Gen Con happened this weekend and there was a ton of activity, so naturally the guys take a look at some of the announcements coming from the con. First and foremost was the announcement of 2 Forgotten Realms books for Dungeons & Dragons. Also not surprisingly, WotC has decided to pull a money grab by creating digital content that could have been in the books and selling it at a premium on D&D Beyond.

Critical Role announces the 4th campaign during Gen Con. The manner they did this was incredibly funny and worth giving a watch online. Also Matt Mercer is stepping away from being the GM and is being replaced by somebody who is also famous as a game master.

Jay managed to land a fairly large Dungeons & Dragons collection made of 1E-3E goodies. Listen in to find out some of the swag he added to his growing collection of RPG’s.

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Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
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Somebody let Dan out of his cage and he came back with more dragon lore than you can shake a stick at. Last time he talked about dragons in episode 238 he talked about Bahamut and Tiamat, but this time he goes hardcore and covers everything dragon related from the beginning of Dungeons & Dragons up until the mid 1980’s. It’s a lot to take in and it’s only the beginning.

Kristian asked everybody last week what some of their favorite mechanics from games are and this week the guys talk about that. Some mechanics are things you’d think of such as better critical hits or potions being easier to use. Naturally not all of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters like the same mechanics however.

Jay talks a bit about what makes a game “crunchy”. The term generally is associated with rules bloat or crazy PC builds, but other DM’s have their own opinions on the matter. Also Christopher talks about doing a D&D puzzle with his family!

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Finally the guys sit down and take some time to talk about the new kid on the block, Daggerheart! It’s a game created by the Critical Role team which uses a new system, but holds the feel of Dungeons & Dragons 5E. With all the hype surrounding it we get to see if it lives up to it or not.

Christopher & Dan both regale us with tales about adventures they ran or played this week. One is an old school trek through a jungle West Marches style and the other is an adventure in making life harder than it needs to be.

How do you get your players to try a new system? The Grumpy Dungeon Masters will answer that for you. Listen in to find out!

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This weeks its more of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters grumping about gaming. We all know D&D 5e is built with a board game model, but is it better than board games that are designed with a campaign in mind. With the guys playing Gloomhaven on their Twitch stream the question seemed relevant.

Kristian posits the question of should Dungeons & Dragons 5E design a BX version of the game. BX stands for Basic/Expert, which is a simpler version of D&D from the early editions. Could a BX version of the game stand on it’s own and take off if released by Wizards of the Coast?

Jay takes a look at some of the spells from the 80’s Adventures set he backed on Kickstarter. A couple of choice ones would be Zone of Danger and Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun. Also the ecology of the basilisk.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week Kristian finally gets to talk about Dragonbane. For those who aren’t familiar Dragonbane is an RPG that has been around since the early 80’s that has fairly recently had a new edition which has caught on. While GDM Jay wasn’t sold on it at first I’m pretty sure he had his mind changed after diving into it.

The guys also spend a little bit of time looking at the newest Unearthed Arcana for Dungeons & Dragons, which details all the new arcane sub-classes. Also a brief look at Mind Flayers, their strange legs, and are they time travelers.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Free RPG Day has come and gone and the Grumpy Dungeon Masters all managed to get some goodies. They talk about some of the findings including a Dragonbane module, some Dungeon Crawl Classics, and the ability to kick flip horses which Jay found in a zine he nabbed.

Christopher had a busy free RPG day since he was helping to host at his local store. Among all of that he also had time to sit down as a panelist and answer some questions. The Grumpy Dungeon Masters go over those questions this week and dive into the nuances of what it means to be a Dungeon Master.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The guys were lucky enough this week to get to talk with Heidi & Erik Gygax Garland. They are both incredible game designers with their own company Gaxland and Heidi is also the daughter of Gary Gygax. They are also the creators of EGG Con, which takes place July 24th – 27th in Lake Geneva Wisconsin this year.

The Grumpy DM’s talk about meeting them at Gary Con this year and let the guests tell them plenty of stories involving their kids, foolish players, and playing games with the Gygax family growing up. Listen in and if you’re looking for some wonderful modules to run or other awesome geeky items check out their website at Gaxland.com.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week is free RPG day! It’s Christmas in June! Go to freerpgday.com to find local retailers who are participating and get your free swag. Also maybe buy something while you’re there to support the local shops.

Dan finally begins his Dungeons & Dragons deep dive on Dragons! There is a whole lot of information over the years and if you want to learn a piece of the history then listen in to story time with Grumpy Dungeon Masters.

The guys also talk a little bit about Psionics again, taking a look at the historical perspective in Dungeons & Dragons. Pretty much since the beginning Psionics has caused problems with the system. Not sure that’s really changed with 5E.

Dan also introduces one of the strangest magic items. Mr. Bottle.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

This week the guys finally actually take a look at the Unearthed Arcana for Psionics in Dungeons & Dragons 5E. For those who haven’t been around forever the new Psion class might feel new to you. For these old Grognards though it just doesn’t quite hit the mark.

Christopher has been listening to the new Ravenloft audio book, Heir of Strahd. With the great voice acting in it he took note that the drow character did in fact have an Aussie accent. They do in fact come from a land down under.

Jay walks the guys through a scenario that actually happened to him that was a rookie DM making a rookie mistake. The guys all give their sage advice on how a game master should actually run that scenario to make it better for all players. Sometimes the Grumpy Dungeon Masters do actually offer advice for running better games.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Dan has returned this week and had a little surprise in the mail. He finally got his copy of The Caverns of Thracia from Goodman Games. It’s a First Edition Dungeons & Dragons Mega Dungeon remade for more modern systems. Dan got the 5E edition while Jay got the DCC edition. They go over what all they received and dive into some of the details.

Christopher picked up an anthology of the original Dragonlance novels. As he’s a newbie to the setting the guys quickly dash his hopes of expecting great novels. That being said, the guys still love Dragonlance and talk about other good novels in the D&D genre.

Kristian brings up the question of are backstories necessary for RPG’s? The guys use their infinite knowledge and wisdom about RPG’s to determine how much backstory is needed. The verdict? Listen in to find out.

Visit Zenergy Gamers for all of your gaming needs. Use code word Grumpy for 10% off any order!

Follow the Grumpy Dungeon Masters on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok!

Join our Discord to chat with the Grumpy DMs. Bring us your toughest DM questions or ask us to review your TTRPG work!

Be sure to join us every Saturday at 8pm EST on Twitch for our Live Play D&D session.

Intro Music Provided by:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Hit N Smash by Rafael Krux
Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/5360-hit-n-…
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––