle up for some more insanity, and head to Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, and info@itsamimic.com to ask questions for the next round! We answered questions from the following people. Crystal from Facebook Coff...

Being a part of a caravan can be very different than escorting an NPC or two, and in this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down and look at what travelling looks like when the party isn't necessarily calling the shots.  From boxing matches to purple worms, this episode has a surprising amount of action for a scenario with supposedly-little combat! Takeaways: - Caravans should be t...

In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Master (Adam, Megan, and Terry) take a step back and ready their actions to draw blades in one-on-one combat with the honourable Bronze Dragons.  These scaly sea-faring scions of chivalry are the knights of dragonkind, holding glory and honour high.  As is our fashion on this podcast we break down their stats, discuss how we'd use them in a fight, and a...