Dungeon Master of None

Here is a preview TWO of our subscriber episodes reviewing what could be the best published megadungeon and the best published hexcrawl. To listen to the full episodes subscribe below and check out these adventures for yourself.  Subscribe to the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Halls by Michael Curtis The Dark of Hot Springs Island by Jacob Hurst, Evan Peterson, Donnie Garcia, and Gabriel Hernandez 

DMs Matt and Rob wade into The Discourse discussing if “system matters” and “rules elide.”  Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join DMofNone on Discord! Links: Fireside Chat for Chapter 2 of World Beyond Number - Dimension 20   Detours and Lies (1, probably) - “What Is A D&D Anyway? - Combat Orientation and Stoves” - The Daily Blade  Rules Elide - Jared.blot (Archived) The Baker-Care Principle - Emily Care Boss The Fruitful Void - Lumpley Games  Stance Theory - Socratic Design  Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Bruce Springsteen - Pony Boy. 

Rob sits down with designer Andy Pressman to talk about, well, design, but also about games! The conversation ranges from Andy's active projects to onboarding players to mechanics to game jams and hacks and more. Andy's Itch Patchwork World Errant

Matt and Rob cover the REST of the Daggerheart playtest, including the GM section, adversaries, maps, worldbuilding, and the included starting adventure -- there's a lot going on here! Download the playtest materials here for free: https://darringtonpress.com/daggerheart/  Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join DMofNone on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Luca Turilli - Demonheart Slowdive - Dagger

DM "Dagger" Matt and DM "Heart" Rob are here to chat about the recently released playtest of Daggerheart, a fantasy TTRPG by Darrington Press and Critical Role.  Download the playtest materials here for free: https://darringtonpress.com/daggerheart/  Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join DMofNone on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Blondie - Heart of Glass.

Matt and Rob are joined by Daniel Kwan of Asians Represent to talk about his TTRPG of lethal melodrama, Wandering Blades! We talk wuxia, TTRPG design, playtesting, mechanics, inspirations, and more! Daniel's Patreon Daniel's Itch.io

So you want to run an RPG. No, not the one you are running right now, but a different one. DMs Matt and Rob are here to talk through their method and tips for learning a new game system.  Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join DMofNone on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.

Matt and Rob sit down with Lin Codega and Rowan Zeoli of rascal.news, the new independent TTRPG news site that is rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of, well, several other sites. We talk plans, the state of TTRPGs, the death of journalism, and more! In Search of a Hot Pink Bitch Named Breakfast Harlem Hellfighters Never Die

DMs Rob and Matt are joined by Keri Blakinger, investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times, to talk about her piece for New York Times Magazine, "The Dungeons & Dragons Players of Death Row," which can be read for free at the Marshall Project, "When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row." Links: Keri Blakinger - The Marshall Project https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/08/31/dungeons-and-dragons-texas-death-row-tdcj  Keri Blakinger - Corrections in Ink: A Memoirhttps://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250272850/correctionsinink Smriti Mundhra - I Am Ready, Warden at Big Sky Film Festival https://www.bigskyfilmfest.org/festival/films-2024-view/i_am_ready_warden/  Books to Prisoners Programs https://prisonbookprogram.org/prisonbooknetwork/ Inside Books Project (Texas) https://insidebooksproject.org/  Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Lead Belly - The Gallis Pole.

Special West Marches Correspondent Andy joins Matt and Rob to explain a wonderous campaign where all are welcome: The Open Table! Learn what an open table-style game is, why you might want to ditch your old dedicated story-driven campaigns, and how to prepare and GM an open table game. Plus, learn the Five "S"s of Open Tables: Setting, System, Scheduling, Starting, Stopping! Links: Andy - Tales of the Iron league https://ironleague.org/  Tales of the Iron League Discord https://discord.gg/xY8K7qS9 Ben Robbins - West Marches https://arsludi.lamemage.com/index.php/78/grand-experiments-west-marches/  Kelsey Dionne - Shadowdark: The Cursed Scroll https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/products/cursed-scroll-zine-vol-1-diablerie-print  Trial of the Slime Lord https://jordanrudd.itch.io/trial-of-the-slime-lord  Inkwell Ideas - Hexographer  https://store.inkwellideas.com/products/hexographer-hexographer-2-pro-version  OwlCon in Houston, Texas https://owlcon.com/ Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join DMofNone on Discord!    

Matt and Rob talk about how to make role-playing adventures, player guides, and games look nice. Join us for a journey through design and layout tools from simple to complex.  Listen to the full episode on the DMofNone Patreon!  Links: Homebrewery  GM Binder  GIMP  Cartographers' Guild  Explorers Design  Adobe InDesign  InDesign Template for 5e  DriveThruRPG - Stock Art  Open Access at The Met 

Matt and Rob talk about how to run a one shot! As it turns out, finishing a whole adventure in one sitting is a lot more complicated than it sounds. Rat Queens They Want to Be Us Savage Worlds One Sheets Summer in December The Great Grav Train Robbery Bite Sized Dungeons Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Hamilton - Aaron Burr, Sir Eminem - One Shot, Two Shot Ferran - One Shot

Rob abuses his power to force the podcast audience to listen to him ramble about his unfinished campaign setting, Thunder on the Steppe! We talk through the idea behind the campaign, issues with getting it presentable, next steps and takeaways. Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  Link to the Thunder on the Steppe Preview doc.  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice The Hu - Wolf Totem

Matt and Rob review So You Want to be a Game Master? by Justin Alexander (of thealexandrian.net), which is exactly what it says on the tin. We talk about Alexander's approach, what you'll find in the book, and what you can use in your games! Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Duck Tales Theme Mission Impossible Theme Jefferson Starship - We Built This City

Matt and Rob reflect on the events of the year, go over the many (12!) systems they've reviewed, and talk about what they're looking forward to in 2024. Listen to the rest of the episode (and an entire day's worth of premium episodes) on the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Lorne Balfe - Juice of the Vine.

DMs Rob and Matt are back to answer your questions about Game Mastering! Plus, the triumphant return of Unwanted Advice!  Check out the DMofNone Patreon!  https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Du gamla, du fria - Sabaton; Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John.

Matt and Rob review some more Pathfinder adventure paths, focusing on Serpent's Skull and Carrion Crown! One of these is good! One of them is not! Listen to find out which. Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Crab Rave! Earth Wind and Fire - Serpentine Fire Monster Squad Theme Song - Rock Until You Drop

"Temba, his arms wide!" DMs Rob and Matt give the gift of a Trekkie TTRPG to you this holiday season. Learn about why playing a Starfleet crew is so much fun and how to use Mophidius's 2d20 system with its momentum and threat pools to create rewarding play at the table. Don your redshirt and get ready for a simulation that you can't win...no, not the Kobayashi Maru...but Star Trek Adventures: The Roleplaying Game!  Links: Continuing Mission: A Fan Site for Star Trek RPGs https://continuingmissionsta.com/  Star Trek Character, Ship, and Token Creator https://sta.bcholmes.org/  The Shield of Tomorrow Actual Play https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT955aQO-G-3LR6kgX4EU2qrHg  Star Trek RPG Core Rulebook https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/star-trek-adventures-core-rulebook  Captain's Log: Solo Roleplaying Game https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/sta-captains-log-solo-roleplaying-game  Star Trek RPG Free Quickstart https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/222948/Star-Trek-Adventures-Quickstart  Star Trek RPG Starter Set https://www.modiphius.net/en-us/products/star-trek-adventures-starter-set-pdf  Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Faith of the Heart - Russell Watson.

DM Matt shares with DM Rob advice from his many years in the classroom that you can bring to your RPG table. Learn to game master like a teacher with these pedagogy tips!  Session Plan Template on Patreon  Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone  Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; The Who - Substitute; Win Ben Stein's Money Intro (Beethoven - Ode to Joy). 

Matt and Rob discuss the brand new mystery horror TTRPG from Darrington Press, Candela Obscura! This highly-anticipated freshman offering from Critical Role's in-house press has, to say the least, a lot going on! Delve into a world of spooky mystery, vaguely fin-de-siècle aesthetics, and questionable architectural choices. Check out the DMofNone Patreon! Join us on Discord!