Mastering Dungeons

Episode 299 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster with Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish! Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish joins Shawn to discuss his latest book providing GM advice! News: D&D Fan Expo Canceled, 2026 ENnie Nominees, July D&D Drops, and more! Contents 00:00 Mike Shea AKA Sly Flourish! 05:32 Reuse Our Old Ideas? 10:34 Who Would You Hire? 16:43 Which Idea? 23:30 D...

Episode 298 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight! It’s easy to be positive when Shawn and Teos review one of the finest 5E adventures! Hear why this adventure excels! News: Wizards has a Union, Latest D&D Jobs, Have We Moved Past the OGL, and more! Contents 00:00 Draw Steel Monsters 01:54 Shawn's Wizardly Trip 04:18 Guest Appearances 05:36 Small Publisher S...

Episode 297 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Mystic Arts and Creator Publishing! Daði Einars joins Teos to discuss RPG design, gameplay, and his work with Mystic Arts to create for Patreon, YouTube, and your table! News: Vampire the Masquerade for D&D, New D&D Card Decks, WotC Staff Explain UAs, and more! Contents 00:00 Welcome Daði Einars! 01:59 Corruption in Kryptgarden 08:00 Shield La...

Episode 296 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Rime of the Frostmaiden! We review this mega sourcebook and adventure in a single episode! See which parts of the cold will warm your heart. News: Paizo’s Difficult Future, Renegade Drops Essence20 for 5E, City of Greyhawk on DDB, 3/4 of D&D Players in Last Decade, and more! Contents 00:00 Knicks and Cups 01:17 Actual Shield Lands Authors...

Episode 295 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Encounters Unboxing! We unbox the D&D Encounters Ravenloft season contents and share the design of the Shadows of Sithicus adventure! News: WotC Changes Drops Policy, Neon Odyssey Breaks Records, Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 Remakes, Ravenloft Finishes AP, and more! Contents 00:00 Our Favorite Show 02:04 Same Kobold Lair? 04:52 What Inspires Us f...

Episode 294 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Baldur’s Gate: Descent Into Avernus! This adventure changed drastically to become a prequel to the highly successful Baldur’s Gate 3. We take a look at the best the adventure offers! News: Ravenloft Horrors Within Early Access, Kickstarter Backs Down, 2nd Legends of Greyhawk Pack, Latest Drops and DMAP, and more! Contents 00:00 Teos Plays Crow...

Episode 293 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage! Undermountain comes to 5E! We delve into Halaster’s secrets and the best of the 23 wild dungeon levels! News: Hasbro’s Strong Q1, Crows RPG Playtest, Daggerheart Birthday News, D&D Video Game Canceled, and more! Contents 00:00 Crows RPG Playtest 03:00 Attacks of Opportunity Good? 13:51 Ravenloft and Enco...

Episode 292 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist! Urban adventures come to 5E. Decide which faction we belong to as we find the best travel spots in all of Waterdeep! News: Daggerheart’s Birthday, Mordenkainen vs Bahamut, Crowdfunding Whale Trends, and more! Contents 00:00 Draw Steel on Our Patreon! 03:30 Our Proudest Design Work? 10:28 Key Role for Antagonists? 20:20...

Episode 291 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Famous and Infamous Tomb of Horrors! We look back at one of the most feared adventures across RPGs! We discuss how to have fun with this adventure and revisit the most interesting challenges it presents. News: D&D Beyond Drops, Hasbro’s CEO on D&D’s Digital Future, Enormous Crowdfunders, and more! Contents 00:00 Sheep and Hikes 04:20 Paten...

Episode 290 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Tomb of Annihilation! Welcome to the jungle as we explore the hottest parts of Tomb of Annihilation! News: D&D on Ted TV Show, D&D Beyond Class Packs, Small Kickstarter Math, UBI and Creative Hobbies, and more! Contents 00:00 Weekend of Annihilation 02:11 Publish Updated Adventures? 06:58 What Do You Mean by a Good Story? 18:12 D&D...

Episode 289 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Against the Giants G1-2-3! We revisit the classic Against the Giants Dungeons & Dragons adventure, including the very first adventure ever published for D&D! Join us as we walk the halls, glacier, and steading to find the best of this influential series. News: WotC Team Unionizing, Free Zombie Clot Encounter and Draw Steel Treasures, W...

Episode 288 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: How Good is D&D’s New Website? We take a look at D&D’s new site and discuss how well it works for new players, community, Baldur’s Gate fans, new Ravenloft and actual play reveals, and much more! News: New Ravenloft Details, Dungeon Masters AP, Daggerheart Hope and Fear, Legends of Greyhawk, and more!  Contents 00:00 Little Giant Patreon Creat...

Episode 287 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Storm King’s Thunder! Bring the thunder with this giant-filled D&D 5E adventure! Shawn and Teos review what truly makes this adventure shine. News: Big Patreon News, New D&D Job Speculation, Hasbro’s AI Principles, Ravenloft Comics, and more!  Contents 00:00 Back and Inspired 02:18 Big Patreon News! 05:12 Skip the Boring Bits? 17:19 Ne...

Episode 286 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Curse of Strahd! One of 5E's highest-rated adventures! Jeff Mueller joins Shawn to discuss why it is so good and how Jeff is running it yet again - this time for Daggerheart! News: MegaDungeon Month, BG3 TV Show Delays, UA Villainous Options, and more!  Contents 00:00 Introduction 34:29 Curse of Strahd Thank you for listening! Get the full sho...

Episode 285 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Out of the Abyss! Out of the Abyss may be one of the finest Underdark sourcebooks D&D has created… and it’s also an adventure! See what really shines in Out of the Abyss. News: We Try D&D Beyond’s Quickbuilder, Colbert Helms Lord of the Rings, Cookie Brigade’s History, and more!  Contents 00:00 Teos Has a Sad 01:30 Elemental Evil Updat...

Shawn and Teos Do Things For the First Time! Welcome to a special edition show, modeled after YouTube's increasingly hard-to-attain quality standards. Contents 00:00 First Read of ToEE! 00:26 First Time Rolling Dice 01:08 First Time Seeing 5.5 Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/   Our intro and outro music is...

Episode 284 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Temple of Elemental Evil! Shawn and Teos dive into the classic Temple of Elemental Evil, inspiring countless spinoffs including 5E’s Princes of the Apocalypse. From elemental factions to demigods, we look at the best of this design. News: D&D Greyhawk Announcements, Codex Pricing Reveal, Modules Returning, RPG Growth in Indonesia and Iraq,...

Episode 283 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Encounters Program with Chris Tulach! Chris Tulach, organized play manager for D&D, shares how the revised D&D Encounters program will work for stores and home play, including the upcoming celebration event! Chris also discusses the latest with Adventurers League and Legends of Greyhawk. News: No Tariff Lawsuits, NeoPets Withdraws Lice...

Episode 282 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Matt Colville Blows Our Minds on MCDM and the TTRPG Industry! Matt Colville is here to absolutely blow our minds on how MCDM operates, how it pays, how it has worked to reach an audience, and what the rest of the industry might learn from that! News: D&D’s New Seasonal Roadmap, Is it Really 5.5, New D&D Website, What is Season of Champions, an...

Episode 281 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Beyond’s Staff Looks to the Future! Brian Perry (DDB Executive Producer) and Zac Cohn (MAPS Product Manager) join Teos and Shawn to share D&D Beyond’s bold future! News: New D&D London Expo, MCDM Hires for the Future, Critical Role Hires from Hallmark, and more!  Contents 00:00 Weekend Wins 01:36 Why Don't NPCs Fix the World? 06:16 Cam...

Episode 280 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Princes of the Apocalypse! Teos and Shawn share the best of Princes of the Apocalypse, an adventure that brings back elemental evil and the elder elemental eye to D&D! News: D&D Beyond’s Roadmap, AEG Parts with Dancey, More WotC Hiring, and more!  Contents 00:00 Intro 01:58 Important to Research Lore? 12:43 Help Players Understand Choi...

Episode 279 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Why is Red Hand of Doom So Good? Teos and Shawn share the best of Red Hand of Doom, a fan-favorite adventure from 3rd edition D&D! News: Hasbro vs Wizards Q4 Results, How AI is Used at Hasbro, Dark Heart of the Wood, and more!  Contents 00:00 Bringing the Loopiness 02:27 Players Always Team Up? 10:48 What Was or Is D&D Encounters? 15:56 D&...

Episode 278 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: What Made Tyranny of Dragons Great? Teos and Shawn look back at the first 5E hardback adventure, Tyranny of Dragons, discussing our favorite aspects of Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat! News: Baldur’s Gate 3 HBO TV Show, Polygon on Vecna, Teos Completes Lifetime, and more!  Contents 00:00 Herald's Guild Awards 03:38 BMG and Greyhawk Reveal...

Episode 277 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Working in the RPG Industry! Shawn shares a panel he had with Jackson DiCarlo at the Running GAGG Gaming Conventions. They discuss working in the RPG industry, sharing the insights of Shawn’s long career and Jackson’s two-year experience as a designer! News: Cosmere’s Apple TV Deal, 5th New WotC Hire, D&D + Fortnite + Hytale, and more!  Contents 0...

Episode 276 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Rethink Your Session Zero! Shawn and Teos rethink all that a session zero is trying to do and how to approach each of the many goals to start your campaign! News: D&D Beyond’s Partner Schedule, D&D Proves AI’s Shortcomings, AI RPG Scams, Shawn is a Warlock, and more! Contents 00:00 Shawn is a Warlock! 05:59 How Should Death Saves Work? 27:10 J...