Grumpy Dungeon Masters

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…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Grumpy Dungeon Master Dan is on vacation this week so it’s just the other 3 knuckleheads talking gaming. Jay recently picked up the Index Card RPG and walks through the book and the system. If you’re a brand new game master or want to learn we would highly recommend starting with this book. It’s simple, it’s clean, and it will help guide you to being a great game master.

Kristian talks about a book he got in recently called the Book of Extinction, by Mage Hand Press. It’s a Dungeons & Dragons 5e monster book with real life critters that have gone extinct. The neat trick is that the book gives you the stats for the real versions of it and then gives stats for monster versions of them. If you’ve ever wanted to doom your party with a flock of passenger pigeons this is the book for you.

Christopher decides to grump a bit about some Adventure League modules he obtained at Gary Con. Four modules about giants isn’t enough to make him happy. Jay also talks about an old Rifts video game that is getting a new makeover.

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 Grumpy Dungeon Masters take a look at the second half of the Unearthed Arcana, horror edition. It does include a couple of the more popular Dungeons & Dragons Sub-classes in the Hexblade Warlock and the Shadow Sorceror. As always they talk about the good and the bad and grump a bit.

GDM’s Jay and Christopher finally received their long awaited copies of Skyraiders of Abarax. A kickstarter they backed 4 years ago which is a campaign setting for 5E D&D. Turns out it’s a bit of a mixed bag when they dive through the material.

GDM Jay also takes a look at the game system for Against the Darkmaster. Turns out it’s a bit of a mixed bag also. While Jay loves it he’s sure his players would hate it. Such is the way of deep involved RPG systems.

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 take a look at some issues taking place with Goodman Games re-printing an old Judges Guild module, City State of the Invincible Overlords. They released a statement and are trying to do good things, but you will never make everybody happy.

Also this week is a look at the most recent Unearthed Arcana for Dungeons and Dragons. This one focuses on horror sub-classes. Some are old 5E sub-classes while a couple of them are brand new.

Also Christopher gets Chat GPT to figure out who wins between 100 commoners and 1 gorilla. It rolls a nat 1 as expected.

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…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Another week of the Grumpy Dungeon Masters. Apparently this podcast is turning into the “What Did Christopher Find This Week Podcast”. He’s had incredible luck lately of getting ahold of some really old an memorable RPG books. The guys talk about what was in the stash and certain pieces of note.

Kristian takes a look at a few RPG pieces himself that he got. His pieces are new though and firmly in the OSR camp. These include the White Horse of Lowvale, Ave Nox, and The Vast in the Dark Expanded. Each of these are rules light system neutral games with incredible art and interesting ideas.

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 decide to cover the changes to Dungeons & Dragons 5.5 with the new errata. While most of the changes are good and needed, GDM Christopher takes great offense to not being able to drop shields as a free action.

GDM Dan managed to run an in person Pirate Borg game to great success. It involved some naval combat, a whole ton of undead, and the dreaded Crocaroach. He also talks about how his rogue “died” in a 1E conversion game to 5E.

GDM Jay goes into the ecology of the spell Evard’s Black Tentacles. The spell doesn’t see a ton of use, but it is more used today than throughout the history of the spell. Here’s looking at the changes throughout the years!

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…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

GDM Dan’s Niece gave him an idea for an absolutely terrifying monster. The Crocaroach! It will bite you, maul you, drown you, and also flee in terror when the lights come on. Dan put together stats for this beastie for both D&D and Pirate Borg!

Christopher recently got a large haul of old school goodies. He and the guys go through the horde seeing whats in it and which books Christopher should start with.

Kristian recently had a bit of nostalgia and looked at a game he ran more than a decade ago called Numenera. A Sci-Fantasy setting using Monte Cookes Cypher system.

Jay wraps things up neatly with another monster from X-Crawl Classics. This week it’s the Killy Putty!

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 have a chat about the current leavings from Hasbro, including Jeremy Crawford. While the details aren’t public the guys still speculate on reasons why and what is to come. Could there be a new company on the horizon or maybe seeking work with other publishers. Only time will tell.

Also this week the Kingdom of Keshanar Kickstarter has begun and the guys talk a little bit about the information they have. While the exact details are slim at the moment there is a primer with some monsters, magic items, and other details.

Moving on the monster section of the podcast the guys talk about Piercers and Ropers. Dan follows it up with an Ecology of the Death Knight. A truly horrific monster if ever there was one. Jay wraps things up with another XCrawl Classics monster with the Death Pinata.

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…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Last week Jay, Kristian, and Dan talked about their time at Gary Con. All the games they played, people they met, and things they picked up. This week it’s GDM Christopher’s turn to talk about Gary Con and talk he does.

There is also news from Wotc in that Chris Perkins has left the company. For GDM Christopher it is a major change as Perkins has always been the face of D&D since he began during 4E. Who knows which person will take over that role.

GDM Kristian talks about Free5E. A kickstarter that is running to bring the rules to the masses. They have a good idea that hopefully will work out. Also GDM Dan finally gets to talk about Pirate Borg. A game he’s truly enamored with. GDM Jay also brings us for Grim Cat from XCrawl Classics.

Also coming soon is the Kingdom of Keshanar Kickstarter from Orthane Productions. Check it out when it releases on April 8th.

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…
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––