Mastering Dungeons

Mastering Dungeons
Mastering Dungeons

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!

  1. APR 2

    Forever DMs and Dynamics of an RPG Group! (MD 235)

    Episode 235 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Forever DMs and Dynamics of an RPG Group! Teos and Shawn discuss Matt Colville’s take on Forever DMs, and look at how the dynamics of an RPG group can shape awesome play. News: Shadowdark Sales, Anjali Bhimani Adventure, Foolish Listener Ideas, and more! Contents00:00 Return of Shawn01:00 Foolish Listener Ideas10:42 Environmental Effect CR Impact?24:09 Anjali Bhimani Adventure26:10 New Sigil VTT Minis?29:09 Robin Laws is Pelgrane Creative Director31:52 D&D for Environmental Education32:57 28 Convention RPG Tips46:45 GaryCon Report on Shadowdark Sales49:51 Dungeon Drop-Ins50:33 Free5E: Open Source D&D51:35 Free Popup Paper Building Roof52:25 Dynamics of an RPG Group54:05 The Forever DM54:48 Gaming Dynamics in the 80s58:06 Our Recent Dynamics01:01:47 Selflessness and Empathy01:08:20 Convention Play01:10:55 How to Be a Great Player01:14:37 Create PCs that Play Well with Others01:17:27 How to Get Players to DM01:23:32 Great to Have DMs as Players?01:33:23 Shout-Outs01:37:14 What Are We Gonna Do Now?Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  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.

    1h 38m
  2. MAR 26

    Hundred Dungeons and the OSR! (MD 234)

    Episode 234 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Hundred Dungeons and the OSR! Graham Ward joins Teos to discuss his RPG, Hundred Dungeons, and how it blends OSR and other games to create awesome play! News: WotC Sigil Team Laid Off, Convention Air Quality, Node-Based Design, and more! Contents00:00 Graham Ward!01:50 Bring Back Class Roles?05:55 Encourage Not to Rest?12:07 Org Play Tied to Current Releases?18:24 90% Sigil VTT Team Laid Off27:52 Forge of Foes on Audible29:01 Monster Vulnerability is Bad36:45 Convention Air Quality39:42 D&D and Housing Justice41:25 Node-Based Design46:18 Creator's Guide to Shipping47:48 Hundred Dungeons48:44 Why Hundred Dungeons?52:45 An Interest Shift?58:18 Actionable OSR Design01:00:27 Hundred Dungeons Basics01:06:29 When Math Strikes01:13:11 Modes of Play01:18:22 Centering the Home01:22:34 Recuperation01:28:03 Advice for Creators01:30:10 Graham's Creations01:33:00 Find Graham01:33:58 What Are We Gonna Do Now?Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  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.

    1h 34m
  3. MAR 19

    Let’s Build Encounters! (MD 233)

    Episode 233 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Let’s Build Encounters! We build encounters based on goblin and pirate monster groups as found in the revised Monster Manual. See our process for creating fun and engaging encounters! News: Electric State on Netflix, SVP Leaves WotC, Origins Award Finalists, and more! Contents00:00:00 Duke Ranks Higher Than Our Show00:01:17 D&D at ECCC00:05:52 D&D vs PBtA Story Loop00:14:55 Removing D&D Subclasses?00:17:40 Favorite Settings or Genres?00:22:00 Digital and Licensing SVP Departs WotC00:24:38 Electric State on Netflix00:26:14 LoG Battle of Emridy Meadows00:29:25 Origins Award Finalists00:31:03 Running D&D for Kids00:32:33 Florida Judge Cites D&D Not Making Him Satanic00:33:57 Shadowdark Western Reaches00:37:52 Jeff Stevens Villains & Lairs00:38:30 LATAM RPG Jam00:39:32 Let's Build Encounters00:40:30 What's Our Process?00:42:47 When Do We Care About Math?00:46:07 Adventure Rhythm00:48:15 What Makes an Encounter Fun?00:55:19 What Is Our Story?00:58:13 Let's Build a Goblin Encounter!01:12:13 Let's Build a Pirate Encounter!01:21:28 Rewards01:23:52 Shout-Outs01:27:07 What Are We Gonna Do?Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  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.

    1h 28m
  4. MAR 5

    Monster Groups and Encounters! (MD 231)

    Episode 231 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Monster Groups and Encounters! The 2025 Monster Manual provides a variety of monster groupings, such as several goblins or bandits. How well do those monster groupings work to establish a theme, provide a DM with options, and provide for useful encounters? News: Sigil VTT is Live, Starter Set Preview, MtG Movie and TV Show, D&D Game Canceled, and more! Contents00:00 ECCC Cometh01:49 Video Game-Like Rules?11:26 Intrigue for Convention Play?17:42 Sigil VTT is Live!22:37 Starter Set Previewed26:52 MtG Movie and TV Shows28:29 Revised Artificer UA37:44 Smuggler's Secrets on Beyond41:03 WotC Cancels Video Game42:42 Ernie Gygax Passes43:08 Mr Potato Head Beholder45:47 Monster Groups and Encounters45:58 The Conundrum of CR and Encounters51:50 Monster Grouping Goals52:51 2024 Monster Errata01:00:52 Goblin Groupings01:02:19 Monster Synergies?01:03:11 Goblin Encounter Examples01:10:53 Naming Monsters01:12:09 Pirate CRs01:15:27 Pirate Encounter Examples01:19:52 CRs and Story01:31:37 Shout-Outs01:35:18 What Are We Gonna Do Now?Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  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.

    1h 36m
  5. FEB 26

    Listener Corner Catch Up! (MD 230)

    Episode 230 of Mastering Dungeons!  Main topic: Listener Corner Catch Up! So many awesome listener questions, we devoted the show to them! News: Hasbro 2024 Q4 Results, New D&D Video Game, New Magic D&D Crossover, and more! Contents00:00:00 Santa Clara is Celestial00:02:43 Hasbro 2024 Q4 Results00:08:47 How Big is D&D after 2024?00:14:26 Hasbro Playing to Win Strategy00:17:35 D&D at Gen Con News00:21:07 New AAA D&D Video Game00:24:25 Tom Dunn 2024 MM Analysis00:32:48 Lorwyn-Shadowmoor D&D MtG Crossover00:35:07 Hexploration Decks & Explorer's Kit00:36:03 Outer Seas Black Coral Citadel00:37:52 Listener Corner Catch-Up00:38:17 Creating RPG Surveys?00:48:05 Change 1 Thing in the '24 MM?00:58:36 Use the DMG Tracking Sheets?01:04:43 Satisfying Game Prep?01:07:08 3rd Party Compatibility?01:10:58 Always Play New Edition?01:15:59 RPGs with Changing Ability Scores?01:23:03 Stagger 2 Organized Play Stories?01:30:16 Shout-Outs01:34:32 What Are We Gonna Do?Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon. Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/  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.

    1h 35m
4.7
out of 5
168 Ratings

About

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!

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