It’s A Mimic!

Latest Episodes:

E073 – Dragon Mastery – Bronze Dragons: Friendly, Yet Repulsive Jun 16, 2020

Show notes

In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Master (Adam, Megan, and Terry) take a step back and ready their actions to draw blades in one-on-one combat with the honourable Bronze Dragons. These scaly sea-faring scions of chivalry are the knights of dragonkind, holding glory and honour high. As is our fashion on this podcast we break down their stats, discuss how we'd use them in a fight, and a discussion breaks out about how we'd use them for roleplaying!
Before the end of the episode, some solid ideas for bronze dragons in your campaigns are thrown around while Terry tries to figure out how to work in his tried and true "Drop and Land on them" combat strategy. The group then gets into what makes good good and the existential crisis devolves from there. Also... Kobolds!

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

T005 - Touring the Multiverse - Eberron: Karrnath to the Lhazaar Principalities Jun 15, 2020

Show notes

In this episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave and Adam finish off their exploration of Khorvaire while looking into lands of dwarven misfortunes, halfling dino-riders, undead warriors, and pirate adventures! And we haven't even gotten left the main continent yet!

Nations:
Karrnath
Lhazaar Principalities
Mror Holds
Talenta Plains

Cities:
Korth
Atur
Regalport
Port Verge
Krona Peak
Solangap
Gatherhold

Landmarks:
Fort Bones
The Nightwood
Gray Tide
Dreadhold
Direshark Principalities
Ironroot Mountains
The Realm Below
Kol Korran's Throne
Noldrunhold
The Wandering Inn

People:
King Kaius ir'Wynarn I
King Kaius ir'Wynarn III
High Prince Ryger ir'Wynarn
Prince Kolberkon
Dyrrn the Corruptor
Kol Korran, the Sovereign Lord of World and Wealth
Lathon Halpum
Holy Uldra

Organizations:
The Blood of Vol
The Sovereign Host
The Military Academy of Rekkenmark
The Iron Council
The Jhorash'tar
Clan Soldorak
Clan Noldrun

Distant Lands:
North Pole
South Pole
Khorvaire
Xend'rik
Sarlona
Argonesson
Empire of Riedra

Planes:
Mabar
Xoriat
Dolurrh
Thelanis

Monster Breakdown:
Dinosaurs! (Clawfoot and Fastieth)

And don't forget to stick around after the end credits to see what kind of crazy items that Djed is trying to sell this week!

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Intro/Outro Music by: Melodica's Music

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

B020 - Campaign Builder - Foundations: Urban vs Wilderness Jun 11, 2020

Show notes

Why do urban encounters feel so different from wilderness encounters, and what are some common themes or interesting additions that Dungeon Masters can use to flesh out the locations of their games? In this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam look at what unique and interesting opportunities some different locations have to offer.

Takeaways:
- Oft-overlooked aspects of wilderness travel are things like weather, seasons, isolation, animal territories, and terrain variety.
- Creating unique calendars, while interesting, may add a level of complication to your world that discourages players.
- Interesting ideas to add depth to urban life include sporting events, docks, parks, rural outskirts, libraries, and rooftops.
- Variety in locations can give a sense of accomplishment and moving forward in the story, but also provides opportunities for different characters, monsters, and items to take the spotlight.
- While some published adventure modules and campaign settings touch on some locations, there is a lot of room to explore further.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

E072 – Dungeon Mastery - Condition Effects: You Can Hide, But You Can’t Run Jun 09, 2020

Show notes

In this week's episode, the panel of Dungeon Masters cover four of the most common and most commonly ill-used conditions in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - Hidden, Grappled, Restrained and Prone. They get tripped up grappling over these restraining conditions, and by the end are down and out... but not before giving out some clarity about these often misunderstood ailments. They also, as is It's a Mimic's way, try to look at these conditions with some fresh eyes, coming up with fun and interesting uses in your campaign.
So relax with a warm blanket like the hug of a loved one, and enjoy as Terry, Adam and Megan discuss the benefits of invisibility, the lack of a pinned conditions (like other editions) and the benefits in a often-negative line of conditions! We hope you'll be charmed by this ep--- wait, what? Not covering Charmed on this one? What am I supposed to pun about now?

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

T004 - Touring the Multiverse - Eberron: Breland to the Shadow Marches Jun 08, 2020

Show notes

Floating Fortresses! Secret Police! Monster Nations! In this week's episode of Touring the Multiverse, Dave takes you (and Adam!) on a trip through the Southwest portion of Eberron's main continent! From secret societies to deeply-rooted xenophobia, there's heaps of intrigue and high adventure to be found in every corner of the map!

Nations:
Breland
Zilargo
Droaam

Cities:
Sharn
Wroat
New Cyre
Argonth, the Floating Fortress
Blackpit
Trolanport
Korranberg
Thurimbar
Zolanberg
Graywall
The Venomous Demesne
Zarash'ak

Landmarks:
Broken Blade Castle
Blackpit
Blackcap Mountains
The Dagger River
The Tower of the Triumvirate
The Codex Vault
Citadel of Cazhaak Draal
The Great Crag
Calabas
The Shadow Marches
Vvaraak's Cave

Organizations:
The Boromar Clan
Daask
House Tarkanan
The Black Lanterns
The Swords of Liberty
The Triumvirate
The Trust
The Order of the Emerald Claw
The Daughters of Sora Kell
The Dark Pact Alliance
The Church of the Silver Flame
The Daelkyr
The Gatekeepers
The Cult of the Dragon Below
The Marcher Tribes

Dragonmark Houses:
House Cannith
House Kundarak
House Tharashk

People:
King Boranel ir'Wynarn
Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn

Gods:
Aureon
Kyber
Dyrrn

Planes:
Xoriat (Plane of Madness)
Kythri (Plance of Chaos)

Monster Breakdown:
Dolgaunt

And remember to stick around after the outro music to join Dave and Adam as they head into Sharn to meet up with Djed, who's trying to pawn off a Speaking Stone!

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Intro/Outro Music by: Melodica's Music

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

B019 - Campaign Builder - Catharsis (Level Three) Jun 04, 2020

Show notes

It's the end of Level Three in this week's episode of the Campaign Builder on It's A Mimic!, and it's time for some much-needed catharsis for the players. Twelve episodes is a long time, and the campaign is just now starting to get rolling, so Dan and Adam look at how to help the players wrap up their first major storyline and feel good doing it!

Takeaways:
- Catharsis is a unique and powerful reward that is often overlooked by new Dungeon Masters.
- Knowing what a party does when given power over their enemies is an invaluable tool for Dungeon Masters to understand their players.
- The resolution of the first subplot should establish a new status quo for the party.
- Positive NPC reactions to finished quests give the players an incredible pride and sense of accomplishment.
- Very subtly introducing new details of the world and NPC's during the lead up to cathartic moments will help make all your different subplots feel like a cohesive, organic story.
- Raising the stakes just before the payoff will help give a sense of more intense victory as everything comes to a head and is suddenly, finally over.
- Be careful not to let the next plot hook steamroll the emotional catharsis of the current victory.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

E071 - Port-FOE-lios - Celestials: A Slice of Piety Jun 02, 2020

Show notes

In this weeks episode, the panel of DM's put on their collars and cassocks to get all holy as they take on the Lawful Good-est foes in Dungeons and Dragons 5e - The Celestial. They break down the big 4 angels - The Empereon, Deva, Solar and Planetar. The angelic hosts have some troubles meeting the glory that the hosts are meant to have so Terry, Adam and Megan discuss how to use them to full effectiveness in your campaigns.

After shrugging off their robes to get down and dirty with these inexplicably blue (teal?) feather-boys, the DM's brainstorm for interesting campaign uses for the angels and why theyre not just bad guys for your evil campaign. Wait, is it bad guys if you're playing the baddies? Or are the angels the good guys for your evil campaign? From your parties perspective, they'd be the "bad" guys, but you'd be playing... Know what? I need to think about this. Enjoy the episode.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

T003 - Touring the Multiverse - Eberron: Mournland to Q'barra Jun 01, 2020

Show notes

"Eberron is a racist place." ~ Coffee Bitch Dave
On this episode of Touring of the Multiverse, Dave and Adam take you on a tour of four incredibly different neighbouring countries of Eberron. From dense jungles to Elven warriors, and from Goblinoid hosts to physics-bending wastelands, this episode covers everything from lost holy temples to xenophobic lizardfolk. So strap in for another trip to Eberron in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition!

Nations in this Episode:
Q'barra
Valenar
Darguun
Cyre/Mournland

Regions of Q'barra:
New Galifar
Hope
The Unexplored Lands of the Scales

Cities:
Newthrone
Ka'rhashan
Rhukaan Draal
New Cyre
Metrol, the Rising City
Eston
Making

Landmarks:
Endworld Mountains
Blade Desert
Kraken Bay
Seawall Mountains
Khaar Mbar'ost, aka the Red House
Gorgonhorn
The Cathedral of the Sovereign Host
The Vault
The Clockwork Menagerie
The Steel Garden
Vermishard
The Glass Plateau

People:
King Sebastes
High King Shaeras Vadallia
Lhesh Haruuc Sharaat'kor
King Jarot ir'Wynarn
Princess Mishaan ir'Wynarn
Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn

Organizations:
The Cold Sun Federation
The Poison Dusk
The Ghaal'dar
The Marguul
The Sovereign Host
The Silver Flame

Dragonmark Houses:
House Cannith

Monster Breakdown:
The Lord of Blades
(Warforged Titan and Warforged Colossus, briefly)

And don't forget to follow Dave and Adam into Sharn after the credits, so they can check in with everyone's favourite slinger of magic items: Djed! This week, he's slinging items for Warforged, including Docents!

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Intro/Outro Music by: Melodica's Music

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

B018 - Campaign Builder - Unreliable NPCs (Level Three) May 28, 2020

Show notes

On this episode of the Campaign Builder, Dan and Adam sit down to give you some solid advice about using NPC's. Or do they? This week is all about characters who may or may not be able to be trusted, how to keep the players from killing them, how to encourage trust or breed mistrust, and tactics for Dungeon Masters to use when designing ambiguous Non-Playable Characters.

Takeaways:
- Unreliable NPC's add a weight to a campaign that may make players pay more attention to what's happening around them.
- A lot of adventuring parties like to kill unreliable NPC's, so make certain that you have some tactic for endearing the NPC to the party before they reveal that they're unreliable.
- Too much confidence or not enough confidence can make players stop and question whether or not an NPC is as useful as they might appear at first.
- A Non-Playable Character with a sense of humour is a great way to keep the players defending the NPC, regardless of their reliability.
- Sometimes having a character that seems too good to be true is enough to make the party incredibly suspicious of any help they may offer.
- Having strange customs or a language barrier may also provide confusion that will keep the players guessing about an NPC's reliability and motivation.

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Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore

E070 – Class: Gathering the Magic - Wizards: The Nerd’s Nerd May 26, 2020

Show notes

It's another round of mages and magic in this episode of the It's A Mimic! podcast, as the panel of Dungeon Masters opens up their dusty tomes to study Conjuration, Evocation, and Transmutation! As isolation keeps each of the Dungeon Masters locked solidly away in their own respective wizard's towers, they pour over Xanathar's helpful additions to wizardly character creation, and continue to work their through the many subclasses in the Players Handbook!

From cantrips to world-altering magic, this episode traverses the weave and reveals the secrets of the subclass features, and you might just be surprised at which one is the most powerful! Kick the necromancers and illusionists aside, it's time for blasting, polymorphing, and summoning in three of he most interesting subclasses in 5e!

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Email: info@itsamimic.com

Intro/Outro Music by: Cory Wiebe

Logo by: Kate Skidmore