By Chris
The podcast currently has 14 episodes available.
014 - Everyone wants more creativity in their Dungeons and Dragons Games. Cultivate more creativity through constraints. Constraints breed innovation and creativity.
If necessity is the mother of invention, then constraints are the authors of creativity.
https://engineeredadventures.com/constraintscreativity/
It may seem counterintuitive at first, but some of the most powerful works came from the innovations and creativities that came from constraints. You see, constraints limit your options, they make it possible to explore paths less traveled. Along those paths you discover new and innovative.
Think about how when nearing a deadline how your work seems to flow. Consider the times when you’re about to hit budget and suddenly new options make things even better than the expensive alternatives. By leveraging smart constraints, you shape the box that lets your creative endeavors flourish.
These are the 3 steps I have found to best utilize constraints to improve creativity in my Dungeons and Dragons games.
013 - Short campaigns are like other DND campaigns, but they have a hard deadline. This gives shape to your adventure. Their unique size gives opportunities to explore new styles, genres, and approaches, without locking yourself into a years-long spanning campaign. For Game Masters, they’re great for developing specific skills and techniques. As players, they give you a chance to explore interesting character concepts, with just enough to develop the character, without tying yourself down to a character long term.
I love short campaigns.
Show Notes Here:
https://engineeredadventures.com/shortcampaigns/
You need to finish on time. To help with that, I give you these 3 skills that help me run effective Short Campaigns:
Let me know what you think.
Also, I just started a Patreon!
If you want to support me, get in on shaping the dialog, and even join in on some adventures, check it out here!
https://www.patreon.com/EngineeredAdventures
EP 012 - Equipped with an arsenal of compelling music, an enviable collection of historic miniatures, and an ecosystem of handcrafted terrain, Christian Borchert knows how to make his games a truly epic experience. He’s also the creator of the Soundboard/Dice Rolling App “My Sound Delve” .
You can check out the app here:
https://mysounddelve.com/
And here’s the Show Notes:
https://engineeredadventures.com/christianborchert/
Christian and I had the chance to talk all things RPGs. He understands how to expertly use props, sounds, and other sensory experiences to create magic at the table. We talked all things RPGs, from his time playing DND in the woods as a youth, to designing epic cabin getaway sessions with his friends. He’s got a feel for combining the right things to make truly epic adventures.
He also showed off his app, and it’s awesome!
He’s combined professional voice talent with innovative sounds to create hundreds of sounds for your games. Each sound is expertly crafted and bursting with creativity to give you everything you need to take your games to the next level.
Want to cast fireball? There’s a sound for that.
Need something to bring your blue dragon to life? There’s a sound for that too.
He’s combined unique languages, realistic casting sounds, catchy phrases, and actual sounds of success to create hundreds of unique sounds. There’s a full roster of sounds, catch phrases, and monsters to illustrate each attack, success, spell, and failure in your games. It really brings the table to life.
With integrated dice rolling, a customized scenario builder, and the chance to create your own sounds, My Sound Delve has everything you need to bring your sessions to life with vibrant, fantastical sounds.
Please enjoy this lively conversation with the creative genius, Christian Borchert.
EP 011 - You can’t always have everyone at your games when you want. Sometimes life happens and people need to reschedule. What if you don’t want to play without them, but you don’t want to pull out an entire oneshot for the day?
Compromise with the Dream One Shot.
Link to Show Notes: https://engineeredadventures.com/dreamoneshots/
I love these one shots. They let me explore different perspectives within the story. I can flesh out all the cool worldbuilding bits that lived behind the scenes. It gives my players the chance to take ownership of the fabric of the story, leaving their mark through the internal conflicts they confront throughout the session. Plus, since the adventure pulls on the things you’re already familiar with, it’s often much quicker to prepare for them than a random one shot.
Try them out in your game and let me know how it goes.
You’re not as good at Dungeons and Dragons as you want to be.
That’s okay. Don’t let that stop you. Don’t let perfection stop you from enjoying the imperfections along the way.
Show Notes:
https://engineeredadventures.com/notasgood/
It’s not easy to start the path to get better. But you love this craft. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t love the process, if you didn’t love the game. I’m going to tell you what I’ve learned. Maybe it’ll help you too.
EP 009 - My first session of Dungeons and Dragons started in my cousin’s living room. Riddled with eraser marks, and more than slightly crinkled, I pulled out my character sheet, slightly nervous, kinda excited, waiting to start the game. I played role playing games before, but it was always on a computer.
This was different.
This was real life.
Show Notes: https://engineeredadventures.com/ep009dungeonmasterhamish/
When my cousin sat down and started the game, the nerves fell away, and I was transported. There was acting, magic, creativity, freedom, expression, laughs, and food. I loved the game.
I never stopped playing.
That moment sent me on the path to where I am today. This game helped me develop confidence, creativity, flexibility, and group management. As I played over the years, I’ve told really fun stories with friends, colleagues, and family. I started a TTRPG blog, created a podcast, and started running games professionally.
There’s nothing quite like tabletop roleplaying games, and I may have never started if it weren’t for my first Dungeon Master, and cousin, Hamish Sharik.
As a long time Game Master, Hamish knows his stuff when it comes to Dungeons and Dragons. He incorporates his years of problem solving in the tech sector with his vast Dungeon Mastering experience to bring a professional level of immersion, awareness, and adaptability at the table. We had the chance to chat about how he cultivates those moments at the table. He shares his tips to creating deep immersion, finding inspiration, and fostering roleplay, both as a player and game master.
I’m excited to share his insights in Episode 9 of the Engineered Adventures RPG Talk Podcast.
EP 008 - As Game Master, you are the keeper of the records. You hold the bulk of the story in your hands. Through intentional session notes, you can leverage this responsibility to tell complex stories.
You can find my session Note Template in the show notes here.
There are 3 core components to effective session notes:
Focusing my session notes on these three points dramatically improved my Dungeons & Dragons Games. They help me keep the world dynamic and responsive. My craft gets better each week. I also hold onto critical details and actions for each character, helping me weave their story with the overarching narrative.
Take note of the major choices they make and use it to shape the world into a responsive, living story.
Keep track of the subliminal feedback your players give you each session. Maximize what they love, minimize what they don’t, and practice the things that didn’t go as expected.
As you collect your characters’ choices you’ll be able to weave their unique story threads into a richly woven narrative.
EP 007 - Everyone wants to have fun playing Dungeons & Dragons.
We want thrilling moments, exciting adventures, and emotional swells that stay with you for years to come. My good friend RiLee White is a master at creating these moments.
Whether it’s her engaging accents, her hilariously subtle humor, or her emotionally driven epic moments, she’s always making the story memorable.
Check out her Instagram Here!
Show Notes Here:
https://engineeredadventures.com/ep007creativityrilee/
During this interview, we talk about finding creativity through character creation and play. We explore some of her characters and where they came from. We deep dive into Phony, her Lawful Good Tiefling Paladin who serves righteously, while being unable to hold the holy artifacts of her god.
If you’re looking to flex your creativity and craft more fun at the table, make sure you check out this interview with RiLee.
“It’s always fun seeing how people interact with what you’ve made.”
It can be nerve-wracking to try to jump in and do fun stuff like jokes and accents and wacky stories. “What’s the worst that can happen?”
Just be fun. Be silly. Be you.
“DND can make you more confident in life. You can test out things you would do in situations in a safe place to get a feel for what it looks like in real life.”
006 - A few years ago, I was running 2 full time, long running campaigns, and I would spend evenings just pulling together pages of notes for each session. I was spending so much time.
And you know what’s worse?
It wasn’t really helping my games at the table.
I had tons of notes, but they only got in the way during play. I knew I had notes on where the players were at, I just couldn’t find it in the huge stack I brought with me to the table.
I needed to get better at prep.
https://engineeredadventures.com/ep006dndsessionprep/
I liked the one page template. It needed to be less restrictive though.
I liked the easy access to sensory and character details, but I needed it to fill up less space.
I wanted to chart out the scenes the characters would see during the next session.
I didn’t want to over prep, but I also wanted to be sure I was ready for the crazy twists and turns the players would explore.
As my sheet went through many playtests, these are the 5 components I found critical to effective prep.
Use your Campaign Length to your advantage
Prep to fit the session length
Prep fluid scenarios in a “Mind Map”
Make details easy to use at the table
Balance structure and freedom to create complex roleplay
This template worked so well.
My games got better, engagement was up, and there were more amazing moments at the table. This template really set us up for success at the table. I was excited to prep again. I loved playing even more. Plus, the template helped me discover key principles that make a better game. Those 5 points above, not only make an amazing prep template, they also create really epic games.
Dungeons and Dragons is more popular than ever before!
Millions of people are finding the joy of sitting down each week to tell stories at the table with friends. Groups stream online through podcasts, live streams, and videos. We have celebrities talking about DND, sharing stories, and building full production shows around the games they play.
Here's the link to the show notes btw:
https://engineeredadventures.com/ep005-ethandndhobbyverse/
This exciting hobbyverse feels like a crazy mash up of storytelling, arts and crafts, world building, and self expression. In this episode, I had the chance to sit down with my good friend Ethan and what he loves to do when he's not rolling dice at the table.
Ethan's one of the craftiest people I know. He's been combining his talents with paints with his unique perspectives to create works of art through miniatures.
I love talking with Ethan. We had the chance to sit down and talk about his equipment of choice when it comes to bringing the game to life with his paints, miniatures, and dice.
We also got to talk about some of the great teams and groups creating exciting stories and content in the world of DND.
Be sure you listen in, because there's something here for you. Also, he provides a wealth of useful resources you're going to love. Check out the links in the show notes above.
The podcast currently has 14 episodes available.