The Lazy RPG Podcast - D&D and RPG News and GM Prep from Sly Flourish

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:13 D&D & RPG News: Mike on EN World Podcast Talking about the 2024 DMG 02:51 D&D & RPG News: Pathfinder 2 Humble Bundle 05:38 D&D & RPG News: Phantasy Star RPG Preorder 06:51 Kickstarter Spotlight: A5E Monstrous Menagerie 2 08:14 Commentary: Hard Truths About Crowdfunded RPGs 25:20 Commentary: Comparing DMG 2024 Advice to Lazy DM Advice 40:19 Patreon Question: Character Home Bases 44:45 Patreon Question: Set Piece Battles or Theater of the Mind? 49:10 Patreon Question: Best After-Session Notes 51:00 Patreon Question: Improving NPC Voices While Roleplaying Links Mike on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop Podcast Pathfinder 2E Humble Bundle Phantasy Star RPG Preorder A5E Monstrous Menagerie 2 Top Tips for GMs – SlyFlourish.com Matt Mercer on NPC Voices – DM's Deep Dive Dialects Archive Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books:

Mike prepares the next session of his Tales of the Valiant Dragon Empire campaign. Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Midgard Worldbook Tales of the Valiant Obsidian for TTRPGs

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:21 D&D & RPG News: Blades in the Dark Deep Cuts 03:37 Commentary: What Do You Need to Prep Your Session? 36:52 Commentary: Encounter Building in the D&D 2024 DMG and the Lazy Encounter Benchmark Links Blades in the Dark Deep Cuts Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy GM Resource Document The Lazy Encounter Benchmark 2024 DMG Versus the Lazy Encounter Benchmark Alphastream on Encounter Building Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books:

Mike prepares the next session of his Tales of the Valiant Dragon Empire campaign. Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Midgard Worldbook Tales of the Valiant Obsidian for TTRPGs

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:15 Kickstarter Spotlight: Draconics the Peaceful Way to Play 5e 03:21 Kickstarter Spotlight: Wondrous Worlds by Nord Games 05:16 D&D & RPG News: D&D 2024 Free Rules Givith and then Taketh Away 09:28 Commentary: D&D 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide Thoughts and the Four Gamemaster's Guides 34:07 DM Tip: Avoid NPC Betrayals 44:59 Patreon Question: Favorite Short Adventure Books 47:52 Patreon Question: Expanding a GM's Reading List 49:18 Patreon Question: Focusing on Prep for the Next Session 51:09 Patreon Question: Needing to Improvise with Shadowdark 54:01 Patreon Question: Top House Rules for Shadowdark 57:03 Patreon Question: The Urgency of Multiple Quest Hooks # [01:00:50 Patreon Question: Where to End Shadowdark Sessions Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Draconis: The Peaceful Way to Play DND 5E Wondrous Worlds by Nord Games Updated D&D 2024 Free Rules Oops, that was a mistake Level Up Advanced 5e Trials and Treasure Tales of the Valiant Gamemaster's Guide

Mike prepares the next session of his Tales of the Valiant Dragon Empire campaign. Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Midgard Worldbook Tales of the Valiant Obsidian for TTRPGs

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:16 Product Spotlight: Defiler of Moonsilk Keep 03:44 Product Spotlight: Horizons Magazine Issue 1 06:25 Product Spotlight: Frontiers of Eberron 12:35 Kickstarter Spotlight: Adventures in Teaching and Learning with TTRPGs 14:27 Kickstarter Spotlight: Dwarven Forge Dungeons Reforged 24:25 Commentary: Experiences at Gamehole Con 34:20 DM Tip: Pool Table Game Mastering 45:43 Patreon Question: What Makes a Great Monster Book 51:44 Patreon Question: Running Big Timed Events in Scenes Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Defiler of Moonsilk Keep Horizons Issue 1 Frontiers of Eberron Adventures in Teaching and Learning in TTRPGs Dwarven Forge Dungeons Reforged Level Up Advanced 5e Monstrous Menagerie

Mike discusses his experiences running the Shadowdark RPG for a year Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Shadowdark RPG

Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Shadowdark RPG

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 02:17 D&D & RPG News: Call of Cthulhu Humbled Bundle 04:40 Sly Flourish News: City of Arches Key of Worlds Scenarios for Hero-Tier Subscribers 12:28 Product Spotlight: Dread Thingonomicon Markdown for Obsidian 16:19 Sly Flourish News: Lazy GM Reference Guides in Markdown for Obsidian 20:23 Sly Flourish News: Sly Flourish 2025 Calendar! 22:00 Commentary: The Trouble with Crafting Systems in 5e 36:37 DM Tip: Advanced Random Encounter Tricks 49:46 Patreon Question: Adding Subquests and Managing Levels with Campaign Arcs 54:04 Patreon Question: Keeping Combat Descriptions Flavorful 57:17 Patreon Question: Designing a Heroic Shadowdark-Style Game Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Call of Cthulhu Humbled Bundle Dread Thingonomicon Dread Laironomicon Lazy GM Resource Docs likewise have Obsidian versions Lazy GM's Resource Document Lazy GM's 5e Monster Builder Resource Document Crit-Tech's Lazy GM Documents on Github (including Obsidian Markdown versions) Sly Flourish 2025 calendar

Prep for the finale of Mike's Shadowdark Gloaming campaign! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog https://slyflourish.com/ Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter https://slyflourish.com/subscribe/ Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast https://slyflourish.podbean.com/ Support Sly Flourish on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/slyflourish Buy Sly Flourish Books: https://shop.slyflourish.com/ Shadowdark RPG https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/pages/shadowdark Cursed Scroll 1 https://www.thearcanelibrary.com/products/cursed-scroll-zine-vol-1-diablerie-print Using Notion for RPG Prep https://slyflourish.com/lazy_dnd_with_notion.html

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:20 Sly Flourish News: Sly Flourish After-School RPG Club Sponsorship 07:44 D&D & RPG News: Free Kobold Press Encounter Builder 11:11 D&D & RPG News: Dread Thingonomicon Bundle of Holding for $8 13:52 D&D & RPG News: Goodman Games Humble Bundle 16:04 Kickstarter Spotlight: Grim Hollow Transformed Kickstarter 19:15 D&D & RPG News: Ars Magica in a Creative Commons License 26:33 DM Tip: Two Bandits Talking About the Characters 31:28 Patreon Question: Single Best Tip for New GMs 38:24 Patreon Question: What If Characters Don't Strike Lighting Rods? 44:12 Patreon Question: D&D 2024 Tool DCs and DM Agency 50:18 Patreon Question: Can You Mix TOV, A5e, D&D 2024, and D&D 2014? Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Sly Flourish After-School RPG Sponsorship Kobold Press Encounter Builder Dread Thingonomicon Goodman Games humble bundle Grim Hollow Transformed Kickstarter Ars Magica Rules and Setting under CC BY SA Top Tips for RPG Game Masters Lightning Rods

Mike begins his campaign prep for his Dragon Empire Midgard-based Tales of the Valiant campaign! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Tales of the Valiant Midgard Worldbook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:30 Kickstarter Spotlight: Enter the Labyrinth by Kobold Press 05:15 Kickstarter Spotlight: Dragontown and the Darkness Below 11:03 D&D & RPG News: Horizons Magazine by Wildmage Press 12:16 D&D & RPG News: Beadle and Grimm 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide Map Pack 14:04 D&D & RPG News: 2024 Player's Handbook is D&D's Fastest Selling Book Ever 18:22 Commentary: You Don't Own Your D&D Beyond Books 21:24 D&D & RPG News: Hidden Subclass Compatibility in D&D 2024 27:32 Commentary: The Current State of Generative AI and TTRPGs 46:23 Patreon Question: Industry Standards for Releasing RPG Material Under Open Licenses 52:03 Patreon Question: Coming Up with Villains or Fronts in Strange Campaign Settings 54:36 Patreon Question: Excluding a Player from a Game Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Kobold Press’s Labyrinth Kickstarter Dragontown and the Darkness Below Kickstarter Wildmage Press Horizons Magazine Beadle and a Grymm Greyhawk map pack D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook Fastest Selling D&D Book of All Time New California law means digital stores can’t imply you’re buying a game when you’re merely licensing it Where do your Steam games go when you die? The Best LLM for Generating RPG Stuff – Your Brain

Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming! Join the City of Arches Kickstarter! Shadowdark RPG Campaign Notebook available to Sly Flourish patrons Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Shadowdark RPG Cursed Scroll 1 Dyson Maps

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:16 D&D & RPG News: Roll20 Packages for Doctors Without Borders 03:04 Kickstarter Spotlight: Pirate Borg 09:06 DM Tip: Run I6 Ravenloft with Shadowdark on Halloween 10:45 D&D & RPG News: Free D&D 2024 Rules with All Twelve Classes 13:20 D&D & RPG News: D&D Adventurer's League Moves to D&D 2024 26:13 D&D & RPG News: D&D 2024 PHB Available Physically and on Four VTTs 33:55 DM Tip: D&D 2024's Handling of Tools and DCs 41:02 DM Tip: Two Words for Increasing Combat Challenge 51:06 Patreon Question: What's My Next Campaign? 53:26 Patreon Question: Upward and Downward Beats in a Campaign 57:46 Patreon Question: Why Switch to Obsidian? Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Pirate Borg Down Among the Dead Ravenloft with Shadowdark Video Ravenloft with Shadowdark Article D&D Beyond D&D 2024 Free Rules Includes All Twelve Classes D&D Adventures League Updates D&D PHB 2024 on Foundry D&D PHB 2024 on Fantasy Grounds D&D PHB 2024 on Roll20 Roll20 Characters Midgard Dragon Empire Campaign Video

Mike begins his campaign prep for his Dragon Empire Midgard-based Tales of the Valiant campaign! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Tales of the Valiant Midgard Worldbook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00:00 Show Start 00:01:16 Kickstarter Spotlight: Worldographer 2025 by Inkwell Ideas 00:03:36 Kickstarter Spotlight: Shadow City Mysteries 00:04:53 Product Spotlight: Level Up Advanced 5e on Bundle of Holding 00:10:46 D&D & RPG News: MCDM's License for Draw Steel 00:17:33 Product Spotlight: Shadowdark Guide to Monster Statistics by Matt Dietrich 00:22:14 Commentary: Four Sources of D&D History 00:44:16 DM Tip: Instant Monsters for 5e 00:59:02 Patreon Question: Handling Back Seat Driving Veteran Players 01:03:17 Patreon Question: Running the City of Arches with Shadowdark 01:05:40 Patreon Question: Managing Secrets with Multiple Paths Ahead 01:08:09 Patreon Question: Building Single-Session Episodic Adventures Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Worldographer Kickstarter Shadow City Mysteries Crowdfunding campaign Level Up A5e Bundles of Holding – Core Level Up A5e Bundles of Holding – Adventures Draw Steel creators license Shadowdark Quick Monster Stats by Matt Dietrich D&D 50 Year Panel D&D 50 Celebration Games When We Were Wizards The Making of Original D&D: 1970 - 1977

Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming! Join the City of Arches Kickstarter! Shadowdark RPG Campaign Notebook available to Sly Flourish patrons Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Shadowdark RPG Cursed Scroll 1 Dyson Maps

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:13 Sly Flourish News: Mike Loses a Bet 02:59 D&D & RPG News: D&D 2024 and Free D&D on D&D Beyond 14:06 D&D & RPG News: Rich Lescoulflair Talking Phantasy Star RPG on Morrus's Podcast 15:42 D&D & RPG News: Matt Coleville on Eldritch Lorecast Talking About Project Sigil 19:35 D&D & RPG News: Free Hex Crawl Rules from Cursed Scroll 4 23:26 Product Spotlight: Broken Weave for 5e by Cubicle 7 36:24 DM Tip: Distance, Activity, and Attitude for Random Encounters 48:18 Patreon Question: Rewriting Published Adventures for Table Use 52:09 Patreon Question: Building Your Own Pantheon 55:38 Patreon Question: Using the Eight Steps for Published Adventures Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: 2024 D&D Free Rules on D&D Beyond Rich Lescouflair on Phantasy Star RPG on Morrus's Podcast Matt Coleville on Eldritch Lorecast Free Hex Crawl Rules from Arcane Library Broken Weave for 5e Reaction Tables Across the Years Choosing the Right Steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master