Wandering DMs Season 05

Dan & Paul reconsider some of the most feared undead in D&D — wights, wraiths, and spectres. You know: the types that are most likely to drain your character’s XP. How do you like your level draining best? The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if alive. Most commonly the term refers to corporeal forms of formerly alive humans, su...

Did you know that the Pinkerton National Detective Agency — famed protector of Abraham Lincoln in the 1800’s, and union-busting goon squad in the 1900’s — is still around? And they have time to chase down Magic: the Gathering fans for using prohibited card sets? It’s true: Dan & Paul discuss the latest WOTC goony actions, other game-companies that lost their sanit...

Paul & Dan get to chat with Matt Finch about his new full-blown edition to the Swords & Wizardry D&D retroclone, now on Kickstarter! Since 2008, Swords & Wizardry has been the hallmark game for tabletop fantasy roleplaying using the 1978 ruleset, with less focus on rules, more focus on your friends and the epic adventures you’re embarking on together! Swords & Wizardry is...

Dan & Paul recap our annual 25-person indie house convention we hold annually on the sparkling shores of Plymouth, MA. Check our review of hour our classic games went, new games we got to try for the first time, and more surprises. Also: how did the ongoing AD&D Slavers series wrap up In the Dungeon of the Slave Lords? Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discu...

Paul & Dan chat with Scott Legault, chair of the new Rising Phoenix Game Con in Massachusetts this April! What’s it like to start a new game con today? And can leveraging the better part of a decade’s experience in professional DM’ing help out? Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the p...

This week, Paul & Dan get to host Luke Gygax and find out about all the happenings at the upcoming GaryCon XV convention! Luke Gygax is the son of Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax and Founder of Gary Con. He literally grew up at the gaming table with the designers that built the foundation of the RPG industry many of whom come to Gary Con. He played the iconic character Melf, aka P...

Dan & Paul discuss our personal, customized version of D&D: Original Edition Delta! Initially, Paul & Dan preferred different editions of Dungeons & Dragon, with some personalized house-rule modifications made for each. Over time, we realized that the house rules we made coincidentally met in the middle, and we were running pretty much the same game, after all. So we joined forces...

Dan interviews Paul on his weekend trip to the first convention of the season, Total Confusion, the largest gaming con in New England. How to prepare in short time if you’re busy like we are? What’s the best way to boost your save vs. con crud? Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and co...

Paul & Dan reflect on the legacy of digital tools for D&D from Wizard of the Coast, and what the prospects are for what’s next! Read the analysis by Janelle Jaquays on Facebook Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown bo...

Dan & Paul hash over the benefits & flaws of working with other people in your TTRPG design, DM’ing, nd play! Collaboration (from Latin com- “with” + laborare “to labor”, “to work”) is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most col...

Dan & Paul sit down with Linda Codega, the exceptional journalist at io9/Gizmodo who broke the story of WOTC planning to de-authorize the Open Game License that’s been used for D&D-compatible and other games for over 20 years — and subsequently forced a total surrender by WOTC on their sinister plans! How did Linda catch and produce this game-changing story? How does one balanc...

Are you currently looking for an alternative the the D&D roleplaying gaming? But still committed to medieval-style fantasy gaming? Dan & Paul review the current top retroclones on the market — and what what the state of affairs going forward may be if the Open Game License is thrown into disarray! Some D&D fans prefer earlier editions, and new games address the perceived inabilit...

Justin Alexander is one of the most prolific and insightful RPG writers around. Between his long-running blog at The Alexandrian, his work at Atlas Games, his hundreds of published books and articles, he has among the most in-depth knowledge of what makes for great gaming. And right now he’s been following the drama with WOTC trying to break the OGL 1.0 as close as anyone. What’s Justi...

Word has leaked that WOTC aims to terminate the OGL license used for 3rd-party D&D-compatible products for the last 20+ over years. Can they do it? Are all existing 3rd-party products about to be made illegal? What can it mean for the hobby and industry going forward? In August 2022, Wizards of the Coast launched a public playtest of the next version of Dungeons & Dragons under the One D&#...