Detentions and Dragons

On part 2 of this two-part interview episode of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt are joined by interpretative naturalists Ashley Smith and Brandon Baker!

The topic of discussion: an amazing course that Ashley and Brandon developed and are running for students at the Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota. Their course combines environmental studies with D&D.

I think we use the words "cool" and "amazing" to describe the work of many of our guests on this podcast, but these descriptors have never been more accurate and well deserved. Ashley and Brandon are pioneers in creating authentic, engaging, and impactful that fuse education and TTRPGs. If you are interested in hearing more about how educators can integrate D&D into education then this is a must listen!

If you enjoyed listening to Ashley and Brandon, you can hear more from Brandon on his podcast The Wandering Naturalist.

You can listen to the podcast here:

https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1447276177

or here:

https://www.threeriversparks.org/podcast?fbclid=IwAR3gvvQyHpD4o688AHOElXCfRXf3FI2nVDLdAAxdNbiAEjefr0eF6zdP7IA

You can also learn more about the Three Rivers Park District here:

https://www.facebook.com/ThreeRiversParkDistrict/

You can also connect with Ashley on Twitter:

@arsmith326

Did this interview inspire you to fuse authentic learning into your D&D game? Then help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

On this two-part interview episode of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt are joined by interpretative naturalists Ashley Smith and Brandon Baker!

The topic of discussion: an amazing course that Ashley and Brandon developed and are running for students at the Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota. Their course combines environmental studies with D&D.

I think we use the words "cool" and "amazing" to describe the work of many of our guests on this podcast, but these descriptors have never been more accurate and well deserved. Ashley and Brandon are pioneers in creating authentic, engaging, and impactful that fuse education and TTRPGs. If you are interested in hearing more about how educators can integrate D&D into education then this is a must listen!

If you enjoyed listening to Ashley and Brandon, you can hear more from Brandon on his podcast The Wandering Naturalist.

You can listen to the podcast here:

https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=1447276177

or here:

https://www.threeriversparks.org/podcast?fbclid=IwAR3gvvQyHpD4o688AHOElXCfRXf3FI2nVDLdAAxdNbiAEjefr0eF6zdP7IA

You can also learn more about the Three Rivers Park District here:

https://www.facebook.com/ThreeRiversParkDistrict/

You can also connect with Ashley on Twitter:

@arsmith326

Did this interview inspire you to fuse authentic learning into your D&D game? Then help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

Developing a backstory for a player's character can be a fun, exciting, and engaging way to participate in a game of D&D. However, one of the downsides of this creation process is that backstories are often done in isolation. Characters that are created away from the table can sometimes have difficulty connect to the other characters in the game. However, like many aspects in D&D, backstory creation can be a collaborative event as well!

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt talk about collaborative backstories. They go over the benefits, when to do backstory develop (spoiler: it doesn't just have to happen at a Zero Session), and practice collaborative background development on the podcast.

The collaborative background questions for our demo were written by Josh Reistad. Josh will be posting the complete list of these questions so you can use them in your home or classroom campaign!

Did these two teachers help you build more unity at the table with collaborative background building? Then help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

D&D is a collaborative storytelling game. However, are your player interacting with you AND the other players? Many new players quickly become comfortable interacting with the DM. However, players interacting with other players can be intimidating and challenging! On this lesson of Detentions and Dragon, Josh and Matt discuss techniques to promote collaborative gaming at the table. They also discuss a homebrewed system called "The Ties System" to add a bit of extrinsic motivation to encourage players to work with each other at the table.

Did these two teachers help you to collaborate with all the players in your D&D club? Then help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

Josh and Matt are back from Acadecon!

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt talk about other role-playing systems besides Dungeons and Dragons! While, D&D is still their favorite, Josh and Matt wanted to share information about other role-playing game systems that are fun and accessible for a vast array of players. These are games that they aren't necessarily experts in, but had a blast playing while at Acadecon.

Games we played.

Masks: A New Generation

https://www.magpiegames.com/masks/

Monster of the Week

https://www.evilhat.com/home/monster-of-the-week/

Cold Steel Wardens

http://www.blackfallpress.com/

Some People we would like to thank!

Michale Ross and The RPG Academy

@TheRpgAcademy

https://therpgacademy.com/

Tom Cantwell

@BeskarTom

A.P. Klosky

@BlackfallPress

Did these two teachers help you motivate you to try out a new system? Help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt discuss Combat Encounter.

Battles are a foundational part of most D&D campaigns. However, making a fair and balanced battle can be difficult for new and experienced DMs. Don't worry, there is a solution to your combat encounter development needs and that answers is called MATH! This lesson is very technical but will provide a by the book way to plan battles with the appropriate difficulty level for your players!

Did these two teachers help you calculate the perfect battle for your next D&D game? Help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

Our 100th Lesson!

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt go trick-or-treating in the city of New Trollsburg. The treats of Halloween come in all shapes and sizes. But be careful! In new Trollsburg, the treats may come with a curse! Or don't be careful and feel free to use these homebrewed magical delights in your D&D campaign.

We are so glad to all of our listeners over the last 100 episodes! We hope you have enjoyed our lesson and we hope we have inspired you to make a difference in the lives of a student, new player, or old friend through D&D.

Did these two teachers help you make whip up something dreadful for your Halloween D&D campaign? Then thank Josh and Matt by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

Additional Music in this Lesson's Podcast:

Something Elated by Broke For Free

http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Broke_For_Free/Something_EP/Broke_For_Free_-_Something_EP_-_05_Something_Elated

Sound effects from https://freesound.org/

Music by Komiku

https://www.freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt discuss Bosses.

Boss fights are an dramatic conclusion to a dungeon or quest. However, are your bosses fighting up to their potential? This lesson discusses ways to help elevate your boss from bulky damage dealer to dynamic and diabolic antagonist.

Did these two teachers help you build the perfect boss for your campaign? Help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

On the interview episode of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt are joined by Physical Education teacher, coach, and twitter denizen @heartless_pe !

The topic of their discussion: Sportsmanship. The importance of sportsmanship is promoted as an invaluable aspect of youth sports. However, this same emphasis has not been placed on youth gaming. In this interview, Matt, Josh, and Kyle (aka @heartless_pe) explore what sportsmanship is, why it is important for you gaming, and what this may look like in the gaming setting. This is awesome episode that brings to light the potential for DMs, teachers, and club leaders, to instill the tenets of sportsmanship into the next generation of gamers!

Did this interview inspire you to bring better sportsmanship to your D&D game. Then help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!

On this lesson of Detentions and Dragons, Josh and Matt reflect on their first few weeks of leading their Dungeons and Dragons Club. While both Matt and Josh found their first few weeks of D&D at school successful, reflecting on what went well, what could be improved on, and goals for the 2020 year are important. Hopefully sitting down to reflect will inspire you to continue to grow into an even better DM as well!

Did these two teachers help you get your year of D&D off to a good start? Help Josh and Matt out by recommending Detentions and Dragons to a friend, teacher, or student. New listeners are the best way to help us grow as a podcast. Thanks again for all of your support!

Detentions and Dragons is a proud member of the Block Party Podcast Network! Check out our show and other great D&D and gaming podcast at https://www.blockpartypodcastnetwork.com/ or where ever you download podcasts!