The DM‘s Book Club

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton discuss what the future holds for D&D after watching the 'Future of D&D' panel from D&D Celebration weekend (September 2021). This episode's audio was taken from the VOD originally premiering on Dragon's Duel's Twitch channel on Thursday 14th October 2021. ' Future of D&D ' panel's bio: 'D&D’s future is brighter than a circle of fireflie...

Show Notes This week, guest co-host Hreg introduces Fiona to the completely random world of ' Dungeon Crawl Classics ' RPG, a fast-paced, open-feeling rules set allowing for epic game experiences without unnecessary tethers! Books used: ' Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) ' published by Goodman Games, 2012. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton continue with their fey shenanigans with the 'Feywild Companion', a homebrew 150-page treasury of Feywild inspired content published by Splinterverse ! This episode's audio was taken from the VOD originally premiering on Dragon's Duel's Twitch channel on Thursday 7th October 2021. From the book's bio: ' Whether you want to expand the options provided by 'Th...

CW/TW: Body Horror, Gore, Death, Trypophobia. Show Notes This week, Fiona is joined by Derrick ( @HN2DM ), host of the ' How Not To DM' podcast , to pick out a team of horror monstrosities, perfect for your Halloween-themed one-shots, campaigns, or encounters! Derrick's picks: Slithering Tracker (from 'Volo's Guide to Monsters' p191) Helmed Horror (from 'Monster Manual' p183)  Slaadi (from 'M...

Series 3 of The DM's Book Club is here! Show Notes This week, Fiona and new co-host Hamilton give their first initial impressions of the latest D&D adventure module: ' The Wild Beyond The Witchlight '. This episode's audio was taken from the VOD originally premiering on Dragon's Duel's Twitch channel on Thursday 30th September 2021. From the book's bio: ' Once every eight years, the fantastic...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest co-host Chris Handley , talk about the upcoming expansion for Iron Kingdoms: Requiem 5e campaign setting, Iron Kingdoms: Borderlands and Beyond by Privateer Press. Chris is one of the hosts of Darker Days Radio, a horror RPG discussion podcast, and a freelance RPG writer. He has written for Cubicle 7 and Onyx Path Publishing, writing new content for games like...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the final instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using D...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the fifth instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using D...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the fourth instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using...

Show Notes New Series! New Collaboration! Same old DnD shenanigans! We are delighted to announce that Series 3 of the DM’s Book Club will be streamed on the Dragons Duel ’s Twitch channel! We are also delighted to welcome Hamilton of Dragons Duel on board as our new regular cohost.  Brand new episodes of the show will be aired weekly on Thursdays at 9pm BST/GMT, starting today - Thursday...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the third instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using D...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the second instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using...

CW/TW: Horror themes, ghosts, body horror, séances, haunted house, death. Show Notes This week, in the first instalment of our end-of-series special, Fiona takes David and Sam to a haunted house in 'House of Lament', the mini-adventure from 'Van Ritchen's Guide to Ravenloft'. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when using D...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Hamilton (from Dragon's Duel ) discuss one of the most underrated D&D enemies - Hags! Crones who represent the corruption of ideals and goals, and they delight in seeing the innocent and good brought low.  Chapter discussed: 'Hags: Dark Sisterhood' (p52 - 62) Book discussed: 'Volo's Guide To Monsters' published by Wizards of the Coast, November 2...

Show Notes This week, guest host Hamilton (from Dragon's Duel ) takes Fiona on a tour of the many different factions of Sigil and the outer planes, originally written about in the AD&D campaign setting Planescape.  Every faction has its own way of seeing the "multiverse and has its own powers to match. Some of them get along, others don't, and some could care less about the rest of the mu...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host David take a deep dive into Warlocks, a class where players make pacts with mysterious beings of supernatural power to unlock magical effects both subtle and spectacular. We also take a closer look at some of the Other Worldly patrons' options including: The Archfey The Fiend The Great Old One The Hexblade The Celestial  The Genie Chapter discussed:...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Darren take a deeper look at the Feywild and the Shadowfell: two very different planes of existence which reside in the same cosmological space as the Material Plane: The Feywild is the Plane of Faerie - a land of soft lights and wonder, a place of music and death. The Shadowfell is the Plane of Shadow - a dimension of black, grey, and white where most ot...

Show Notes This week, Fiona chats with Keith Ammann , ENnie-winning author of the 5th edition D&D-focused blog ' The Monsters Know What They're Doing '. Keith's blog unpacks strategies, tactics, and motivations for creatures found in several official Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, including the Monster Manual, Volo’s Guide to Monsters and Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.  You can find ou...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Ryan explore some brand new unearthed arcana (for a change) with 'Mages of Strixhaven'! This playtest document contains 5 unique subclasses, each of which allows characters to associate themselves with one of the five colleges of Strixhaven, a university of magic. Lorehold College - dedicated to the pursuit of history by conversing with ancient spirits and unde...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Ryan don their creative hats once again and delve into more world-building with James D'Amato's brand new book ' The Ultimate RPG Game Master's Worldbuilding Guide '. Book: Selections from 'The Ultimate RPG Game Master's Worldbuilding Guide' by James D'Amato published by Adams Media, 2021. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming!...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Ryan take a deeper look at Halflings and Gnomes: Two groups of peaceful folk who have found niches for themselves away from the battles and rivalries that fill the lives of the larger folk. Chapter discussed: 'Ch. 5: Halflings and Gnomes' (p99 - 114). Book: 'Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes', published by Wizards of the Coast, May 2018. Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 1...

Show Notes This week, Ryan and Fiona have a go at creating Artifacts, unique magic items of tremendous power, with their own origin and history. Artifacts might have been created by gods or mortals of awesome power. They could be created in the midst of a crisis that threatened a kingdom, a world, or the entire multiverse, and carry the weight of that pivotal moment in history. Chapter discussed:...

Show Notes This week, Ryan and Fiona look at harnessing the power of dragons with ' Unearthed Arcana 2021: Draconic Options '! This playtest document presents race, feat, and spell options related to dragons in Dungeons & Dragons: A trio of draconic race options (Chromatic, Metallic, and Gem) presented as an alternative to the Dragonborn race in the Player’s Handbook A fresh look at the kobold...

Show Notes This week, Ryan and Fiona look at new playtest race options for D&D characters inspired by the Feywild, the plane of Faerie. The new races include: Fairy - Wee folk infused with Fey magic. Hobgoblin of the Feywild - Goblinoids who channel aspects of the Feywild’s rule of reciprocity, which creates a mystical bond between the giver and the receiver of a gift. Owlfolk - Distant kin of...

Show Notes This week, Ryan and Fiona explore how to add fantastical challenges to any locale and ways to further bring an adventure’s setting to life with supernatural regions. Supernatural regions are areas permeated by preternatural forces with certain effects and brief encounters reinforce an underlying theme. These effects occur as characters traverse an influenced region or add interest to a...