In this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, a very special guest star joins the panel of Dungeon Masters to break down the natural casters in Xanathar's Guide to Everything! The funny and amazing @lilisparx teams up with Dan and Adam as we return to our conversation about Sorcerers and dig into both Shadow Magic and Storm Sorcery! Available On: iTunes | Spotify | Podbean | YouTube Don’t forget to Like/Follow/Subscribe/Whatever when you listen! Social: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Reddit Em...
Jul 07, 2020•1 hr 36 min•Ep. 142
In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam go back and forth in a discussion about half of the Dragonmark Houses. Intrigue, plot hooks, and complex politics add a lot of flavour to the unique world of Eberron, and there's so much that this episode had to split in two... just like one of the houses! House Medani - The Mark of Detection Half-Elves led by Baron Baron Trelib d'Medani Headquarters are the Tower of Inquisition in Wroat, Breland Emblem is the Eye of the Basilisk House Den...
Jul 06, 2020•46 min•Ep. 141
Stop. Put down your dice. Sit back and listen. Because in this episode of the It's A Mimic! Campaign Builder, we're taking away agency from the people around the table. Capture and imprisonment are old standards for Dungeons and Dragons, but they often result in real people getting really upset. So how do you handle this as a DM? Well, if you trust us... Just sit for a bit and listen to what it means to face Destined Loss. Takeaways: - Before taking away real agency from a player, be aware that ...
Jul 03, 2020•53 min•Ep. 140
In this week's episode, the panel of DM's discuss the brash, short-lived, skilled, and incredibly numerous Humans. While the mechanics are kinda bland (humans being the gold standard of game design) the flavour options presented in SCAG offer far more story driven customization in the nineteen societies your human can call home on Faerun. Adam, Megan, and Terry break down the histories and in some cases the real world analogs to these incredibly flavourful humans in the form of: Arkaiun Bedine C...
Jun 30, 2020•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 139
Bloodlines! Power creep! House benefits and racial variants! In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam explore what it means to have a Dragonmark and what the houses have to offer in the way of plot hooks, backgrounds, and back stories! Organization: The Twelve Dragonmarks and the Houses: Mark of Detection - House Medani Mark of Finding - House Tharashk Mark of Handling - House Vadalis Mark of Healing - House Jorasco Mark of Hospitality - House Ghallanda Mark of Making - House Can...
Jun 29, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 138
What exists between urban and wilderness settings? Well, the farmland, of course! Join Dan and Adam this week as they take a stroll down some dusty roads to find out what farming might look like in a magical setting, how people might react to a party's presence, and what dynamic encounters they can bring to the table as they slowly begin to gear up for the next big plot reveal. Takeaways: - While rural settings can feel open and isolated, there is usually friendly help within yelling distance. -...
Jun 25, 2020•52 min•Ep. 137
In this week's episode, Dan hands out wilderness explorer badges to Dave and Adam as they tackle the vast expanse of the jungles of Chult, the brutal setting of the Tomb of Annihilation adventures released for Dungeons and Dragons 5e. With all that's going on this island (peninsula?), Dan hits the highlights while trying to stay as spoiler free as free as possible for Tomb of Annihilation. The Dungeon Masters cover some key places of civilization in these wild lands, some of the important movers...
Jun 23, 2020•1 hr 58 min•Ep. 136
This episode of Touring the Multiverse focuses on the distant lands of Eberron, which is thematically on point, as Dave and Adam seem to be all over the map, with their talk of Dragon Horns, a city in the Forgotten Realms' plane of fire, and which nation in Eberron is the cleanest. Also, they get distracted by the Draconic Prophecies for a little while, which seems about on par... Continents: Khorvaire Sarlona Frostfell (North Pole) Everice (South Pole) Argonessen Xen'drik Aerenal Khyber Nations...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 135
It's Petrified Ent Liches, evil dragons as PC's, and lycanthropic players! This special mailbag episode runs the gamut from personal truths to ridiculous puns and everything in between. So buckle up for some more insanity, and head to Reddit, Instagram, Facebook, and info@itsamimic.com to ask questions for the next round! We answered questions from the following people. Crystal from Facebook Coffee Bitch Dave @thejyoung @saladman_77 @pepperina_sparklegem @alexander_anotherskip_davis @spidey_rich...
Jun 20, 2020•2 hr 3 min•Ep. 133
Being a part of a caravan can be very different than escorting an NPC or two, and in this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down and look at what travelling looks like when the party isn't necessarily calling the shots. From boxing matches to purple worms, this episode has a surprising amount of action for a scenario with supposedly-little combat! Takeaways: - Caravans should be thought of as nomadic civilizations, and there will be many of the same characters and issues that a t...
Jun 18, 2020•47 min•Ep. 134
In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Master (Adam, Megan, and Terry) take a step back and ready their actions to draw blades in one-on-one combat with the honourable Bronze Dragons. These scaly sea-faring scions of chivalry are the knights of dragonkind, holding glory and honour high. As is our fashion on this podcast we break down their stats, discuss how we'd use them in a fight, and a discussion breaks out about how we'd use them for roleplaying! Before the end of the episode, some so...
Jun 16, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 132
In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam finish off their exploration of Khorvaire while looking into lands of dwarven misfortunes, halfling dino-riders, undead warriors, and pirate adventures! And we haven't even gotten left the main continent yet! Nations: Karrnath Lhazaar Principalities Mror Holds Talenta Plains Cities: Korth Atur Regalport Port Verge Krona Peak Solangap Gatherhold Landmarks: Fort Bones The Nightwood Gray Tide Dreadhold Direshark Principalities Ironroot Mounta...
Jun 15, 2020•47 min•Ep. 131
Why do urban encounters feel so different from wilderness encounters, and what are some common themes or interesting additions that Dungeon Masters can use to flesh out the locations of their games? In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam look at what unique and interesting opportunities some different locations have to offer. Takeaways: - Oft-overlooked aspects of wilderness travel are things like weather, seasons, isolation, animal territories, and terrain variety. - Creating uni...
Jun 11, 2020•57 min•Ep. 130
In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Masters cover four of the most common and most commonly ill-used conditions in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - Hidden, Grappled, Restrained and Prone. They get tripped up grappling over these restraining conditions, and by the end are down and out... but not before giving out some clarity about these often misunderstood ailments. They also, as is It's a Mimic's way, try to look at these conditions with some fresh eyes, coming up with fun and interesting use...
Jun 09, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 129
Floating Fortresses! Secret Police! Monster Nations! In this week's episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave takes you (and Adam!) on a trip through the Southwest portion of Eberron's main continent! From secret societies to deeply-rooted xenophobia, there's heaps of intrigue and high adventure to be found in every corner of the map! Nations: Breland Zilargo Droaam Cities: Sharn Wroat New Cyre Argonth, the Floating Fortress Blackpit Trolanport Korranberg Thurimbar Zolanberg Graywall The Venomous ...
Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 128
It's the end of Level Three in this week's episode of the Campaign Builder on It's A Mimic!, and it's time for some much-needed catharsis for the players. Twelve episodes is a long time, and the campaign is just now starting to get rolling, so Dan and Adam look at how to help the players wrap up their first major storyline and feel good doing it! Takeaways: - Catharsis is a unique and powerful reward that is often overlooked by new Dungeon Masters. - Knowing what a party does when given power ov...
Jun 04, 2020•52 min•Ep. 127
In this weeks episode, the panel of DM's put on their collars and cassocks to get all holy as they take on the Lawful Good-est foes in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - The Celestial. They break down the big 4 angels - The Empereon, Deva, Solar and Planetar. The angelic hosts have some troubles meeting the glory that the hosts are meant to have so Terry, Adam and Megan discuss how to use them to full effectiveness in your campaigns. After shrugging off their robes to get down and dirty with these inexpl...
Jun 02, 2020•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 126
"Eberron is a racist place." ~ Coffee Bitch Dave On this episode of Touring of the Multiverse, Dave and Adam take you on a tour of four incredibly different neighbouring countries of Eberron. From dense jungles to Elven warriors, and from Goblinoid hosts to physics-bending wastelands, this episode covers everything from lost holy temples to xenophobic lizardfolk. So strap in for another trip to Eberron in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition! Nations in this Episode: Q'barra Valenar Darguun Cyre/M...
Jun 01, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 125
On this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down to give you some solid advice about using NPC's. Or do they? This week is all about characters who may or may not be able to be trusted, how to keep the players from killing them, how to encourage trust or breed mistrust, and tactics for Dungeon Masters to use when designing ambiguous Non-Playable Characters. Takeaways: - Unreliable NPC's add a weight to a campaign that may make players pay more attention to what's happening around t...
May 28, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 124
It's another round of mages and magic in this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, as the panel of Dungeon Masters opens up their dusty tomes to study Conjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation! As isolation keeps each of the Dungeon Masters locked solidly away in their own respective wizard's towers, they pour over Xanathar's helpful additions to wizardly character creation, and continue to work their through the many subclasses in the Players Handbook! From cantrips to world-altering magic, th...
May 26, 2020•1 hr 50 min•Ep. 122
Dave is back again to lead you (and Adam!) through Eberron, and in this episode, we zoom in on the Northwest corner of the continent of Khorvaire, where you'd find wizards, paladins, rangers, druids, and rogues! From talking trees and Archfey to forbidden orcs and missing populations, there is a lot to unpack and investigate in the second episode of Touring the Multiverse from the It's A Mimic! podcast! Nations in this Episode: Aundair Thrane Eldeen Reaches Thronehold Demon Wastes Cities: Arcani...
May 25, 2020•57 min•Ep. 123
Fantastic settings for fantastic campaigns! How do you encourage a party to explore a bizarre new setting, and keep the tone and feeling different from their hometown? In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam look into crazy settings and how to have your players intereact with the new environment in easy, organic, and interesting ways. Takeaways: - When designing a fantastical location, spend some time thinking about how daily life would be effected by unique geography. - Incredible...
May 21, 2020•52 min•Ep. 121
Time again for a class overview of the Rogue options and subclasses for Dungeons and Dragons 5e. Dan, Adam and Terry get together on this 69th (nice) episode and talk about dump stats before kicking things off with a bang, covering the the flavour options presented in Xanathars Guide to Everything. After showering praises on the options that would help any player character develop into a deeper, more fleshed out narrative dynamo, the guys then move to the subclasses. On the slab this week are th...
May 19, 2020•2 hr 13 min•Ep. 120
Welcome to a brand new miniseries on the It's A Mimic! podcast, where Dave invites you to explore his favourite Dungeons and Dragons campaign setting, Eberron. In the first episode, he sits Adam down to explain the history and lore of this rich and beloved world. From creation myths to world wars and genocides, this incredibly detailed and painstakingly crafted history opens up new opportunities for campaigns unlike anything else in Fifth Edition. Below are the spellings of all the concepts spok...
May 18, 2020•56 min•Ep. 117
The enemies are escaping to a distant city, so what does that mean? It's time for a chase! In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Adam and Dan look at how to make a chase feel like more than just another skill challenge, especially in regards to overland movement. So saddle up and get ready, because it's a grueling race across the desert as we start to explore Dungeon Mastering for a level three party. Takeaways: - There is a perfectly serviceable chase mechanic in the Dungeon Master's Guide t...
May 14, 2020•45 min•Ep. 119
In this weeks episode, the panel of DMs (Brad, Terry and Adam) break down the bearded dynamoes and central figures in every fantasy campaign (except Ravnica) the dwarves! Finally diving deep into the depths of these clan based societies, the guys cover the basics of Dungeons and Dragons 5e's flavour regarding the stalwart race of master craftsmen before taking a not-so-brief discussion on one of the most intimidating parts of playing a dwarf: the accent! After tackling their politics, pantheon a...
May 12, 2020•1 hr 59 min•Ep. 118
The first few sessions have been bursting at the seams with a variety of urban encounters, but urban encounters mean lots of Non-Playable Characters. And how do you create NPC's? What should you focus on? In this episodes of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down and go over their checklist of what's important for NPC creation, and why. Important Physical Details: - Race - Status - Class and/or Job - Age - Gender/Sexuality - Height/Weight - Colouring (hair, complexion, eyes) - Cleanliness -...
May 07, 2020•57 min•Ep. 116
It's off to yet another campaign setting in this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, and this time it's all about a mega-city, guilds, magic experimentation, and carnivals of fervant destruction! That's right! Adam, Dave, and Terry are heading to Ravnica to explore how well the setting ports over from Magic the Gathering, and the answer might surprise you! The Ravnica Guilds: Azorius Senate Boros Legion House Dimir Golgari Swarm Gruul Clans Izzet League Orzhov Syndicate Cult of Rakdos Selesnya...
May 05, 2020•1 hr 47 min•Ep. 115
The party has won, and their enemies are on the run! But before they can give chase, the public steps forward to reward them! Fame and fortune and love and titles and rewards and boons and favours... The game has now changed, at least locally. But what does that mean, and how do you reward such a low-level party? Takeaways: - Heroism is a double-edged sword. Becoming famous can be just as much a challenge as a reward. - Even dark and gritty campaigns rely on the feeling of success. - Clarity abo...
Apr 30, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 114
In this episode about incredibly serious and evil dragons, Brad, Dave, and Dan discuss the overwhelming brute force of the Copper Dragon. It's antisocial behaviour and hatred of minstrels is well-documented, and the It's A Mimic! podcast absolutely despises their pragmatic and boring outlook on life. Heh. Available On: iTunes | Spotify | Podbean | YouTube Don’t forget to Like/Follow/Subscribe/Whatever when you listen! Social: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Email: info@itsamimic.com Intro/Outro M...
Apr 28, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 113
