This week, Adam and Tiana take a bit of a step back from the mechanics of the game and talk about some of the struggles that come with running and playing games. Specifically, we discuss anxiety and the tendency to overthink every decision, and talk about some of the ways we handle that kind of mental struggle. We're not mental health professionals, but we are gamers and GMs who deal with this issue on a regular basis.

This week, Adam and Tiana take a step back and talk about the Patron game that just wrapped up, Wrath of the Scorned. We discuss themes and how the final confrontation fit within the narrative of the game overall, and how Adam has been seeding things throughout that Tiana entirely missed until they came to fruition. We then switch over to talking about game tables and what we want from the spaces where we play. There's so many variables when it comes to tables and lighting and music; we have our preferences, but we're always open to new ideas.

This week, inspired by events in Baldur's Gate 3, Adam and Tiana talk about hags. We talk about their origins in mythology, how they've been used in stories in the past, and how to set the stage to make the encounter truly memorable. CW: Light body horror.

In this week's episode, Adam and Tiana talk about using setup and payoff to create memorable moments for your games. We show examples of setup leading to a satisfying payoff, and touch on a couple times in media when it doesn't work and discuss why that may be the case.

Video referenced in the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGDdpXLc1CQ&t=1s

This week, Adam and Tiana talk about the Do's and Don'ts of balancing optimization and roleplay. We all know the kinds of players who focus on getting their numbers higher, or the players who want to do something unoptimized for the sake of a good roleplay flavor. Where's the balance between the two, and what are some pitfalls to watch out for?

This week, Adam and Tiana talk about jobs the players can take on to relieve some of the burden the GM carries. This is a great way to build up some of that Strength player stat, and make things easier for the GM as well. This is by no means an exhaustive list! Add to the list or take away as suits your table.

This week, Adam and Tiana continue the conversation by delving deeper into the mental stats: Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. We definitely have opinions about which stat is the most important, but we feel that a blend of the stats is necessary for every player.

This week as a follow-up to the previous episode talking about GM stats, Adam and Tiana talk about physical player stats: Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so we talk about what it looks like to be strong in a stat, while offering some suggestions for how to improve your game in that area.

This week, Adam and Tiana discuss something we consider to be the meat and potatoes of a good TTRPG experience: making quests that are meaningful for players. Everything in a TTRPG experience should be character-centric, but how does that translate to quests and getting PCs where we want them to be?

This week, Adam and Tiana talk about managing information in a TTRPG and how best to give players information without their eyes glazing over. We all know the desire to tell players everything, but is that the best way to get information across? Let's talk about it!