When is a book module not a book module? When the DM throws in birthday games, a modifiable Spelljammer airship, legendary weapons tied to every character’s backstory, and more deviations from the standard campaign than we could count.

That’s how DM Tony made Storm King’s Thunder his own. We just wrapped this epic campaign at level 11 after 16 sessions. Now the 3 Wise DMs are comparing notes on the episodic, exploration-lite, story-focused approach Tony took with it, how that felt to play in, and what you can learn about making Wizards of the Coast published campaigns fit your table and DMing style.

Click the episode to hear all this and more, as we break down the 9 main deviations Tony brought to Storm King’s Thunder and the DM’s perspective on running it. Then come back for our next episode, when we bring in Tony’s players and hear what they thought of his approach to DMing the game and their characters.

2:00 Wrapping up our first 3 Wise DMs campaign: DM Tony’s Storm King’s Thunder

4:00 How we did it: 11 levels in 16 game sessions, and how that compares to our other campaigns

7:00 The two Erasmuses

10:00 From book to tabletop: Getting Storm King’s Thunder ready to play

12:00 The 1st Deviation: Why the party meet-up matters, and how Tony got the party working together

17:00 High magic and The 2nd Deviation: Zephyros’s Guide to Turning Your Party Into Tactical Brilliance

20:00 The 3rd Deviation: Putting in boons and items that boost PC’s lower stats is “harmless”

22:00 Dealing with intraparty jealously and making sure the PCs are on par with each other

28:00 What did Tony keep from the original campaign? 70%! Really! Only about 30% Changed!

30:00 Get on the Highwind! Why we did SKT as a whirlwind tour instead of meandering exploration

33:00 The 4th Deviation: Zeus’s Lightning Bolt and Mjolnir? Every character gets a legendary artifact weapon! … You just have to take it off a giant chief

35:00 An EPCOT World Showcase Forgotten Realms experience

41:00 The 5th Deviation: Opting out of the build-it-yourself side quests to off-book places like Waterdeep (and getting up to 35%, 40% changed! Honest! Only 40%!)

45:00 Worthy side quest motivations? “Go save the world! But first, go to that city 500 miles away to tell this courier’s widow that he’s dead.”

49:00 Tony’s formula for creating legendary, character-specific magic items.

56:00 The Curse of the Draughalls

58:00 A chapter-by-chapter rundown of our run through Storm King’s Thunder

59:00 The 6th Deviation: Nightstone and the early quests we skipped to do Dave’s birthday right

67:00 The 7th Deviation: King Traxton’s Mountain and DM Tony’s take on the airship (which was promoted from blimp to a Spelljammer ship that let the party race a Storm Giant Demigod for the Ring of Winters)

69:00 The 8th Deviation: Skipping the exploration and jetting off on DM Tony’s Celebration of Gaming

73:00 The All-Father’s Path, fighting every kind of giant in one encounter, and The 9th Deviation: visiting Elios’s Sky Mall (50% It was only 50% different! Honest!)

78:00 Prep for DMing like you’re giving a presentation

82:00 Final thoughts