Of Dice & DMs

What's better than one monster episode? Two monsters in an episode! The crew look back into the lore of the gith (pronounced 'gith') and the yuan-ti - two races unique to D&D.

A wonderful thing about D&D is that we all get different things out of it. Today's episode draws on the recent survey we held to find out what brought our listeners to the hobby. Whether they were introduced by a family member or taught themselves by listening to podcasts or watching YouTube, we also discover what keeps people playing the world's most popular roleplaying game.

A listener question gets the team started on the fantasy novels that inspire us when it comes to role-playing games. Whether it's Tolkien or Pratchett, George R.R. Martin or Robert Jordan, Franz Kafka or Brandon Sanderson, we discuss some of the influences and themes that we like to see in our adventures.

Is it Thursday yet? The crew finally get around to addressing the juggernaut that is the Critical Role media empire. Just what has it meant both for the tabletop RPG industry and friendly games at the table? Can storytellers live up to the Matt Mercer Effect? We go through the benefits - and drawbacks - of this cult hit series.

Terrifying trees, pugilist plants, boisterous bushes, murderous mosses, fatal fungi, vicious vines, wasting weeds, savage shrubs - the crew look at the plants and tree spirits that can threaten a group of adventurers in the role-playing game of your choice, as well as the ways the natural environment can become a threat during a game.

On this week's episode, Tory and Ben pick Jeremy's brain about whether there will be a 6th edition of D&D, and how the editions have changed over time. Jeremy talks a lot in this one, so if you enjoy his lovely voice (and who doesn't?), you're in for a treat.

You're probably all wondering why I gathered you here today. You see, one of these non-player characters is a murderer! It's time for the Of Dice & DMs crew to take a look at the twisting plots and red herrings of murder mysteries!

D&D isn't the only game in town, you know! A listener question gets the crew talking about how to find ways to pick which other roleplaying game to learn. Some of those rulebooks are like physics textbooks, so how does a new or casual player wrap their heads around them?

You're not seeing double, it's just our episode on doppelgangers! These shapeshifters offer a whole range of possibilities for DMs and paranoia for their players, so we get into some of the themes around duplicates and reflections of player characters, and how to use them to the best effect.

Pew pew pew! The OD&DMs crew answer a listener question about whether the D&D rule system is easy to adapt to a science-fiction roleplaying game, or whether it's better just to learn a whole new system.