It’s A Mimic!

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...

In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam finish off their exploration of Khorvaire while looking into lands of dwarven misfortunes, halfling dino-riders, undead warriors, and pirate adventures! And we haven't even gotten left the main continent yet!   Nations: Karrnath Lhazaar Principalities Mror Holds Talenta Plains   Cities: Korth Atur Regalport Port Verge Krona Peak Solangap Gat...

 Why do urban encounters feel so different from wilderness encounters, and what are some common themes or interesting additions that Dungeon Masters can use to flesh out the locations of their games? In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam look at what unique and interesting opportunities some different locations have to offer. Takeaways: - Oft-overlooked aspects of wilderness travel...

In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Masters cover four of the most common and most commonly ill-used conditions in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - Hidden, Grappled, Restrained and Prone.  They get tripped up grappling over these restraining conditions, and by the end are down and out... but not before giving out some clarity about these often misunderstood ailments.  They also, as is It's a Mim...

Floating Fortresses! Secret Police! Monster Nations! In this week's episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave takes you (and Adam!) on a trip through the Southwest portion of Eberron's main continent! From secret societies to deeply-rooted xenophobia, there's heaps of intrigue and high adventure to be found in every corner of the map!   Nations: Breland Zilargo Droaam   Cities: Sharn Wroat New Cyre...

It's the end of Level Three in this week's episode of the Campaign Builder on It's A Mimic!, and it's time for some much-needed catharsis for the players. Twelve episodes is a long time, and the campaign is just now starting to get rolling, so Dan and Adam look at how to help the players wrap up their first major storyline and feel good doing it!   Takeaways: - Catharsis is a unique and powerful r...

In this weeks episode, the panel of DM's put on their collars and cassocks to get all holy as they take on the Lawful Good-est foes in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - The Celestial.  They break down the big 4 angels - The Empereon, Deva, Solar and Planetar.  The angelic hosts have some troubles meeting the glory that the hosts are meant to have so Terry, Adam and Megan discuss how to use them to full ef...

"Eberron is a racist place." ~ Coffee Bitch Dave On this episode of Touring of the Multiverse, Dave and Adam take you on a tour of four incredibly different neighbouring countries of Eberron. From dense jungles to Elven warriors, and from Goblinoid hosts to physics-bending wastelands, this episode covers everything from lost holy temples to xenophobic lizardfolk. So strap in for another trip to Eb...

 On this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down to give you some solid advice about using NPC's. Or do they? This week is all about characters who may or may not be able to be trusted, how to keep the players from killing them, how to encourage trust or breed mistrust, and tactics for Dungeon Masters to use when designing ambiguous Non-Playable Characters. Takeaways: - Unreliable N...

It's another round of mages and magic in this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, as the panel of Dungeon Masters opens up their dusty tomes to study Conjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation!  As isolation keeps each of the Dungeon Masters locked solidly away in their own respective wizard's towers, they pour over Xanathar's helpful additions to wizardly character creation, and continue to work...

Dave is back again to lead you (and Adam!) through Eberron, and in this episode, we zoom in on the Northwest corner of the continent of Khorvaire, where you'd find wizards, paladins, rangers, druids, and rogues! From talking trees and Archfey to forbidden orcs and missing populations, there is a lot to unpack and investigate in the second episode of Touring the Multiverse from the It's A Mimic! po...

Fantastic settings for fantastic campaigns! How do you encourage a party to explore a bizarre new setting, and keep the tone and feeling different from their hometown? In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam look into crazy settings and how to have your players intereact with the new environment in easy, organic, and interesting ways. Takeaways: - When designing a fantastical locatio...

Time again for a class overview of the Rogue options and subclasses for Dungeons and Dragons 5e.  Dan, Adam and Terry get together on this 69th (nice) episode and talk about dump stats before kicking things off with a bang, covering the the flavour options presented in Xanathars Guide to Everything.  After showering praises on the options that would help any player character develop into a deeper,...

Welcome to a brand new miniseries on the It's A Mimic! podcast, where Dave invites you to explore his favourite Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting, Eberron. In the first episode, he sits Adam down to explain the history and lore of this rich and beloved world. From creation myths to world wars and genocides, this incredibly detailed and painstakingly crafted history opens up new opportunities f...

The enemies are escaping to a distant city, so what does that mean? It's time for a chase! In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Adam and Dan look at how to make a chase feel like more than just another skill challenge, especially in regards to overland movement. So saddle up and get ready, because it's a grueling race across the desert as we start to explore Dungeon Mastering for a level three...

In this weeks episode, the panel of DMs (Brad, Terry and Adam) break down the bearded dynamoes and central figures in every fantasy campaign (except Ravnica) the dwarves!  Finally diving deep into the depths of these clan based societies, the guys cover the basics of Dungeons and Dragons 5e's flavour regarding the stalwart race of master craftsmen before taking a not-so-brief discussion on one of...

The first few sessions have been bursting at the seams with a variety of urban encounters, but urban encounters mean lots of Non-Playable Characters. And how do you create NPC's? What should you focus on? In this episodes of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down and go over their checklist of what's important for NPC creation, and why. Important Physical Details: - Race - Status - Class and/...