Taking 20 Podcast

Ep 192 - Monster Series - Doppelgangers

Doppelgangers are terrifying shapeshifters that are in the game solely to make an already paranoid group of players even more so.  After all, how can you trust anyone if anyone could be lying about who and what they are?  In this episode, I give you some common motivations for these monsters and tips for introducing them into your game.

 

#dmtips #doppelgangers #dnd #pathfinder #pathfinder2e

 

Resources:

The Monsters Know What They’re Doing:  Doppelgangers:  https://www.themonstersknow.com/doppelganger-tactics/

Doppelganger Origin:  https://www.britannica.com/art/doppelganger

Psychology of the Doppelganger:  https://annarchive.com/files/Drmg080.pdf

Ep 191 - DM Lessons from Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur's Gate 3 is an amazing game and even though it doesn't have a Dungeon Master per se, it does have some good advice and lessons that all of us can use to improve our DM style.  In this episode I give 8 tips I learned about DMing from Baldur's Gate 3

 

#dmtips #baldursgate3 #dnd #pathfinder

 

Resources:

https://www.hipstersanddragons.com/difficulty-classes-for-ability-checks-5e/

Larian Studios:  https://larian.com/

Ep 190 - Integrating Character Backstories with Rick Sandidge of Find the Path Ventures

A very special thank you to Rick Sandidge of Find the Path Ventures who was kind enough to come on the episode to discuss integrating character backstories into your game.  Please give their amazing podcasts a listen at find-path.com. 

Resources:

Find the Path Ventures:  https://find-path.com/

Find the Path Podcasts:  https://find-path.com/podcasts/ 

Find the Path Twitch:  https://www.twitch.tv/findthepathpod

 

Ep 189 - Using AI Tools

Some decry AI as the worst thing to come to RPGs since THAC0.  However, I’d like DMs and players to acknowledge the problems associated with AI use but also consider using AI as a tool to augment our games to make us better DMs and better players.

 

#dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #ArtificialIntelligence #rpgtips

Resources:

How to use AI as a Dungeon Master by Annabelle Collins:  https://www.modularrealms.com/en-us/blogs/news/dungeon-master-tools-how-can-ai-help-me-dm

https://www.belloflostsouls.net/2023/05/we-played-dd-with-a-chat-gpt-dungeon-master-can-ai-really-run-your-campaign.html

Positive Experiences with an AI DM

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/zpepxi/i_played_dnd_with_an_ai_robot_and_it_was_amazing/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

 

Cros.land generators:  https://cros.land/ai-rpg-location-generator/

https://bard.google.com

 

Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters:  https://a.co/d/4BtkOYL

Bloomberg Article on AI face generation:  https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2023-generative-ai-bias/

Ep 188 - Character Replacement

Many moons ago I gave tips on character death but as The Mummy said, death is only the beginning.  How do you let your player gracefully replace their character in your game?  

 

#dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #CharacterDeath

 

Resources:

Pathfinder 2e:  Wealth by Level:  https://2e.aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?ID=587

Ep 187 - Short - Imposter Syndrome

In this short episode I talk about a common feeling among DMs:  imposter syndrome and give DMs some advice for dealing with it.

 

 #dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #ImposterSyndrome

Ep 186 - Class Levels In Your World

A few weeks ago I mentioned how rare I think class levels are in your world and promised a longer discussion on the topic.  As threatened, here it is.  I make my case that class levels should be relatively rare in your world and give some benefits to designing your world that way.

 

#dmtips #dnd #pathfinder #starfinder #npcs

Resources:

Pathfinder 2e Core Preview:  https://paizo.com/pathfinder/corepreview

https://www.enworld.org/threads/what-proportion-of-the-population-are-adventurers.659605/ 

https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/ada98w/how_special_are_you_a_guideline_for_determining/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=2

Ep 185 - Lore Series - The Vast and Empty Areas of Your Map

In this episode I use a bit of lore about the Vast to expand on a concept important to your game world - unexplored areas with the potential to have anything you can think of.

 

#DMtips #dnd #Pathfinder #Starfinder #TheVast

 

Resources:

Paizo forums - What is the Vast?  https://paizo.com/threads/rzs2v1by?What-is-the-Vast 

Ep 184 - Preparing One Shots

Robert Nores wrote in asking how I prepare one shot adventures so in this episode I give you some general tips and walk you through how I would prepare the free adventure A Fistful of Flowers published by Paizo.

#DMtips #dnd #Pathfinder #OneShot

Resources:

A Fistful of Flowers at the Paizo Store:  https://paizo.com/products/btq02d8f?Pathfinder-Adventure-A-Fistful-of-Flowers

Taking 20 Podcast Episode 128 - DMing at Conventions:  https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-128-dming-at-conventions/ 

Hold Music:  GLITTER BLAST Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Ep 183 - Improving Your Narration

RPG players depend on we DMs to effectively describe the combat, the encounter areas, and the world at large during exploration activities.  The words we use and the quality of our narration has a direct effect on the quality of our game and the potential immersion into our game world.  Narration is a skill that all GMs, including and especially me, need to practice and improve.  In this episode I give you 4.5 tips for improving your narration.  You heard me.  4 and a half tips...

 

#dmtips #dnd #Pathfinder #narration

 

Resources:

https://theangrygm.com/how-to-talk-to-players-the-art-of-narration/

Extra Credits:  History of Dungeons and Dragons:  https://youtu.be/paEGFYSBZTE

Taking 20 Episode 170 - Combat Narration - https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-170-narrative-combat-armor-class-and-hit-points/ 

Taking 20 Episode 78 - Tips for Scene Descriptions:  https://taking20.podbean.com/e/ep-78-tips-for-scene-descriptions/