Skeletons and Zombies | Classics That Never Die | Wandering DMs S08 E33
Dan and Paul celebrate Halloween with a look at two of fantasy gaming’s most enduring monsters: skeletons and zombies! What makes skeletons and zombies distinct as monsters? How have they evolved across editions of Dungeons & Dragons? What roles do…
Classic Covers in D&D | How to Judge a Module? | Wandering DMs S8E32
Dan & Paul look back to our favorite covers in classic D&D modules. What makes for a great cover? How well do they balance the tension between showing the most exciting content versus giving away too much of the surprise?…
Fatigue in D&D | Take a Rest Already | Wandering DMs S8E31
Paul and Dan chat about Fatigue rules in D&D and other RPG’s. It was a key part of the Chainmail progenitor to D&D, and also an important mechanic in modern 5E rules. But it was absent or overlooked in classic…
Mapping the Dungeon | Communicating Space in Exploration | Wandering DMs S8E30
Dan and Paul talk about mapping the dungeon: how does the DM communicate an unknown physical space to the players as they explore it? Do you describe the dungeon entirely through words and let the players build a map in…
Poisons in D&D | Toxic Portrayals | Wandering DMs S8 E29
Paul and Dan chat about the history of poison mechanics in D&D. Is the classic save-or-die a realistic model, or does it make for lousy gaming? Should we distinguish between ingestible poisons versus animal venoms? Should your PCs have access…
D&D Campaign Notes | Keeping Track of Long-Running Campaigns | Wandering DMs S8 E28
Dan and Paul dive into the practical problem of keeping notes and records for long-running D&D campaigns. Paul is gearing up to run a new campaign in the same world and setting he’s been developing since 2010, which means digging…
Swords & Spells | OD&D Goes to War | Wandering DMs S08 E27
Dan and Paul celebrate the 50th anniversary of Swords & Spells, Gary Gygax’s 1976 rules for bringing large-scale battles to Original Dungeons & Dragons. What was the history and reception of what could be considered the final supplement in the…
Level Titles in D&D | What’s in a Name? | Wandering DMs S08 E26
Dan & Paul chat about level titles in early D&D. Did you know in the earliest editions of D&D (original, 1E, B/X), that every class level had a distinct title? You weren’t just a 4th-level fighter, you were officially a…
Building a One-on-One Adventure Live! | Dungeon Design Dash #9 | Wandering DMs S08 E25
With Dan still away on vacation, Paul is taking on a solo Dungeon Design Dash! Inspired by a suggestion from our Discord community, today’s challenge is to design an entire adventure built specifically for one Dungeon Master and one player.…
Barbarian Prince | Going Solo in a Classic Hexcrawl | Wandering DMs S8E24
With Dan away traveling for the next two weeks, Paul is going solo… so what better time to play one of his favorite solo fantasy games ever? It’s Barbarian Prince! Barbarian Prince is a sprawling fantasy hexcrawl game published by…
