In this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, the panel of Dungeon Masters tears open their random tables and digs around in the concepts found inside. Dungeons and Dragons has random encounters and random items baked right into it, and the DM's discuss out how to use them and still keep the game balanced. SUMMARY: From using random encounters to make your world feel more realistic, to using random item tables to cater to players' wants and needs, the Dungeon Masters sink their teeth into the ra...
May 14, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 22
In this episode of It's A Mimic! the panel of Dungeon Masters takes a good hard look at Orc society, what makes them tick, and why they are such versatile Dungeons and Dragons villains. Both superstitious and militaristic, Orcs clearly deserve to be the subject of the first Mob Mentality episode. From player strategies to DM tactics to flavourful lore, this conversation covers a wide variety of topics around Orcs and their penchant for large-scale murderhobo-ism. SUMMARY: When the DM's sit down ...
May 07, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 21
This week, the Dungeon Masters turn the conversation to Bards and break down the different class features and the general strengths and weaknesses of everyone's favourite Dungeons and Dragons minstrel class. They look closely at College of Lore, College of Valor, and College of Whispers and the unique opportunities these subclasses may offer. From the class's roleplay tropes to the spellcasting options to the unique builds that run counter to basic bardic conventions, this episode covers a multi...
Apr 28, 2019•54 min•Ep. 20
EXCERPT: This week brings the first of many episodes that focus on classes and the panel of Dungeon Masters has decided to begin with Barbarians! Specifically focusing on Path of the Totem Warrior, Path of the Berserker, and Path of the Battlerager, the three DM's look at both lore and mechanics, as well as how they would use the class in creative ways. SUMMARY: At first glance the Barbarian seems pretty straightforward, and Terry is on record as disliking the class in general, but when they rol...
Apr 23, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 19
In the first Worldbuilding episode, the Dungeon Masters do their best to stay on topic as they tear into the idea of campaign preparation from different angles. When discussing the idea of prepping a new campaign, the panel focuses on how to get ready mentally for both homebrew campaigns and published modules, how to prep magic items and NPC's when thinking about plot hooks, and what good starting locations should include. With a focus on how DM’s should think about gearing up for Session One, d...
Apr 16, 2019•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 18
With the discussion about pillars of Dungeons & Dragons wrapped up, the panel of DM's decides to look into WHY people play D&D as opposed to other games. The first broad topic is determining what defines the fantasy genre, what it makes it so attractive, and what draws the hosts to this roleplaying game, specifically the Forgotten Realms setting. As the conversation moves to the details of Forgotten Realms, the Dungeon Masters discuss what the most interesting pieces of the Forgotten Rea...
Apr 09, 2019•1 hr 46 min•Ep. 17
The very first Mailbag of Holding episode hits with 20 questions rolled on random tables that the Dungeon Masters address, including their advice for DM's and players, their experiences playing, and even their personal lives. From old school monsters to TPK's to 6th Edition, this episode has a little bit of everything and lives up to the promise that on the It's A Mimic! podcast, you never know what you're going to get! The Dungeon Masters even cover beer, sex, and shadowy government organizatio...
Apr 02, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 16
APRIL FOOLS!!! Just as most mimics look like chests and most episodes look well-researched, this Monday looks relatively normal. But you should know better by now, Constant Listeners. For today is the holiday made for mimics everywhere, and this panel of DM’s love giving when you least expect it. So here’s a short, quick, special episode about how to design and create a wizard’s tower for your campaign. The Dungeon Masters of the It’s A Mimic podcast bring you a brief breakdown of how to create ...
Apr 01, 2019•4 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 15
This is a more mature episode that handles sensitive subject matter as it tries to address the delicate nature of issues at the table and personality differences among players. To wrap up the broad strokes of the final tier, the panel of Dungeon Masters covers the concepts of social contracts, Session Zero, and respect. Other than the game mechanics and RPG flavour, what are the logistics that should be addressed to keep the game fun and allow everyone to feel comfortable and free to take rolepl...
Mar 26, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 14
What do you know and what does your character know, and where do those knowledge bases overlap? The conversation this week points our Dungeon Masters toward one of the most controversial topics in the D&D community: Meta-Gaming. They tackle the pros and cons before moving on to discuss character motivations and how they may be contrary or complementary to player motivations. The podcast wraps by talking about immersion in the world and how to achieve it. SUMMARY: During this episode of the I...
Mar 19, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 13
007 is notorious for dropping his alias at the earliest possible moment, often even going undercover with his real name, so it’s fitting that Episode 007 is the one where The Dungeon Masters tackle the idea of staying in character and turn to the final tier of play: Roleplaying. Each of the DM’s start by discussing how they tend to build their characters when they get to be players, and then move on to creating atmosphere and immersion with voices, costumes, music, props, and more. The conversat...
Mar 12, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 12
In this episode, the Dungeon Masters conclude the series on Exploration by looking at their different techniques for using overland maps and analyzing each other's tactics for creating the world. As they open up the conversation on traps and puzzles, the DM's move back and forth between the players' perspective and the Dungeon Master's, discussing their own tactics depending on which side of the DM Screen they are sitting on. They wrap up the episode with a deep dive into Ability Checks and when...
Mar 08, 2019•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 12
Dungeons & Dragons is full of unique and dangerous locations, and the panel of Dungeon Masters sit down in this week’s episode to cover a wide variety of topics regarding the settings of campaigns. From the importance of climate and weather to a whirlwind tour of the planes, the DM's travel around the landscapes and dispense their own unique takes on the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons. SUMMARY: As the DM's continue their discussion on Exploration, they stop to look at how environments can ch...
Feb 26, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 10
In this week’s episode of the It’s A Mimic! podcast, the Dungeon Masters leave combat tactics behind and focus on exploration and why it’s important. The discussion topics that they cover include why exploration is important, description and narration, and engaging players with different exploratory strategies. From mystery and the unknown, to ability checks and skill challenges, the panel covers a series of topics all related to discovering details of the world outside of battle and social enco...
Feb 19, 2019•1 hr•Ep. 9
The panel of Dungeon Masters concludes their preliminary look at combat, this time focusing on the tactics of creatures, both intelligent and unintelligent, as well bosses and villains. As they break down different ways that other DM’s may use the same creatures with different motivations, they begin looking at how environments, enemy groupings, and overarching plots can inform the tactics of each bad guy on the battlefield. SUMMARY: In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, the discussion naturally tur...
Feb 12, 2019•58 min•Ep. 8
Continuing the conversation about combat, the panel of Dungeon Masters expand the discussion to cover more specific tips for DM's. The main talking points in this episode tackle the differences between Theater of the Mind and using Maps and Minis, how to balance combat encounters, and whether or not to help players when things go awry. SUMMARY: All three DM's weigh in on the pros and cons of the Theater of the Mind style of play, looking at the concepts of player engagement, trust at the table, ...
Feb 05, 2019•52 min•Ep. 7
The dungeon masters tackle the idea of what makes combat fun and interesting, even for players who have played before. Key topics include battle environments, shifting motivations mid-battle, and enemy intelligence. SUMMARY: As the three DM's discuss what makes combat interesting and fun, they go wildly off topic and prove that the show is truly like finding a mimic in the wild: you never know what’s about to happen or when conflict is going to break out! Terry raises the topic of environment be...
Jan 29, 2019•44 min•Ep. 6
Today’s Episode: The last and longest episode of the Meet the DMs series focuses on the idea of D&D tropes and what they mean to the different Dungeon Masters. As they move away from 5th Edition, they dissect the pros and cons of regular cliches and touchstone ideas in the Dungeons and Dragons landscape. Summary: D&D means different things to different people, and the Dungeon Masters sit down in the last episode of this introductory series to look at what they personally want to see more...
Jan 25, 2019•25 min•Ep. 11
Today’s Episode: As the conversation moves on to the Dungeon Masters favourite and least favourite spells, they discuss the benefits and flaws of altering the terrain, and some frustrating styles of magic from a DM’s perspective. Summary: As the panel moves on to a more magical conversation, Terry and Dan go head-to-head again and Adam drops some knowledge about how to block Scrying as the DMs debate how some players use the spell Darkness, look at the benefits of Hex and Reverse Gravity, and te...
Jan 24, 2019•15 min•Ep. 10
Today’s Episode: It’s madness as the Dungeon Masters continue to discuss their favourite and least favourite aspects of Dungeons and Dragons in part three of the Meet the DM’s series. This time round, it’s Monsters. Summary: After a brief explanation of why kobolds are a great addition to the game, things derail quickly as Adam and Terry take on Dan over the mechanics of 5th Edition beholders. The DM’s then move on to briefly discuss evil chromatic dragons and some basic ideas of homebrews, befo...
Jan 23, 2019•21 min•Ep. 4
Today’s Episode: The panel of Dungeon Masters gets together again to explore the concept of character races in 5e. From gnomes to elves, this episode covers the likes and dislikes of the DMs, and spends some time off the rails on the difference between halflings and gnomes. Summary: Controversy runs rampant as Adam continues the discussion of favourite and least favourite character choices from the Player’s Handbook, this time focusing on races. After initiative is rolled, Adam touts the benefit...
Jan 22, 2019•23 min•Ep. 3
Today’s Episode: As an introduction to both the show and its hosts, all three Dungeon Masters get together to break down their favourite and least favourite classes in 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons. Some of the answers are surprising, even for each other, as they briefly go over both spellcasters and martial warriors that they love and hate. Roll initiative! Summary: Adam pitches the idea of introducing themselves, not by giving extensive autobiographies or discussing old campaigns, but by ex...
Jan 21, 2019•22 min•Ep. 2
We are pretty excited to be releasing this project in the new year, but we wanted to give you all a little gift to enjoy.
Jan 13, 2019•30 sec•Ep. 2
