Taking 20 Podcast

Ep 213 - Back to Basics - Player Agency

Player Agency describes the power of players to make choices for their characters.  There is an unspoken social contract around every RPG table that the DM won’t take these choices away and players won’t use these choices to ruin the fun of the DM.  In this episode, I talk about how critical it is that both sides of the screen respect the agency of others.

 

#dmtips #gmtips #dnd #5e #pf2e #playeragency

Resources:

https://techraptor.net/originals/playing-roles-psychology-of-player-agency

https://medium.com/@camauger/the-power-of-choice-player-agency-in-tabletop-role-playing-games-446e0be16428

Ep 212 - Distinct NPCs

In this episode I talk about ways you can make your characters and NPCs distinct from one another.  I do encourage you to try to use an accent, even if you don't feel comfortable doing it.  However, there are other ways to make them distinct:  with language descriptors and body language.

 

#dmtips #gmtips #dnd #pf2e #NPC

Resources:

5 Ways to Make NPC Dialogue Better With No Accent https://youtu.be/hvGEltoAgg4?si=Gh2gr5ZyYBChOcUP 

Ep 211 - Long vs Short Gaming Sessions

Gaming sessions can vary widely in length but running very short gaming sessions (less than 2 hours or so) and very long gaming sessions (ones stretching 6 hours or more) require different mindsets from the DM.  In this episode, I discuss the challenges and tips of each duration.

 

#dmtips #gmtips #dnd #pf2e #5e #gamingsessions

 

 

Ep 210 - Long vs Short Campaigns

Some players and DMs love campaigns that take years to complete with multiple complex situations being resolved and a grand universal threat eliminated.  But some like quick-hitting campaigns, smaller scale and quicker resolutions.  Which is better?  How do you run long and short campaigns?  Tune in to find out.

 

#dmtips #gmtips #RPGcampaign #dnd #pf2e

Resources:

How to Be a Great GM:  Plan an Unforgettable Short RPG Campaign - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpcF-EOpe0

Worlds Longest D&D Game - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ-ehbVQYxI

Ep 209 - Give Your DM a Break

Most GMs love their players and running games is a labor of love for them.  However, burnout can happen to all of us and it might be a good idea for you to give your DM a night off now and then.  In today’s episode I give you some suggestions on how to do so.

#dmtips #dnd #pf2e #GMtips #burnout

Resources:

Clay-o-Rama (2017 republish) - https://media.wizards.com/2017/dnd/dragon/D15_Clay-O-Rama.pdf

Ep 208 - Dungeon Crawls Part 2

Dungeons are core to many of our game systems out there.  This week, in part 2 of the dungeon crawl series, I give DMs some tips for populating dungeons, using room descriptions and making them a bit more realistic.

 

#DMtips #dnd #Pathfinder #GMtips #Dungeons

Resources:

Jennell Jaquays GoFundMe:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/jennell-jaquays-has-a-long-road-back

Redd Horrocks on Fiverr - https://www.fiverr.com/reddhorrocks 

5e monster filter:  https://donjon.bin.sh/5e/monsters/

Pathfinder 2e creatures:  https://2e.aonprd.com/Creatures.aspx 

Sly Flourish:  Running a Dungeon Crawl:  https://slyflourish.com/running_a_dungeon_crawl.html

Ep 207 - Dungeon Crawls Part 1

Dungeon crawl adventures can be some of the most fun adventures that you run and they are relatively simple to set up provided you have a few pieces of information prepared ahead of time.  Tune in this week to find out what those are:

 

#pf2e #dnd #DMTips #Dungeon

 

Resources:

Redd Horrocks on Fiverr - https://www.fiverr.com/reddhorrocks 

5 Room Dungeons - https://www.roleplayingtips.com/5-room-dungeons/ 

Jaquaysian Dungeons - https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/13085/roleplaying-games/xandering-the-dungeon

Ep 206 - 2023 Podcast Bloopers

This isn't your normal advice episode.  In this surprise gift to all of you, here is a peek behind the curtain at just how many times I mess up while recording.  This is a collection of some of my blooper reel for 2023.  I hope you laugh as much listening as I did while making it.

Ep 205 - Flavor is Free

There are two types of changes players and GMs can make to rules, spells, effects, weapons, and other aspects of tabletop RPGs:  flavor or fluff changes and mechanical or crunchy changes.  In this episode I talk about the difference, why one should be allowed almost always and why the other type of changes should be approached with caution.

 

#dnd #pf2e #DMTips #FlavorIsFree

 

Resources:

3D Crafts & Curios etsy store - https://etsy.com/shop/3DCraftsAndCurios 

Flavor is Free - https://tabletopbuilds.com/flavor-is-free/ 

Know Direction Podcast Article - Energy Type Rundown by Dustin Knight:  https://knowdirectionpodcast.com/2021/05/foxs-cunning-energy-type-rundown/

Ep 204 - Enemy Motivation in Combat

Not every combat needs to be a slog to determine which side grinds down the other to 0 hit points.  By considering enemy motivations, the “why” of the fight you can introduce more variety to the end result of encounters.

 

#dnd #pf2e #DMTips #rpgcombat

 

Resources:

3D Crafts & Curios etsy store - https://etsy.com/shop/3DCraftsAndCurios 

Matthew Colville:  Why Are We Fighting?  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAfPoOxIVm0&t=1s 

The decision to fight or flee – insights into underlying mechanism in crickets - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2012.00118/full