Preparing for Epic Failures > TPK

Failing Creates Dramatic Stories

The air is calm. The rush of a dragons wings interrupts as it dives over the edge of a chasm with a halfling in its claws. Moments behind, you rush up to the edge of the chasm, brushing pebbles and dust into its gaping maw. The dragon gets farther away with every heartbeat. Cries of the wounded reach out from behind you, and you can see the distant approach of yet another set of wings. Ally or foe, it is too far to tell. What do you do?

We talk about this subject from both sides of the table. For the noble DM it's about gently directing the game to provide these moments of character defining choice. For mighty players, set yourself up for glory, and considering how these moments shape your character. We had fun, so enjoy a listen!

Increasing RPG Immersion ft. David Adams

Draw your party ever deeper into the fantastic fiction.

David Adams joins us! He laser beams his many amazing thoughts on party immersion into this episode. We talk about drawing yourself into party members characters, using catchphrases, honoring the tone at the table, and, of course, more. David has created lots of great content, so find him on twitter @level2npc, find his works at his website and find his stuff on DMs Guild here.

Amazing Characters from Compelling Backstories

A powerful backstory creates unforgettable characters.

Character backgrounds can be long, confusing, random, restrictive, or overly world shattering. Or, they can be clear, bad-ass, and help you play an amazing game! We provide a structure for your glorious character concept that can do just that. It covers story beats, personality, wants and needs, and how to quickly get your vision across to your party.

You can find our form-fillable character planner here.

Backstories from Backgrounds

Making character backstories mean something!

Backstories are a troublesome foe. What is too much, what's to little? Character backstories done well inform about everything that means anything to the character themselves. At the worst, they can be a boat anchor of lore that is never used and muddy the experience. Also, why do they never seem to match the background that was picked?

Creating D&D character backstories is essential to playing a great story-driven character. After all, what is a rogue without knowing what made them so shifty in the first place? In this episode the brothers dive into the character backgrounds and how to use them as the starting point of making a character... wait... what?? Yep, you betcha.

Thieves' Cant - or Can They?

Speaking thieves' cant without the language degree.

Ever get tempted by one of the coolest flavor abilities of rogues only to be disappointed when you realize how challenging it is to use at the table? Yes of course, we're talking about thieves' cant.. but where there is a will, there's a way. You can find the supporting content for episode for free on our Patreon.

The Satisfaction of Roguish Tales

A corrupt thief, a vengeful swashbuckler, and a defiant trickster.

We look at three historical figures that embody different visions of what a rogue could be, discussing what the best parts of these tales are that we can portray in an amazing character. Don't put them all in the same character, though, or you'll end up with Max "Mad Dog" Mcpuncher, the master of invisible crime wars.

The Trouble with Roguish Traits

Disarm the traps of a rogue personality.

We run through some of the most dangerous and commonly used personality traits of rogues, like "I work alone", and propose ways to mold them into things that work in D&D. What if your job is actually spying on the party? Then you're still working alone, ya sneaky weasel.

Demystifying Dungeon Masters III ft. Erik Frankhouse

Run a game like a champion DM!

Breezy game tips from one of the best dungeon masters around! Erik Frankhouse, the three-time champion of the Iron DM competition give us his essential tips. Now you may have figured out game preparation, but now you need to actually play it.

Now your preparation for your best D&D session will be tested, but you need not do it alone. With the advice of expert Dungeon Master Erik Frankhouse, host of Erik Frankhouse Presents, cartographer and game designer, you can boil down the immensely challenging task of DMing into something not just do-able, but easily doable.

You can find Erik here: https://erikfrankhousepresents.myportfolio.com/projects

His Patreon here: www.patreon.com/ErikFrankhousePresents

And his podcast here: https://anchor.fm/efp

Swing and a Miss

The hero should always be hitting!

Shots going wide is reserved for foul balls and Stormtroopers. Why would we aim for the wild blue yonder and how do we as players and DM’s make our characters act with intent rather than fumble and bumble through an adventure?

In this episode we deliver a surprisingly simple structure to fix whats challenging in describing hits and misses.

Critical Oopsies

Laugh in the face of the 1’s

You know the feeling… when that dice teeters on a heroic 19 but instead rolls over to a 1. Your hero is now a dingus. What could have been epic is now a slap in the face. What horrible fate has the DM cooked up for your character? Will they lose their pride or are they about to lose a limb?

We cover why crit fumbles aren’t a thing and add a homebrew rule to take the sting out of the dreaded 1.

Party of Two ft. D&D Duet

Can't find a party? Just find a person, and you've got games for life.

Jonathan and Beth Ball of D&D Duet take a break from teaching, creating, writing, and having a general blast to join us! First we get to know the magic that makes them them. Then we learn one on one gaming secrets, like how to create a fantastic dynamic between the player and the DM, how to create a cast of DMPC's that highlight the hero, and how this style can make a more engaging player out of everyone. Then we explore the wondrous fantasy versions of themselves, and it gets weird in all the right ways, folks.

Check out John and Beth’s Blog dndduet where you can learn lots about playing and Dungeon Mastering at any group size, learn about Grove Guardian Press where Beth is hard at work on her exciting novel “The Buried Heroes” based on their d&d adventures, dive into their published adventures, and take a peek at their twitters @GroveGuardian and @DndDuet.

Download the NPC’s we created based on them at our Patreon.

Outcast Society II

Growing up with horns in an intolerant world can be a challenge for Tieflings. How does it this kind of thing affect them? We find out in this episode how a Tiefling named Tivius might develop an affinity for wingless ducks and suffer from performance anxiety. Wait what?

Outcast Society I

Tieflings need some love!

What is life like for Tiefling folks? Some characters aren't as welcome as others, sometimes they need to go underground. In part 1 of the series on Tiefling Government or lack thereof, we look at the structure of how people stay hidden.

How do you build a complex secret organization in your D&D games? Turns out it’s not quite as simple as a big bad and all of their underlings.

Good Metagaming ft. The Monsters Know What They’re Doing

Incredible tactical approaches to playing any character or creature.

Our wonderful guest Keith Ammann takes a break from harnessing the true power of monsters to help us. He gives us great ways to consider our own tactics that keep games engaging. It frees up my mental faculties from asking myself "what spell should I use?" to now considering important questions like "how do I best insult this stinky little gob?

Check out Keith's blog The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, then his book Live to Tell the Tale, and his twitter.

The Angry Folk

Unleash all kinds of creative fury! Make sure it's in character, you bloodthirsty beasts.

Barbarians are given the space to flourish in this one. The brothers get into some pants-crappingly intimidating lore about berserkers, explore what rage really could mean, and talk about some less obvious Barbarian concepts from media, the world, and wherever thoughts come from.

Feeling Healthy and Not So Much

Up the drama and action of your heals like Arnold Schwarzenegger himself is breathing down your neck!

We discuss roleplaying options for the loss of hit points, making your character's healing magic stand out, and some cinematic fights where the hero just wouldn't stay down.

Classes - #NoBasicBards

Stuck strumming lutes? Build a bard that offers more.

D&D Bards can be troublesome if only because of their pervasive reputation to be musicians. Which isn't a bad thing, but the brothers believe there might be a bit more to their depths. In this episode they take a closer look at the history of bards and look to other option they may have available to them.

D&D Improv ft. Laena Anderson

Roleplaying is improv? Yes, and improv is magic. Charm Person!

The brothers wanna dip their toes into the art of improv, but they need some help, because them waters are scary and unfamiliar. So they brought on Laena Anderson, an amazing performer with the group Sorry, not Sorry in Edmonton, AB. to teach them how to improv at the gaming table.

Supporting Content:

Find the Sorry not Sorry group at sorrynotsorry.ca

Find Skits and humour with The Debutantes at thedebutantes.ca

Spells - Prestidigitation

Mystify in style with this detailed look at hands going wow!

This “basic” spell has so much to it, and the brothers are super excited to unpack it here for some clarification of its power, inspiration for roleplaying, and how to put it into action when the going gets tough.

Fantasy Folk - Dwarven Government

There’s no safer place than a Dwarven Stronghold

We all know how good a dwarf is at charging into the fray, but wouldn’t they be good at running the show back home too? The brothers take inspiration from one of the oldest governments in the world, and dive deep into some concepts to bring more depth to these sturdy settlements.

Supporting Content:

Make a proper name for any dwarf with the Dwarven Name Generating Table

Get some epic metal dice from dieharddice.com