Dungeons & Tangents

Dungeons & Tangents

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Dungeons & Tangents episodes

  • Episode 26: DM for Hire & the Untapped Potential of D&D

    This episode we discuss a man named John Dempsey from Toronto Canada who has started making a living as a professional Dungeon Master. He charges clients for his time and efforts in prepping and running games of D&D. We also talk about the untapped potential of D&D as a form of entertainment and a viable platform for businesses like John Dempsey's

    23 min
  • Knowledge History D&D - Episode 3: Birth of the Fantasy Game (1967 to 1972)

    This episode covers the events that lead Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax to meet and have the inspiration they needed to create the first drafts of D&D.

    Resources for this episode included the following:

    • Bodenburg:
      • https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/26603/siege-bodenburg
    • Early Works of Gary Gygax:
      • http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-early-works-of-gary-gygax.html
    • Don't Give up the Ship:
      • https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/7791/dont-give-ship
      http://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/dont-give-up-ship-in-manuscript.html

    • Chainmail:

      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chainmail_(game)
      http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17010/Chainmail-Rules-for-Medieval-Miniatures-0e?it=1

    • TRS:

      • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Geneva_Tactical_Studies_Association

      Special credit should be given to Boardgame Geek for their entries

      and Jon Peterson Who wrote the book "Playing at the World" and maintains a beautiful archive of information on tabletop games at playingattheworld.blogspot.com

      Additionally, I'd like to thank David Ewalts for his book "Of Dice And Men" which was one of many inspirations for starting this series.

      17 min
    • Episode 25: Massive Tangent #3 - Who's the best Joker

      Hey everyone and welcome to Dungeons & Tangents

      Today Robert and Erik B.S. about Batman and the Joker.
      This is a SUPER short Episode because it was a spur of the moment thing.
      But we just had to share it because Erik does his impersonation of Mark Hamil's Joker.
      Also, Erik will be on vacation for a week so we're padding out our schedule wink wink

      7 min
    • Knowledge History D&D - Episode 2: Setting up the Pieces (1953 - 1967)

      This episode, we continue the new series "Knowledge - History - D&D". A chronological review of the creation of Dungeons & Dragons. We'll intro you to the people who created D&D and how they first got interested in table top gaming. We talk through the early days of Gary Gygax, Don Kaye, and Dave Arneson.

      Again, a lot of research went into this episode, so I'm sharing my bibliography.

      I also highly recommend the following books:
      Empire of Imagination by Michael Witwer
      Of Dice And Men by David M. Ewalt

      • Gary & Don
        • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Kaye
      • Gettysburg
        • https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3099/gettysburg
      • Chainmail
        • http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/17010/Chainmail-Rules-for-Medieval-Miniatures-0e?it=1
      • GenCon:
        • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gen_Con
      • Dave Wesely & Braunstein (Kreigsspiel variant) (St. Paul, Mn.)
        • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Wesely
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunstein_(wargame)

        Music is used under the creative commons license.

        "Rhythm Green" by Latch Swing (used during Part 1)
        "Vanlig" by Jahzzar (used during Part 1)
        "Eastminster" by Kevin MacLeod (used during Part 2)
        "Genval" by Hicham Chahidi (used during Part 3)
        These musicians can be found on freemusicarchive.org

        Intro and Outro music written by Erik Dewhurst

        15 min
      • Episode 24: Criticals and Fumbles

        This Episode we're talking about, perhaps the most overused phrase in D&D; "Critical Hit".

        It's the moment in every D&D game where people scream and jump up and down. But Critical Hits haven't always been part of the game. We discuss the history, the mechanics, the narrative, and the different variations of critical hits and misses.

        31 min
      • Knowledge History D&D - Episode 1: The Prehistory to D&D (500 - 1950)

        This episode, Erik starts a new series called "Knowledge - History - D&D". A chronological review of how Dungeons & Dragons came into being.

        We'll start by releasing episodes every other week.
        This first episode starts with the prehistory of D&D from 500 AD to 1950.

        Since this episode involved a lot of research, I wanted to share all my sources and give credit where credit is due. So, here is my big thick bibliography. It wouldn't pass muster in a college level class, but you trust my sources are legit, right?

        I also highly recommend the following books:
        Empire of Imagination by Michael Witwer
        Of Dice And Men by David M. Ewalt

        • Chaturanga
          • http://www.chessvariants.com/historic.dir/chaturanga.html
          https://www.chess.com/blog/Shadow_47/chaturangahellipthe-lost-game
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaturanga
        • Chess
          • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
        • Kriegsspiel
          • Developed in 1812 by Lieutenant Georg Leopold von Reiswitz and his son Georg Heinrich Rudolf von Reiswitz of the Prussian Army
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriegsspiel_(wargame)
          https://web.archive.org/web/20090710224303/http://www.boardgamestudies.info/pdf/issue3/BGS3Hilgers.pdf (see page 63 or so)
          https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/16957/kriegsspiel
        • Little Wars:
          • http://www.thortrains.net/downloads/litwars.pdf
        • Napoleonic Miniature War Gaming:
          • http://www.wargamer.com/articles/an-introduction-to-napoleonic-miniature-wargaming/
        • History of the War Gaming Hobby:
          • http://www-personal.umich.edu/~beattie/timeline2.html
        • Jack Scrubby:
          • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Scruby
          War Gaming Digest (1957-1963)

          Music is used under the creative commons license.

          "Raga Bageshri" by Ashok Pathak (used during Part 1)
          "Pierre" by Hicham Chahidi (used during Part 2)
          "Tendresse" by Hicham Chahidi (used during Part 3)

          Intro and Outro music written by Erik Dewhurst

          15 min
        • Episode 23: Alternative Methods of Play

          This episode Robert and Erik discuss 4 Alternative Methods of playing D&D.

          We go through the good and the bad of each one. Of course we talk about our opinions and experiences. Because... that's kinda how this podcast goes.

          39 min
        • Episode 22: THAC0 & Armor Class

          Remember THAC0? What a Thac0 crap.

          In this episode we're going to recap the history of Armor Class and Attack Bonuses from 1st Edition of D&D through 5th edition.

          We'll start by scratching our heads at the earliest mechanics for determining whether a weapon connected with the enemy.

          Once we're done with that, we'll try to explain THAC0 to each other.
          Then we'll review how Armor Class and THAC0 evolved into the d20 system.
          A system that has become the core to D&D since the year 2000.

          All in all, D&D has come quite a long way and I am very grateful for the progress.

          Because I do not want to deal with 8 different charts just to hit an orc with a sword.

          34 min
        • Episode 21: Psionics & Dinosaurs

          Psionics suck.

          So do Dinosaurs.
          We really don't want that shit in our D&D.
          The two of us get into a heated debate about Telepathy and T-Rexes in our worlds of Swords of Sorcery.
          Psionics have been a semi-regular part of D&D for decades. As have Dinosaurs. But we're not fans of either.
          The recent release of Tomb of Annihilation includes Dinosaur races, which has opened a few old wounds for us.

          27 min
        • Episode 20: Initiative

          Initiative is the D&D mechanic for deciding the order of play during an encounter.

          As players of D&D we don't often question how initiative works or how it could be different.
          But in this episode Robert and Erik do exactly that. Why do we use initiative? And what alternatives are there?
          Is there a better way to run initiative?

          25 min

        About Dungeons & Tangents

        From the publisher's feed

        We are Erik & Robert. Two guys from Portland Oregon who play and run Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Tangents is our Podcast where we discuss a myriad of topics surrounding D&D. The…