D&D Errata: Love It or Hate It, Here’s How We DM It
Several years into D&D 5E, they’re still releasing new errata that impact books printed years ago. How do you handle these changes at your table?
Wishful Thinking: DM Tips for Granting D&D’s Most Powerful Spell
Few spells or abilities in dungeons & dragons are as powerful or open-ended as the Wish. Having the power to simply wish for whatever you want, and then have it given to you, is the stuff of legends. As a DM, how do you handle that?
Theater of the Mind: Is It a Better Way to Play D&D?
The 3 Wise DMs get old school with their best tips for DMing without maps and minis. Hear what we like about theater of the mind for D&D, what we don’t, and our best tips for making games engaging and fun without maps and minis.
When Crits Go Wrong: The Critical Hit/Miss Table That Nearly Destroyed Our Game
If you’ve listened to a few episodes of the podcast, you’ve no doubt heard us talk about the critical miss rule that wiped out half a party. To follow up on this week’s episode about Rolling the Dice, here’s how the old Penndel Critical Hit System worked, where it eventually went wrong, and how I think you could still save it (for any D&D edition) by making some tweaks.
Rolling the Dice: How to Balance Randomness, Story and PC Agency in TTRPGs
The dice never lie, but they don’t tell great stories, either. So how much of your game do you want to leave up to the dice? When should you roll them and why? What kind of game are you teaching your players to play? Can rolling the dice even discourage role-playing?
Something Old, Something New: Tips for Reskinning Existing Characters
How do we feel about playing characters from popular fiction? Well, here’s how I did it with a 5E modern setting and Aeron Pendragon … King Arthur’s long lost descendant in Philadelphia, PA.
Famous Fictional PCs: Should You Allow Pop-Culture Clones in Your RPG Campaigns?
Should your TTRPG campaign allow players to make clones of famous fictional characters (like Drizzt, Riddick or The Avengers)? Maybe. After all if a player is inspired, they’re going to be more engaged. But these can be complicated situations. Here’s how to make them work.
7 RPG Improv Tips for DMing Open-World Campaigns
Some DMs are right at home improving from the first time they open a Monster Manual, while others are never comfortable without a rock-solid module to run for the night. If you want to improv more, or just do it better when you have to, here are seven tips for making it up on the fly.
3 Ways to Design RPG Campaigns: Railroad vs. Open World vs. Dave
Is it better to put players on the train through your tight, entertaining story, or create a reactive world for them wander around at their leisure? In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about how they build their campaigns, from what they want to accomplish to how they prepare week to week. Along they’ll way, we’ll look at how the different styles affect the players and their game experience. And we’ll discuss whether or not, in the end, they’re really all that different?
Little Shop of Horrors: 3 Rules for Running D&D Magic Item Stores
Should your players be able to buy magical items in your campaign? It’s not a new question for DM’s, and believe me, I understand that plenty of DMs feel very strongly against this. However, I ask you to hear me out because this has worked beautifully in many of my previous campaigns, including the one I’m running now.