How do 1-on-1 D&D sessions differ from a typical big party campaign? The fate of Gen Con's most infamous rogues is revealed! How can you create a gripping atmosphere at your gaming table or online?

Click to enter the Lairs of Etharis D&D Beyond giveaway: https://forms.gle/kyNDnZBxGjBJA65r7

Tariff Pause the Bare Minimum: https://www.wargamer.com/board-games/gloomhaven-tariff-pause

Game Publishers Brace for Shipping Price Hike: https://boardgamewire.com/index.php/2025/05/13/board-game-publishers-brace-for-shipping-price-hike-delays-as-us-drops-tariffs-on-china-to-30-in-90-day-truce/

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @DailyDael

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:46 - 1 on 1 D&D

14:52 - Gen Con heist news

23:22 - Diana Jones Emerging Designers

27:24 - TTRPG tariff update

38:00 - Daggerheart actual play

39:47 - Creating game atmosphere

D&D 2024 unleashes new Horror Subclasses like the Artificer Reanimator in the latest Unearthed Arcana. But how frightening can 5e be? Plus there's a sneak peak at the new Eberron book and why TTRPG publishers might be pulling out of Gen Con?

Click to enter the Lairs of Etharis D&D Beyond giveaway: https://forms.gle/kyNDnZBxGjBJA65r7

Check out Lairs of Etharis on D&D Beyond, here: https://marketplace.dndbeyond.com/settings/SRC-00130

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @DailyDael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

00:48 - Favorite type of horror

07:54 - Horror subclasses UA

26:43 - Eberron: Forge of the Artificer

42:56 - TTRPG publisher pulls out of Gen Con

49:03 - What's a bandit lord?

54:46 - Humanoid villains

Is Sage Advice the same without Jeremy Crawford? WotC publish the latest 2024 rules update on D&D Beyond, Roll20 and Demiplane launch a cross compatibility beta, and a titan of the TTRPG industry comes to an abrupt end.

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @DailyDael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:21 - New Spell: Mike's Hard Lemonade

03:54 - Sage Advice for D&D 2024

31:36 - Roll20 & Demiplane beta

38:09 - Polygon layoffs

44:53 - Alarums and Excursions

48:05 - Profanity in D&D books

Stop your TTRPG players from sleeping through your early campaign lore dumps! We're also dissecting dragons and the SRD 5.2. Will WotC dodge tariff chaos with D&D and MtG?

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @DailyDael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Best dragon harvest

05:20 - WotC vs tariffs

11:39 - Tariff lightning round

14:50 - SRD 5.2 deep dive

29:35 - Westmarch style systems

40:55 - How much lore, too much?

Does releasing the SRD 5.2 for D&D 2024 fulfill the last of the WotC promises? Can 3rd party 5e publishers finally rejoice? We ponder these questions while the Tabletop Games industry collapses around us due to tariffs.

D&D Beyond changelog: https://www.dndbeyond.com/changelog#2024CoreRulesErrata

TTRPG industry survey: https://cardboardedison.com/tariffs

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @DailyDael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

05:54 - SRD 5.2

15:24 - Baldur's Gate 3 final patch

24:07 - Xanathar's puppet

25:50 - Dungeons and Cabins

28:40 - Meredith Placko resigns

30:18 - Tariffs toll on the industry

39:54 - GM Presentation

Jeremy Crawford leaves D&D and Wizards of the Coast, Daggerheart gets an early release Down Under, and how will Dragon Delves make dragons in 5e fun?

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Diana:  @dianaoftherose

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:25 - Your First GM

06:00 - Daggerheart Early Release

09:48 - Dragon Delves

22:32 - D&D Beyond MAPS

32:04 - Jeremy Crawford Leaves WotC

41:20 - Tariffs check-in

42:15 - Visualizing a dungeon

Will Tariffs destroy the TTRPG industry? This week we roleplay economists to explore the global issue from the side of game publishers, hobby shop owners, and fans whose books are about to get a LOT more expensive!

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Teos:  ⁨@Alphastream

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:23 - Arby's dice

05:00 - Chris Perkins retires

17:47 - Free Sigil minis

23:15 - Tariffs vs TTRPG's

43:07 - Creating new monsters

Less D&D news this week (except for WotC threatening legal action for a Baldur's Gate 3 mod) leads into listener emails about incentivizing selfish players, why GM's shouldn't be scared of math, and whether the GM or player should control the wizard's familiar?

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

06:23 - WotC threaten legal action

08:56 - Paul Sawyer passing

10:17 - Playing selfish players

25:05 - Scared of math? GM Anyway!

32:47 - GM or player run familiars?

Wizards of the Coast call it quits on Project Sigil, leaving the 3D VTT to mothball on D&D Beyond. Meanwhile the world gets strange as Texas lawmakers try to outlaw roleplaying in schools for entirely imaginary reasons.

Start your Companion Quest here: https://ghostfiregaming.com/GGLC_GGCQ_2025_2_003

Rascal article about Texas roleplay bill: https://www.rascal.news/texas-furries-act-tabletop-roleplaying-games-in-schools/

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @dailydael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:00 - Giving your players news

04:26 - Sigil's sad fate

24:00 - Texas to outlaw roleplaying

32:31 - Avenues for self publishing

44:24 - How to finish a project

The D&D 3D VTT is off to a bumpy launch. MCDM quietly tinkers with it's own Draw Steel VTT. We ponder whether the Hero Forge dice are balanced while Ben and Dael argue what a Critical Role video game might (not) look like.

Start your Companion Quest here: https://ghostfiregaming.com/GGLC_GGCQ_2025_2_003

Email your questions to [email protected]

Ben: @TheBenByrne

Dael: @dailydael

James: @jamesjhaeck

Shawn: @shawnmerwin

Editor:  @ZsDante 

Topics:

00:00 - Intro

01:04 - Dice collections

08:45 - Hero Forge dice

16:06 - Critical Role video game

28:29 - Sigil’s bumpy release

34:58 - The MCDM VTT

38:21 - Companion Quest

40:13 - Low level Legendary Monsters