Mastering Dungeons

Episode 252 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: New Era of RPG Revolution? Huge Gen Con announcements and kickstarters have us asking… is this a new era of RPG Evolution? We look at why it is so hard to compete with D&D and why maybe companies should not want to compete at all! News: Daggerheart Makes Big Moves, Draw Steel Released, FR DLC, and more! Contents 00:00 Climb Gen Con Harder 01:36 Sh...

Episode 251 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Listeners Have Their Way! It’s a Listener Corner extravaganza as we fill our regular segment with tough questions from our awesome listeners! News: Hasbro Disastrously Beats Q2 Expectations, Critical Role Expands Shows, and more! Contents 00:00 Transforming News 04:10 Teos Ghostfire Breaking News 04:55 Happy 251st Show! 05:44 Hasbro Q2 Disastrously Be...

Episode 250 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries! Does Daggerheart provide a compelling system of monsters for GMs? We take a look at the design and whether it might hook GMs into running Daggerheart for years to come! News: Stranger Things Boxed Set, D&D Staffing and Franchise News, Eberron Delay, and more! Contents 00:00 Grimhollow Transformed 03:54 D&D...

Episode 249 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Campaign Frames! Daggerheart provides an interesting structure for campaign settings. How well does this work? Let’s find out! News: What is Narrative-First, D&D Italian Translation Problems, Offset Printers, and more! Contents 00:00 Naprage Week 01:40 Daggerheart Adventure Differences? 09:57 What is Narrative-First? 22:52 Italian PH P...

Episode 248 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Leveling Our Daggerheart Characters! We level up our Rogue and Warrior all the way to level 6 and share how the design enabled our concepts. News: Dragon Delves Pre-Release, Daggerheart New Classes, Cosmere Hiring, and more! Contents 00:00 MVP is Sleep 01:08 Leaving Blanks? 08:24 Daggerheart Demands Good GMs? 15:22 Dragon Delves Pre-Released 17:47 UA...

Episode 247 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Our Daggerheart Characters! What it is like to create Daggerheart Characters, with real examples of our Rogue and Warrior. News: WotC Layoffs, Dragon Delve Previews, Daggerheart Staff Changes, and more! Contents 00:00 Dual-Wield Chainsaws 02:02 Dungeon Crawls Gone? 12:39 Universal and Unique Lore? 16:38 Dragon Delves Previews 18:50 Wizards of the Coas...

Episode 246 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Daggerheart Initiative! What happens when a player of GM can take any number of turns in a row? We take a look at Daggerheart’s initiative and consider games that have similar approaches. News: Critical Role Hire Perkins and Crawford, Jess Lanzillo Departs WotC, Daggerheart Translations, and more! Contents 00:00 We Are Stunned 00:49 Will Daggerheart S...

Episode 245 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic:  2025 D&D Psion Subclasses! The new psion can blow minds with new Disciplines, spells, and Subclasses. News: Perkins and Crawford’s Jobs, We Play Daggerheart, Get Free Goblin Trouble, and more! Contents 00:00 Daggerborg Below 02:37 Mythic Fantasy Tips? 10:33 Transition to Another RPG? 19:14 Good RPGs for Drama and Participation? 23:49 Crawford and...

Episode 244 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The 2025 D&D Psion!! We look at the Psion from OD&D and across the editions, to the 2025 playtest Psion for how well it throws mind bullets. Does it have the power to move us? News: Draw Steel Covers, D&D International Day of Play, New D&D Video Game, and more! Contents 00:00 Intro 02:20 Building Large Cities? 09:04 Daggerheart Didn't...

Episode 243 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Making Good Tactical Maps! Shawn and Teos discuss how to make great maps for home play or publications. From envisioning movement to avoiding symmetry, we share our tips and tricks. News: Daggerheart Released, Lee Gold’s A&E Legacy, Minecraft RPG, Digital Deck of Player Safety, and more! Contents 00:00 Reliving Introcaso 01:33 Detect Phantasmal F...

Episode 242 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Draw Steel and Introducing New RPGs! James Introcaso joins Teos to discuss the challenges any new RPG has in attracting an audience, explaining what makes it fun, creating starter sets, and much more! We draw heavily on Draw Steel, the MCDM RPG coming out later this summer! News: Daggerheart Media Blitz, Diana Jones Emerging Designers, Storytelling T...

Episode 241 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Creating Nautical Encounters! We build encounters based on our nautical campaign arc, including storm survival, submerged shipwrecks, battles on the high seas, and more! News: Horror UA Subclasses, Eberron Preorder Info, Gen Con Events, and more! Contents 00:00 Teos vs the Lorecast 02:09 Teaching Tactics? 10:50 Purpose of GM Currencies? 20:31 Eberron...

Episode 240 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Creating a Nautical Campaign! Shawn and Teos dive into creating a cool nautical campaign, from themes to arcs and beyond! News: We Review Sage Advice, Polygon Sold, Diamond and Alliance Bombshells, and more! Contents 00:00 Still the Captain 01:08 Multiple Modes of Play? 13:02 2024 Creator Pitfalls? 19:59 Diamond and Alliance Bombshells 26:23 Sage Adv...

Episode 239 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Embarking on A Nautical Campaign ! Nautical campaigns offer exciting options different from other campaign types. Join us as we voyage into the strengths and challenges of these campaigns! News: WotC’s Strong Q1, SRD 5.2 Review, Alliance Rejects Diamond, Best Campaign Setting, and more! Contents 00:00 Play Every Day 03:03 Digital Response to Tariffs?...

Episode 238 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Using the Environment in Encounters (with Dragons)! Make the most of elevation, difficult terrain, cover, lighting, and more. And to tie into Monster Week: Dragons, we apply them to dragon encounters! News: New SRD 5.2, Errata Returns, Holy Grail Turns 50, and more! Contents 00:00 Postal Service 02:06 Shawn Peaks 02:36 Easiest Official Adventure to D...

Episode 237 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Teaching a New Generation! We ponder how learning RPGs has changed over the years and the best way to teach new players and DMs today. News: Jeremy Crawford Leaves WotC, Dragon Delves 1-on-1 Play, Atlas Games Recycling, and more! Contents 00:00 Get Outside 02:22 Make Equipment Matter? 12:48 Which Upcoming Release Excites Us? 16:38 Jeremy Crawford Dep...

Episode 236 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Rules-Light D&D Characters! We consider how D&D can be simplified and the goals and tradeoffs involved in creating a rules-light version. News: Chris Perkins Retires, Greg Bilsland Returns, Tariffs and Tabletop, and more! Contents 00:00 Reflecting on Sorrow 02:41 2 Campaigns in Same Setting? 13:03 Convert 4E Monsters to 5E? 16:08 Chris Perkin...

Episode 235 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Forever DMs and Dynamics of an RPG Group! Teos and Shawn discuss Matt Colville’s take on Forever DMs, and look at how the dynamics of an RPG group can shape awesome play. News: Shadowdark Sales, Anjali Bhimani Adventure, Foolish Listener Ideas, and more! Contents 00:00 Return of Shawn 01:00 Foolish Listener Ideas 10:42 Environmental Effect CR Impact?...

Episode 234 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Hundred Dungeons and the OSR! Graham Ward joins Teos to discuss his RPG, Hundred Dungeons, and how it blends OSR and other games to create awesome play! News: WotC Sigil Team Laid Off, Convention Air Quality, Node-Based Design, and more! Contents 00:00 Graham Ward! 01:50 Bring Back Class Roles? 05:55 Encourage Not to Rest? 12:07 Org Play Tied to Curr...

Episode 233 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Let’s Build Encounters! We build encounters based on goblin and pirate monster groups as found in the revised Monster Manual. See our process for creating fun and engaging encounters! News: Electric State on Netflix, SVP Leaves WotC, Origins Award Finalists, and more! Contents 00:00:00 Duke Ranks Higher Than Our Show 00:01:17 D&D at ECCC 00:05:52...

Episode 232 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Making Your D&D or RPG World Dangerous! Shawn Merwin is joined by Ben Byrne to create the true number one show in all the realms… where that show covers the news and then discusses how to make D&D feel dangerous to players! News: Starter Set News, Chris Cocks on More Than AI, DriveThru Print Prices, and more! Contents 00:00 Who is Ben Byrne a...

Episode 231 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Monster Groups and Encounters! The 2025 Monster Manual provides a variety of monster groupings, such as several goblins or bandits. How well do those monster groupings work to establish a theme, provide a DM with options, and provide for useful encounters? News: Sigil VTT is Live, Starter Set Preview, MtG Movie and TV Show, D&D Game Canceled, and...

Episode 230 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Listener Corner Catch Up! So many awesome listener questions, we devoted the show to them! News: Hasbro 2024 Q4 Results, New D&D Video Game, New Magic D&D Crossover, and more! Contents 00:00:00 Santa Clara is Celestial 00:02:43 Hasbro 2024 Q4 Results 00:08:47 How Big is D&D after 2024? 00:14:26 Hasbro Playing to Win Strategy 00:17:35 D&am...

Episode 229 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: New Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard Subclasses! We examine the Winter Ranger, Rogue Scion, Spellfire Sorcerer, and Bladesinger Wizard – new subclasses coming in November to the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide. News: Netflix D&D TV Show, Kickstarter Recovers, Evil Hat Shares Finances, and more! Contents 00:00 I'll Do Anything for Podcasts 01:1...

Episode 228 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Purple Dragon Knight and Oath of Genies Paladin! We take a look at new fighter and paladin subclasses coming in November to the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide. How do lore changes impact the design? News: Free D&D Adventure, D&D on Netflix, WotC Hires Worldbuilding, and more! Contents 00:00 Winter Fantasy Key Cards 05:57 Flipping Campaign Sc...