Wandering DMs

Dan & Paul scope out principles for statting out real people in D&D and other role-playing games. What do the standard ability scores really mean, anyway? How have they varied over editions of D&D across the years? And how can we compare and model real people in other games like Call of Cthulhu, Star Frontiers, and Fearful Ends? Kinanthropometry is defined as the study of human size, s...

Dan & Paul give a postmortem on running their fourth Dungeon Design Dash product, Creeping Doom of the Pumpkin King, in a co-DM fashion. It's their first DDD wilderness adventure, and surprises abound! What happens when the party pursues mostly social encounters with a dedicated Adversary DM? Can two DMs swap out musical-chairs NPCs without going crazy? Does D&D always revert back to its h...

In Part 1 Dan and Paul barely scratched the surface on the differences between Original D&D (1974) and Basic D&D (1981)! Due to popular demand they're back for more. Hopefully this time they'll escape the character creation section and get into combat, monsters, and spells, but who knows? There's the whole sweep attack issue to hammer out first. The original Dungeons & Dragons (commonl...

Let's chat about two of our favorite editions of early D&D -- Original D&D (1974) and Basic D&D (1981)! Dan & Paul run most of D&D in similar ways, but their instincts sometimes differ in which of these traditions they're coming from. What changes were made by the brilliant Tom Moldvay in Basic D&D? Were they for the better, or worse? What should new players start with toda...

In this last-minute, condensed episdoe of Wandering DMs, Dan and Paul discuss using real world time elements in games. From timers in D&D adventures to board games that include a ticking clock, they'll cover everything in under 45 minutes. They even manage to fit in an actual play of 5 Minute Dungeon!

One of our all-time favorite guests, Jon Peterson, D&D historian extraordinaire, returns to talk all things about the 50th anniversary of D&D. From his official "Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977", participation in Gen Con 50th anniversary celebrations, inclusion in the MIT Press "Fifty Years of Dungeons & Dragons" book, and the hotly-anticipated re-release of his sem...

Dan and Paul discuss the presence of drugs and alcohol in D&D and other tabletop roleplaying games. They'll touch on how state alterning substandces are represented in the fiction, rules for handling characters under the influence, and even what happens when the players themselves partake! According to addiction researcher Martin A. Plant, some people go through a period of self-redefinition b...

Dan & Paul discuss experiences in TRPGs when players don't know the rules. Is it fundamentally fair or unfair? Does it add to the immersion of the roleplay? What added flexibility dos it give to the GM? Is exploring the rules of a new world an essential part of roleplaying games, that we've lost along the way? Games with concealed rules are games where the rules are intentionally concealed fro...

The Wandering DMs tackle employment in D&D. Do adventurers need day jobs? Does starting a business or pursuing a craft undermine the motiviation to go out treasure hunting? What of systems that define prior careers as part of characgter creation? It's time for Dan and Paul to get to work! Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually...

Dan & Paul discuss the role of skill systems in D&D and other tabletop RPGs. Not part of the initial Original D&D ruleset, they give PCs an opportunity to master individual skills in a fine-grained manner. Have they been beneficial to D&D, or a distraction? Do they work better in other games, like sci-fi or horror? A skill represents the learned knowledge and abilities of a charact...

The Wandering DMs take on rats and other vermin in D&D. From swarm enemies to wizard's familiars, Dan and Paul will explore every way to delight and torment your players with everyday pests. The term "vermin" is used to refer to a wide scope of organisms, including rodents (such as rats), cockroaches, termites, bed bugs, ferrets, stoats, sables. Disease-carrying rodents and insects are the usu...

This Mother's Day, Paul and Dan discuss the role of mothers in D&D and mythology. From troll wives to Grendel's mother to the spawn of all monsters, Tiamat herself, moms make an impact in our lives! Throughout history, mothers have been depicted in a variety of art works, including paintings, sculptures and written texts, that have helped define the cultural meaning of 'mother', as well as ide...

Dan and Paul discuss how to play a character in an RPG with a dramatic secret. How can we include the rest of the players in the fun without giving away too much? When do we reveal the secret to create the most satisfying dramatic moment? Humans attempt to consciously conceal aspects of themselves from others due to shame, or from fear of violence, rejection, harassment, loss of acceptance, or los...

Paul and Dan get to bring back OSR guru Matt Finch to talk about his new Swords & Wizardry: Expansions, Monsters, and More!, currently on Kickstarter. What new things has Matt cooked up? And what updates has he finally made to the revered Quick Primer for Old School Gaming? Swords & Wizardry is the longest-standing retro-clone of Original D&D, first published in 2008, and now there's a...

Dan and Paul are thrilled to chat live with the master of fantasy, Michael Moorcock. What are his current thoughts on the legacy of his writing Elric, the Eternal Champion, critiques of Tolkien, and so much more? Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English–American writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as we...

Dan and Paul reflect on what we think are the biggest mistakes and errors in the first publication of original D&D in 1974. What are the biggest blemishes that troubled the game for decades afterward? What are some of our top house rules to correct the largest problems? The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set was the first published role-playing game, a fantasy game system modeled on med...

Paul and Dan check in on their annual D&D mini-convention with friends in a house on the Massachusetts shore, now in its 15th year. What went well, what could go better, what lessons will feed into our future gaming? Find WDM 01 - Asymmetric Monastery of the Deranged Berserkers on DriveThru RPG here!

This St. Patrick's Day, Paul and Dan discuss the rich history of Irish myths, legends, and stories in the D&D game. From Druids and Bards to the Banshees and Firbolg, what are some of the best ways to spice up your game with inspirations from the Emerald Isle? Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era....

How does one run a successful dungeons and dragons one shot game? Dan and Paul discuss how to condense the D&D experience to a single night of fun. They'll share techniques they've developed over the years behind the DM screen, discuss which scenarios fit the one-shot format best, and advise would-be DMs on the best road to one-shot success.

Dan & Paul discuss tips for embodying a character in body and voice when playing D&D at the table. When we compare ourselves to well-known D&D performers, what are simple simple tricks anyone can use, even if we aren't trained actors? Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of...

For Valentine's Day, Dan and Paul take a look at how romantic love is portrayed in Dungeons and Dragons. From NPCs with love-based plot lines to the infamous philter of love, we'll cover ever instance we can think of in D&D in which love plays a part. Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish, loya...

Paul & Dan celebrate the Year of the Dragon in New Year's 2024! In this 50th anniversary year for original D&D, we'll look back to our best uses for dragons, new discoveries we've made, and how best to use unusual dragon types in your fantasy RPG. The Dragon, also known as Loong, (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng; Jyutping: lung4; Cantonese Yale: lùhng) is the...

Dan & Paul analyze the -- sometimes surprising! -- list of recommended equipment in Original D&D. Sure, you should have dice, paper, and pencils. But is the 3-ring notebook and drafting equipment really needed for the referee and each player? How about the multiple other games you need, Chainmail and Outdoor Survival? And what does say about using miniature figures? The original Dungeons &...

The Wandering DMs dig into the concept of anachronisms in D&D settings. They will explore the historic roots of D&D campaign settings, and where modern objects, events, or ideas have leaked in. Does the existence of anachronism break immersion, or is the very nature of the fantasy genre open to all forms of content? Where and how do we draw the line? An anachronism is a chronological incon...

Paul & Dan dig into the buried fossils of original D&D -- like the hidden encounter table for Ice Age adventures in the original boxed set. Where else can you get to use Cave Bears, Woolly Mammoths, and Saber-Toothed Tigers in your fantasy RPG? Pour a cup of hot cocoa and bundle up for this one. In the Late Pleistocene, both marine and continental faunas were essentially modern but with ma...