Best Hook And Chance Podcasts (2024)

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Episode 11 — “What Are My College Chances?” & Other Student Qs 1:35:46

4h ago1:35:46

1:35:46

In this episode, we respond to real questions in the popular online forum Reddit from students across the country. In particular, we cover answers to the following: Which letters of recommendation do I send? How important is course rigor freshman and sophomore year? How do you come up with your college essay topic? Which GPA do colleges use? What a…

1
From the Frontlines: A TBI Agent's Journey Through the Devastating Drug Epidemic and His Pursuit of Justice 52:40

2h ago52:40

52:40

From the Frontlines: A TBI Agent's Journey Through the Devastating Drug Epidemic and His Pursuit of Justice In this powerful episode, we have the privilege of sitting down with Tom Farmer, a dedicated TBI agent, who has spent years combating the devastating effects of drugs in our communities. Through a candid and gripping conversation, we delve in…

1
Episode 10 – How To (Actually) Interpret Acceptance Data 1:06:31

3d ago1:06:31

1:06:31

Many students and families heavily rely on the college acceptance data (GPA/test scores vs. college outcomes) of past applicants from their high school to make high-stakes decisions about their school list, selection of early decision colleges, and likely overall college outcomes. In this episode, we break down how past college acceptance data is r…

1
Episode 9 — Rejected Premed Case Study 51:23

11d ago51:23

51:23

In this episode, we review the profile and applications of a premed student who was rejected from both of their early decision schools, roughly top-25 to top-35 national universities. This student attended a top-1% US high school, possessed a 3.9 unweighted GPA, 99th percentile test scores, took 15 AP/honors courses, and had what many would conside…

1
Episode 8 — School List Mistakes & Myths 1:05:49

18d ago1:05:49

1:05:49

In this episode, we cover many factors—including costly mistakes, myths, and traps—related to students’ school selection. In particular, we address the following: School Visits Why it doesn’t make sense to visit highly selective colleges before mid-11th grade Prioritization of best and best-fit colleges for visits, especially schools that offer bin…

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Episode 7 — Building An Admissions “Hook” 1:37:15

25d ago1:37:15

1:37:15

In prior episodes, we’ve determined that top colleges seek not only students with excellent grades, course rigor, and test scores but also students with compelling admissions “stories” or “hooks” related to their academic/intellectual passions and how they will contribute to their future college—and hopefully, the world—in some specific, unique way…

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A Statesman’s Triumph: A Sobering Path to Congressional Greatness 52:59

27d ago52:59

52:59

A Statesman's Triumph: A Sobering Path to Congressional Greatness In this powerful episode, we pay tribute to a remarkable United States Congressman whose journey is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Join us as we delve into the life of a true leader who has dedicated himself to public service and has left an indelible mark on so manyOur guest, the H…

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Episode 6 — Rejected Valedictorian Essay Analysis 36:37

1M ago36:37

36:37

She was the Valedictorian of her high school. Perfect GPA in over twenty advanced classes, taking Calculus BC by 10th grade and college math courses by 11th grade. All perfect or near-perfect test scores, tennis captain, multiple leadership positions, a scholarship to a prestigious math program, and state math champion. To boot, as a female applyin…

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Adolescence Interrupted: Straight Talk on Teen Addiction & Recovery 51:36

1M ago51:36

51:36

A powerful episode on teen recovery with Melanie Berg, Director of the Scholze Center at CADAS. Melanie provides insights and advice for teens struggling with addiction and the people who love them. Join us as we discuss the unique challenges of teen addiction, explore effective recovery paths and offer a message of hope for building a fulfilling f…

1
Episode 5 — The Biggest College Essay Mistake 56:32

1M ago56:32

56:32

Summer is upon us, and many rising seniors—if they haven’t already—are turning their attention to college applications. Among the most important components they will be tackling is the Common Application “Personal Essay”, often simply called “the college essay.” For almost all students, this will be the most important essay colleges read, and for s…

1
Episode 4 — What Top Colleges Look For & How To Build It 45:35

2M ago45:35

45:35

College admissions has never been more competitive: high GPAs, strong test scores, and a well-rounded resume—once sufficient for an acceptance—are now common features of most applications to highly selective colleges. In this episode, we reveal what top colleges nowadays seek: students with compelling admissions stories centered around a focused ac…

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Episode 3 — Why College Outcomes Vary 26:26

2M ago26:26

26:26

When many parents applied to college around three decades ago, college lists and outcomes assumed a fairly predictable, linear order. You had your “safeties,” schools to which you were almost certain to be admitted, your “targets,” schools to which you could reasonably expect to be admitted, and “reaches,” schools to which you would most likely not…

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Episode 2 — Breaking Down Single-Choice & Restrictive Early Action 21:07

2M ago21:07

21:07

You’ve probably heard of Early Action, but do you know what Single-Choice and Restrictive Early Action are? Seven of the top colleges (Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, CalTech, Georgetown, and Notre Dame) offer one of these unique sub-types of Early Action that place significant restrictions on the other colleges to which students under these pl…

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Rollercoaster to Roller Rink: A Mom’s Recovery Ride with Her Two Titans 50:00

2M ago50:00

50:00

A heartwarming journey of a mom's resilience as she tackles recovery, rediscovers herself and finds joy in the unexpected. A Mom's Recovery Ride with Her Two TitansBy marygentryt

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Episode 1 — One Thing Every Junior Must Do Now 40:04

2M ago40:04

40:04

While many students and parents are caught up with AP exams, senior course selection, college visits, college essays, requesting teacher letters of recommendation, in this episode, we reveal the one thing that absolutely every high school junior must do right now if they want to ensure they are on the path to admissions success at top colleges. And…

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Hook, Line & Second Chances: A Fisherman's Tale of Addiction & Hope 55:50

3M ago55:50

55:50

A candid conversation with Stephen, a skydiver and fisherman who's on a journey of recovery. Listen in as he shares his experiences with addiction, the challenges he faced and the triumphs he has achieved on the road to a healthier life. Also a very talented musician, Stephen has definitely found his voice again, on and off the stage.…

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The Last-Minute Spooky-Time Session 53:03

9M ago53:03

53:03

All Hollows Eve is upon us, and like many, we often find ourselves scrambling to create a memorable Halloween gaming experience. Costume panic and game prep panic, it all feels the same. Can we muster up a session that we can run with minimal prep that feels unique and fun?By Hook and Chance

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Let the King Be King ft. Ollo Clark 52:40

9M ago52:40

52:40

Ever wished your tabletop RPG sessions felt more like epic 'do-or-die' tales and less like casual dice-rolling? Well, in this episode, our friend Ollo delivers us a golden key to unlock another level of immersive storytelling and roleplay. Character status, both internal and external, is that roleplay key, but the players are the ones who hold it.…

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Simply Prep Flawless Encounters 57:29

10M ago57:29

57:29

Great moments are created on the foundation of well-designed encounters. But encounter prep is hard to get right every time. It's easy to forget something or miss the mark. We've done it in nearly every imaginable way. From those mistakes, and with the help of our patrons, we've created a system that streamlines great encounter prep. It's system ag…

1
Confidently Plot Your Classic TTRPG Adventure 53:44

1y ago53:44

53:44

Homebrew adventures. The unlimited freedom to follow the fun wherever it leads. The ability to create thrilling sessions time after time, following the path that the party feels driven to follow, and feels satisfied in doing so. This is what we want for our table.But there are so many ways to miss the mark. And we've missed it plenty. We've run mea…

1
The Secret to Purpose-Driven Villains 50:06

1y ago50:06

50:06

The final showdown. After smashing aside all the diversions, mental games, tricks and traps, the party has caught up to the villain. They've been forced to face their demons along the way, made sacrifices, but have finally earned the chance to end the villain's reign of terror once and for all. That's the kind of villain we want to bring to the tab…

1
Crafting Homebrew Horrors for Your Heroes 53:37

1y ago53:37

53:37

Some of the best moments in a game come from when a brave party of adventurers stares the worst conjurings of your imagination in the eyes and says "Not today, death!" Especially when the monster feels unique, like it's come into the world just to face down these heroes, and even manages to shock and delight the players. In this episode, we show by…

1
Build a Likeable NPC in Stages 41:58

1y ago41:58

41:58

NPC's are the tool of a GM. They are how you draw the players into your world, they're how you communicate with them, they're expressions of all your plots and schemes and worldbuilding. They're entertaining, they hold secrets to uncover, they allow great roleplay, and work together to create suspense! Easier to just say they do everything. So we b…

1
Creating Conflicting Cultures 51:25

1y ago51:25

51:25

Want to work up a corner of your world that feels rich with history, friendships, rivalries, and details that all kinda make sense? Something that makes the party curious, and allows you the space to improv more at the table, while keeping it all connected? That's what we're talking about today, with the help of our culture creator.…

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Four Corners of Corrupted Foes 43:29

1y ago43:29

43:29

Want a faster route to planning out the major players in an adventure? Something that focuses you efforts like a laser, and results in a living, breathing world? In this episode we use the four-corner opposition method to create rich, dynamic antagonists for our adventure.Trying to cook up awesome villains can be tough. Many failed approaches were …

1
Session Zero to Story-Driven Dungeon Crawl 48:01

1+ y ago48:01

48:01

Want to ensure your TTRPG campaign is a success? Start with successful session zero. In the first episode of our first official season, we provide a complete guide that will help you give your players a game they'll love. Whether you use it as is, or just snag a few new ideas, you'll hear us talk through it and use it to establish the foundation fo…

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Beware the Basilisk 48:44

1+ y ago48:44

48:44

The Basilisk. A violent, monstrous lizard that can turn you to stone with a glare. While fun at first glance, this monster betrayed us. The first time using it turned into a panic, when we realized how immediately and irreversibly deadly they can be against a fledgling party of adventurers. “Wait, petrified? Like, for good?” Not only that, but they…

1
Running a Monumental Monster 55:53

1+ y ago55:53

55:53

Ever throw down a giant nasty monster only to have the most memorable moment be when you couldn’t figure out the hp math for a minute? Without the party even realizing this was supposed to be the fight? We’ve been there.The last episode introduced our method of running massive, world-ending monsters in a way that feels complex, with frenetic action…

1
Planning a World-Ending Monster 54:57

1+ y ago54:57

54:57

We all desperately crave the boss monster moment. When we pull out the miniature bigger than our heads and slam it down on the table. The players go wild. One of them is screaming while ripping out chunks of hair. One is vomiting in their dice bag in the corner. One is lighting the map on fire. You sit back and cross your arms, a satisfied grin cre…

1
Tame Your Game with Ticking Clocks 45:23

1+ y ago45:23

45:23

Incredible concepts for games can be ruined without a few key details. Open-world "sandbox" games can leave players feeling lost and unmotivated, meandering through locations. Epic storylines can be swept away because the player characters didn't seem to care. Hours of game prep can be lost from players not realizing how compelling that direction c…

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The Great Homage Heist ft. The GM Tim 55:32

1+ y ago55:32

55:32

You consume a story. Maybe a movie, or book. You love it. It speaks to you. It moves you. You want to jam it into your games, but how do you jam in the things that captured you? The things that matter? Throw in a character with a bullwhip and a fedora, you're not going to have what made Indiana Jones great.On the other hand, perhaps you are running…

1
Alter Preceptions of Alter Self 39:04

1+ y ago39:04

39:04

There are some odd addendums in the spell description of Alter Self. The challenge of using this spell for both GMs and players is that the rules as written confines us from the places where our imaginations naturally go. What a pain. With some minor clarifications and gentle relaxing of the rules, we can find some middle ground that both sides of …

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How to Defend Your Lair ft. Keith Ammann 56:09

1+ y ago56:09

56:09

Returning with another literal book full of wisdom is Keith Ammann. He's bringing the same strategic brilliance that he's brought to monster and player offense to base defense. It creates games that feel grounded, flexible, and full of potential. Most of all, it gives you the tools to create the lair of anyone or any monster you can dream up. We lo…

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Secrets of the Firbolg 46:52

1+ y ago46:52

46:52

The Firbolg represents an archetype that's been around a long time, and is a blast to play—the gentle, nature-loving giant. Like most player options, however, there's a few traps to fall in if we don't consider their potential. Firbolgs are more than just the cultural equivalent of druids. And they can offer so much more than cliches about hippies …

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Using Tropes with Intent ft. Paige Ford 47:54

1+ y ago47:54

47:54

The group of adventurers pledging themselves to a dangerous mission...The guttural clicking of a monster stalking the party...A passing shadow that clues the party to look up, its source an enormous red dragon. All tropes! All Incredible moments! We were once resistant to the power of tropes, until we realized that you can't avoid them, and that th…

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The Revenant Revival 43:36

1+ y ago43:36

43:36

Revenants capture a particular genre of monster, and we love it. They have been represented in the great slashers in the form of characters like Jason and Michael Meyers. No matter how many times you think you got 'em, they're back and angrier than ever. And as a GM, nothing sounds more fun than chasing the party with an undead foe that, no matter …

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Rules of Engagement ft. Heavyarms 1:00:43

2y ago1:00:43

1:00:43

Every rule should engage. That's the episode. Playing D&D can feel like you're constantly getting buckets of rules tossed in your face, and you're trying to sort out which ones matter. Then there are rivers of homebrew. How could we possibly know what's good, and what's trash? With the question "Does it engage?", which is what our incredible guest …

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Rust Monsters: The Biggest Rustholes 36:02

2y ago36:02

36:02

It's always tempting to use monsters like the rust monster because they seem iconic. Classics. Gotta try 'em at least once. The problem comes when we mix the original punishing design principles of D&D with the modern character and story first playstyle that we love so much. Now they just feel like an annoying trap that steals from me. In this epis…

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The Modron Mathematical Mayhem 49:23

2y ago49:23

49:23

So we've got dimension-surfing cyborgs with cultural values, motivations, and personalities. Now we have to plan for the inevitability that some frantic adventurer is gonna wanna throw down. But as they're currently presented, we're a little underwhelmed by their combat dynamism. Advanced beings from a plane of law, and they're throwing javelins at…

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The Modron Metaphysical Motivation 56:20

2y ago56:20

56:20

Modrons capture attention and imagination—bio-mechanical beings from an alien plane, with reality-bending inspirations. But when we start unpacking the lore, we can't figure out how or why to use them, how to roleplay a modron, how they behave, or what they really want. So in this episode, we answer these questions by tweaking the concept while sta…

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Find Familiars Unforgettable 43:59

2y ago43:59

43:59

These magical minions add so much to a character. They're tiny strategic powerhouses that possess pure condensed roleplay potential. They're the dark matter of RPGs. Yet the same problems pop up again and again with these critters. They're easily forgotten, it's hard to get others invested in them, we keep leaning on the one gag that got a laugh un…

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A Chimera of Chaos 45:38

2y ago45:38

45:38

Chimeras are legendary creatures that have invaded folk's imagination since the ancient Greeks cooked them up. An epic three-headed beast conquered by the son of a god. Juicy. But have you ever been a part of an uninspired Chimera fight? Yes, they're deadly, but after a couple flyby triple head attacks, things get stale. In this episode, we talk ab…

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Beyond D&D ft. The GM Tim 44:50

2y ago44:50

44:50

There are many games with near-infinite themes, genres, flavors, new ideas, and fresh inspiration. It's an exciting world of possibility, and we'd love to play them all. Of course, there's only so much time, money, or x resource that we have to try these new games. Unfortunately, this stops us from even beginning to explore different systems. This …

1
Hazardous Hag Bargains 43:13

2y ago43:13

43:13

Hags offer so much potential as ruthless negotiators, incredibly clever antagonists and uneasy allies. But like many of the most brilliant monsters out there, their plots can be hard to actually conjure up in our games. And not just that, but the classic hag tales are ones in which someone a little foolish enters a bargain we all know they shouldn'…

1
How to Win at Warlock Characters 41:34

2y ago41:34

41:34

Warlocks inspire a lot of wonder, right out of the gate. They've got an incredible story hook baked right in, and one can sit there considering how terrifying they look for ages. But where we've fallen down before is really making that hook pay off. This episode explores the themes and potential stories that warlocks offer us, and how to play them …

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Hold Person Handily 40:51

2y ago40:51

40:51

Hold Person is wildly powerful and feels pretty cool when you get to snag a baddie with it. But it's one of the classic save or suck spells, meaning that either nothing happens, or something absolutely awful happens. This means dice start flying out of pure rage at the table when your barbarian is stuck in place during a climactic throw-down. Well,…

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A More Brutal Bulette 45:34

2y ago45:34

45:34

The Bulette is such a cool monster. A deadly tunneling, armored hunter, a leaping surprise attacker, a vicious apex predator. So then why does running one exactly as they allude to feel so lackluster? It turns out the answer may all be in the build-up.By Hook and Chance

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Pacing like a Producer ft. Roz Young 1:00:40

2y ago1:00:40

1:00:40

Ever find yourself scrambling to hit the gas, or notice that something is getting stale, but you just can't tell what? Well, this episode is packed with techniques that will keep everyone on the edge of their seats. The wisdom comes from the experience of our incredible guest Roz Young, the masterful storyteller of Ready to Roll, a boundary-pushing…

1
A Study in Spectacular Sentient Items 46:59

2y ago46:59

46:59

Ever thrown in a sentient item, thinking it would be an epic fantasy moment, only to have it become a joke? Or forgotten? A forgotten joke? Nothing worse. In this episode, we get into how to avoid their pitfalls and what you can do to unleash the many wondrous powers they give not just the heroes of your story, but you as the DM.We also discuss The…

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Show, Don't Tell ft. Ollo Clark 1:30:25

2+ y ago1:30:25

1:30:25

Those great sessions that are packed with character moments, epic fights, and emotional highs seem almost magical. Well, this episode unlocks a piece of that magic. We talk to Ollo Clark from Escape Plan Games all about how the storytelling concept "show, don't tell" can apply to all the elements of TTRPG's, and help us encourage those memorable mo…

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