Paul and Dan chat with Luke Gygax on the 50th anniversary of D&D and his new old-school mega-adventure, Wrath of the Sea Lich! Wrath of the Sea Lich is a reimagining of his hit series, "Oculus of Senrahbah" originally created for 5e. Luke and Matt enlisted the help of notable designer Sersa Victory to reengineer the scenario for the critically acclaimed Shadowdark system. Together, they have remastered the entire series, the encounters are rebalanced, and the entire work is reformatted to fi...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Dan and Paul, the Wandering DMs, discuss the right number of players for D&D and other TTRPGs. How many is too many? How few is too few? What factors play into choosing the right range of party size for your adventure design? Team size and team composition affect team processes and team outcomes. The optimal size (and composition) of teams is debated and will vary depending on the task at hand. At least one study of problem-solving in groups showed an optimal size of groups at four members. ...
Sep 30, 2024•1 hr
Paul and Dan do a deep dive on the state of travel encounters in classic D&D and other games. Should they be based on random wandering tables, or fine-tuned by the DM for the given adventure session? Is the goal to simulate a living world, or to challenge the PCs at the table? Should the DM know in advance what will happen, or share in the surprise? Travel in the Middle Ages offered hardships and challenges, though it was important to the economy and to society. The wholesale sector depended...
Sep 23, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Dan and Paul are joined by special guest Adam "Rutskarn" DeCamp, author of the blog Chocolate Hammer. Rutskarn will share his experience running a highly political campaign using the original TSR Western RPG Boot Hill, first published in 1975. How can a game with zero rules for social interactions and a highly deadly combat system actually encourage play focused on politics, deception, and intrigue? Boot Hill is a western-themed role-playing game designed by Brian Blume, Gary Gygax, and Don Kaye...
Sep 16, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Dan and Paul wrap up the most recent Wizards D&D Beyond fumble -- a decision to retract all the items, magic, and spells from the 2014 version of D&D 5th Edition, and replace all content globally with the 2024 revised D&D content (whether players wanted it or not!). After public outcry, WOTC flip-flopped on their decision, but was it a preventable mistake? How hard is it for a game company to make old & new customers both equally happy? There are several incentives for a company ...
Sep 15, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Paul and Dan discuss creation of pre-generated characters for one-shot roleplaying games. From the fastest and easiest ways to quickly generate stats, to crafting unique back-stories that fit (or fight) with the plot. How does it differ between styles of game, and when, if ever, to let the players create their own characters for one-off and convention style games. In both tabletop role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons and role-playing video games such as Final Fantasy, a player typic...
Aug 26, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Dan & Paul scope out principles for statting out real people in D&D and other role-playing games. What do the standard ability scores really mean, anyway? How have they varied over editions of D&D across the years? And how can we compare and model real people in other games like Call of Cthulhu, Star Frontiers, and Fearful Ends? Kinanthropometry is defined as the study of human size, shape, proportion, composition, maturation, and gross function, in order to understand growth, exerci...
Aug 19, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Dan & Paul give a postmortem on running their fourth Dungeon Design Dash product, Creeping Doom of the Pumpkin King, in a co-DM fashion. It's their first DDD wilderness adventure, and surprises abound! What happens when the party pursues mostly social encounters with a dedicated Adversary DM? Can two DMs swap out musical-chairs NPCs without going crazy? Does D&D always revert back to its horror roots? A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and design...
Aug 12, 2024•1 hr 3 min
In Part 1 Dan and Paul barely scratched the surface on the differences between Original D&D (1974) and Basic D&D (1981)! Due to popular demand they're back for more. Hopefully this time they'll escape the character creation section and get into combat, monsters, and spells, but who knows? There's the whole sweep attack issue to hammer out first. The original Dungeons & Dragons (commonly abbreviated D&D) boxed set by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson was published by TSR, Inc. in 1974. ...
Aug 05, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Let's chat about two of our favorite editions of early D&D -- Original D&D (1974) and Basic D&D (1981)! Dan & Paul run most of D&D in similar ways, but their instincts sometimes differ in which of these traditions they're coming from. What changes were made by the brilliant Tom Moldvay in Basic D&D? Were they for the better, or worse? What should new players start with today for that classic D&D experience? The original Dungeons & Dragons (commonly abbreviated D&a...
Jul 22, 2024•1 hr 2 min
In this last-minute, condensed episdoe of Wandering DMs, Dan and Paul discuss using real world time elements in games. From timers in D&D adventures to board games that include a ticking clock, they'll cover everything in under 45 minutes. They even manage to fit in an actual play of 5 Minute Dungeon!
Jul 09, 2024•46 min
One of our all-time favorite guests, Jon Peterson, D&D historian extraordinaire, returns to talk all things about the 50th anniversary of D&D. From his official "Making of Original Dungeons & Dragons 1970-1977", participation in Gen Con 50th anniversary celebrations, inclusion in the MIT Press "Fifty Years of Dungeons & Dragons" book, and the hotly-anticipated re-release of his seminal "Playing at the World", he's been super busy this year! Dan & Paul will catch up with him a...
Jul 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Dan and Paul discuss the presence of drugs and alcohol in D&D and other tabletop roleplaying games. They'll touch on how state alterning substandces are represented in the fiction, rules for handling characters under the influence, and even what happens when the players themselves partake! According to addiction researcher Martin A. Plant, some people go through a period of self-redefinition before initiating recreational drug use. They tend to view using drugs as part of a general lifestyle...
Jun 24, 2024•1 hr
Dan & Paul discuss experiences in TRPGs when players don't know the rules. Is it fundamentally fair or unfair? Does it add to the immersion of the roleplay? What added flexibility dos it give to the GM? Is exploring the rules of a new world an essential part of roleplaying games, that we've lost along the way? Games with concealed rules are games where the rules are intentionally concealed from new players, either because their discovery is part of the game itself, or because the game is a h...
Jun 10, 2024•1 hr 2 min
The Wandering DMs tackle employment in D&D. Do adventurers need day jobs? Does starting a business or pursuing a craft undermine the motiviation to go out treasure hunting? What of systems that define prior careers as part of characgter creation? It's time for Dan and Paul to get to work! Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organi...
Jun 03, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Dan & Paul discuss the role of skill systems in D&D and other tabletop RPGs. Not part of the initial Original D&D ruleset, they give PCs an opportunity to master individual skills in a fine-grained manner. Have they been beneficial to D&D, or a distraction? Do they work better in other games, like sci-fi or horror? A skill represents the learned knowledge and abilities of a character. Skills are known by various names, including proficiencies, abilities, powers, talents and knack...
May 27, 2024•1 hr 2 min
The Wandering DMs take on rats and other vermin in D&D. From swarm enemies to wizard's familiars, Dan and Paul will explore every way to delight and torment your players with everyday pests. The term "vermin" is used to refer to a wide scope of organisms, including rodents (such as rats), cockroaches, termites, bed bugs, ferrets, stoats, sables. Disease-carrying rodents and insects are the usual case, but the term is also applied to larger animals—especially small predators—typically because...
May 20, 2024•1 hr 2 min
This Mother's Day, Paul and Dan discuss the role of mothers in D&D and mythology. From troll wives to Grendel's mother to the spawn of all monsters, Tiamat herself, moms make an impact in our lives! Throughout history, mothers have been depicted in a variety of art works, including paintings, sculptures and written texts, that have helped define the cultural meaning of 'mother', as well as ideals and taboos of motherhood. The institution of motherhood in western art is often depicted through...
May 13, 2024•58 min
Dan and Paul discuss how to play a character in an RPG with a dramatic secret. How can we include the rest of the players in the fun without giving away too much? When do we reveal the secret to create the most satisfying dramatic moment? Humans attempt to consciously conceal aspects of themselves from others due to shame, or from fear of violence, rejection, harassment, loss of acceptance, or loss of employment. Humans may also attempt to conceal aspects of their own self which they are not cap...
May 06, 2024•1 hr 2 min
Paul and Dan get to bring back OSR guru Matt Finch to talk about his new Swords & Wizardry: Expansions, Monsters, and More!, currently on Kickstarter. What new things has Matt cooked up? And what updates has he finally made to the revered Quick Primer for Old School Gaming? Swords & Wizardry is the longest-standing retro-clone of Original D&D, first published in 2008, and now there's a whole set of expansions to make your game wilder, weirder, and more flexible! The Book of Options g...
Apr 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Dan and Paul are thrilled to chat live with the master of fantasy, Michael Moorcock. What are his current thoughts on the legacy of his writing Elric, the Eternal Champion, critiques of Tolkien, and so much more? Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English–American writer, particularly of science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worked as an editor and is also a succ...
Apr 15, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Dan and Paul reflect on what we think are the biggest mistakes and errors in the first publication of original D&D in 1974. What are the biggest blemishes that troubled the game for decades afterward? What are some of our top house rules to correct the largest problems? The original Dungeons & Dragons boxed set was the first published role-playing game, a fantasy game system modeled on medieval Europe. This set introduced elements which would become standard in later editions, including ...
Apr 08, 2024•1 hr 3 min
Paul and Dan check in on their annual D&D mini-convention with friends in a house on the Massachusetts shore, now in its 15th year. What went well, what could go better, what lessons will feed into our future gaming? Find WDM 01 - Asymmetric Monastery of the Deranged Berserkers on DriveThru RPG here!
Apr 01, 2024•1 hr 7 min
This St. Patrick's Day, Paul and Dan discuss the rich history of Irish myths, legends, and stories in the D&D game. From Druids and Bards to the Banshees and Firbolg, what are some of the best ways to spice up your game with inspirations from the Emerald Isle? Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era. In the early medieval era, some myths were transcribed by Christian monks, who heavily altered and C...
Mar 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min
How does one run a successful dungeons and dragons one shot game? Dan and Paul discuss how to condense the D&D experience to a single night of fun. They'll share techniques they've developed over the years behind the DM screen, discuss which scenarios fit the one-shot format best, and advise would-be DMs on the best road to one-shot success.
Mar 11, 2024•1 hr
Dan & Paul discuss tips for embodying a character in body and voice when playing D&D at the table. When we compare ourselves to well-known D&D performers, what are simple simple tricks anyone can use, even if we aren't trained actors? Acting involves a broad range of skills, including a well-developed imagination, emotional facility, physical expressivity, vocal projection, clarity of speech, and the ability to interpret drama. Acting also demands an ability to employ dialects, accen...
Mar 04, 2024•1 hr 1 min
For Valentine's Day, Dan and Paul take a look at how romantic love is portrayed in Dungeons and Dragons. From NPCs with love-based plot lines to the infamous philter of love, we'll cover ever instance we can think of in D&D in which love plays a part. Love is considered to be both positive and negative, with its virtue representing human kindness, compassion, and affection—"the unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another"—and its vice representing a human moral flaw akin ...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 1 min
Paul & Dan celebrate the Year of the Dragon in New Year's 2024! In this 50th anniversary year for original D&D, we'll look back to our best uses for dragons, new discoveries we've made, and how best to use unusual dragon types in your fantasy RPG. The Dragon, also known as Loong, (simplified Chinese: 龙; traditional Chinese: 龍; pinyin: lóng; Jyutping: lung4; Cantonese Yale: lùhng) is the fifth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calend...
Feb 12, 2024•58 min
Dan & Paul analyze the -- sometimes surprising! -- list of recommended equipment in Original D&D. Sure, you should have dice, paper, and pencils. But is the 3-ring notebook and drafting equipment really needed for the referee and each player? How about the multiple other games you need, Chainmail and Outdoor Survival? And what does say about using miniature figures? The original Dungeons & Dragons set, subtitled Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and ...
Feb 05, 2024•1 hr 6 min
The Wandering DMs dig into the concept of anachronisms in D&D settings. They will explore the historic roots of D&D campaign settings, and where modern objects, events, or ideas have leaked in. Does the existence of anachronism break immersion, or is the very nature of the fantasy genre open to all forms of content? Where and how do we draw the line? An anachronism is a chronological inconsistency in some arrangement, especially a juxtaposition of people, events, objects, language terms ...
Jan 29, 2024•1 hr 1 min
