Curmudgeons And Dragons

Latest Episodes:

r/DMAcademy Advice III: Petty Rich Guys, *OUR* Backstory, and a sad story Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

[#50] In our Golden Anniversary Episode, we out n our Sage hats to offer advice to aspiring DMs, including what to do about vindictive oligarchs , how much backstory is the right amount , and how to go on when a player (NOT a character) dies.

The rich are not like you and me .
Get help with grief when you lose a friend.
Join the conversation at the DMAcademy subreddit.

Everything we love can be found at curmudgeonsanddragons.com

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

• Transition Music:

º Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4481-thatched-villagers

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

RPG Horror Story: The Worst History Check in History Apr 24, 2022

Show notes

[#49] In this horror story, Jim brings us a tale of a DM who isn't clear on how the History skill actually works.

This story comes to us via Redditor u/Kursed_Valeth .
CBR has good tips for interesting ways you should use the History skill.
For more stories of terrible games, check out the RPG Horror Stories subReddit.

We tell horror stories every Friday! Check out our other episodes!

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

• Story Music:

º Indore by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4988-indore

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

50 Tips for Dungeon Masters [Part 2: 11-20] Apr 20, 2022

Show notes

[#48] In an extension of our regular DM Advice episodes, we conitnue our look at a list of 50 DM tips and discuss which oesn make our personal cut, how we'd revise them, and why Jason still hates shopping.

Our list comes courtesy of MT Black Games.
Step one for creating compelling NPCs is to give them a name.
We consider the difference between Deus Ex Machina and The Cavalry .

Everything we love can be found at curmudgeonsanddragons.com

• Theme Music:

ºCrunk Knightby Kevin MacLeod

• Transition Music:

º Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

RPG Horror Story: DM Doesn't Give Wizard New Spells Apr 15, 2022

Show notes

[#47] In this horror story, Jason shares an infuriating tale of a wizard-hating DM.

If you want your own custom spell book, etsy has options.
That's not how Contingency works.
Even if it was, Disintegrate is a 6th level spell, so it's not a valid target.
For more stories of terrible games, check out the RPG Horror Stories subReddit.

We tell horror stories every Friday! Check out our other episodes!

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

• Story Music:

º Crusade Heavy Industry by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4678-crusade-heavy-industry

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

RPG Wholesome Stories IV: Home Base, Drinking For Fun, and Why Children Are the Future Apr 13, 2022

Show notes

[#46] In these wholesome stories of RPGs done right, Greg tells us about a place where evryone knows your PC's name, Jason tell us about tying one on in the best way, and Josie and Jim both marvel at the uncanny wisdom of kids new to the game.

Greg somehow found a wholesome story on Reddit.
Josie found her amazing story of Australian teens on Kotaku .
Jason also located his story on Reddit!

We tell horror stories every Friday! Check out our other episodes!

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

• Story Music:

º Life of Riley, Fretless, and Savannah Sketch by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

Just Played: El Paso Apr 11, 2022

Show notes

[#45] Jim just played El Paso!

El Paso is a WIP hack of The Between RPG. It's a 'Weird Western' focusing on ghosts, liminal spaces, and the costs and impacts of violence.

The Between by Jason Cordova is available from Gaunt let Publishing.
Follow the game's designer on Twitter.
Caleb sports a pair of .45 Schofield revolvers named Salvation and Damnation.
The eponymous 1949 John Payne & Gail Russell film depicts a pretty brutally corrupt place.

Did you know we have shirts? Check out the STORE

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Written and Hosted by Jim Crocker

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

RPG Horror Story: The Well-Earned Slap Apr 08, 2022

Show notes

[#44] In this horror story, Josie relates a sordid tale of a frat bully at the table. TW: Sexual harassment in and out of character, physical violence at the table.

They were playing Waterdeep: Dragon Heist , an official WotC adventure campaign.
For a visualzation of The Slap, sub in one of these WWE Epic Superstar Slaps.
For more stories of terrible games, check out the RPG Horror Stories subReddit.

We tell horror stories every Friday! Check out our other episodes!

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

• Story Music:

º Crusade Heavy Industry by Kevin MacLeod: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4678-crusade-heavy-industry

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

50 Tips for Dungeon Masters (Part 1: 1-10) Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

[#43] In an extension of our regular DM Advice episodes, we take a look at a list of 50 DM tips and discuss which ones make our personal cut, how we'd revise them, and why Jason hates shopping.

Our list comes courtesy of MT Black Games.
We mentioned The Monsters Know What They're Doing.
There's a host of internet rescources, and not just bleprints, dedicated to castles.
Josie name-dropped Fallout: Nuka-World.

Everything we love can be found at curmudgeonsanddragons.com

• Theme Music:

ºCrunk Knight by Kevin MacLeod

• Transition Music:

º Thatched Villagers by Kevin MacLeod

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

Just Played: Under Hollow Hills Apr 04, 2022

Show notes

[#42] Jim just played Under Hollow Hills!

Under Hollow Hills is a pbta game where you portray performers in a traveling circus made of fae and mortal beings. It’s by Vincent and Meguay Baker, the designers of the pbta system, and in this episode, we’ve got to entertain the Midsummer Court in the midst of a spat between King Oberon and Queen Titania.

You can read about the game and pick up your own copy at the Lumpley Games site.
We played online using Streamyard, a pretty good free Zoom alternative.
For a refresher on Midsummer Night’s Dream, you can do worse than the 1999 Hollywood production starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline

Did you know we have shirts? Check out the STORE

Written and Hosted by Jim Crocker

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production

RPG Horror Story: DM Doesn't Grant Player IRL Disability In-game Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

[#41] In this horror story, Greg tell us how a real-world disability collides with the clumsily ablist way many RPGs handle character creation multiplied by some deeply insensitive GMing.

The Dark Eye is a fantasy heartbreaker that originated in Germany.
D&D 5e has its own well-discussed problems with disability representation.
The Gauntlet Forums hosted an engaging short discussion about playing RPGs with a speech disorder.

We tell horror stories every Friday! Check out our other episodes!

• Theme Music:

º Crunk Knight by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3566-crunk-knight

License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

• Story Music:

º Crusade Heavy Industry by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4678-crusade-heavy-industry

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Hosted by Jason Portizo, Josey Diaz, Jim Crocker, and Greg Genovas

Produced and Edited by Jason Portizo

Curmudgeons and Dragons is a JTP Audio production