Taking 20 Podcast

Not every combat needs to be a slog to determine which side grinds down the other to 0 hit points.  By considering enemy motivations, the “why” of the fight you can introduce more variety to the end result of encounters.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #rpgcombat   Resources: 3D Crafts & Curios etsy store - https://etsy.com/shop/3DCraftsAndCurios   Matthew Colville:  Why Are We Fighting?  https://www.you...

We GMs have a certain way of thinking, sometimes lightning quick and nimble, and sometimes more methodical and measured.  We need to learn how to get out of our own heads and think like enemies do during combat.  In this episode, I give you some tips for running very intelligent and very unintelligent enemies for your players.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #rpgtips   Resources: 3D Crafts & Curios etsy...

DMs, our job is varied and difficult at times.  We have so much on our plate to get ready for the game that we sometimes lose sight of the most important advice we can heed behind the screen.  In this episode, I’m going to remind you of that advice that keeps your game centered and your players excited to come back.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #OneImportantRule Resources: 3D Crafts & Curios etsy stor...

Players, your DMs love you and enjoy having you at their table but some of them could use a little help even if they don’t know how to ask for it.  In this episode I encourage players to talk to DMs about how they can help carry the burden of keeping a weekly game going.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #Burnout

Exploration is the shortest of the three legs of RPGs and doesn’t get the love that combat or social encounters do at most tables.  However, with a little planning, and learning how to run a hexcrawl or prepare some mysteries and histories, exploration can be a lot of fun for your entire table.  Plus you will get to hear Jeremy struggle to say Lothlorien.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #RPGExploration #GMTi...

While combat encounters are fun, there are two other pillars to tabletop RPGs that can turn a good game into a great one.  In this episode I talk about social encounters and how DMs can get better at running them.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #SocialEncounters Resources: Matt Mercer:  Building RPG Social Encounters - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNoR-CcOtqI

Preparing to run an entire adventure out of or inside a city can appear to be a daunting task.  With a little preparation and some thought ahead of time, you can run an adventure that never has to leave the city walls.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #Pathfinder #CityAdventures #AdventureDesign   Resources: Drop Dice Build Cities - https://arcaneeye.com/all/dnd-cities-guide/   Dael Kingsmill’s SPERM principl...

Description Even preparing cities that the party will pass through or only stay at temporarily requires some thought on the DM’s part. In this episode I’ll give you some tips for creating quick-use cities that can help ground your cities in a touch of realism.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips #RPG #citydesign   Resources: Dael Kingsmill’s SPERM principle - https://youtu.be/sJd6g--Ok_A?si=G-PsffcBYYpTLRNl  

Preparing your overarching campaign using smaller situational pieces has a number of benefits to preparing the entire adventure as a whole.  In this episode, I talk about the benefits of preparing your game in manageable chunks and give you some tips for doing so.   #dnd #pf2e #DMTips Resources: The Alexandrian:  Don’t Prep Plots - https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/4147/roleplaying-games/dont-p...

There are two problems I’ve seen regarding interest level:  characters who don’t seem to be buying in to the story and players who don’t seem to be interested in the game.  These situations have multiple possible solutions but require a little nuance to address.  In this episode, I talk about the symptoms of these problems and ways you can possibly address them.   #dnd #Pathfinder2e #DMTips #5e #P...

We all love making characters but one of the most common challenges I’ve heard in talking to players is how to make a memorable character; one that stands out from the crowd.  In this episode, I’m going to give you 10 tips for making characters that can grow, evolve, and be easier to tie in to the campaign at large, beyond the numbers on the character sheet.   #dnd #Pathfinder2e #charactercreation...

Immortal creatures will sometimes make deals with mortals for power and you can sometimes include these situations in your game.  Warlocks have this mechanic built into the class but should you even include the good and bad of these contracts in your game?  In this episode I talk about the different types of beings who will deal with mortals, examples of why they would and tips for your campaign....

Doppelgangers are terrifying shapeshifters that are in the game solely to make an already paranoid group of players even more so.  After all, how can you trust anyone if anyone could be lying about who and what they are?  In this episode, I give you some common motivations for these monsters and tips for introducing them into your game.   #dmtips #doppelgangers #dnd #pathfinder #pathfinder2e   Res...

Baldur's Gate 3 is an amazing game and even though it doesn't have a Dungeon Master per se, it does have some good advice and lessons that all of us can use to improve our DM style.  In this episode I give 8 tips I learned about DMing from Baldur's Gate 3   #dmtips #baldursgate3 #dnd #pathfinder   Resources: https://www.hipstersanddragons.com/difficulty-classes-for-ability-checks-5e/ Larian Studio...

A very special thank you to Rick Sandidge of Find the Path Ventures who was kind enough to come on the episode to discuss integrating character backstories into your game.  Please give their amazing podcasts a listen at find-path.com.  Resources: Find the Path Ventures:  https://find-path.com/ Find the Path Podcasts:  https://find-path.com/podcasts/   Find the Path Twitch:  https://www.twitch.tv/f...

Some decry AI as the worst thing to come to RPGs since THAC0.  However, I’d like DMs and players to acknowledge the problems associated with AI use but also consider using AI as a tool to augment our games to make us better DMs and better players.   #dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #ArtificialIntelligence #rpgtips Resources: How to use AI as a Dungeon Master by Annabelle Collins:  https://www.modularrealm...

Many moons ago I gave tips on character death but as The Mummy said, death is only the beginning.  How do you let your player gracefully replace their character in your game?     #dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #CharacterDeath   Resources: Pathfinder 2e:  Wealth by Level:  https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx? ID=587

In this short episode I talk about a common feeling among DMs:  imposter syndrome and give DMs some advice for dealing with it.    #dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #ImposterSyndrome

A few weeks ago I mentioned how rare I think class levels are in your world and promised a longer discussion on the topic.  As threatened, here it is.  I make my case that class levels should be relatively rare in your world and give some benefits to designing your world that way.   #dmtips #dnd #pathfinder #starfinder #npcs Resources: Pathfinder 2e Core Preview:  https://paizo.com/pathfinder/core...

In this episode I use a bit of lore about the Vast to expand on a concept important to your game world - unexplored areas with the potential to have anything you can think of.   #DMtips #dnd #Pathfinder #Starfinder #TheVast   Resources: Paizo forums - What is the Vast?  https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2v1by? What-is-the-Vast  

Robert Nores wrote in asking how I prepare one shot adventures so in this episode I give you some general tips and walk you through how I would prepare the free adventure A Fistful of Flowers published by Paizo. #DMtips #dnd #Pathfinder #OneShot Resources: A Fistful of Flowers at the Paizo Store:  https://paizo.com/products/btq02d8f? Pathfinder-Adventure-A-Fistful-of-Flowers Taking 20 Podcast Epis...

RPG players depend on we DMs to effectively describe the combat, the encounter areas, and the world at large during exploration activities.  The words we use and the quality of our narration has a direct effect on the quality of our game and the potential immersion into our game world.  Narration is a skill that all GMs, including and especially me, need to practice and improve.  In this episode I...

Sometimes it's nice to remind players that not everything in the world revolves around them and they don't have the ability to control everything going on in the world.  If you want the players to realize that sometimes they are small fish in a big pond, run a campaign centered around a war, cataclysm, revolution, or other world-shaping event where the PCs play a small but important role in the ou...

Your PCs tend to stroll through life like everything is great.  They're walking through the Underdark, not a care in the world, oblivious to everything down here that wants to eat you.  It's time to remind them that they may not be the apex predators in the dark places of the world.  In this episode I talk about using ambush predators in your game, including one strong caution about how they can m...

There is something refreshing about not having to worry about nuance about the big bad's plans or fighting to find a reason for their actions.  Sometimes, when you're designing an adventure, it's fun to just let the big bad be bad.  In this episode, I encourage you to throw caution to the wind and give you reasons why a villain could be an irredeemable monster. #dmtips #dnd #pathfinder #gmtips #or...