326 episodes

RPG veterans and game designers Teos Abadía and Shawn Merwin look at the game and the hobby of D&D from a variety of viewpoints: reporting the news, understanding the business, reviewing the products, and illuminating the design. Whether you’re a fan, a player, a DM, or a designer, Shawn and Teos cover topics of interest to you!

Mastering Dungeons Mastering Dungeons

    • Leisure
    • 5.0 • 1 Rating

RPG veterans and game designers Teos Abadía and Shawn Merwin look at the game and the hobby of D&D from a variety of viewpoints: reporting the news, understanding the business, reviewing the products, and illuminating the design. Whether you’re a fan, a player, a DM, or a designer, Shawn and Teos cover topics of interest to you!

    Design an RPG Starting Adventure (MD 183)

    Design an RPG Starting Adventure (MD 183)

    Episode 183 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic:
    Designing an RPG Starting Adventure!
    Continuing the discussion of worldbuilding and village design, how do we start an adventure? We provide an approach to get the most out of your campaign and adventure starts!
    News: GaryCon Review, Remembering Jim Ward, Daggerheart Review!
    Contents00:00 March Madness01:42 GaryCon Review05:52 Criticize Shadowdark?14:45 Remembering Jim Ward18:58 Stores Get D&D Early21:07 Free Tsojcanth22:38 MtG D&D Store Event25:42 Infinite Staircase Reveals28:28 Lego D&D Details31:29 Tome of Beasts on Beyond36:59 Surviving Strangehollow37:46 Daggerheart Review40:19 RPG Starting Adventure41:52 Session 044:00 Character Connections47:48 Fiasco Approach52:10 Ashes of Athas Approach54:03 Start with a Bang?57:28 Find the Excitement59:10 Intro Hook01:01:46 Theory of Globs01:07:32 Adventure Hooks01:12:12 PC Impetus01:15:33 Don't Give it All Away01:19:39 Shout-OutsThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 23 min
    Design an RPG Starting Village! (MD 182)

    Design an RPG Starting Village! (MD 182)

    Episode 182 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic: Designing an RPG Starting Village!
    Continuing the discussion of worldbuilding, a great place to start is a village. What must a starting village contain and what isn’t needed? How do we make it relevant and interesting? We dig into the design and examples that have and haven’t worked for us.
    News: Critical Role launches Daggerheart, Hasbro CEO vs D&D on AI, Starforged Terrain!
    Contents00:00 Podcasting for Relatives01:39 Exhaustion vs HPs?10:39 30-Minute D&D?21:46 D&D Asks Do You Like Me29:45 Hasbro CEO Says AI D&D Says No39:02 CR Launches Daggerheart41:59 Dwarven Forge Starforged43:46 Surviving Strangehollow44:20 Zweihander Reforged44:44 Designing an RPG Starting Village45:50 Two Issues to Avoid46:37 Classic D&D Villages50:08 Bottom-Up Technique59:15 Safe Space or Hub01:01:44 Launch Adventures01:05:28 Key Elements01:08:16 Tie to PC Goals01:10:53 NPCs01:15:05 Theme01:16:58 History01:21:33 Shout-OutsThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 25 min
    Shadowdark Finale – GM Tips, Monsters, and Treasure (MD 181)

    Shadowdark Finale – GM Tips, Monsters, and Treasure (MD 181)

    Episode 181 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic: Shadowdark GM Tips, Monsters, and Treasure!
    The finale of our Shadowdark series! We take a look the excellent advice, plus how the game provides monsters and treasure.
    News: Reviewing The Fallbacks, Adv League to Beyond, NASA RPG and Challenge, and more!
    Contents00:00 Teos Has Seen Things02:45 Emerald City Comic-Con06:32 Adventure as User Guide?15:16 Exhaustion Currency?22:43 Modes of Play?28:34 AL Moves to Beyond31:33 Greasy Snitches36:41 The Fallbacks review41:08 NASA RPG42:13 Steamforged and Kobold43:33 SRD in Braille45:00 Surviving Strangehollow45:45 Shadowdark Finale46:07 The Role of GM and Players50:43 For Experienced GMs54:29 Players not PCs56:06 Core Ethos01:00:09 Check DCs01:05:15 Darkness and Modes of Play01:08:30 Random Encounters01:14:56 The Gauntlet01:19:04 Awarding XP01:22:35 Lots of Tables!01:23:25 Monsters01:25:06 Treasure01:27:25 Final Thoughts01:32:06 Shout-OutsThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 36 min
    Building and Changing Rules to Fit Your RPG World (MD 180)

    Building and Changing Rules to Fit Your RPG World (MD 180)

    Episode 180 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic: Building and Changing Rules to Fit Your RPG World!
    Dan Dillon and Jason Ward join Shawn to discuss how to pick the best rules, or change them, when designing an RPG world.
    News: Dan Dillon and Jason Ward, Daggerheart Playtesting, Discworld RPG, and more!
    Contents00:00 Dan and Jason!02:11 Defining Success?07:13 Worldbuilding Process?12:35 Discworld RPG18:54 Daggerheart31:07 Beyond Dev Update36:55 Surviving Strangehollow39:08 Rules to Fit an RPG World39:34 Existing Ruleset40:48 The Real Thing46:22 Build New Rules52:44 Using 5E57:08 Dark Sun01:00:48 Settings 5E Does Well01:03:25 Tearable RPG01:18:06 Find Jason and DanThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 20 min
    Worldbuilding Tips and Tricks (MD 179)

    Worldbuilding Tips and Tricks (MD 179)

    Episode 179 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic: Worldbuilding Tips and Tricks!
    How do we create worlds that reflect the RPGs used to play them? How do we serve our readers, GMs, and players? Let’s talk worldbuilding!
    News: Surviving Strangehollow,| No D&D in Portuguese, D&D Off-Broadway, and more!
    Contents00:00 Dark Weekend01:01 Running Factions?12:51 Mechanic Struggles?21:51 Surviving Strangehollow22:42 No D&D in Portuguese26:01 Off-Broadway D&D28:22 Star Trek 2E Announced30:30 Emerging Designer Submissions31:09 Weird Wizard Available32:22 BX Inspired 5E33:07 EN World Covers Evil Genius35:36 Worldbuilding35:48 Shawn's Worldbuilding39:48 Build with Words41:54 Show vs Tell44:58 When to Get Detailed47:10 Reality Matters49:45 RPG-Based Fiction55:55 Top-Down vs Bottom-Up01:04:59 Microscope RPG01:07:58 Surviving Strangehollow01:15:32 Shout-OutsThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 18 min
    Shadowdark RPG – Combat, Travel, and Downtime (MD 178)

    Shadowdark RPG – Combat, Travel, and Downtime (MD 178)

    Episode 178 of Mastering Dungeons! 


    Main topic: Shadowdark RPG’s Combat, Travel, and Downtime!
    Teos shares the exploits in a recent Shadowdark game, adding context as Shawn and Teos review Shadowdark’s rules for combat, travel, and downtime.
    News: Hasbro’s D&D Finances and Strategy, 2024 Release Info, Humblewood on Beyond, and more!
    Contents00:00 More Dragons01:26 Counterproductive Playtesting?07:39 Designer Responsability?15:17 D&D Release Schedule15:44 2024 Conventions17:31 Vecna Eve of Ruin20:48 Making of OD&D25:26 Infinite Staircase26:34 Core Books28:45 Converse Lego and Pop-Tarts31:21 Roll20 Character Sheet32:21 Humblewood on Beyond34:30 Hasbro Q436:55 DnD Finances40:58 Hasbro's D&D Strategy43:10 Universes Beyond45:27 Shadowdark Gameplay45:56 Playing with Meaghan J50:59 Hiding in Shadowdark55:50 Surprise and Initiative59:13 Actions01:02:58 Rulings Not Rules01:06:35 Damage01:09:55 Morale01:15:48 Death01:20:01 Overland Travel01:24:53 Downtime01:29:33 Shout-OutsThank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.
    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.

    • 1 hr 32 min

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