7th Level Bardcast

**Disclaimer- This episode refers to cults in a fantasy/make believe setting and in no way condones real life cults of any kind.**

This week Jaryd, Jason, and Mikel talk about why they enjoy the use of cults in their games. They discuss the how using cults as a GM is easy and leads to absurdity in play. They also discuss the enjoyment of creating a cult as players.

This week in the Quest Begins Jayrd, Jason, and Mikel take a look at how to add a shared narrative to dungeon crawling. They explore ways that they have done it in their own games, and give many examples of how you might apply the concept to your own dungeons.

Jaryd, Jason, and Mikel take a look at what comprises the moral compass of characters and how game systems work to foster the right environment for a moral compass to exist. They discuss different variations of moral compass and how different game systems handle providing a character with choices to evolve their moral compass.

This week Jaryd and Jason are joined by their guest Craig in a discussion about how to create non-combat encounters in D&D. They take an in depth look at the different ways to use the narrative to override the need for combat, while still leaving the option for players to engage in combat if they wish.

This week we take a look at the importance, and fun, of including social engagements in your campaigns. Social engagements can include, but are not limited to, weddings, parties and funerals. Jaryd, Mikel, and Jason explore the possibilities that arise from having your PCs engage in social situations.

This week in the Quest Begins Jaryd, Jason, and Mikel talk about using custom tailored items, skills, spells, abilities, etc. for their players to create unique narrative experiences. Each of them go through how to create and implement one of these "ingredients" into a narrative, and the importance behind it.

In this episode Jaryd presents the topic of always playing the hero in a game. He present Jason and Mikel with the question of whether or not it is necessary to play a hero in campaign. The topic quickly becomes a discuss of what truly makes a character heroic.

In the newest installment of their D&D aimed journey, Jaryd, Jason and Mikel discuss the pros and cons of Backgrounds in D&D 5e. They work to bring out the ways Backgrounds can be used to initiate a Shared Narrative in your D&D campaigns.

Jaryd, Jason, and Mikel delve into the use of the Big Bad in campaigns. They talk over how they each develop a Big Bad for their stories and the intricacies that come with how a Big Bad interacts with the characters.

Jaryd, Jason, and Mikel analyze the reasons they return to D&D despite their issues with some of the aspects of the game. They also talk over some of these issues and how they have learned to sidestep them.