World Building Episodes

Specifically for creating an engaging and interesting TTRPG world, often including inspiration for pantheons, geography, and spinning epic campaign arcs.
Feb. 11, 2022

Alignment

Once more I'm joined by Scott, a.k.a. Optional Rule! This time we discuss the hot topic of alignment in Dungeons & Dragons. Scott takes us through the history of alignment, and how it impacted and shaped the earliest editions...
Jan. 28, 2022

Relationships

This episode I'm joined by Hunter Royall from the " A Sundered World " podcast to talk about all the different relationship vectors in TTRPGs. The first being that between player and character, and how it's not always affecti...
Guest: Hunter Royall
Jan. 21, 2022

Hooks

This episode I'm joined by Mike from Games Played Badly , to chat about story hooks in your TTRPGs! Ultimately, hooks are the main way to keep players engaged, with the GM acting as a kind of circus master; organised chaos. H...
Guest: Mike
Jan. 14, 2022

Horror

This episode I'm joined by the GM of the Negative Modifier podcast, Charley, to discuss horror in our TTRGPs. Horror is variable and subjective, and so has unique challenges when attempting to introduce it into your setting. ...
Guest: Charley
Dec. 17, 2021

Mashups

For this mixed up episode I'm joined by Jeff Greiner, the DM of potentially the longest running actual play podcast, The Tome Show . Jeff & I talk about mashups not only within our favourite TTRPG, but within the hobby at lar...
Guest: Jeff Greiner
Dec. 10, 2021

Adaptation

I am once again joined by Manny a.k.a. Growed Up Geek to talk about adaptation. One great way to kill two birds with one stone is by integrating player character backstories into published adventure modules; not only do you g...
Oct. 29, 2021

Story

Jon from the 'Tale of the Manticore' ( @ManticoreTale ) actual-play podcast joins me to talk about creating stories in Dungeons and Dragons. We open by tackling the academic: the seven story archetypes and how to crack the "c...
Sept. 17, 2021

Aesthetic

CW: 36:40-37:10 Single reference to rape and sexual coercion in the context of the Vampire trope. Philippa Mort joins me to talk about the varied and wonderful topic of aesthetic. The discussion starts around the different ap...
Guest: Philippa Mort
Aug. 6, 2021

Magic

" Perpetuating the success of fireball. " Cat McDonald of Peach Garden Games brings her perspective of being an indie TTRPG designer and knowledge of the occult to this talk about magic in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. She ...
July 30, 2021

Pressure

For this discussion I'm joined by Matt Perkins, DM/podcaster/YouTuber extraordinaire, to talk all about pressure in your TTRPGs! We split the term down the middle by differentiating narrative (in-game) from "meta" (OoG) press...
May 28, 2021

Family

For this whirlwind tour I'm joined by Colin Anderson, a.k.a. Family Fantasy RPG , and we take you through what it means to find a family through TTPRGs. Colin has a wealth of experience in the family-friendly homebrew and TTR...
May 21, 2021

Environment

I am joined once more by Karim, a.k.a. FeverDreamStudios , and we talk about the environments we create, play in, and maintain. Again, a surprisingly broad topic with varied interpretations and connotations. We begin with the...
April 30, 2021

Lore

Welcome to the season 2 opener! We are flying out of the gate with a super interesting discussion all about lore with Steven from The Travel Log . This episode will be useful for both DMs and players looking to flesh out thei...
Jan. 8, 2021

Homebrew

This episode is all about homebrew, and once again we manage to squeeze a surprising amount into a single hour. I'm joined by Kyle Wagner-Totty ( @MrBakudan ), a DMs Guild author with seven published products! If you've ever ...
Dec. 18, 2020

Macro

This episode I talk about all the big things with Nathan Briggs, my DM from our Dungeons, Dice, and Dudes actual-play podcast. We discuss how Dungeons & Dragons has changed over the years, from "nerds in the basement" to prim...