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Mastering Dungeons

Mastering Dungeons
Mastering Dungeons
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446 episodes

  • Mastering Dungeons

    Sirrangia and Worldbuilding Through Campaign Building!

    2026-07-22 | 1h 30 mins.
    Episode 300 of Mastering Dungeons!

    Main topic: Sirrangia and Worldbuilding Through Campaign Building!

    Now that we are creating an adventure setting for our top Patreon supporters, we look at worldbuilding through the lens of campaign building.

    News: Season of Magic Launches, Big D&D Gen Con Plans, Good and Bad Paizo News, and more!

    Contents
    00:00 300th Episode!
    04:23 Balance My Vecna?
    16:37 No-Win Situations?
    21:33 Season of Magic Releases
    22:57 D&D Encounters News
    27:06 D&D's Big Gen Con Plans
    30:21 DMAP Season 2
    33:20 Free Play Along Pack
    37:18 Sirius Dice for Daggerheart
    39:12 Good and Bad Pathfinder News
    41:46 Cosmere is Hiring
    43:40 NPC Notes
    45:43 Thrones & Bones Bundle
    46:11 Scipio's New Blog
    46:59 Sirrangia and Worldbuilding
    48:02 Every Group is Different
    51:59 Worldbuilding Basics
    57:32 Worldbuilding in RPGs
    01:04:35 Top-Down vs Bottom-Up
    01:09:59 Designing Sirrangia
    01:14:06 Rules and Worldbuilding
    01:18:47 Our Patreon Polls
    01:23:53 Surviving Strangehollow
    01:25:15 Shout-Outs
    01:29:42 What Are We Gonna Do?

    Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

    Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/ 

    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
  • Mastering Dungeons

    Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster with Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish!

    2026-07-08 | 1h 31 mins.
    Episode 299 of Mastering Dungeons!

    Main topic: Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster with Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish!

    Mike Shea aka Sly Flourish joins Shawn to discuss his latest book providing GM advice!

    News: D&D Fan Expo Canceled, 2026 ENnie Nominees, July D&D Drops, and more!

    Contents
    00:00 Mike Shea AKA Sly Flourish!
    05:32 Reuse Our Old Ideas?
    10:34 Who Would You Hire?
    16:43 Which Idea?
    23:30 D&D Fan Expo London Canceled
    27:03 July D&D Beyond Drops
    39:34 Demiplane and Roll20 Hiring
    43:10 2026 ENnie Nominees
    47:14 Another Stab at Making Enemies
    48:02 A Nightmare Adventure
    50:38 Welcome Mike Shea
    1:02:03 Rise of the Lazy Gamemaster on Kickstarter
    1:02:42 What Does Lazy Mean?
    1:06:43 Discrepancy at the Table
    1:09:25 Why This Book Now?
    1:10:36 8 Steps for Gameplay
    1:14:05 Steps in Non-D&D RPGs
    1:23:05 Importance of Randomness
    1:29:48 Find the Kickstarter
    1:30:09 Shout-Outs

    Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

    Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/ 

    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
  • Mastering Dungeons

    Why The Wild Beyond The Witchlight is So Good!

    2026-07-01 | 1h 40 mins.
    Episode 298 of Mastering Dungeons!

    Main topic: Best of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight!

    It’s easy to be positive when Shawn and Teos review one of the finest 5E adventures! Hear why this adventure excels!

    News: Wizards has a Union, Latest D&D Jobs, Have We Moved Past the OGL, and more!

    Contents
    00:00 Draw Steel Monsters
    01:54 Shawn's Wizardly Trip
    04:18 Guest Appearances
    05:36 Small Publisher Store Programs?
    15:18 OGL Impact Over?
    21:17 WotC New Union
    23:32 New and Updated D&D Jobs
    30:06 Season 2 Actual Play Announced
    33:02 Preorder Vampire's D&D Book
    38:19 Origins Award Winners
    39:26 Forgotten Odysseys
    40:54 The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
    43:20 Product History
    51:11 Premise and Approach
    01:00:53 New Species, Backgrounds, Hooks
    01:08:32 Witchlight Carnival
    01:13:48 Carnival Trackers and Events
    01:25:16 Chapters 2-4
    01:31:02 Palace of Heart's Desire
    01:33:44 Appendices and Tools
    01:36:28 Shout-Outs
    01:39:57 What Are We Gonna Do Now?

    Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

    Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/ 

    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
  • Mastering Dungeons

    Mystic Arts and Creator Publishing

    2026-06-24 | 1h 27 mins.
    Episode 297 of Mastering Dungeons!

    Main topic: Mystic Arts and Creator Publishing!

    Daði Einars joins Teos to discuss RPG design, gameplay, and his work with Mystic Arts to create for Patreon, YouTube, and your table!

    News: Vampire the Masquerade for D&D, New D&D Card Decks, WotC Staff Explain UAs, and more!

    Contents
    00:00 Welcome Daði Einars!
    01:59 Corruption in Kryptgarden
    08:00 Shield Lands Writing Team Correction
    08:57 Big Battle Advice?
    13:06 West Marches Draw Steel?
    15:38 DDB Partner Q3 Schedule
    17:02 Vampire Comes to D&D
    23:42 Updated Villainous Options
    27:19 Diana Jones Finalists
    28:34 2024 Spell, Monster, Magic Decks
    32:04 Free RPG Day June 27
    33:05 China Gets Weird
    36:39 The Last Round Table
    37:28 RPG Trader
    38:49 Mystic Arts and Creator Publishing
    40:06 Who is Daði Einars?
    44:37 Iceland's Baldur's Gate
    47:36 Patreon and YouTube
    57:15 Dungeon Jam
    01:00:25 Crown of the Fungal Queen
    01:10:12 What Does the Future Hold?
    01:12:33 RPGs and System Hacking
    01:16:10 Unused Plot Leads
    01:19:54 Evaluating Game Systems vs D&D
    01:26:56 Find Daði

    Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

    Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/ 

    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
  • Mastering Dungeons

    Best of Rime of the Frostmaiden!

    2026-06-17 | 1h 26 mins.
    Episode 296 of Mastering Dungeons!

    Main topic: Best of Rime of the Frostmaiden!

    We review this mega sourcebook and adventure in a single episode! See which parts of the cold will warm your heart.

    News: Paizo’s Difficult Future, Renegade Drops Essence20 for 5E, City of Greyhawk on DDB, 3/4 of D&D Players in Last Decade, and more!

    Contents
    00:00 Knicks and Cups
    01:17 Actual Shield Lands Authors
    03:35 The Angel's in the Details
    07:49 Running Megadungeons?
    14:40 Paizo's Difficult Future
    19:06 Drops Sharing Changed
    20:32 Free City of Greyhawk on DDB
    21:07 Renegade Drops Essence20 for 5E
    23:34 Wizards on Japanese Localization
    25:27 Dungeons & Dragons Questers
    28:30 Biggest Crowdfunders Take 2
    31:47 Rime of the Frostmaiden
    34:01 Product History
    41:17 Adventure Premise
    47:39 Backgrounds and Setup
    52:57 The Ten Towns
    57:01 Wilderness and Places of Interest
    01:00:57 Sunblight and Chardalyn Dragon
    01:10:38 Auril's Abode
    01:12:15 Caves of Hunger and Netherese City
    01:13:24 Epilogue Decisions
    01:18:20 Trinkets, Secrets, and Monsters
    01:20:46 Shout-Outs
    01:25:16 What Are We Gonna Do?

    Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

    Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/ 

    Our intro and outro music is Metropolis Fanfare, provided royalty-free by Tabletop Audio (https://tabletopaudio.com) under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

    MP3 file metadata populated with Online MP3 Podcast Chapter Editor, built by Dominik Peters. https://mp3chapters.github.io/ and customized for Mastering Dungeons by Vladimir Prenner from Croatia.
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About Mastering Dungeons
RPG veterans and game designers Teos Abadía and Shawn Merwin look at the game and the hobby of D&D from a variety of viewpoints: reporting the news, understanding the business, reviewing the products, and illuminating the design. Whether you’re a fan, a player, a DM, or a designer, Shawn and Teos cover topics of interest to you!
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