D&D Talks

EPISODE 11: RUNNING A SESSION ZERO
Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

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➤ INTRO TRANSCRIPT:
So, “session zero” which can be defined in numerous ways, but the main thing to know is, it’s sort of a mini-session before the main campaign where the players & DM come together to make sure everyone is on the same page for characters, wishes, goals, and a numerous amount of other things. More and more, session zeroes are becoming the “norm” for D&D groups who are running more long-term campaigns, because session zeroes can provide a lot of good direction and preparedness for ALL involved. So, let’s talk about them & their value.

EPISODE 10: THE D&D TAG

We're doing something a little different this episode! We answered questions from the D&D Tag, created by Ginny Di.
►Check out her video on it & do it yourself, too! https://youtu.be/2DLaK9mr93M

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Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

EPISODE 9: PLAYER AGENCY
Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

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➤ INTRO TRANSCRIPT:
Today we’re going to discuss a topic that involves certain opinions that could be considered a “hot take”, it’s a topic that some can and cannot disagree on depending on the circumstances, but nonetheless a CRITICALLY important part of Dungeons & Dragons (and any tabletop RPG for that matter) - player agency.

Player agency, which we’ll certainly get into the definition and define some examples within this episode, is something that is important to keep in mind in your campaign for your players - and robbing them of that agency can make a player feel very helpless and lost. With that being said, today we’re going to talk about why that CAN BE a good thing. (And there’s a very specific CAN BE there.)

So why are we having this discussion? It seems like a pretty straightforward thing, right? Here's what we have to say about it.

#DnD #DnDPodcast #DnD5e

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EPISODE 8: ROMANCE IN YOUR CAMPAIGN
Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

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➤ INTRO TRANSCRIPT:
Whether you like it or not, romance is a staple of many RPGs in the past 10 or so years. Look at all of the top RPGs out there – Mass Effect, The Witcher, Dragon Age – and now even the developers for Baldur’s Gate 3 said romance was a huge success for their early access. But..obviously video games are different. You are playing through a scripted scene between two characters. Romance in tabletop actual play can sometimes get a little awkward.

I know this is something that isn’t at every table – AND THAT’S OK. It really depends on what your players want out of their campaign. And, to be honest, not everyone wants romance. And we’re not here to persuade you one way or another for adding this into your tabletop stories. We simply want to share our experiences. I’ve had elements of romance come up in my campaigns with George, but also in my VTM, Kids on Bikes, and others.

Before we get into this topic, I want to say first and foremost – any tabletop group absolutely needs to set lines and veils for their table. To summarize, this means that you need all players to express if they have any topics that cross a line for them and should not be brought into the game. Veils are where if a scene with something uncomfortable shows up, the scene should not be described in detail and should “fade to black”.

For some, some elements of romance (i.e. – sex) can be a line or veil. So make sure you discuss these things with all players and DMs before getting into these topics.

Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

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➤ INTRO TRANSCRIPT:
This episode we’ll be talking about something that I think not every D&D table uses, but it might be useful to consider for your players and their stories - SOLO SESSIONS or, 1 on 1 sessions away from the full party. To be clear, we’re not talking about a solo campaign where a DM runs an entire campaign for one player. Rather, this is when a Dungeon Master decides to run a smaller session with a single player from their main party.

There are numerous reasons as to why a DM might want to have a solo session with one of their players, which we’ll get into in today’s discussion. Sometimes… there are things that the DM and a player may want to decide in roleplay / dice rolls, but it may not necessarily have a place at the full table - and that’s OK!

In our campaigns, we’ve had a lot of solo sessions that happen in between each of our weekly campaign with the full group - and we’ve had many rewarding experiences from them. There have been new discoverings for characters, revelations of backstories, character growth and role-play development, and adventures that the full group later gets to reveal and react to.

Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

Today’s topic: Adding HORROR and SPOOK to your D&D campaign!

Horror is a pretty common theme in TTRPGs – there are tons of horror-focused Tabletop games out there (Call of Cthulhu being one of the bigger known).

But what about horror in Dungeons & Dragons? There are a few D&D campaign settings that take a hard emphasis on horror – Curse of Strahd and Rime of the Frostmaiden being the two most popular I can think of.

Despite D&D being an “adventure” game by heart – there are certainly ways to include elements of horror into certain quests, storylines, and adventures in your D&D campaign. That's what we'll be discussing in this video.

Today’s topic is all about FACTIONS in Dungeons & Dragons.

In D&D, there are many powerful and influential factions that play a big part in many of the major campaigns in the Forgotten Realms Universe.

Factions are a powerful tool for DMs because they are essentially powerful, established groups that can have significant influence on the world - but they can also bring an element of depth and motivation for players - whether it be their involvement in an organization or working with other groups against these factions.

George and I will share some of our own thoughts, tips, and insight on the world of FACTIONS.

Today’s topic is all about DEITIES in the D&D universe.

They are powerful entities that can make your campaign great, but that doesn’t come without challenges.

Many characters will look to deities as an important part of their backstories. But how do you incorporate deities into a campaign without making them...too nebulous? Make them reachable? Make them an important part of your player characters’ lives? Should they be more aloof or more present in a players' life?

Listen to our thoughts on deities in D&D 5e!

Grab your coffee / tea and stay a while! This is a series where myself and my DM, GloriousGe0rge, talk about our experiences with various D&D subjects related to running a campaign.

Today’s topic is all about making DEALS with powerful creatures in D&D - the most popular, of course, being devils and fey.

Deal making can make a story and campaign take a very interesting turn. In a lot of popular media - movies, TV shows, music - you can often find the popular story element/trope of “selling ones soul to the devil”. But how can you add that into your D&D campaign?

Learn how to add interesting twists, plots, and story elements to DEAL MAKING in your D&D campaign!

I feel this is a topic that has been discussed often enough, but still has a lot of varying opinions and advice on the subject: How to run an evil party in a D&D campaign and how to handle evil-aligned player characters.

In the world of Dungeons & Dragons - you can do and play whatever you want. But what happens when you want to be the bad guys? How does that work for planning a story and campaign? How do consequences and choices differ for an evil-aligned party compared to your typical, plucky adventurers?

We will be discussing this & more in today’s episode.