In the first Worldbuilding episode, the Dungeon Masters do their best to stay on topic as they tear into the idea of campaign preparation from different angles.  When discussing the idea of prepping a new campaign, the panel focuses on how to get ready mentally for both homebrew campaigns and published modules, how to prep magic items and NPC's when thinking about plot hooks, and what good starting locations should include.  With a focus on how DM’s should think about gearing up for Session One, different philosophies clash and things get heated!

SUMMARY: This episode zooms in on how to get your world off the ground in the early days and different ways to approach the beginning of your campaign.  Dan talks about why knowing geography early is so important, Terry discusses how he thinks about pre-campaign prep as climate vs. weather, and Adam asks how much prep is too much prep for Session One. They go off topic to explore pantheon creation briefly before weighing player motivations against plot hooks, and how to listen to what the players are actually saying without saying it aloud.  Out of the blue, Terry also touches on the concept of false agency and Adam decides to derail the whole conversation to pull at that thread.  The end of the episode turns to the trope of starting campaigns in taverns, what purposes those taverns serve, and what some other options may be.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

With the discussion about pillars of Dungeons & Dragons wrapped up, the panel of DM's decides to look into WHY people play D&D as opposed to other games.  The first broad topic is determining what defines the fantasy genre, what it makes it so attractive, and what draws the hosts to this roleplaying game, specifically the Forgotten Realms setting.  As the conversation moves to the details of Forgotten Realms, the Dungeon Masters discuss what the most interesting pieces of the Forgotten Realms lore actually are, and what they find the most inspiring about them.  From nostalgia and inspiration to comparing the differences between gritty campaigns, high fantasy campaigns, and low fantasy campaigns, this episode covers a wide variety of topics and often goes completely off the rails!

SUMMARY: There is a lot to unpack in the fantasy genre, D&D, and Forgotten Realms, and as Terry and Adam drill Dan on the specifics, they learn a few shocking details about Dan's improv poetry skills and his preference for vampire sex games. The Dungeon Masters touch on fantasy inspirations, including Star Wars, Conan the Barbarian, A Song of Ice and Fire, Dracula, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Magic the Gathering, Anne Rice novels, Lord of the Rings, Critical Role, World of Warcraft, Star Trek, Buck Rogers, Flash Gordon, The Dark Tower, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion Warhammer, Harry Potter, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Norse, Celtic, and Greek mythologies, Pathfinder, Scott Lynch novels, The Belgariad, Discworld, Piers Anthony books, The Dresden Files, D&D video games, R. A. Salvatore novels, and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.  The conversation then moves on to D&D specifically, covering some books and campaign settings (Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide, Storm King's Thunder, Tyranny of Dragons, Dungeon of the Mad Mage, Tomb of Annihilation, Tales of the Yawning Portal, Death House and Curse of Strahd, Dark Sun, Greyhawk, Eberron, and Expedition to the Barrier Peaks), and then taking a look at the Forgotten Realms, specifically The Spellplague, the two Sunderings, Elminster, Drizzt Do'Urden, Mordenkainen and The Circle of Eight, Toril, Faerun, Evermeet, Waterdeep, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter, Undermountain, The Underdark, Netheril, Lolth, Mystra, Cyric, The Many Arrows Clan, The Lord's Alliance, the Elf/Drow conflict, Thay/Rashemen conflict, Szass Tam, Acererak, Vecna, The Regalia of Evil, The Star Stone, The Deck of Many Things, The Sunsword, Dragons, Mindflayers, and Halflings.

Shout Outs: @dungeons_and_maps

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

The very first Mailbag of Holding episode hits with 20 questions rolled on random tables that the Dungeon Masters address, including their advice for DM's and players, their experiences playing, and even their personal lives.  From old school monsters to TPK's to 6th Edition, this episode has a little bit of everything and lives up to the promise that on the It's A Mimic! podcast, you never know what you're going to get! The Dungeon Masters even cover beer, sex, and shadowy government organizations!  Don't miss this episode!

The questions were brought to you by:

@alexander_anotherskip_davis

@allnaturaltwenties

@amature_box_01

@bendpadon

@benskene

@bryce.carl

@closetgamers

@dndream_03

@dorianmikulan

@greydaze511

@hudson_wight_99

@kind_of_a_rarity

@live4hisglory

@_multi_coloured_

@_rollordie_

@rustystyrofoam

@rwbysinister

@sirmikeb

... and Adam's brother, Dave.

Thank you all so much for participating!  If you require further explanation, have a follow up question, or want to ask something completely new, feel free to contact us to have your question added to the random tables!

Shout Outs: @inspirationandselflove_

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

APRIL FOOLS!!!  Just as most mimics look like chests and most episodes look well-researched, this Monday looks relatively normal.  But you should know better by now, Constant Listeners. For today is the holiday made for mimics everywhere, and this panel of DM’s love giving when you least expect it.  So here’s a short, quick, special episode about how to design and create a wizard’s tower for your campaign. The Dungeon Masters of the It’s A Mimic podcast bring you a brief breakdown of how to create your own wizard’s tower.

From magic spells to arcane secrets, wizards’ towers are full of all sorts of zany wackiness that defies all logic.  In this special episode of the Dungeons & Dragon 5th Edition podcast about wizard’s towers, the DM’s work together to do some stuff.  Let’s be honest. No one is reading this far into the show notes, and I’m just sitting here talking to myself. I damn-well know Dan and Terry won’t be looking this over, so I could honestly ramble on about giants or nilbogs or whether or not Tiamat breastfeeds her young, and no one would ever know.  I mean, dragons are - canonically - warm blooded creatures, but they also lay eggs. Considering that the goddess of evil dragons literally lives in her own supernatural spawning pits between two layers of the Nine Hells, she obviously devotes quiet a lot of time to spawning. You’ll note that it’s not called a “mating pit”, but a “spawning pit”.  In theory, it’s a maternity ward, which is good because I don’t want to think about what bumping uglies with a gargantuan five-headed scaly evil hell-bitch looks like, so I’m going to focus on what I assume must be the softer side of Tiamat. You know, the side that houses her compassion for her chromatic dragons and the wyrmlings that she obviously cares for.  Wait a minute. Wait an effing minute. Do dragons lactate? If they’re some sort of mammal/reptile crossbreed, do they even have mammary glands? And how MANY do you think they have? Look, I figure that this is just another random Adam ramble where no one is paying attention anyway, but on the off chance that you actually did read this far, leave an out of context number in the comments below that indicate the number of boobies you think a dragon goddess might have, and don’t tell anyone what you’re talking about.  Especially Dan and Terry. It’ll be funny. And also, have yourself a lovely April Fool’s Day and enjoy this special episode of It’s A Mimic! Also, the first paragraph was bullshit, too. I lied. Isn’t D&D fun?

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Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

This is a more mature episode that handles sensitive subject matter as it tries to address the delicate nature of issues at the table and personality differences among players.  To wrap up the broad strokes of the final tier, the panel of Dungeon Masters covers the concepts of social contracts, Session Zero, and respect.  Other than the game mechanics and RPG flavour, what are the logistics that should be addressed to keep the game fun and allow everyone to feel comfortable and free to take roleplaying risks?  The DM's attempt to open the conversation up this week and give their opinions on many of the taboo subjects that have historically been tied to the game.

SUMMARY: After addressing meta-gaming in the last episode, the DM's turn their attention from the game to the table, and discuss the ideas of boundaries, morality, listening, and accountability while looking at the more unpleasant aspects of RPG's and Dungeon & Dragons. From financial limitations to challenging DM's about rules, from penalizing bards to making faux pas while playing other genders, and from misreading sexual encounters to dealing with problem players, this long episode covers a plethora of topics that cause static at a lot of tables.  The three Dungeon Masters work together to shed some light on how they handle problematic scenarios and the best practices for resolving some of the issues including when and how you should address things that make you uncomfortable, whether it's okay to quit your group, and how different tables handle different subject matter.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

What do you know and what does your character know, and where do those knowledge bases overlap?  The conversation this week points our Dungeon Masters toward one of the most controversial topics in the D&D community: Meta-Gaming.  They tackle the pros and cons before moving on to discuss character motivations and how they may be contrary or complementary to player motivations.  The podcast wraps by talking about immersion in the world and how to achieve it.

SUMMARY: During this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, the Dungeon Masters discuss when, why, and how characters can make logical estimates outside of the mechanical aspects of the game and breathe within the imaginary realm of their respective game.  Adam decides to stick his neck out and defend Meta-Gamers, and then Dan turns the conversation to what players and DMs should do if a character's objections are wrapped up and their story naturally ends mid-campaign. They start digging deeper and Terry addresses the idea that roleplaying should affect alignment and not the other way around.  Other questions that get answered are: What ways are there for your character think about the mechanics smiting or sneak attacking? When can you use Arcana, History, Nature, Religion checks to determine a character's knowledge? How long should conversations be between characters be in the middle of combat? Should you keep secrets from your Dungeon Master?  How often should you use magic items? How much does a player's decision-making process affect the campaign?

Shout Outs: @20sidedlife

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

007 is notorious for dropping his alias at the earliest possible moment, often even going undercover with his real name, so it’s fitting that Episode 007 is the one where The Dungeon Masters tackle the idea of staying in character and turn to the final tier of play: Roleplaying.  Each of the DM’s start by discussing how they tend to build their characters when they get to be players, and then move on to creating atmosphere and immersion with voices, costumes, music, props, and more.  The conversation turns, finally, to pacing and teamwork, and it’s amazing how often the panel actually agrees!

SUMMARY: Different people roleplay in different ways, but it’s surprising how often these three Dungeon Masters manage to agree on most of the issues.  While discussing mentalities on how to create a character, the panel discusses whether or not mechanics are more important than character archetypes, and when you may want to shift your thinking.  When the conversation turns to multiclassing, Dan leads the conversation in how roleplaying can affect mechanics and vice versa.  When they address voices and props and methods to express your characters, Adam addresses a problem he has with some expectations thrust upon one class in particular.  The discussion touches briefly on music, and then moves into pacing and midweek content.  Terry finishes up by talking about how it’s not necessary to run quickly from combat to combat, and if the journey is important, then slow down and live in the moment as the character.

Shout Outs: @breakyourheroes

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

In this episode, the Dungeon Masters conclude the series on Exploration by looking at their different techniques for using overland maps and analyzing each other's tactics for creating the world.  As they open up the conversation on traps and puzzles, the DM's move back and forth between the players' perspective and the Dungeon Master's, discussing their own tactics depending on which side of the DM Screen they are sitting on.  They wrap up the episode with a deep dive into Ability Checks and when to use which ability. With vastly different points of view and wildly off-topic tangents, this episode is packed with content for absolutely everyone!

SUMMARY: From worldbuilding and maps to puzzles and traps, the topics in this week's episode covers a huge swath of territory as the panel of DM's wraps up their conversation on Exploration.  Each of the hosts covers their own methods for creating world maps before they begin to tear apart what makes a good trap and how to create unique ones. They then move on to how players can utilize some mundane items to help bypass traps and find secrets, and techniques for how Dungeon Masters can leave clues for puzzles.  They then wrap up with a roundtable discussion on Ability Checks and how to use them, each of them coming from different school of thought. There is something for every kind of player in this episode of It's A Mimic! and the group of DM's pushes forward with new and unique takes on some of the more mundane aspects of the game, including how to make your pit traps more interesting and why players should always carry a bag of flour with them.

Shout Outs: Dungeon Keep

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Dungeons & Dragons is full of unique and dangerous locations, and the panel of Dungeon Masters sit down in this week’s episode to cover a wide variety of topics regarding the settings of campaigns.  From the importance of climate and weather to a whirlwind tour of the planes, the DM's travel around the landscapes and dispense their own unique takes on the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons.

SUMMARY: As the DM's continue their discussion on Exploration, they stop to look at how environments can change gameplay in Dungeons and Dragons.  While touching on mechanics like Survival and Visibility, the panel looks at the use of time in game and how fantasy settings can be fantastical aspects of the real world.  They explore the different feelings of some published environments, including The Temple of Elemental Evil from Princes of the Apocalypse, Chult from Tomb of Annihilation, Barovia and Castle Ravenloft from Curse of Strahd, and The Tomb of Horrors from Tales from The Yawning Portal, as well as taking a quick tour of the planes that even the newest players can understand, focusing for a little on the Feywild and the Underdark.  Terry talks about using the environment as a puzzle, Dan brings up the use of weather for establishing tone, and Adam discusses how he uses time and location in conjunction with random encounter tables.  Whether it's discussing the importance of roads or the ideal weather for fighting a white dragon, the conversation gets deeper into why Exploration is so important in Dungeons and Dragons, no matter the campaign.

Shout Outs: RPG Yogi

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe