The DM‘s Book Club

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton head back to the wilderness and discuss the other 6 subclasses for the Ranger - a playable class from the original 5e Player's Handbook. An interesting mix of Druid-style spellcasting, Fighter-style combat capabilities, and Rogue-style skills, Rangers could be a welcome asset in adventuring parties...could be. According to the Player's Handbook: 'Rangers sp...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton take a deep dive into the Ranger - a playable class from the original 5e Player's Handbook. An interesting mix of Druid-style spellcasting, Fighter-style combat capabilities, and Rogue-style skills, Rangers could be a welcome asset in adventuring parties...could be. According to the Player's Handbook: 'Rangers specialize in hunting the monsters that threate...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton (from the distant past) explore D&D character options from across the multiverse in the latest Unearthed Arcana - ' Wonders of the Multiverse '! This playtest document presents: Glitchlings - Mechanical servants of law seek to experience all the multiverse has to offer. Cleric Subclass: The Fate Domain - Allows clerics to influence fortune's ebb and flo...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton give their first impressions of the long-awaited ' Spelljammer: Adventures in Space ' boxset! From the ' Spelljammer: Adventures in Space ' bio: 'Spelljammer: Adventures in Space presents the Astral Plane as a Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting unlike any other. Home of the stars and gateway to the heavens, the Astral Plane teems with excitement and po...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton chat about some of the biggest D&D reveals and announcements from the 'Wizards Presents 2022' Showcase Livestream! Reveals include: One D&D: The Future of Dungeons & Dragons - three initiatives shaping the next generation of the tabletop roleplaying game. More D&D Book Announcements - The entire 2023 lineup of major book releases including a...

Show Notes This week, Fiona interviews freelance game designer, author and professional DM, Kat Kruger about her latest book: ' How to Be More D&D '. ' How to Be More D&D ' invites fantasy lovers and fans of Dungeons & Dragons to celebrate and incorporate different elements of this iconic tabletop game in their lives and help them live their best, geekiest life. Whether it is building...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton interview Matthew Whitby ( @WhitbyWrites ), game & narrative designer, host of ' Dungeon Master's Guild House ' show and the main writer behind ' Doomed Forgotten Realms: Sword Coast Gazetteer ' - a new D&D 5e setting book! From the book's bio: ' Has your group ever lost a Dungeons & Dragons adventure like Storm King’s Thunder, Tomb of Annihilat...

Show Notes Ahead of the official release of Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel , Fiona and Hamilton drop everything to review the unlockable preview of the book's first chapter - 'The Radiant Citadel'. From the press release: 'The Radiant Citadel is a city that serves as a bastion of hope for the weary and the displaced. Adventurers journey here to rest between quests and to learn from peoples t...

Show Notes With the release of the new trailer of ' Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Amongst Thieves ', our hosts Fiona and Hamilton take on the challenge of casting the ULTIMATE D&D movie, featuring some of the most famous and infamous NPCs and Villians from the Forgotten Realms! Use the offer code "DMBC" to get 10% off any purchase from 3rd Space Gaming! Consider using our affiliate link when u...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton explore playtest material from the latest Unearthed Arcana ' Giant Options '. This playtest document presents a variety of character options related to the magic and majesty of giants, including: The Path of the Giant subclass : Barbarians who draw strength from the primal forces that are the Giants and their elemental ilk. The Circle of the Primeval subcla...

Show Notes This week, Fiona chats to professional dungeon master and TTRPG writer Beth the Bard (@itsBeththeBard) about her best-seller DnD supplement ' She Is The Ancient: A Genderbent Curse of Strahd '. ' She is the Ancient ' is a reference guide to the NPCs of the Curse of Strahd campaign book with descriptions, connections, and suggestions for roleplay, as well as story changes and alternate e...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Rob from the Realm of Fire podcast take a deep dive into ' Treasure Hunt ', the first AD&D adventure ever to present general rules for 0-level characters! From the ' Treasure Hunt ' bio: ''The Island of Viledel, the mighty Sea King, was sacked by a pirate army 60 years ago. It's destruction was so complete that even the location of the island was lost...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Rob from the Realm of Fire podcast check out the Ruins of Undermountain ; an infamous  über -dungeon setting for AD&D 2nd Edition campaign play. Considered the oldest, largest, and deadliest dungeon-crawl in the Forgotten Realms, Undermountain is a multi-tiered dungeon, comprised of several inter-connected chambers and lairs located deep ben...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton start their exploration of Ravnica, a worldwide cityscape filled to the brim with adventure and intrigue. Within this vast sprawling city, 10 powerful guilds compete and vie for power and status, each faction responsible for some important aspect of everyday life. In this episode, the guilds discussed are: The Izzet League  - A science-based guild...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton start their exploration of Ravnica, a worldwide cityscape filled to the brim with adventure and intrigue. Within this vast sprawling city, 10 powerful guilds compete and vie for power and status, each faction responsible for some important aspect of everyday life. In this episode, the guilds discussed are: Azorius Senate - the police force, legislative and...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Rob from the Realm of Fire podcast explore the world of Al-Qadim, a 2nd edition DnD campaign setting which draws on 'One Thousand and One Nights' for inspiration. Set in the land of Zakhara, also known as the Land of Fate, the setting is a thematic blend of the historical Muslim Caliphates, the stories of legend, and a wealth of Hollywood cinematic histor...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Rob from the Realm of Fire podcast go back in time to check out possibly the first-ever campaign setting of Dungeons and Dragons - Originally evolved in the early 1970s as the personal setting of Dave Arneson, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Blackmoor was first used for Arneson's miniature wargames, then as an early testing ground for what would...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton do a quick double-take - another Unearthed Arcana for the upcoming Dragonlance campaign setting? After studying player feedback, Wizards have released a revised UA document for 'Hereos of Krynn', amending the kender race, the Knight of Solamnia and Mage of High Sorcery backgrounds, and several feats for characters from the world of Krynn. Supplement discuss...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and Hamilton draw inspiration from their music collection and pick their top 3 music albums/soundtracks to use when writing or running tabletop roleplaying games! Hamilton's choices: Burnt Offering by The Budos Band Amputechture by The Mars Volta Skyrim Exploration Suite by TheSagaris2/PredicamentMusic Fiona's choices: Tron Legacy by Daft Punk Doctor Who Series 5 by Mur...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Dee embrace their inner wild shapes and discuss Druids, a playable character class which is an embodiment of nature's resilience, cunning, and fury. Druids claim no mastery over nature, but see themselves as extensions of nature's indomitable will. We also take a deeper look into the Druid circle subclasses, including: Circle of Dreams Circle of Spor...

Show Notes This week, Fiona and guest host Rob from the Realm of Fire podcast talk about one of Fiona's favourite DnD discoveries - Modrons! Modrons are beings of absolute law that adhere to a hive-like hierarchy. They inhabit the plane of Mechanus and tend its eternally revolving gears, their existence a clockwork routine of perfect order. Chapter discussed: 'Modrons' (p224 - 226) Book: 'Monster...

Show Notes This week, Fiona chats with two members of the creative team behind the latest instalment of the Uncaged Anthology series: Art director David Markiwsky ( @DavidMarkiwsky ) and writing director Jessica Marcrum ( @Miss_Jess03 ). Uncaged is a groundbreaking, critically acclaimed collection of myth- and folklore-themed adventures written for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.  Each or...

Show Notes In this impromptu/'rough and ready' bonus episode, Fiona and Hamilton share their initial thoughts and reactions to the DnD Direct announcement showcase which premiered on Thursday 21st April 2022! From showcase's bio: ' Learn about the exclusive reveals made across the world’s greatest roleplaying game, books, video games, entertainment, and more! This has been one jam-packed show debu...

Show Notes: This week, Fiona chats to freelance writer and D&D 5e content-creator Ben Ragan ( @NeverNotDM ) about his latest Kickstarter project, ' Professor Gilroy's Heavenly Handbook '! Ben specialises in creating dynamic monsters, cinematic subclasses, and unique magic items for Dungeon Masters to share with their table! His previous Kickstarter project, ' Professor Gilroy's Guide to Fey '...

Show Notes In our final episode of S3, Fiona and Hamilton delve into the Blood Hunter, an unofficial playable character class created by Critical Role's Matthew Mercer. Willing to suffer whatever it takes to achieve victory, these adept Blood Hunter warriors have forged themselves into a potent force dedicated to protecting the innocent.  We also take a (brief) look into the Blood Hunter orde...