Wandering DMs

Dan & Paul chat with award-winning comic creator Kieron Gillen on his new DIE RPG.

Kieron Gillen is one of our favorite comic authors working today -- he's written series for the X-Men, Avengers, Eternals, Star Wars, Warhammer, Starcraft, and many more. He's also worked as a game journalist and co-founded the site Rock Paper Shotgun. Now, on the tail of his recent 20-issue fantasy series, DIE, he breaks new ground with his own RPG set in that world, years in the making, and currently funding on Kickstarter.

DIE is a tabletop roleplaying game about fantasy versus reality, and poses the question of why we play games at all. The comic it’s based upon is occasionally jokingly described as “goth Jumanji”; DIE the RPG is designed from the ground up to let a group of players make their own personal version of the comic. In DIE you play a group of authentically flawed people from the real world who gather together to play an RPG and are dragged into a fantasy realm. They then have to find their way home… or not.

“A deliciously dark Phantom Tollbooth-like journey told through a lens of broken humanity and a deconstruction of the role-playing game’s roots. I am entranced."

• Back the DIE RPG on Kickstarter
• Watch a DIE actual-play session
• Buy the DIE comic series
• Follow Kieron on Twitter

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul review our favorite Wild West RPGs.

Some gamers argue that any fantasy or sci-fi RPG, including Dungeons & Dragons, is mostly Wild West plot tropes covered over with fantasy dressing. How true is that? How much influence did the development of Western RPGs have on mainline D&D at the outset? How easy or successful have you been at crossing over from Western to full-blown Fantasy in the same game campaign?

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul catch up with James Maliszewski of Grognardia on his "House of Worms" campaign!

Have you ever managed to run a D&D campaign for 7 years and counting? Well, James Maliszewski has in his long-running Empire of the Petal Throne campaign -- so we wanted to get his advice and hear about how to keep a campaign fresh, exciting, and players returning for more. Plus catch up on his prodigious ongoing output at the Grognardia blog, the Hall of Blue Illumination podcast, The Excellent Travelling Volume EPT zine, and his upcoming Secrets of sha-Arthan. How on Tékumel does he do it?

• Read the Grognardia blog
• Listen to the Hall of Blue Illumination podcast
• Check out The Excellent Travelling Volume zine

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Paul & Dan interview Spencer Crittenden, the GM on HarmonQuest and other shows!

Spencer Crittenden is one of our favorite famous DMs. He ran the game on Dan Harmon's HarmonQuest as, of course, The Game Master. He's also been a regular on HarmonTown, Great Minds with Dan Harmon, and appeared on Community and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Now he hosts the That Happens podcast with Jeff Bryan Davis, and produces D&D content on his YouTube channel for Patreon subscribers. Lets find out his unique take on DM'ing in front of the hot lights!

• Watch and listen to Spencer's That Happens podcast
• Subscribe to his YouTube channel
• Join his Patreon

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Christian & crew recap our Inner System Blues cyberpunk game in the 2400 system.

Let's chat about the 2400 game system we used for our Inner System Blues cyberpunk game. What worked well? What could possibly be improved?

Check out Inner System Blues here

The TDR crew play short series of unique roleplaying games, then analyze what worked and what needs work at the end of each game. The GM changes but the fun remains the same every week on TDR!

Dan & Isabelle assess the D&D art of the 90's.

Brooklyn-based fine artist Isabelle Garbani joins us again for another installment of "Art of D&D": this time, in the 1990's, the era of 2nd Edition AD&D (leading to the last gasps of TSR, and its acquisition by Wizards of the Coast). It was a time of wild experimentation with many different campaign settings: Dark Sun, Ravenloft, Spelljammer, and more. How well did the art follow that expedition, and what kinds of artistic discoveries were made possible? Featuring art by Brom, Fred Fields, Jeff Easley, Tony Diterlizzi, and more.

Watch Isabelle in the scary short The Perfect Daughter

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul interview Karen Twelves, author of "Improv for Gamers".

The Wandering DMs love improv and think using tools from that field are essential to a great D&D game. In this episode we get to interview Karen Twelves, the author of one of our favorite books, "Improv for Gamers", now being crowdfunded for a revised second edition. Based on hundreds of hours of professional workshops, Improv for Gamers provides fun and easy exercises designed to take your tabletop or live-action gaming group to the next level. Play one or two before your next session to get players warmed up and engaged, or take a deep dive into developing a particular skill!

• Back the Improv for Gamers project at Gamefound
• Watch Dan & Paul's prior chat about improv in WDMs Season 1, Episode 2

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Christian & crew conclude our Inner System Blues cyberpunk game in the 2400 system.

Amidst the burning wreckage of a carrier ship, a violent storm at sea, gunfire from guards and drones -- what else could go wrong? The TDR crew will explore all the possibilities extensively. See Thinkbot's true face revealed! Gasp at BECCA's fast and furious driving! Bemuse at Victor and KIT-95's co-parenting choices!

Check out Inner System Blues here

The TDR crew play short series of unique roleplaying games, then analyze what worked and what needs work at the end of each game. The GM changes but the fun remains the same every week on TDR!

Dan & Paul review the history of Golems in D&D.

It's been said that the Golem is "a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism". Springing from Jewish folklore, the Golem represents a powerful but dimly aware, perhaps overly-literal, servant. As such, it's the possibly original inspiration for stories about out-of-control scientific monsters, robots, and AI (as well summoned stalkers and wish spells in D&D). In original D&D, they are the mightiest of fighters, and share the trait of complete immunity to nearly all magic effects. Do they provide good thematic flavor in D&D? Are their mechanics solid, or too much of a player screw-job? How have they evolved over the ages?

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Christian & crew continue our Inner System Blues cyberpunk game in the 2400 system.

In Inner System Blues part III, the NULL crew of KIT, BECCA, ThinkBot, and Victor finally get aboard the giant burning out-of-control car carrier ship they're tasked with burgling. As usual, their entry plan works perfectly, and then things start going elliptical. A tragic subplot of romantically entangled robots is revealed. What qualifies as the coolest car is extensively debated. And someone gets shot.

Check out Inner System Blues here

The TDR crew play short series of unique roleplaying games, then analyze what worked and what needs work at the end of each game. The GM changes but the fun remains the same every week on TDR!