Taking 20 Podcast

By nature of any role playing game where dice are involved, death is a real possibility.  There is a huge difference, however, between one of your PCs dying and all of them.  In this episode I talk about how TPKs happen and what GMs can do before, during, and after the TPK to keep the campaign going using lessons learned from my TPK experiences in the past.

This episode idea comes courtesy of Lauren in California!

Character Downtime is mishandled by too many DMs.  They look at it as time the characters could better spend stabbing things in the face and discovering the Lost Place Settings of Korrak.  I think downtime has a place in nearly any adventure.  In this episode, I discuss why downtime is important and what activities can fill this time that still drives your story forward.

If you'll pardon the phrase, this week Jeremy gushes over an event from the Dragonlance campaign world, Krynn:  the Cataclysm.  This world-altering event was born from the pride of one man:  the Kingpriest who developed a twisted sense of the nature of good, believed the end justified the means, and made demands of the world's gods who responded with fire followed by silence.  Jeremy discusses this destruction, the events leading up to it, and the tragedy that followed.  Finally, he gives a brief tips on how to think about cataclysms and disasters in your world.

I was introduced to some of the wonderful members of the Venture Forth podcast a couple of months ago and I was taken aback by the quality of the podcast they produce and the extremely high quality role playing they consistently perform.  I knew I had to interview one of the cast members and Shane O'Loughlin was gracious enough to give me some time to talk about Venture Forth and conflict in a game world.

I think you will find their podcast is a master class on staying in character and good role playing.  Check them out at:

Listen to their audio-only podcast on:

#ventureforthdnd #rpg #DungeonsandDragons #DnD

At last we wrap up the class series with the Sorcerer and the Wizard.  We're finally talking about some of those arcane spellcasters who can wield SUPREME COSMIC POWER with a tiny amount of hit points.  How should you arrange their ability scores?  What feats should you take?  Come on in and find out.

Note:  There is an error in this episode in the Pathfinder 1e section.  Strength should be your lowest ability score.  I didn't notice the error until after the episode was published.  Sorry about that.

Today's episode comes to us from listener Brett.  Thank you for the topic suggestion!

They say a lie makes it around the world before the truth has time to get its shoes on.  Whether true or false, rumors make your game worlds feel real, lived in, alive. In this episode, we discuss the types of rumors you can include in your Dungeons and Dragons or other RPG game, tips and tricks for their use, and one situation to avoid when giving your PCs rumors.

Another episode continuing the lore series, this time focusing on one of my favorite Big Bads:  Strahd von Zarovich.  Treating him as just another vampire does this amazing villain a disservice.  He is complex, has a rich backstory, amazing powers, and can serve as a great antagonist to the PCs, whether in Barovia or your custom home game.

In this burboun-soaked episode, Jeremy discusses the different types of quests available, some of the variations on the themes, how to modify them by adding complications, and finally provides some tips and tricks for good quest design.

In this episode Jeremy talks about the different rules for Critical Hits and Misses in Pathfinder, Starfinder, and 5e; discusses some alternate rules and gives advice for how he handles these situations in his games.

Finally, he gives some advice about what food you should NEVER bring into the bedroom.