Disguises in D&D | Riotous Reveals | Wandering DMs S08 E34
Paul & Dan have a post-Halloween retrospective on using disguises and surprising reveals in games of D&D. How much do classic mechanics support that? Do you need to seed opportunities in advance for your adventures? And what about when a…
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.…
