
Advertise on podcast: Mastering Dungeons
Rating
4.7from
This podcast has
566 episodes
Language
EnglishPublisher
Mastering DungeonsExplicit
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
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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