Mastering Dungeons

Continuing this series, Shawn and Teos tackle the classic 1984 adventure Dragons of Despair; the first of an epic series of Dragonlance adventures!

• Dragonlance? Unearthed Arcana – Heroes of Krynn
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• Justice Ramin Arman – WotC Senior Game Designer
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Shawn and Teos tackle the classic adventure N1. Enjoy!

(Oh, sorry. Back in the day, we all knew the adventures in the same way you might attack your sibling playing Battleship. This one is Against the Cult of the Reptile God and it is a classic! It was the first of a series of adventures meant for Novice DMs and groups (hence the ‘N1’ designation) and introduced a bunch of classic D&D elements! Now, enjoy!)

• Dragonlance? Unearthed Arcana – Heroes of Krynn
• ICv2 Q4
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• Free League – Aliens RPG will tie into official novels
• Roll20 Hiring Content Conversion Contractors
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The Dungeoneering Duo finishes their breakdown of the classic adventure Pharaoh! They take a look at what is classic and fun and what might need some updating to modern gaming standards… like, you know, total party kills with no saving throw or skill check, just a random, unmodified dice roll. Old Editions were rough, y’all.

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• Free Dwarven Forge Adventures!
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• Geek Native Interview

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Question: Does Teos have a favorite adventure? Answer: Yes! Question: Is it an old adventure from a prior edition of D&D? Answer: Again, yes! Specifically, from 1st Edition AD&D! Question: Are he and Shawn going to go through this adventure, step by step, as an example of updating adventures to 5e? Answer: Of course they are! Question: So what’s this adventure, already?! Answer: Take a listen and find out!

• Jason Tondro Joins Wizards as Senior Game Designer
• Kobold Press Hires a Full-Time Graphic Designer, Amber Seger
• Baldman Games Announces Critical Role Adventures at Virtual Weekends
• Roll20 Has a new CEO
  • Morgan Buck, Chief Technology Officer, shares upcoming improvements
• Arcadia 13
• New Old Dark Sun Release!
• Andrew Bishkinskyi releases Rashemen adventure
• The Wizards “Archive” Server is No More
  • Web Archive / Wayback Machine projects
  • Example of the material lost – Rodney Thompson describing the design philosophy behind Bounded Accuracy
  • And More…
• 2C Gaming is Looking for 5E Copy Editor Freelancers

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Shawn and Teos continue their discussion on converting adventures from the Original Dungeons & Dragons, 1st and 2nd Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and 3rd and 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons with going into the ‘whys’ one might want to do this. No word yet as to whether they’ll help out with those old Dragonlance 5th Age SAGA adventures you might have sitting around.

• Hasbro Stock Owner Pushes for Selling off WotC
  • Listener Scipio (thank you!) provided us with a breakdown
• Hasbro reveals a new D&D Starter Set
• Cubicle 7 announces a 5e Version of Doctor Who – Doctors and Daleks
• Free League Announces “League of Free Agents” Organized Play
• Chaosium Suspends Plans for Future NFTs
• Kickstarter Finally Says A Little More on their Blockchain Plans
  • Comics Beat Article
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• Roll20 Now Allows Compendium Sharing

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There are tons (kind of literally) of adventure content supported by the Fifth Edition of Dungeons & Dragons; especially given the breadth and depth of the DMs Guild and other sources. Still, the tales from editions past are many, varied, and often amazing…and sometimes, the most poorly-executed concept from the past ages can make for some fun content to modern eyes. So what to do with those thin books known by alphanumeric combinations, massive, paperback mega-dungeons produced to show off now-common beasties, and piles of Dungeon magazines? Shawn and Teos are here to teach you how to upcycle the adventures of past editions!

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• Thay: Land of the Red Wizards on the DMs Guild
• The Book of Wondrous Magic, Volume 2

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After a brief hiatus, the dragons are back and the Dynastic Dungeoneers are ready to finish them off! Shawn and Teos break down the last of the bestiary, finishing their breakdown of Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons.

• Cynthia Williams is the new President of Wizards of the Coast
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• Jeremy Crawford on Monster Toughness
  • And Again
• Black Creator Spotlight on the DMs Guild
• Ian Ysem on A Year in RPG Self-Publishing: Year 2
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• DM David: From Hommlet to Phandalin, Villages Written as a List of Locations Seem Ready to Run. They Lie.

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Blogger and author Keith Ammann (The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, Live to Tell the Tale, and MOAR! The Monsters Know What They’re Doing) joins Shawn and Teos to discuss the idea of the monsters your players face knowing what they’re doing! Learn how to develop the enemies of your campaign to make them more frightening and more dimensional by purchasing all of Keith’s books at this link!

• Todd Kenreck and Jeremy Crawford on Lore Changes in Monsters of the Multiverse
  • And, a video on monsters and spellcasters
  • And, on changes to races
• Young Game Designer’s Masterclass – Storytelling in Games
• The Dark Souls RPG will use 5e Rules
• OneBookShelf (DriveThru, DMsGuild) is hiring a Community Relations Representative

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Teos welcomes game designer and the brand new Adventurers League Admin, Toni Winslow-Brill on to talk about the amazing arc of her career and what to expect from her role with the AL.

• Meet your new AL Admin: Toni Winslow-Brill
• D&D Rules Expansion Gift Set Jan 25th, Monsters of the Multiverse… May 17
• Todd Kenreck Joins D&D Team
• NewbieDM Travels to Westgate and Daerlun
• AL Blog – Alan Patrick on Mist Hunters Design
• Wired.com on Accessible RPG Books
• Arcadia Issue 12 – Table of Contents

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New year, new dragons! Enter the bestiary of Fizban’s as Teos and Shawn take a look at the creatures related to dragons, as well as a slew of new kinds of dragons including the famous gem dragons updated to 5e! This is the first dip into the monsters of this tome.

• D&D Rules Expansion Gift Set Next Week
• January Virtual D&D Weekend the 21st-23rd
• Tal’Dorei Reborn out on January 18th
• Darrington Press is hiring a Game Designer / Project Manager
• The Legend of Vox Machina Premieres Next Week!
• Wizards of the Coast – even more hiring!
• Dragonlance Interview provides some interesting items!
• Gen Con ends their livestreaming efforts
• Growing Up Latine – Three Kings Day Livestream
• Who has a new Patreon?! Teos has a new patreon!

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