Making a Monster

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**Making a Monster**

Game designers show you their favorite monster, how it works, why it works, and what it means. Each bite-sized episode features a D&D or TTRPG designer and the monster of their choice.

Latest Episodes:

Giant Sharkbowl Ooze by Kobold Press Jul 17, 2023

Show notes

Megan Maricle shares the deadliest catch for dungeon delvers everywhere!

Read the transcript and get more from the show:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-sharkbowl-ooze/

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

https://koboldpress.com/the-kobold-team/

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

Wave Lurcher: Astra Fauna by Sarah Dahlinger Jun 26, 2023

Show notes

An alien shark feeding off the living islands of an alien world, the wave lurcher is a partner in the search for life.

Read the transcript and get more from the show:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-wave-lurcher/

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

My about page has all my bio info :) https://www.sarahdahlinger.com/about

Sarah's Website

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

Extinction: The Dodo Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

The dodo is a funny-looking bird with a funny-sounding name that never knew what hit it. There isn't a more fitting icon of extinction.

Back the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magehandpress/book-of-extinction

Download a dodo: https://magehandpress.com/2023/03/the-dodo.html

Join the conversation:

https://www.instagram.com/sparkotter/

https://twitter.com/sparkotter

"Extinction Theme" by Alex Miller, the Boy King of Idaho: https://www.instagram.com/theboykingofidaho/

OGL 1.1 & The Extinction of D&D Jan 07, 2023

Show notes

OGL 1.1 risks killing the thriving ecosystem of valuable third-party content for Dungeons & Dragons. Don't wait: tell Wizards of the Coast they're making a mistake, and tell your favorite third-party creators it's worth staying in the fight.

Transcript of the episode:

Legal analysis of OGL 1.1: https://medium.com/@MyLawyerFriend/lets-take-a-minute-to-talk-about-d-d-s-open-gaming-license-ogl-581312d48e2f

Io9 leak: https://gizmodo.com/dnd-wizards-of-the-coast-ogl-1-1-open-gaming-license-1849950634

Polygon review: https://www.polygon.com/23540640/dnd-ogl-1-1-leak-dungeons-dragons-pathfinder-2e-wotc-hasbro

The aurochs as "Nazi Supercow": https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/when-nazis-tried-bring-animals-back-extinction-180962739/

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Ol' Chap Ettercap, ft. Critical Crafting Oct 11, 2022

Show notes

O'l Chap Ettercap is a monster whose story grew in the telling, from meaningless

Download Ol' Chap Ettercap in every form a tabletop needs:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-ettercap-critical-crafting/

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

Dillon Onley, Creative Director

Cameron DeFord, Marketing Director

https://www.critical-crafting.com/

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

"Creepy Dungeon Ambience" by DrMinky from Freesound.org

Mörk Borg's 7 Deadly Sins Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Mörk Borg, the doom metal TTRPG by Free League, gets an adventure with seven deadly sins chained in an off-shore prison boat where nothing is as it seems.

Read the transcript and get more from the show:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-mork-borg-dolja/

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

Zac Goins, World of Game Design

https://twitter.com/wogdesign

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

Shoebill Cockatrices show a terrifying biodiversity of monsters Sep 21, 2022

Show notes

Many monsters are combinations of animals, like the owlbear - but which owl, and which bear? Atlas Animalia by Metal Weave Games shows a terrifying biodiversity of monsters, including the shoebill cockatrice.

Read the transcript and get more from the show:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-atlas-animalia/

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

Sarah Dahlinger: https://www.sarahdahlinger.com/

Andreas Walters: https://metalweavegames.com/

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

Migo: Stillfleet's bio-tech super-future scientists with Wythe Marschall Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Wythe Marschall, creator of Stillfleet, shares a monster born in the frozen ammonia crystals of Yuggoth at the far reaches of our solar system 100 billion years in the future.

Don't wait, get it now! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wythe/the-stillfleet-core-rulebook

Get stat blocks, bonus content, and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

Meet my guests:

Wythe Marschall: https://twitter.com/hollowearths

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

Extinction: The Call of the Giant Beaver Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

The size of a black bear, this Ice Age giant didn't build dams, but it guarded the water with a fearsome call just the same. Meet the world's most complete fossil giant beaver with Heather Lerner, the ancient DNA expert who brought her to life!

Get three extinct animals raised to life as monsters in D&D: https://www.scintilla.studio/extinction

Episode transcript: https://scintilla.studio/monster-extinction-giant-beaver/

Guides:

Dr. Heather Lerner, Curator of the Joseph Moore Museum

https://twitter.com/moore_museum

Join the conversation: www.twitter.com/SparkOtter

"Extinction Theme" by Alexandre Miller, The Boy King of Idaho

The Mukad: aberrant insect harbingers from Grim Hollow by Ghostfire Games Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

The mukad are insect-like aberrations following the orders of a slumbering god of destruction as they lurk in the walls.

Read the transcript and get more from the show:

https://scintilla.studio/monster-mukad-grim-hollow-ghostfire-games/