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Dan and Paul review the Scarlet Stockade of the Bear Druid, the dungeon they designed live with fans at GaryCon during Dungeon Design Dash #7! After building the adventure in front of a live audience, both Dan and Paul ran the dungeon for different groups at the convention - with very different results. What worked at the table? What broke? And what final changes are needed before publication? Join us as we compare playtest experiences, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the design, and talk through how we refine a crowd-created dungeon into a polished module. The finished adventure will be released on DriveThruRPG and shared free with our patrons alongside all our Dungeon Design Dashes. DriveThruRPG (Wandering DMs publisher page)

Paul & Dan chat about their amazing experiences at Gary Con XVIII! From playing games with some of their personal heroes, to running a bunch of tournaments, designs sessions, and playtests, to fascinating seminars with the elite of D&D gaming history, we'll share of our favorite moments from this year's premiere convention for classic D&D gaming.

Paul & Dan grapple with the biggest of all monsters in original D&D: Purple Worms and Sea Monsters! Why were these beefy guys picked as the apex predators of D&D? What are some alternative ways they could be represented or used in your Dungeons & Dragons games? And what's the best response when you find yourself swallowed up Noah-style?

Dan and Paul discuss techniques for running tabletop RPG adventures that span large outdoor regions and long journeys. From classic hex crawls and wilderness exploration to point crawls and node-based travel, outdoor campaigns present unique challenges for pacing, mapping, and meaningful player choice across wide geographic areas. How do different RPG traditions handle wilderness adventure? Why did early D&D split dungeon and wilderness play between the Basic and Expert sets? Join us as we explore frameworks for large-scale adventure design, including hex-based exploration, point-crawl structures, and hybrids that combine open wilderness with structured travel routes, plus practical techniques for keeping long overland journeys engaging at the table.

Paul and Dan pull out and analyze Dave Megarry's famous Dungeon! boardgame, developed at the same time as D&D, published in 1975. How much were the games similar, and were do the differ? What changed in the half-dozen iterations over the years? And does the stripped-down dungeon-crawling game still stand up today?

Dan and Paul tackle a deceptively common table problem: the potato player - someone who shows up, sits quietly, and never quite engages. Coined as shorthand for disengaged play, “potatoing” can look the same from the outside but come from very different places on the inside. In this episode, we break down the difference between intentional potatoes and accidental ones, passive watchers vs bored or overwhelmed players, and why silence at the table is not always disinterest. We offer practical advice for players who want to participate more confidently, as well as concrete tools for DMs to invite engagement without putting anyone on the spot. Whether you fear becoming a potato yourself or want to help your players stay involved, this episode is about agency, table expectations, and how to help everyone show up to the game.

Paul and Dan chat about the history of Rangers in D&D. Inspired directly by Tolkien, they're one of D&D's earliest and most appealing sub-classes! With abilities to surprise, track, cut down giants, and even cast spells, they're not your normal fighter. How has their appearance evolved over the years? Does their presentation really fit the intended purpose? And how do presentations in other game systems fare?

Dan and Paul revisit one of Wandering DMs’ earliest topics - puzzles in tabletop RPGs - this time with special guest Chris M, aka Directsun. Back in Season 1, we wrestled with why puzzles so often fall flat at the table, becoming roadblocks, immersion breakers, or exercises in frustration. In this episode, we return to that question with Chris, the designer behind The Seer’s Sanctum and Aberrant Reflections, two widely praised puzzle dungeons that treat puzzles not as isolated tricks, but as interconnected systems that teach players how the dungeon works. We discuss how puzzle design differs from riddles, why failure states matter, how to avoid "guess the GM" moments, and what tabletop designers can learn from escape rooms and video games without losing the soul of TTRPG play. We also look ahead to Chris’s upcoming project, A Familiar Tower, an escape-room-style puzzle dungeon crowdfunding during Zine Month 2026.

Dan & Paul chat about the classic 1980's sci-fi RPG, Star Frontiers, from the makers of D&D. We're still running it today for younger players and having a great time. What are the great things about it that still work, and what places have we found for improvements to change with the times? It's a high-frontier, shoot-em-up, percentile-rolling blast from the past!

Dan and Paul kick off Season 8 by diving into one of the most debated ideas in tabletop RPGs: The Rule of Cool. When should a GM stick to the written rules, and when is it better to bend or ignore them because the table is fired up about a particular moment? We talk about why this principle feels so powerful at the table, how it can elevate dramatic scenes and player creativity, and where it can quietly undermine consistency, fairness, or long-term play if it becomes a crutch. From heroic stunts to narrative twists, we explore how to use the Rule of Cool as a tool rather than an excuse.

Dan and Paul close out Season 7 of Wandering DMs with their annual Year in Review, looking back at what defined the season. They revisit standout episodes, recurring topics, and memorable conversations, along with the moments where the show broke from its usual patterns. From deep dives into core play procedures and campaign structure, to episodes shaped by history, live events, conventions, and special guests, this episode reflects on the full range of what Season 7 covered. It’s a chance to highlight what the season lingered on, where it experimented, and how those threads came together before turning the page to what’s next. Thank you to everyone who joined us throughout Season 7.

Paul & Dan reflect on the state of illusions in D&D, across the many editions of the game. Can a basic illusion deal actual damage to your character, or not? Can they trap your character in hallucinatory pit? How robust is an illusory monster, and what can your character do to counter the peril? The answers may surprise you! Read Dan's blog on "Phantasmal Force Through the Ages"

Dan and Paul discuss the often-overlooked idea that players can (and perhaps should) prepare for a D&D session. Using Gary Gygax’s “Successful Adventures” section from the back of the AD&D 1E Player’s Handbook, they explore how early D&D expected parties to organize missions, plan loadouts, coordinate spells, establish marching formations, avoid unnecessary encounters, and operate like a disciplined expedition. How do these expectations compare to modern table norms? What echoes of this philosophy appear in West Marches play? And what lessons can today’s players still take from Gygax’s advice? We’ll dig into the text, test its ideas against practical experience, and look at how player preparation changes the feel of a campaign.

Dan and Paul discuss the art of pacing a tabletop RPG session without taking away player agency. How can a GM speed up play when the group burrows into side plots, or slow things down when players sprint straight toward the finale? When should you intervene to shape the tempo, and when should you simply let the party set the pace themselves? They also compare how pacing concerns differ between one-shot adventures and long-term campaigns, and explore ways to maintain momentum while still allowing players the freedom to explore, wander, and surprise the GM. Listen to Jason and Tom's take on Fear of a Black Dragon here Check out The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford here

Dan and Paul dive into the world of West Marches campaigns - a style of play built around open exploration, rotating players, and player-driven adventure. With Critical Role's new campaign borrowing some West Marches ideas, it’s the perfect time to ask: what problems does this format solve, what new ones does it create, and when does it really shine? We'll share our own experiences running West Marches-inspired games, where they succeeded, where they fell apart, and what lessons we’ve learned along the way. Read Ben Robbins's original post about West Marches here Read more about Critical Role Campaign 4's use of West Marches here