Running Off The Rails

Ray is joined by the creator of DnDestiny, GoodGameKitty, to discuss how all DMs design and curate the game at their table. Kitty gives some pointers about how to bring your favorite mechanics and experiences from video games to your own table. The world of video game design has so many amazing resources; we should not ignore this source of research, design, play testing, and inspiration. If you w...

Ray and Ariel talk about how to make conditions more exciting at your table. How can you present conditions to your players in ways that feel threatening and uncertain? How can you homebrew conditions at your table to make poisons, curses, and diseases "explorable?" Really highlight what is different about your setting by customizing the environmental dangers that are unique there. Website: https:...

Ray and Ariel help build magic items that deliberately add the right amount of power-ups and new story hooks. An item that is very powerful will likely change your combats, and an item that is legendary and consequential can push your campaign in a brand new direction. Ray and Ariel use The Arms of Accord from Arcadia issue 10 as a great example of magical items that can be as powerful or as legen...

Ray interviews Trevor Armstrong, the creator of the Grim Press. The Grim Press has launched a variety of ultra-successful 3rd party D&D 5E supplements including Adaptable NPCs. The Grim Press successfully launched the Allies and Antagonists on Kickstarter at $19,151 USD. First, Trevor discusses his core design philosophy when creating memorable NPC statblocks.  Then, Trevor provides criti...

Ray and Ariel discuss a hot topic in the TTRPG community: is it wrong for player characters to use meta knowledge at the the table. In this episode, we make the case that meta knowledge can not only make many D&D encounters safer and more fun, but it can also engage the players as the DM's audience members. After all, there's no more engaged reader than a coauthor.  If you enjoyed the sho...

Ray and Ariel help start your adventure off with a funnel adventure to play through your character's humble pre-heroic beginnings at the table. As an example, we walk through Filthy Peasants, a port of a classic funnel to 5th edition D&D from MCDM's ninth issue of Arcadia. We discuss how it can make that first day of adventurers meeting up a lot less awkward and extremely fun. But be careful:...

Ben from We Speak Common joins us for another episode to discuss his homebrew world. What is the difference between taking inspiration and being derivative? When does it become worth it to write your own homebrew world? We discuss this and more on today's episode of Running off the Rails. If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog pos...

Ben from We Speak Common joins Ray to discuss his priority list when planning a session of D&D. How does this list affect the resulting session? What are the differences between Ray and Ben's lists and how can those differences be felt by players. We cover all this and more. If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Yo...

Mark joins Ray to discuss supporting different styles of play. Mark prefers a looser interpretation of the rules and asserts that Ray wouldn't enjoy playing in his game.  Mark and Ray go off the rails and discover that they want VERY different things from D&D 5.5e.  If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Y...

Ali joins Ray to discuss a time when Ray disappointed her as her DM. Ali talks about how players can bring critical feedback to their DM in a productive way and how DMs can create an environment that fosters collaboration and problem-solving. If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Youtube content, and new DM's guild con...

Ray is joined by special guest, Ace, creator of the Forged Concordance to discuss playing D&D on Discord. There are many D&D Discord servers that connect hundreds of players. Many games are run every day allowing players to play D&D on their own schedule. DMs are in demand and can schedule a game to be run whenever they feel like it. Level up your game by joining The Forged Concordance...

Ray and Ariel discuss "The Future of D&D" panel that occurred at D&D Celebration 2021. We discuss how it unlikely it is that Wizards of the Coast will make meaningful changes to the way 5th edition works today. Fear not though, instead of waiting until 2024 for Wizards of the Coast to release the new core rulebooks, bring the changes you are excited about seeing to your game with homebrew...

Ray and Ariel learn lessons from creative writing to improve their DMing skills. Brandon Sanderson talks about the importance of character and plot over setting in creative writing. We explore the parallels between a Dungeons and Dragons character/plot/setting structure with a more traditional structure from the world of fiction. We discuss the different ways character and plot are created in a co...

Ray and Ariel discuss how gold quickly shifts from a player problem to a DM problem in D&D. After buying that set of plate armor, your players usually run out of cool, available things to buy. This is often paired with a sudden explosion of gold handed out by DMs, resulting in players carrying around Tens of Thousands of gold pieces with nothing to spend it on. We offer some nuanced solutions to k...

Ray and Ariel look at the catch-22 of dangerous Dungeons and Dragons encounters. On the one hand, not every creature in the world should be the same level as your characters. On the other hand, balanced encounters tend to be the most fun, and are important for any campaign. We walk through three ways you as a DM can put completely insane combats in front of your players and know that they will fee...

Ray and Ariel explore one of the toughest challenges in D&D: can you create epic battle for your campaign? Large scale clashes between your enemies and your allies have been a part of published dungeons and dragons adventures forever, but the rules haven't supported them. Ray and Ariel discuss why these kinds of battles are so important for your party's fun and agency in their world, and show...

Ray and Ariel help make your adventuring party's faction feel fantastical and exciting throughout your campaign. As an example, we walk through The Pickling Guild, a perfect prototype for your party from MCDM's seventh issue of Arcadia. We discuss how it succeeds in some places where more traditional factions, like The Harpers from Wizards of the Coast, are lacking. Arcadia #7 is purchasable now f...

Ray, Ariel and Ben discuss common misconceptions about running darkness and darkvision in D&D. Then we dig into how to really leverage darkness in your game as a set piece in your combats and setting. If you liked the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter .  If you want more Ben, check out his show We Speak Common.

Ray and Ariel explore ways to make artifact-level magic items special and engaging to your players throughout an entire campaign. They also warn listeners of the ways powerful artifacts can make your Dungeons and Dragons game less fun. For some examples of both scenarios, we once again dive into MCDM's new flagship product, Kingdoms & Warfare, and check out its new magic items. Kingdoms &...

Ray and Ariel try to disprove the assumption that being a party of "murder hobos" is the wrong way to play Dungeons and Dragons. We look at how the rules of D&D encourage players to kill their foes, and we give DMs the tools to embrace their players' power fantasies while maintaining a realistic and character focused story. If you've ever felt like your game of D&D doesn't have the right t...

Ray and Ariel discuss what makes a compelling rival in fiction and how to incorporate one into a D&D campaign. We lay out a checklist for designing compelling rivals so that your players will love to compete against them throughout the adventure. Then, we go over The Grim Accord, an evil adventuring party from MCDM's sixth issue of Arcadia, and talk about how they could fit into your campaign....

Ray and Ariel dive into MCDM's newest flagship product, Kingdoms & Warfare. Today we cover the monsters section of the book and discuss Villainous Actions.  Matt Colville first discusses Action-Oriented Monsters in this YouTube Video . Kingdoms & Warfare is purchasable now for $30 on The MCDM Store *We are not affiliated with MCDM, nor do we gain any monetary rewards for purchases of...

Ray and Ariel discuss what makes a good one shot for D&D. We lay out a checklist for keeping your players engaged while making sure your session stays short and sweet. Then, we go over two examples of published material that implement these concepts in different ways. And at the end, Ray regales us with the story of his first one shot as a cautionary tale for what not to do. If you liked the s...

Ray and Ariel discuss what is at the core of every faction in D&D. We sort through some of the logistics you will need to cover and the different levers you can pull to make your factions feel unique. Then, we improvise a faction from scratch using the list we discuss in the beginning of the episode. If you liked the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter . It is the only means...

Ray and Ariel dive into MCDM's FIFTH issue of Arcadia. Arcadia is a supplemental magazine that equips DMs and players alike with new and inspiring content. We discuss Leon Barillaro's maladies in "Long Term Curses," Carlos Cisco’s greed based character options, "Goldmonger Subclasses," and Sam Mannell’s new spells from "Alabaster’s Almanac". Arcadia #5 is purchasable now for $7 on The MCDM Store O...