Mastering Dungeons

Latest Episodes:

Draw Steel at Level 1! (MD 254) Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Episode 254 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Draw Steel RPG at Level 1!

Shawn and Teos play Draw Steel on the D20 Play channel. We discuss how the game plays at level 1, including the goals of the RPG and how well they worked. We also discuss how it felt to play a Talent (psion) and Troubadour.

News: D&D in the Heart of London, D&D at the Ballpark, Starter Set Delays, and more!

Contents
00:00 Beloved Corrections
04:36 Future of Organized Play?
18:35 Wild West Campaign?
21:43 Is Complexity Good?
27:03 How to Hook Friends and Family on D&D
39:41 Starter Set Delayed in EU and UK
41:05 Baseball and D&D
43:22 D&D in London
44:36 Legends of Greyhawk Videos
45:50 Cosmere Print Date
46:18 Battlezoo Secret Tomes
47:07 Surviving Strangehollow on Gamefound
48:09 Aetherial Expanse: Dreasm of the Drowned God
49:25 Draw Steel at Level 1
50:42 We Love Games!
53:33 Tactical Heroic Cinematic Fantasy
56:28 Tactical and Heroic Play
59:51 Cinematic Play
01:03:09 Talent at Level 1
01:09:00 Troubador at Level 1
01:15:56 Complexity
01:23:03 Monsters in Draw Steel
01:28:51 Designed to Make Players Into DMs
01:31:57 Shout-Outs
01:35:08 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.

How to DM Parenting with Shelly Mazzanoble! (MD 253) Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Episode 253 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: How to DM Parenting with Shelly Mazzanoble!
D&D’s Shelly Mazzanoble joins us to discuss her new book: How to Dungeon Master Parenting! This hilarious and insightful book offers a lot for DMs and parents. We discuss how the two compare and Shelly’s storied past where she has worked to promote women in D&D and D&D’s philanthropic efforts.

News: Japan’s D&D Initiative, Diablo RPG, Tropes that Ruin RPGs, and more!

Contents
00:00 We're 159!
03:18 Is D&D Scrutiny New?
07:55 RPGS Cannibalizing Each Other?
14:48 If We Knew 1 Spell?
18:28 Criminally Overlooked Game Design?
26:14 D&D in Japan
28:04 New Fallbacks Novel
29:27 5 Tropes Ruin D&D
33:36 Stranger Things Minis
35:11 Metaphor vs Mechanics
39:00 Diablo RPG
40:21 Shelly Mazzanoble
41:15 Shelly's Amazing D&D Contributions
43:45 Shelly's and Global Philanthropy
48:59 Women and New Players in D&D
57:37 How to DM Parenting
01:10:07 Child Stat Blocks
01:13:10 DM and Parenting Styles
01:21:06 Find Shelly and Her Book
01:24:24 Shout-outs
01:28:45 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/

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.

New Era of RPG Revolution? (MD 252) Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Episode 252 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: New Era of RPG Revolution?
Huge Gen Con announcements and kickstarters have us asking… is this a new era of RPG Evolution? We look at why it is so hard to compete with D&D and why maybe companies should not want to compete at all!

News: Daggerheart Makes Big Moves, Draw Steel Released, FR DLC, and more!

Contents
00:00 Climb Gen Con Harder
01:36 Shawn on Tabletop Journeys
02:25 Gen Con Review
06:20 WotC Out of Adventure Ideas?
12:16 Forgotten Realms DLC
13:50 Netheril's Fate
15:27 Astarion's Book of Hungers
18:07 Draw Steel Released in PDF!
21:44 Daggerheart is Serious
24:50 How Many Demiplane PCs?
33:42 Cosmere Minis
34:29 ENNie Awards
36:36 Cypher Revised Announced
37:52 DeMinimis and Tarrifs
39:39 Era of RPG Revolution
40:55 2025 May Be Different
42:39 The History of D&D Challengers
44:38 D&D's Market and Brand Advantage
48:44 Licensing
49:51 Actually a Great Game
55:23 Economies of Scale
58:49 What Does Competition Look Like?
01:02:51 Ocean vs Pond
01:10:41 Competition Isn't the Only Endgame
01:18:22 Dan Ayoub and How WotC Evolves
01:23:19 A Rolling SRD
01:24:30 DDB Maps for All Subscribers
01:26:24 D&D Advisory Group
01:27:19 The Future We Envision
01:32:43 Shout-Outs
01:37:23 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/

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.

Listeners Have Their Way! (MD 251) Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Episode 251 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Listeners Have Their Way!
It’s a Listener Corner extravaganza as we fill our regular segment with tough questions from our awesome listeners!

News: Hasbro Disastrously Beats Q2 Expectations, Critical Role Expands Shows, and more!

Contents
00:00 Transforming News
04:10 Teos Ghostfire Breaking News
04:55 Happy 251st Show!
05:44 Hasbro Q2 Disastrously Beats Expectations
08:48 WotC Q2 Results
12:38 D&D Q2 Revenue
14:16 Comparing 2024 to 2014 Revenues
15:04 Critical Role Expands Shows
17:01 Cover Reveals for FR Books
19:37 Cthulhu by Torchlight Exclusive DDB
22:15 Weapons of Legend for Draw Steel
22:59 Kobold Ancestry for Draw Steel
24:10 Listener Corner Extravaganza
25:32 Dragon Delves and Arora?
29:18 Resolving Player Conflict ?
36:22 Comparing Non-D&D RPGs to Each Other
46:27 Favorite RPGs and Adventures to Read?
55:42 What We Wish Designers Would Stop Doing?
01:00:38 Shout-Outs
01:05:52 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/

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.

Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries! (MD 250) Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

Episode 250 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries!

Does Daggerheart provide a compelling system of monsters for GMs? We take a look at the design and whether it might hook GMs into running Daggerheart for years to come!

News: Stranger Things Boxed Set, D&D Staffing and Franchise News, Eberron Delay, and more!

Contents
00:00 Grimhollow Transformed
03:54 D&D Stranger Things Boxed Set
07:22 Jess Lanzillo at White Wolf
08:36 Dan Ayoub Franchise VP
13:46 Cynthia Williams Departs Funko
15:27 Starter Set Higher Price
20:03 Eberron Delayed
23:20 PAX West DMs Wanted
24:56 Critical Role Video Game
27:26 Black Flag in CC
28:49 Daggerheart Adventure
29:34 Daggerheart Incredible Creatures
30:15 Six-Gun Doomsday
31:41 Daggerheart Monsters and Adversaries
32:37 Why Monsters Matter in an RPG
36:04 Daggerheart Stat Blocks
38:51 Creature Type
45:34 Experiences
48:33 Monster Features
54:45 The Adversary Types
01:00:56 Looking at the Overall System
01:16:11 Shout-Outs
01:20:03 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/

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.

Daggerheart Campaign Frames! (MD 249) Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

Episode 249 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Daggerheart Campaign Frames!Daggerheart provides an interesting structure for campaign settings. How well does this work? Let’s find out!

News: What is Narrative-First, D&D Italian Translation Problems, Offset Printers, and more!

Contents
00:00 Naprage Week
01:40 Daggerheart Adventure Differences?
09:57 What is Narrative-First?
22:52 Italian PH Problems
25:12 Wolfgang on Offset Printers
26:51 Quickplay Maps on Beyond
28:07 Daggerheart Campaign Frames
30:38 Campaign Frame Components
33:42 Lore Dump?
36:54 Frame Breakdown
37:53 Step 1: Pitch
41:50 Step 2: Foundations and 3: Characters
45:43 Step 4: Build the Map
48:42 Step 5: Session Zero and 6: Adventure
51:40 Age of Umbra Campaign Frame
01:04:34 Included Campaign Frames
01:06:52 Shout-Outs
01:09:55 What Are We Gonna Do Now?
Thank you for listening! Get the full show notes with links on Patreon.

Show Search Engine: https://mdsearch.alphastream.org/

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.

Leveling Our Daggerheart Characters! (MD 248) Jul 02, 2025

Show notes

Episode 248 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Leveling Our Daggerheart Characters!We level up our Rogue and Warrior all the way to level 6 and share how the design enabled our concepts.

News: Dragon Delves Pre-Release, Daggerheart New Classes, Cosmere Hiring, and more!

Contents
00:00 MVP is Sleep
01:08 Leaving Blanks?
08:24 Daggerheart Demands Good GMs?
15:22 Dragon Delves Pre-Released
17:47 UA Arcane Subclasses
19:31 Gen Con Needs DMs
21:36 New Daggerheart Witch and Assassin
26:12 Demiplane adds Playtest Classes
26:37 Updated Daggerheart License
27:35 Origins Awards
28:18 Cosmere RPG is Hiring
34:13 Leveling Daggerheart Characters
36:51 Daggerheart's Tier Leveling System
37:39 Tier 2 Benefits
40:43 Level 2 Choices
48:19 Level 3 Options
52:56 Level 4 Options
58:31 Tier 3 Benefits and Multiclassing
01:09:35 Level Choices
01:12:42 Design Considerations
01:24:30 Gear and Leveling
01:27:33 Shout-Outs
01:30:45 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/

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.

Our Daggerheart Characters (MD 247) Jun 25, 2025

Show notes

Episode 247 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Our Daggerheart Characters!
What it is like to create Daggerheart Characters, with real examples of our Rogue and Warrior.

News: WotC Layoffs, Dragon Delve Previews, Daggerheart Staff Changes, and more!

Contents
00:00 Dual-Wield Chainsaws
02:02 Dungeon Crawls Gone?
12:39 Universal and Unique Lore?
16:38 Dragon Delves Previews
18:50 Wizards of the Coast Layoffs
20:07 Ivan Van Norman Departs Darrington
23:04 Diana Jones Finalists
25:30 Evil Hat Cancels Tomb Raider RPG
27:14 DarkHorse Brings Fallbacks
28:44 Treasures from the Dark
31:04 Our Daggerheart Characters
33:30 Getting Started Section
37:42 Class and Subclass
49:00 Subclass
52:14 Heritage - Ancestry and Community
59:11 Character Traits
01:03:17 Additional Info
01:05:57 Starting Equipment
01:15:44 Background
01:16:52 Experiences
01:19:47 Domain Cards
01:25:12 Connections
01:29:07 Shout-Outs
01:32:18 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/

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.

Daggerheart Initiative! (MD 246) Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

Episode 246 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: Daggerheart Initiative!
What happens when a player of GM can take any number of turns in a row? We take a look at Daggerheart’s initiative and consider games that have similar approaches.

News: Critical Role Hire Perkins and Crawford, Jess Lanzillo Departs WotC, Daggerheart Translations, and more!

Contents
00:00 We Are Stunned
00:49 Will Daggerheart Stand the Test of Time?
01:21 Crawford and Perkins' New Jobs
15:55 Jess Lanzillo Departs WotC
24:54 Daggerheart Being Translated
25:55 Mearls on Character Maps and Psion
28:27 Kickstarter Pre-Launch vs Funding
32:02 Standing the Test of Time?
40:35 Daggerheart Initiative
41:16 Our Experiences
45:26 Game Flow
47:08 The Spotlight
51:20 Adapt Over Time?
52:06 On Your Turn
53:50 Duality Dice
56:26 GM Moves and Adversary Actions
58:52 How Rules Play
01:08:30 Optional 3-Token System
01:14:36 Shout-Outs
01:17:31 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/

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.

2025 D&D Psion Subclasses! (MD 245) Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

Episode 245 of Mastering Dungeons!

Main topic: 2025 D&D Psion Subclasses!
The new psion can blow minds with new Disciplines, spells, and Subclasses.

News: Perkins and Crawford’s Jobs, We Play Daggerheart, Get Free Goblin Trouble, and more!

Contents
00:00 Daggerborg Below
02:37 Mythic Fantasy Tips?
10:33 Transition to Another RPG?
19:14 Good RPGs for Drama and Participation?
23:49 Crawford and Perkins Jobs Open
28:47 Free Goblin Trouble Adventure
32:37 Shawn and Teos Play Daggerheart
43:30 Daggerheart Card Editor is Live
44:20 Staff Changes at Chaosium
45:32 Book Distributor Feedback
50:06 The Devoured Labyrinth
51:39 Save on Steve Conley's Irregulars
52:45 Bundle of Pride Games
53:34 Psionic Subclasses and Disciplines
55:17 Psionic Disciplines
58:12 Design Patterns
01:14:13 New and Revised Spells
01:19:14 Psion Subclasses
01:34:12 Shout-Outs
01:38:09 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/

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.

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