Mastering Dungeons

Episode 271 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The DMs Guild’s Complex History! Teos and Shawn enjoy a video by Trekiros and think on the incredible history of the 10-year-old DMsGuild! News: James Ohlen’s Exodus, Cosmere’s Roadmap, New Legends of Greyhawk Region, and more! Contents 00:00 Happy Holidays! 02:25 Non-Combat Enctr Objectives? 17:44 Dungeons Best for 1-on-1 Play? 25:32 Diamond Distributors Bankrupt Again 28:31 New Legends of Greyhawk Region 30:27 Gen Con Participation Grants 31:30 Cosmere Announces Roadmap 36:31 James Ohlen and Exodus Change 44:00 DMsGuild Turns 10 44:41 Trekiros Video 46:12 Our History with the Guild 47:28 History of Licensing Pre-Guild 49:26 The OGL and 3E 51:30 Shawn's DMsGuild First Day 52:57 AL's Huge Early Sales 55:58 Early Days and Royalties 01:07:13 Launching Creators 01:11:00 Struggle for Quality 01:15:41 Adepts Program 01:26:28 Creator Expectations 01:34:18 Shout-Outs 01:38:33 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.

Episode 270 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Dying and Campaign Building with Prequel and Ethan Yen Ethan Yen joins Shawn and Teos to discuss Prequel, the amazing game where you know you will die to the big bad… but get to create a campaign defined by the secrets these heroes discover! News: D&D Beyond’s New Goals, Crack the Sun’s Big Start, Big Staff Changes, and more! Contents 00:00 Conventional Wisdom 03:34 Teaching with RPGs? 13:00 Easy to Convert? 18:26 D&D Beyond's New Goals 24:52 Warlock Video Game Announced 27:57 Justice Arman Promoted 29:05 Jason Carl Departs World of Darkness 32:25 Perkins and Crawford on Acq Inc 35:47 Crack the Sun's Huge Start 39:59 Ikea D&D Book 42:47 Draw Steel Quick Reference 43:17 Quests from the Keep on the Borderlands 44:06 Ethan Yen and Prequel 45:34 Ethan's RPG Path 49:45 Creative Influences 58:45 All About Prequel 01:06:10 Phases of Play 01:12:39 The Big Fight 01:20:53 Campaign Building Conclusion 01:23:53 Zine Format Tips 01:30:46 Gamehole PoC Programs 01:37:58 Find Ethan 01:38:55 Shout-Outs 01:43:18 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.

How is an RPG Book Made? (Alphastream Collaboration) While Shawn and Teos are away, we share with you a recording Teos made with Scott F Gray, sharing the intricacies of the process for creating an RPG book. This recording appeared in two parts on the Alphastream YouTube channel and we are sharing it here for your enjoyment.  Contents 00:00 Intro 00:46 About Scott 04:15 Who this video is for 09:09 Starting with an idea 12:54 When is my idea ready? 26:53 What to know when I start writing 39:04 Understanding words per page 43:00 After writing and types of editors 01:02:22 Development 01:04:10 Sensitivity Reading 01:07:10 Proofreading 01:10:11 Layout 01:14:47 Initial Layout Design 01:19:05 Flowing Copy and Word Processor Choices 01:24:39 Art and Art Orders 01:36:46 Bleed 01:39:26 Rewriting After Initial Layout 01:45:27 Don't Write in Layout 01:49:24 Final Proofread and Layout 01:55:34 PDF vs PoD vs Offset Printing 02:11:25 Offset Printing and Timeline 02:15:20 Crowdfunding 02:18:55 Rising Tide on Manufacturing and Shipping 02:21:12 On Collaboration 02:26:27 Support the Show 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.

Gamehole Con 2025 and Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: The Beautiful Mess of 5E! (Gamehole Con 2025) While Shawn and Teos are away, we share with you a recording of a panel at Gamehole con where Mike Mearls, Mike Shea, Shawn, and Teos discuss the many forms of 5E available both officially and through third party companies. We look at how D&D 5E was designed in a open way and how this impacts our hobby.  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.

Episode 269 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Brindlewood Bay’s Cozy Horror Cozy on up with our review of Brindlewood Bay. Being an elderly widow, cutting to commercial, detailing our cozy home, and drawing on classic TV? Sign us up! News: Eberron Forge of the Artificer, MCDM’s Summoner and Blackbottom, Cosmere Actual Play, and more! Contents 00:00 Clue Advent and Alien Evolved 03:32 Player Goals First? 12:34 Crawford Perkins Critique and Praise? 16:45 Eberron Forge of the Artificer is Out 21:15 MCDM Releases Summoner 21:42 Fall of Blackbottom Adventure 23:40 Initiative D&D in NYC 26:10 Cosmere Actual Play 27:23 Jubensha Grows Internationally 30:47 Nominate Most Anticipated RPG of '26 31:43 Brindlewood Bay 32:16 Game and its Vibes 35:30 Elderly Widows as PCs 37:57 Game Play Basics 39:44 Why the GM Can Push Hard 42:33 Gear as Your Cozy Home 45:08 PbtA Moves 56:35 Maven Moves 58:45 Being a Keeper or GM 01:00:24 Clues and Void Clues 01:02:42 One-Shots vs Campaign 01:08:09 Shout-Outs 01:12:15 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.