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Mastering Dungeons

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Rating
★★★★★
4.7
from
178 reviews
Categories
Country
United States
This podcast has
566 episodes
Language
English
Explicit
No
Date created
2016/01/11
Latest episode
2026/04/22
Average duration
88 min.
Release period
7 days

Description

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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Check latest episodes from Mastering Dungeons podcast


How Good is D&D’s New Website? (MD 288)
2026/04/22
Episode 288 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: How Good is D&D’s New Website? We take a look at D&D’s new site and discuss how well it works for new players, community, Baldur’s Gate fans, new Ravenloft and actual play reveals, and much more! News: New Ravenloft Details, Dungeon Masters AP, Daggerheart Hope and Fear, Legends of Greyhawk, and more!  Contents 00:00 Little Giant Patreon Creations 04:13 Is 5E Oatmeal? 10:07 Montages? 21:28 Ravenloft Horrors Within Details 23:10 D&D's New Actual Play Dungeon Masters 25:42 Actual Play Play-Along Packs 27:37 Legends of Greyhawk on DDB 30:32 Daggerheart Hope & Fear Date 32:08 Dungeon Crawler Carl RPG 34:01 Dice are 12000 Years Old 35:58 Human-Made Alternatives Guide 36:44 Indie Groundbreaker Awards 37:28 Legends of Eleanora Charity Livestream 38:28 D&D's Website 40:50 Looking Back Through Newbie Eyes 45:43 Initial Welcome Screen 49:30 Discover the Feeling of Play 53:14 Your Inner Hero 01:00:34 CPU Intensive 01:02:17 Dungeon Masters New AP 01:08:04 Community? 01:13:21 Inspiring TTRPGs 01:14:38 Digital Games 01:17:14 Cinematic 01:22:19 Ravenloft Landing Page 01:24:58 Preorders and DDB Focus 01:31:44 Shout-Outs 01:36:47 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.
Best of Storm King’s Thunder! (MD 287)
2026/04/15
Episode 287 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Storm King’s Thunder! Bring the thunder with this giant-filled D&D 5E adventure! Shawn and Teos review what truly makes this adventure shine. News: Big Patreon News, New D&D Job Speculation, Hasbro’s AI Principles, Ravenloft Comics, and more!  Contents 00:00 Back and Inspired 02:18 Big Patreon News! 05:12 Skip the Boring Bits? 17:19 New Ravenloft Comics 19:31 What a New D&D Job Tells Us 31:47 Evil Hat on Inflation 35:11 Hasbro's AI Principles 40:11 Darrington Press' Great Survey 44:37 Best of Storm King's Thunder 46:22 Storm King's History 52:03 Premise of Ordning and Shakespeare 56:31 Approach and Intro 01:08:31 Starting at 1st vs 5th Level 01:10:22 Chapter 1 Nightstone 01:17:38 Chapter 2 Choice of 3 Towns 01:20:01 Chapter 3 and Quests in the North 01:27:16 Chapter 4 Giant Temple 01:32:17 Chapter 5 Giant Lair 01:38:23 Chapter 10 Maelstrom and Storm Giants 01:41:23 Chapter 11 is James Bond 01:44:01 Chapter 11 Showdown with a Dragon 01:49:39 Shout-Outs and Patreon News 01:54:39 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.
Best of Curse of Strahd (MD286)
2026/04/08
Episode 286 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Curse of Strahd! One of 5E's highest-rated adventures! Jeff Mueller joins Shawn to discuss why it is so good and how Jeff is running it yet again - this time for Daggerheart! News: MegaDungeon Month, BG3 TV Show Delays, UA Villainous Options, and more!  Contents 00:00 Introduction 34:29 Curse of Strahd 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.
Best of Out of the Abyss! (MD 285)
2026/04/01
Episode 285 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Out of the Abyss! Out of the Abyss may be one of the finest Underdark sourcebooks D&D has created… and it’s also an adventure! See what really shines in Out of the Abyss. News: We Try D&D Beyond’s Quickbuilder, Colbert Helms Lord of the Rings, Cookie Brigade’s History, and more!  Contents 00:00 Teos Has a Sad 01:30 Elemental Evil Update 03:13 Indonesia RPG Scene Update 05:04 Fantasy Properties Into Games? 07:46 Quality of D&D Reviews? 13:48 What Makes Great Adventures 14:50 Starter Set Localized in EU 15:56 D&D Beyond Character Quickbuilder 17:47 Stephen Colbert Writing LotR Movie 19:27 Survey on Tabletop Designer AI Use 22:13 New Dragonlance War Wizards Novel 23:22 History of the Cookie Brigade 24:32 Tatters of Myth Drannor 25:15 Best of Out of the Abyss 26:11 Product History 32:41 Premise and Approach 35:54 Chapter 1: Prisoners of the Drow 42:55 Chapter 2 as Underdark Sourcebook 46:07 The Darklake and Kuo-Toa 49:01 The Instigating Plot 51:28 Gracklstugh, Neverlight Grove, Blindengstone 56:08 Escaping the Underdark to Go Back In 59:36 Mantol-Derith and Fraz-Urb'luu 01:04:42 Gravenhollow and Establishing Facts 01:08:32 Vizeran and His Plan 01:11:23 Wormwrithings and Faction Play 01:14:46 The Fettid Wedding 01:16:55 Against the Demon Lords 01:20:25 Appendices 01:22:27 Looking Back on Its Ranking 01:26:47 Shout-Outs 01:31:52 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.
Shawn and Teos Do Things For the First Time!
2026/04/01
Shawn and Teos Do Things For the First Time! Welcome to a special edition show, modeled after YouTube's increasingly hard-to-attain quality standards. Contents 00:00 First Read of ToEE! 00:26 First Time Rolling Dice 01:08 First Time Seeing 5.5 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.
Why is Temple of Elemental Evil So Good? (MD 284)
2026/03/25
Episode 284 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Temple of Elemental Evil! Shawn and Teos dive into the classic Temple of Elemental Evil, inspiring countless spinoffs including 5E’s Princes of the Apocalypse. From elemental factions to demigods, we look at the best of this design. News: D&D Greyhawk Announcements, Codex Pricing Reveal, Modules Returning, RPG Growth in Indonesia and Iraq, and more!  Contents 00:00 Sweetest 16 01:22 5E Monsters Either Boring or Deadly? 08:56 Struggling with Prep? 15:18 New D&D Survey 16:40 D&D News from GaryCon 26:51 MCDM Codex Pricing 28:28 Indonesia's Tabletop Scene 30:58 RPG Community in Iraq 33:16 Origins Game Finalists 35:01 D&D Provides Critical Awakening 36:46 Trading Card Manipulation 39:05 Green Games Guide 39:36 Pirate Borg Winds of Hell 40:07 Black Ballad for Shadowdark 40:43 Temple of Elemental Evil 42:12 An Often-Played Classic 44:53 Origins of Elemental Evil? 49:55 Temple's History 54:49 Temple's Legacy 56:51 Hommlet as Innovation 01:01:21 The Moathouse 01:04:25 Cults and Imprisoned Zuggtmoy 01:10:25 Lessons in Boxed Text 01:12:46 Map Booklet 01:13:51 Resting and Travel 01:15:40 Elemental Evil Factions 01:17:58 Interesting Dungeon 01:20:27 Shout-Outs 01:23:46 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.
D&D Encounters Program with Chris Tulach! (MD 283)
2026/03/18
Episode 283 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Encounters Program with Chris Tulach! Chris Tulach, organized play manager for D&D, shares how the revised D&D Encounters program will work for stores and home play, including the upcoming celebration event! Chris also discusses the latest with Adventurers League and Legends of Greyhawk. News: No Tariff Lawsuits, NeoPets Withdraws License, Chris Cocks Interview, Codenames Critical Role, and more!  Contents 00:00 Intro 01:40 Monster Weaknesses and Vulnerabilities? 11:35 Fair Stat Block Manipulation? 17:44 Tariffs Don't Require Lawsuits 21:49 D&D HeroClix 23:26 Hasbro's CEO on AI 29:15 NeoPets Withdraws License 33:15 20 Years of Kobold Press 35:05 D&D Reverse Dungeon Comic 36:02 Codenames Critical Role 38:22 Beyond the Silt Sea Annatan Coast 40:02 D&D Encounters with Chris Tulach 40:29 Chris' Path Through Organized Play 47:53 Longest Org Play Tenure 49:27 Goal of Organized Play 51:41 Measuring Benefits 54:52 Why D&D Encounters Rocked 01:04:37 D&D Encounters in 2026 01:06:32 Celebration Kick-Off Event 01:07:45 Seasons and D&D Encounters Timing 01:12:45 Encounters Through D&D Beyond 01:16:27 Working With Stores 01:17:48 Seasonal Cadence 01:20:02 WPN Store Incentives 01:23:37 Adventurers League 01:26:18 Legends of Greyhawk 01:32:55 Organized Play Options 01:37:06 AL and LoG Seasonality 01:39:22 Follow Chris Tulach! 01:42:31 Shout-Outs 01:46:32 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.
Matt Colville Blows Our Minds on MCDM and the TTRPG Industry! (MD 282)
2026/03/11
Episode 282 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Matt Colville Blows Our Minds on MCDM and the TTRPG Industry! Matt Colville is here to absolutely blow our minds on how MCDM operates, how it pays, how it has worked to reach an audience, and what the rest of the industry might learn from that! News: D&D’s New Seasonal Roadmap, Is it Really 5.5, New D&D Website, What is Season of Champions, and more! Contents 00:00 Go Broncos! 02:03 Making Someone's Idea Ours? 10:52 Our Favorite Projects? 15:56 D&D's 2026 Roadmap! 17:11 Season of Horror and Ravenloft 21:16 Season of Magic and Arcana Unleashed 26:19 Season of Champions 27:33 Other Roadmap Items 30:32 D&D 2024 is 5.5 Maybe? 38:45 New D&D Website 40:48 D&D Beyond Q2 Partner Schedule 41:28 Creating Villains & Lairs 43:08 Matt Colville on MCDM 44:21 Matt's Formative Moment 50:45 What Led to MCDM? 56:31 Lessons from MCDM's 5E Era 01:02:00 Launching Draw Steel 01:09:30 MCDM's Financial Approach 01:15:03 Unique in the Industry 01:22:24 Redefining Industry Rates 01:27:20 Our Struggling Industry and YouTube 01:39:03 Perils of Distribution 01:47:08 Charting MCDM's Future 01:52:11 The Codex and VTTs 01:59:22 Shout-Outs 02:02:52 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.
D&D Beyond’s Staff Looks to the Future! (MD 281)
2026/03/04
Episode 281 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: D&D Beyond’s Staff Looks to the Future! Brian Perry (DDB Executive Producer) and Zac Cohn (MAPS Product Manager) join Teos and Shawn to share D&D Beyond’s bold future! News: New D&D London Expo, MCDM Hires for the Future, Critical Role Hires from Hallmark, and more!  Contents 00:00 Weekend Wins 01:36 Why Don't NPCs Fix the World? 06:16 Campaign vs Adventure Design? 10:51 D&D Fan Expo London 14:08 MCDM's Future Includes Paul Hughes 16:25 IGDN Diversity Scholarships 17:25 Industry Sues for Tariff Refunds 19:42 Amber Glenn and Olympic Magic 21:12 Critical Role Hires from Hallmark 23:00 Renegade to Publish Exodus 24:48 BEASTS by Adrian Mejia 26:36 Dragon Rider's Primer 27:42 Fractus the Broken World 28:44 State and Future of D&D Beyond 29:16 Brian Perry and Zac Cohn 34:56 How Wizards and D&D are Organized 39:03 Deciding Priorities 44:03 Rebuilding D&D Beyond 47:23 Quickbuildear and New Players 52:07 DDB as a Honda Accord 55:19 More Features vs Simplicity 56:41 New Functionality 01:02:09 Fully Integrating 3rd Parties? 01:06:24 Use of AI? 01:08:59 Expand the API? 01:10:18 Building a Walled Garden? 01:11:26 Goal of Shifting Play to Digital? 01:13:50 Physical Versions of Digital Dice? 01:15:00 Find Brian and Zac 01:17:15 Shout-Outs 01:20:57 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.
Best of Princes of the Apocalypse! (MD 280)
2026/02/25
Episode 280 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Best of Princes of the Apocalypse! Teos and Shawn share the best of Princes of the Apocalypse, an adventure that brings back elemental evil and the elder elemental eye to D&D! News: D&D Beyond’s Roadmap, AEG Parts with Dancey, More WotC Hiring, and more!  Contents 00:00 Intro 01:58 Important to Research Lore? 12:43 Help Players Understand Choice? 18:24 D&D Beyond Roadmap 23:23 WotC Hiring Continues 24:45 AEG Parts with Ryan Dancey 28:47 D&D Cartoon Comics 29:30 Record Pokémon Auction 31:06 Princes of the Apocalypse 31:39 A Positive Analysis 35:12 Product History 37:14 Premise and Approach 44:51 Red Larch is a Great Town 47:59 Low-Level Adventures 50:40 Elemental Cults and Themes 52:46 Adventure Rhythm and Adapting Story 01:03:14 Elemental Nodes 01:07:41 Shout-Outs 01:11:17 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.
Why is Red Hand of Doom So Good? (MD 279)
2026/02/18
Episode 279 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Why is Red Hand of Doom So Good? Teos and Shawn share the best of Red Hand of Doom, a fan-favorite adventure from 3rd edition D&D! News: Hasbro vs Wizards Q4 Results, How AI is Used at Hasbro, Dark Heart of the Wood, and more!  Contents 00:00 Bringing the Loopiness 02:27 Players Always Team Up? 10:48 What Was or Is D&D Encounters? 15:56 D&D Encounters Returning? 17:46 Hasbro Q4 and 2025 Earnings! 20:24 WotC Q4 and 2025 Results 25:06 Upcoming Partnerships 29:00 Chris C**k on AI at Hasbro 35:04 How Big is D&D? 37:50 MCDM Has a Dark Heart 39:02 D&D's Therapeutic Potential 41:59 Portland Promotes Games 42:48 Evil Hat on RPG Finances 45:17 Nine Worlds and Bad Blood 46:48 Monsters & More for Nimble RPG 47:26 Curse of Stoneshatter Tomb 48:09 Red Hand of Doom! 51:05 Red Hand's History 54:04 Designer Notes 56:53 Premise and Approach 01:01:15 Repeated Approach 01:05:01 Starting Attitudes and Tracking Time 01:09:41 Approach Matters 01:12:20 Part 1 Witchwood 01:15:22 Part 2 Ruins of Rhest 01:17:17 Part 3 Ghostlord's Tower 01:19:19 Part 4 Enemy at the Gates 01:23:31 Part 5 Fane of Tiamat 01:31:50 Shout-Outs 01:36:16 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.
What Made Tyranny of Dragons Great? (MD 278)
2026/02/11
Episode 278 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: What Made Tyranny of Dragons Great? Teos and Shawn look back at the first 5E hardback adventure, Tyranny of Dragons, discussing our favorite aspects of Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat! News: Baldur’s Gate 3 HBO TV Show, Polygon on Vecna, Teos Completes Lifetime, and more!  Contents 00:00 Herald's Guild Awards 03:38 BMG and Greyhawk Reveals 04:58 Too Much In-Character Talking? 10:09 WotC Interactions Change Over Time? 15:14 HBO BG3 D&D TV Show 20:03 Beadle & Grimm Spoiler? 22:13 Polygon on Obelisks and Vecna 29:21 Horrified Adds Ravenloft 31:24 Best of Tyranny of Dragons 32:17 Interesting Product History 35:45 Adventure vs campaign 37:37 An Awesome Premise and Approach 40:59 Additional Encounters 42:58 Campaign Villains 45:41 Campaign-Focused Character Options 48:29 Greenest in Flames 52:08 Caravan Chapter 54:42 Memorable Locations and Council of Waterdeep 59:57 Dragon Masks 01:01:21 The Cult Strikes Back 01:02:43 Epic Conclusion 01:06:50 Shout-Outs 01:10:28 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.
Working in the RPG Industry! (MD 277)
2026/02/04
Episode 277 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Working in the RPG Industry! Shawn shares a panel he had with Jackson DiCarlo at the Running GAGG Gaming Conventions. They discuss working in the RPG industry, sharing the insights of Shawn’s long career and Jackson’s two-year experience as a designer! News: Cosmere’s Apple TV Deal, 5th New WotC Hire, D&D + Fortnite + Hytale, and more!  Contents 00:00 Winter Fantasy Bound 02:42 Happy 37th Birthday to 2E 05:08 Two Organized Play Campaigns? 23:55 Taylor Ann Navarro Joins WotC 25:53 D&D, Fortnite, and Hytale? 28:51 Variety Covers GMs 29:27 D&D as Organized Social Fun 31:41 Asmodee Partners for Wellbeing 32:31 Cosmere's Apple TV Deal 34:24 D20play Spotlighted! 36:12 TTRPG SRD Card Creator 37:07 Working in the TTRPG Industry 38:11 Shawn and Jackson's Backrounds 40:28 Getting Started in the Industry 49:59 Seizing Opportunity 56:14 How to Get Started 58:19 Design and Conventions 01:05:46 Technical Vs Creative 01:15:39 The Skill of Writing 01:18:19 Questions and Answers 01:22:54 Shout-Outs 01:27:15 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.
Rethink Your Session Zero! (MD 276)
2026/01/28
Episode 276 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Rethink Your Session Zero! Shawn and Teos rethink all that a session zero is trying to do and how to approach each of the many goals to start your campaign! News: D&D Beyond’s Partner Schedule, D&D Proves AI’s Shortcomings, AI RPG Scams, Shawn is a Warlock, and more! Contents 00:00 Shawn is a Warlock! 05:59 How Should Death Saves Work? 27:10 Jean Rabe Passes 29:59 DDB Partnered Content Schedule 34:50 Hasbro's New Board Members 36:31 Demiplane Adds Campaigns 38:23 4th Player Theory of RPG Design 43:19 D&D Proves AI Shortcomings 46:10 RPG Maps Bundle AI Scam 48:45 How to Please Your Layout Designer 49:42 Rethinking the Session 0 52:03 FEYPOP's Video on What is a Session 0 55:57 Effective Safety Tools 01:01:54 Challenge Level and Behavioral Expectations 01:04:23 Theme, Tone, and Characters 01:10:01 Allowed Sources 01:12:32 Collaborative Campaign Planning 01:14:38 Character Creation 01:16:21 First Adventure? 01:19:12 As a Social Event 01:20:22 Shout-Outs 01:24:12 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.
Legends of Greyhawk and RealmsBound with Savannah Houston-McIntyre (MD 275)
2026/01/21
Episode 275 of Mastering Dungeons! Main topic: Legends of Greyhawk and RealmsBound with Savannah Houston-McIntyre Savannah Houston-McIntyre is acclaimed for leading excellent projects. She walks us through the Legends of Greyhawk organized play campaign, RealmsBound with Ed Greenwood, and more! News: Games Workshop Bans AI, Proof of Stranger Things Growth, Mystic UA, and more! Contents 00:00 Oh Captain my Captain 03:24 Arcadia's 1-on-1 Rules? 10:50 Mental Load? 17:50 3-D Combat Options? 25:29 New Mystic Subclasses UA 30:13 Erin Roberts is a Wizard 32:13 Bob Worldbuilder on Stranger Things Growth 37:35 KC Chiefs Teach D&D 39:12 GW Bans AI for Staff 41:11 Get Dune Free from Modiphius 42:55 The Savage Arctic 43:58 Planet Money's Board Game 45:13 Savannah Houston-McIntyre 53:11 Getting Started with Design 57:12 Leading Design Projects 01:00:28 Legends of Greyhawk 01:04:53 Greyhawk's Regions 01:10:18 Virtual Weekends and Writing for LoG 01:13:23 RealmsBound with Ed Greenwood 01:25:12 Find Savannah! 01:26:41 Shout-Outs 01:30:53 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.

Podcast reviews

Read Mastering Dungeons podcast reviews


4.7 out of 5
178 reviews
★★★★★
One Wise Dragon 2026/03/01
Great Job!
I love this podcast and thank you for your work. I would like to nominate Phandelver as one of the greatest adventures, followed by SKT, for its modu...
★★★★★
Kreggar 2026/01/17
Masters of the Craft
Shawn & Teos do a great job of sharing their collective wisdom on such a huge variety of topics. Great commentary on the industry and hobby as a whole...
★★★★★
the Shepster 2025/10/01
In-depth commentary and reviews
Shawn and Teos have been in the industry for decades and have lots of experience under their belts. Their in depth review of rules and games and adven...
★★★★★
Mister Lou 2025/08/21
The #1 TTRPG Podcast
if you like TTRPG discussions, Mastering Dungeons is head and shoulders above all the others. So many TTRPG podcasts have too much banter and not enou...
★★★★★
Thorlik 2025/06/22
Great show!
I love this show and their approach to explaining the DM process to me. I’m a new player and a never DM. I’m certainly DM curious and I have found th...
★★★★★
Joshuacp42 2025/01/29
I enjoy reading monster stat blocks now
Great mix of rpg news, dm advice, and more. I really enjoy the hosts commentary on game/adventure design. There gritty overview of such topics has inf...
★☆☆☆☆
Wormholer_joe 2025/05/27
Great Content, but…
First off, both Hosts are knowledgable and full of RPG stories, but please STOP apologizing so profusely for the 50 year old content that neither of y...
★★★★★
lipphilz 2024/11/08
Well thought and well produced
I really enjoy this show. I’ve been listening a few months. Part like most is discussion of how different products and ideas fit into the hobby. For e...
★★★★★
Jason Ward 1977 2024/06/08
Great DM and industry resource!
Teos and Shawn are so knowledgeable, and they have great insights into topics that are relevant for any GM for any system. Though focus often returns ...
★★★★★
banjoeywright 2024/03/27
Years of professional game advice
WONDERFUL news and content!!! Been listening for years and have learned so many tips and approaches to game design. It’s entertaining too the hosts ar...
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