Here is a preview TWO of our subscriber episodes reviewing what could be the best published megadungeon and the best published hexcrawl. To listen to the full episodes subscribe below and check out these adventures for yourself. Subscribe to the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Stonehell Dungeon: Down Night-Haunted Hall…

DMs Matt and Rob wade into The Discourse discussing if “system matters” and “rules elide.” Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join DMofNone on Discord! Links: Fireside Chat for Chapter 2 of World Beyond Number - Dimension 20 Detours and Lies (1, probably) - “What Is A D&D Anyway? - Combat Orientation and Sto…

Rob sits down with designer Andy Pressman to talk about, well, design, but also about games! The conversation ranges from Andy's active projects to onboarding players to mechanics to game jams and hacks and more. Andy's Itch Patchwork World Errant

Matt and Rob cover the REST of the Daggerheart playtest, including the GM section, adversaries, maps, worldbuilding, and the included starting adventure -- there's a lot going on here! Download the playtest materials here for free: https://darringtonpress.com/daggerheart/ Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone J…

DM "Dagger" Matt and DM "Heart" Rob are here to chat about the recently released playtest of Daggerheart, a fantasy TTRPG by Darrington Press and Critical Role. Download the playtest materials here for free: https://darringtonpress.com/daggerheart/ Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join DMofNone on Discord!…

Matt and Rob are joined by Daniel Kwan of Asians Represent to talk about his TTRPG of lethal melodrama, Wandering Blades! We talk wuxia, TTRPG design, playtesting, mechanics, inspirations, and more! Daniel's Patreon Daniel's Itch.io

So you want to run an RPG. No, not the one you are running right now, but a different one. DMs Matt and Rob are here to talk through their method and tips for learning a new game system. Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join DMofNone on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Paul Simon - 50 Ways to Leave…

Matt and Rob sit down with Lin Codega and Rowan Zeoli of rascal.news, the new independent TTRPG news site that is rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of, well, several other sites. We talk plans, the state of TTRPGs, the death of journalism, and more! In Search of a Hot Pink Bitch Named Breakfast Harlem Hellfighters Never Die…

DMs Rob and Matt are joined by Keri Blakinger, investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times, to talk about her piece for New York Times Magazine, "The Dungeons & Dragons Players of Death Row," which can be read for free at the Marshall Project, "When Wizards and Orcs Came to Death Row." Links: Keri Blakinger - The Marshall Project https://www.th…

Special West Marches Correspondent Andy joins Matt and Rob to explain a wonderous campaign where all are welcome: The Open Table! Learn what an open table-style game is, why you might want to ditch your old dedicated story-driven campaigns, and how to prepare and GM an open table game. Plus, learn the Five "S"s of Open Tables: Setting, System, Sche…

Matt and Rob talk about how to make role-playing adventures, player guides, and games look nice. Join us for a journey through design and layout tools from simple to complex. Listen to the full episode on the DMofNone Patreon! Links: Homebrewery GM Binder GIMP Cartographers' Guild Explorers Design Adobe InDesign InDesign Template for 5e DriveThruRP…

Matt and Rob talk about how to run a one shot! As it turns out, finishing a whole adventure in one sitting is a lot more complicated than it sounds. Rat Queens They Want to Be Us Savage Worlds One Sheets Summer in December The Great Grav Train Robbery Bite Sized Dungeons Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Jo…

Rob abuses his power to force the podcast audience to listen to him ramble about his unfinished campaign setting, Thunder on the Steppe! We talk through the idea behind the campaign, issues with getting it presentable, next steps and takeaways. Check out the DMofNone Patreon! Link to the Thunder on the Steppe Preview doc. Join us on Discord! Music:…

Matt and Rob review So You Want to be a Game Master? by Justin Alexander (of thealexandrian.net), which is exactly what it says on the tin. We talk about Alexander's approach, what you'll find in the book, and what you can use in your games! Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join us on Discord! Music: Pac D…

Matt and Rob reflect on the events of the year, go over the many (12!) systems they've reviewed, and talk about what they're looking forward to in 2024. Listen to the rest of the episode (and an entire day's worth of premium episodes) on the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the …

DMs Rob and Matt are back to answer your questions about Game Mastering! Plus, the triumphant return of Unwanted Advice! Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; Du gamla, du fria - Sabaton; Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John.…

Matt and Rob review some more Pathfinder adventure paths, focusing on Serpent's Skull and Carrion Crown! One of these is good! One of them is not! Listen to find out which. Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Crab Rave! Earth Wind and Fire - Serpentine Fire Monster Squad Theme Song - Rock Until You Drop

"Temba, his arms wide!" DMs Rob and Matt give the gift of a Trekkie TTRPG to you this holiday season. Learn about why playing a Starfleet crew is so much fun and how to use Mophidius's 2d20 system with its momentum and threat pools to create rewarding play at the table. Don your redshirt and get ready for a simulation that you can't win...no, not t…

DM Matt shares with DM Rob advice from his many years in the classroom that you can bring to your RPG table. Learn to game master like a teacher with these pedagogy tips! Session Plan Template on Patreon Check out the DMofNone Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/DungeonMasterOfNone Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice; The Who - Substitu…

Matt and Rob discuss the brand new mystery horror TTRPG from Darrington Press, Candela Obscura! This highly-anticipated freshman offering from Critical Role's in-house press has, to say the least, a lot going on! Delve into a world of spooky mystery, vaguely fin-de-siècle aesthetics, and questionable architectural choices. Check out the DMofNone Pa…

On the Patreon, Matt and Rob revisit a controversial book from the late-stage D&D 3.5e era -- The Tome of Battle: Book of Nine Swords! This is a messy, bloated, confusing book, but there are a few gems buried there, and moments of real potential, especially if you like cool martial abilities, fantastic combat, and tactical gameplay.…

Matt and Rob are joined by veteran board game and RPG designers, Elizabeth Hargrave and Sen-Foong Lim, to discuss the Tabletop Game Designers Association, a new trade organization for tabletop creatives of all types. The TTGDA will advocate, educate, and fight for living wages in our community and will need your solidarity! Learn more and sign-up f…

Matt and Rob are joined by Special Tarot Correspondent Nat, to celebrate the death of Henry Kissinger, discuss the basics of tarot, the history of tarot and tarot-like decks in D&D, how to use tarot with your players, and ways to prep adventures using cartomancy! You can follow Nat on Twitter @ashesforfoxes Links: The Deck of Many Things (5e SRD) T…

Matt and Rob strap on their goggles and top hats, ingest a few milliliters of laudanum, and review Vaesen, Free League Publishing's Nordic horror fantasy monster hunting RPG! No myrling or brook horse is safe! Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Grimm TV Show Theme Into the Woods - Witch's Lament Unsolved Myste…

What's your players' signs? DMs Rob and Matt take a look at the many different typologies, stereotypes, and taxonomies of players at your table and how you can best observe, identify, and harness these different motivations and goals to improve your game. Some of the many lists of types of role-players. Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord!…

DMs Rob and Matt review MCDM's psionic system and psion class, The Talent. Long splat book short: it's pretty good. And it bodes well for the RPG system MCDM will be kickstarting in a couple months. While certain aspects of the class certainly stressed (strained?) us out, MCDM may have designed a better magic system for 5e than D&D's traditional Va…

Matt and Rob return to Sigil to talk about the other two books in the Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse box set! This includes Sigil and the Outlands, which is exactly what it sounds like, and Morte's Planar Parade, a planar-focused monster manual. I hope you like opinions, berks, because we've got em! Check out our Patreon! Join us on Disco…

Listen up you berks, Matt and Rob are here to talk about Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse -- well, one part of it anyway, the Turn of Fortune's Wheel campaign. We hate to say it cagers, but these leatherheads really piked it. Sigil slang glossary Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord! Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Wheel of Fortune Them…

Take us out to the black, because DMs Rob and Matt are reviewing Coriolis - The Third Horizon by Free League Publishing. Coriolis RPG The Third Horizon Map Year Zero Engine SRD Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord!

Matt is down with COVID (don't worry, he's fine), so Rob is stealing the mic to talk about Baldur's Gate 3, the unexpected gaming phenomenon of the season. Turns out there's a lot of cool stuff you can do if you're willing to bend the rules of 5e (and have six years to polish a game). Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord!…

Happy spooky season, y'all! To celebrate, it's the Monster Mash...up...again! Listen to DMs Rob and Matt mix up on the fly the bugbear with the ankheg, a swarm of rats with a trademarked giant brain-eating worm, and a lion with a gladiator. Stick with it on that last one. Sounds boring, but it's worth it! Check out our Patreon for the full stats of…

Matt and Rob answer your letters! Hear our not-so-expert opinion on magic items, spontaneous spellcasting, AI art, and more! Creative Commons Licenses Check out our Patreon! Join us on Discord!

DMs Rob and Matt discuss one of the most challenging, most interesting, and weirdest RPGs to come out in the last decade: Monte Cook Games' Invisible Sun. Pour yourself some tea made of thoughts and shuffle your soothe deck because we are heading into the black cube. Announcing Invisible Sun: Return of the Black Cube Join DM of None on Discord and …

Justin Alexander of the Alexandrian joins Matt and Rob to talk about his upcoming book and about what he's learned in his many years of GMing! Get a sneak peek of So You Want to be a Game Master and hear some PRO TIPS for your games!

Listen to the full episode on our Patreon! The "ult" episode to our earlier combo on RPG Kickstarter grifts, detailing just a few of the many exploits of Jamison Stone and Satine Phoenix. StudlyStone: A collection of stories involving Satine Phoenix, Jamison Stone, Apotheosis Studios "Accusations Of Bullying And Blacklisting Surround Dungeons & Dra…

Special guest Kyle Latino, aka the MapCrow, joins DM Matt to talk about Cloud Curio's new Kickstarter, Monstrous, how tapping into the fantastic creates better monsters, and how to map more engaging worlds for your players. Check out Monstrous, on Kickstarter now! Building Better Monsters on YouTube Join DM of None on Discord and Patreon!…

Matt and Rob talk about some of our favorite Kickstarter grifts and teach you, valued consumer, how to identify and steer clear of obvious crowdfunding scams. Far West Salt in Wounds Grimmerspace Swordsfall Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Will Smith - Wild Wild West

DMs Rob and Matt review Flee, Mortals! The MCDM Monster Book. Spoilers: it's good. Discord Patreon

Matt and Rob discuss a contentious topic -- power gaming! Come listen to find out why it's cool and good, actually. Hey D&D Powergamers... On Power Gaming The Stormwind Fallacy Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Kanye West - Power Puiblic Enemy - Fight the Power

Tabletop News is your weekly rundown of the tabletop gaming industry's latest news created for gamers by gamers. Links: The Worst Heist of All Time at GenCon Paizo Announces New Starfinder Edition at Gen Con Largest Third-Party D&D Marketplace Restricts AI-Generated Products Hasbro May Be Eyeing AI for Dungeons & Dragons Dungeons & Dragons tells il…

Matt and Rob sink their teeth into the biggest, bloodiest, sexiest dracula-having RPG around: Vampire: the Masquerade! We only scratch (bite?) the surface of what's possible, but it should give you a taste of what's to store in this world of darkness... patreon.com/dungeonmasterofnone Discord Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Smashing Pumpkins - Bulle…

Has an older sibling, friend, or classmate introduced you to "role playing fantasy games?" Make sure your parents are in the room for this one, as Matt and Rob take a trip through the tail end of the Satanic Panic in the Imagination Station to Odyssey, U.S.A. and the Focus on the Family's 1990 radio play, "Castles and Cauldrons." Join us on Patreon…

Rob reviews a fan translation of the Japanese Dark Souls TTRPG by Kadokawa. Is it better than the 5e version? Can he git gud or will he go hollow reading it? Matara Makes Games @Gahostan

Every couple years, DMs Rob and Matt get curious about which TTRPGs everyone is playing. Which system (that isn't D&D) is the most popular? Which adventure has been played the most? Unfortunately, there isn't a giant database of what everyone is playing, at least, not since the Orr Report ceased its quarterly publication back in 2021. So, we have d…

Matt and Rob dig into the depths of the monster manual to find some underused and underappreciated monsters to use in your games. Discord Patreon Music Pac Div - Roll the Dice The Living Tombstone - Spooky Scary Skeletons (Remix) Olivia Rodrigo - Vampire Attack on Titan Theme Song Kanye West - Monster…

With the help of Special Playtest Correspondent Alex Clippinger, DM Matt dives into 127 pages of playtest material for OneDnD. OneDnD Playtest 5 and Playtest 6 Asians Represent Podcast - Has WotC Fixed the D&D Monk? Alex Clippinger's RPG Design Discord Patreon

Hate the metaplayer, not the metagame. DMs Matt and Rob break down the common definitions and misconceptions around metagaming in TTRPGs as well as how Game Masters can leverage metagaming to improve play. LegalKimchi - Metagaming in Roleplaying Games Metagames, Paragames and Orthogames: A New Vocabulary Discord Patreon…

Time to return to the Stolen Lands and review the updated and revised Kingmaker adventure for Pathfinder Second Edition. Is this our favorite published adventure? Maybe. Probably. Do we like it even more since the last time we reviewed it? Also, probably yes. The Kingmaker 2e Adventure Path Join us on Patreon for the full episode!…

Matt and Rob give some game updates, discuss The News, and then delve into some ancient wisdom from Dragon Magazine #74. Music: Pac Div - Roll the Dice Eddy Grant - Electric Avenue The Police - Every Breath You Take

Take a tour of the gnoll-infested island of Katapesh and the gloomy streets of Westcrown as we review Legacy of Fire and Council of Thieves in our second entry on the Pathfinder Adventure series. Discord Patreon