Wandering DMs Season 07

Dan and Paul close out Season 7 of Wandering DMs with their annual Year in Review, looking back at what defined the season. They revisit standout episodes, recurring topics, and memorable conversations, along with the moments where the show broke from its usual patterns. From deep dives into core play procedures and campaign structure, to episodes shaped by history, live events, conventions, and s...

Paul & Dan reflect on the state of illusions in D&D, across the many editions of the game. Can a basic illusion deal actual damage to your character, or not? Can they trap your character in hallucinatory pit? How robust is an illusory monster, and what can your character do to counter the peril? The answers may surprise you! Read Dan’s blog on “Phantasmal Force Through the Ages...

Dan and Paul discuss the often-overlooked idea that players can (and perhaps should) prepare for a D&D session. Using Gary Gygax’s “Successful Adventures” section from the back of the AD&D 1E Player’s Handbook, they explore how early D&D expected parties to organize missions, plan loadouts, coordinate spells, establish marching formations, avoid unnecessary encounters, and operate like...

Dan and Paul discuss the art of pacing a tabletop RPG session without taking away player agency. How can a GM speed up play when the group burrows into side plots, or slow things down when players sprint straight toward the finale? When should you intervene to shape the tempo, and when should you simply let the party set the pace themselves? They also compare how pacing concerns differ between one...

Dan and Paul dive into the world of West Marches campaigns – a style of play built around open exploration, rotating players, and player-driven adventure. With Critical Role’s new campaign borrowing some West Marches ideas, it’s the perfect time to ask: what problems does this format solve, what new ones does it create, and when does it really shine? We’ll share our own experienc...

Dan & Paul get to chat with Keith Ammann — renowned author of The Monsters Know What They’re Doing — about his newest book on D&D monsters, Making Enemies. This time Keith explores everything that goes into creating monsters from the ground up: size, number, and level of challenge; monster habitats; monster motivations; monsters as metaphors; monsters and magic; the monst...

Paul & Dan unwrap the state of Mummies in Dungeons & Dragons. What makes them unique compared to other undead monsters? How have they changed over the editions? What’s the best way to use these ancient horrors in your games? Read Dan’s blog on Mummies Through the Ages here

Dan & Paul chat with D&D historian Shannon Appelcline — who’s back with his most ambitious work to date. A sprawling 4-volume Origins set, providing a detailed look at every single product created in the early days of official Dungeons & Dragons publications. Including all of Original D&D, Basic D&D, and Advanced D&D 1st Edition, everything is here! We’ll...

It’s been 50 years since Dungeons & Dragons first appeared — and today’s players are discovering it through Critical Role, Dimension 20, and a sea of streaming shows. But what happens when you introduce them to the classic game? Dan and Paul talk about why old-school play still shines in 2025: simple rules, fast turns, meaningful choices, and a unique sense of discovery. How do you pitch Class...

Paul & Dan get to chat with NY Times bestselling author R.A. Salvatore — and his about-to-drop newest Dungeons & Dragons novel, THE FINEST EDGE OF TWILIGHT. You better not call Catti-brie Do’Urden “Drizzt’s daughter”, because she’s a deadly monk, warrior, and shadow-walker with an attitude and determined to make her own way in the world. Can she fight he...

Dan and Paul catch up with Luke Gygax — and he’s got big news on the horizon! We’ll get updates on Gary Con in 2026 (will Wizards make a connection?), new Greyhawk publications, and the big Tomb of Gyzaengaxx adventure. Plus developments in Castle Zagyg and the World of Okkorim. And what about a giant weekend-long tournament through all the editions of D&D? Count us in!

Dan & Paul chat about the role of Pirates, freebooters, privateers, sailing ships, and naval action that have been in D&D since the earliest days. What’s the best way to use pirates as a foil for your PCs? Can PCs sail their own privateer vessel as a good mid-level command opportunity? What’s the best way to design a seedy pirate town for your campaign? Arrgh, it’s just i...

Paul and Dan explore the rise of LitRPG, the literary genre where role-playing mechanics drive the narrative. Where did the term come from, and what early works fit the mold before it even had a name? We’ll follow the ouroboros from the pulp fantasy that inspired D&D to novels that track stats, levels, and hit points — and ask how game mechanics have become part of our shared cultural language...

Paul and Dan discuss the many faces of undead in Dungeons & Dragons. From shambling zombies to cunning liches, they embody both mindless horror and villainous intellect. How do different editions treat them? What’s the deal with cleric turning, level drain, and the evolving rules around undeath? We’ll dig into the design and the drama of undead in D&D, and share how we like to use th...

Paul and Dan untangle the strange history of multi-classing in D&D. Was the elf in OD&D really allowed to swap between fighter and wizard whenever they liked? Why did B/X boil it all down to “race as class”? How did AD&D try to square the circle with dual-class humans and hard racial limits? We’ll trace how each edition wrestled with the problem, and compare it to the house...

Paul & Dan take a close look at Blackmoor, Dave Arneson’s rules supplement for D&D 50 years on. What was exciting and new in this set of optional rules? What stood the test of time, and what was forgotten along the way?

Dan & Paul wrestle with the issue of what to do when a player at your table already knows the adventure you’re about to play. Maybe it’s a product they’ve read, played through, or watched on a stream in the past? Is it accidental, or possibly a devious plan to cheat the game? We’ve confronted this many times and we’ll share all of our tricks and traps to keep thin...

Paul and Dan hash out the best ways to roll for Perception and Stealth in D&D. Should you always ask everyone at the table to make a check on their own? Is it better to have one player roll with cooperation bonuses? Did you know that Original D&D didn’t have any skills like these at all — so how was it handled then? We’ll find you the best path forward.

Dan and Paul debrief the highs and lows of their latest birthday D&D actual play. Last weekend, Paul celebrated his birthday the best way he knows how: by dragging his friends into the depths of Skull Mountain! Dan, Max, and Lauren joined him for a live-streamed old-school dungeon crawl in over 12 hours of play, with special guests Mike and Tonya dropping in for the chaos. Now, the Wandering D...

Paul and Dan pull back the veil on GM screens — what they’re good for, when they’re essential, and when to ditch them entirely. They compare the old-school cardboard panels, DIY screens with swappable inserts, GMing from behind a laptop, and more. What belongs on the GM side? What’s worth showing to players? From reference tables and monster art to clipped-on initiative trackers and Pa...

Paul & Dan wade deep into the swamp to uncover the shifting role of lizardfolk across Dungeons & Dragons editions. From their earliest days as faceless wilderness threats to complex cultures with alien worldviews, how has D&D’s portrayal of these scaled humanoids evolved? We’ll dive into classic modules like Danger at Dunwater and Tomb of the Lizard King, trace their pulp fantasy...

Dan and Paul coach you in how to disrupt an enemy wizard’s spells in D&D. And it varies a lot by what edition you play! From classic editions where casting in combat is strictly prohibited, to those where initiative tells the tale, to later editions where skills and counter-skills try to one-up each other. For house-ruling DMs, what’s the fairest mechanic to use?

Paul and Dan tackle the age-old question of initiative in tabletop RPGs. From the simplicity of group initiative to the complexity of individual modifiers and segment counting, initiative rules can shape the entire feel of combat. We’ll explore how different editions and indie games handle turn order, what those choices say about their design philosophies, and how your own table might benefi...

Dan and Paul do a deep dive on the “Magic Jar” spell that’s been in every edition of D&D to date. First edition said, “Magic jar is a very unusual spell” and gave it a completely unique school of magic. Put your soul in an object and you can possess any other creature’s body you desire. Total safety from destruction, right? But detail vary wildly by edition:...

Paul and Dan get to chat with father of the OSR Matt Finch, about the 20th anniversary of OSRIC, his ground-breaking retroclone of 1st Edition Advanced D&D. Plus: the new 3.0 version of OSRIC, currently crowdfunding on Backerkit. What’s prompted a new version? What’s new and good for new players? How can GMs write official adventures for OSRIC? Plus a whole lot more! Back Matt&#821...