Purple Worms & Sea Monsters | The Kaiju of D&D | Wandering DMs S08 E08
Paul & Dan grapple with the biggest of all monsters in original D&D: Purple Worms and Sea Monsters! Why were these beefy guys picked as the apex predators of D&D? What are some alternative ways they could be represented or…
Outdoor Adventures in D&D | Hex Crawls, Point Crawls, and Big Journeys | Wandering DMs S08 E07
Dan and Paul discuss techniques for running tabletop RPG adventures that span large outdoor regions and long journeys. From classic hex crawls and wilderness exploration to point crawls and node-based travel, outdoor campaigns present unique challenges for pacing, mapping, and…
The Dungeon! Boardgame | The Essence of D&D | Wandering DMs S08 E06
Paul and Dan pull out and analyze Dave Megarry’s famous Dungeon! boardgame, developed at the same time as D&D, published in 1975. How much were the games similar, and were do the differ? What changed in the half-dozen iterations over…
How Not To Be a Potato | Showing Up at the Table | Wandering DMs S08 E05
Dan and Paul tackle a deceptively common table problem: the potato player – someone who shows up, sits quietly, and never quite engages. Coined as shorthand for disengaged play, “potatoing” can look the same from the outside but come from…
Rangers in D&D | Wilderness Experts | Wandering DMs S08 E04
Paul and Dan chat about the history of Rangers in D&D. Inspired directly by Tolkien, they’re one of D&D’s earliest and most appealing sub-classes! With abilities to surprise, track, cut down giants, and even cast spells, they’re not your normal…
Puzzle Dungeons | Chris “Directsun” on Designing Meaningful Puzzles | Wandering DMs S08 E03
Dan and Paul revisit one of Wandering DMs’ earliest topics – puzzles in tabletop RPGs – this time with special guest Chris M, aka Directsun. Back in Season 1, we wrestled with why puzzles so often fall flat at the…
Star Frontiers in 2026 | Life in the Future | Wandering DMs S08 E02
Dan & Paul chat about the classic 1980’s sci-fi RPG, Star Frontiers, from the makers of D&D. We’re still running it today for younger players and having a great time. What are the great things about it that still work,…
The Rule of Cool | When Breaking the Rules Makes the Game Better | Wandering DMs S08 E01
Dan and Paul kick off Season 8 by diving into one of the most debated ideas in tabletop RPGs: The Rule of Cool. When should a GM stick to the written rules, and when is it better to bend or…
2025 Year in Review | Wandering DMs Season 7 | Wandering DMs S07 E41
Dan and Paul close out Season 7 of Wandering DMs with their annual Year in Review, looking back at what defined the season. They revisit standout episodes, recurring topics, and memorable conversations, along with the moments where the show broke…
Illusions in D&D | Disbelieve What You See | Wandering DMs S07 E40
Paul & Dan reflect on the state of illusions in D&D, across the many editions of the game. Can a basic illusion deal actual damage to your character, or not? Can they trap your character in hallucinatory pit? How robust…
