Rules of Engagement ft. Heavyarms

Craft great games for your group by using rules that work.

Every rule should engage. That's the episode. Playing D&D can feel like you're constantly getting buckets of rules tossed in your face, and you're trying to sort out which ones matter. Then there are rivers of homebrew. How could we possibly know what's good, and what's trash? With the question "Does it engage?", which is what our incredible guest Heavyarms is here to help with. He's created some of the most useful supplements we've ever touched, including The Armorer's Handbook and The Alchemy Almanac among others.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we look specifically at how to assess rules when considering them for your game. Within the three steps of Capture Inspiration, Consider Intent, and Watch for Red Flags we learn practical advice but also so much about game design from the perspective of a pro.

Then we go to The Heroes Stage where we learn more about Heavyarms. He talks about the problems in games that inspire his work, his process, and what might be coming down the pipe in some distant future. Find Heavyarms' work and thoughts:

Website: Heavyarms | Raise your Game

Twitter: heavyarms (@heavydoesntmiss) / Twitter

And as always, huge thanks to the support of all of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Pseu Art, Blackthorne, FirstLaw, PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

Rust Monsters: The Biggest Rustholes

Evolve these bugs from wrecking characters' things to giving your story wings.

It's always tempting to use monsters like the rust monster because they seem iconic. Classics. Gotta try 'em at least once. The problem comes when we mix the original punishing design principles of D&D with the modern character and story first playstyle that we love so much. Now they just feel like an annoying trap that steals from me. In this episode, we adapt the Rust monster to the way we like to play games. In Kinship Camp, we break down three categories of improvement for the rust monster: as a tool, an environment, and a dynamic threat. As a tool, the rust monster as a pet works on both sides of the table. You've got a lockpick, hinge destroyer, hidden weapon detector, and more in your trusty companion. They can also be used as a narrative tool as written to heighten a moment of defeat. Our caveat here is to allow for a moment of great victory afterward, perhaps with new, or better equipment. As an environment, we can theorize about how a habitat could be made much more interactive and thematically "rusted", and as a dynamic threat, there are plenty of simple additions we can make to this beast that makes them much more interesting to tangle with.

Thank you to the patrons that joined us on our monthly episode writing hangout that helped with the content in this episode:

Leprecan and Lucas D.

And as always, huge thanks to the support of all of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

FirstLaw, Blackthorne, Victoria O., PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

The Modron Mathematical Mayhem

Run Modron combat that challenges and delights.

So we've got dimension-surfing cyborgs with cultural values, motivations, and personalities. Now we have to plan for inevitability that some frantic adventurer is gonna wanna throw down. But as they're currently presented, we're a little underwhelmed by their combat dynamism. Advanced beings from a plane of law, and they're throwing javelins at us? In this episode, we aim to create encounters with Modrons that engage, confound, and allow for triumphant victories.

In Kinship Camp we start with a recap of what Modrons are currently capable of. Then we discuss all the elements we want to consider before we get to fighting. We talk about their motivation to fight, we reflavor and add abilities to better capture the themes they represent, talk about methodical tactics they might use, and even how their home plane, Mechanus, might offer useful elements for a dynamic fight. Then we put it all together in three stages of an encounter designed to be creatively and logically solved, not beaten over the head with a hammer.

Speaking of logic puzzles, here's a link we promised in the episode to give an idea for how Modrons might test a creatures capacity for law and order. Game: Tchuka Ruma – Do It And How

Thank you to the patrons that joined us on our monthly episode writing hangout that helped with the content in this episode:

DangerousMarmalade, Lyla G., and Leprecan.

And as always, huge thanks to the support of all of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

FirstLaw, Blackthorne, Victoria O., PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

The Modron Metaphysical Motivation

Roleplay Modrons that make more sense.

Modrons capture attention and imagination—bio-mechanical beings from an alien plane, with reality-bending inspirations. But when we start unpacking the lore, we can't figure out how or why to use them, how to roleplay a modron, how they behave, or what they really want. So in this episode, we answer these questions by tweaking the concept while staying true to its roots.

In Kinship Camp we go over the inspiration for these bizarre creatures while adding a bit of our own. This includes Flatland, a short story about god, and ants. Y'know, arguably the strangest creature in our reality. Then we start loading ideas into our culture creator, available here. By the end, we've got a creature with motivations, goals, quirks, how their language could work, and even what they might say.

The Modron voice tool we used can be found here: https://voicegenerator.io/

The online tone generator can be found here: https://www.szynalski.com/tone-generator/

Thank you to the patrons that joined us on our monthly episode writing hangout that helped with the content in this episode:

DangerousMarmalade, Lyla G., and Leprecan.

And as always, huge thanks to the support of all of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

FirstLaw, Blackthorne, Victoria O., PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

Find Familiars Unforgettable

Make your familiar into the memorable sidekick you know they can be.

In the Strategy Stateroom, we go over four steps that can guide you through creating memorable and engaging familiars.

• 1. Determine a relationship type Is it totally in sync with you, or is it a fraught relationship?

• 2. Give it a trait Make the trait something that compliments or contrasts your character.

• 3. Engage with others Start with a party member that compliments or contrasts the familiar in a different way.

• 4. Determine its summon What does it look like when your familiar enters the world?

Then we head to Grandma B's Schoolhouse to sprinkle a few extra details on top of our familiars. These details are based on a smattering of animal facts about the myriad of creature choices you get when casting Find Familiar.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Victoria O., PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Nico Y., Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

A Chimera of Chaos

Create Chimera encounters that present new heights of tension, creativity, and tactics.

Chimeras are legendary creatures that have invaded folk's imagination since the ancient Greeks cooked them up. An epic three-headed beast conquered by the son of a god. Juicy. But have you ever been a part of an uninspired Chimera fight? Yes, they're deadly, but after a couple flyby triple head attacks things get stale. In this episode we talk about building up to a Chimera reveal, and spicing up combat to engage every player at your table.

In Kinship Camp, we discuss what bits of the Chimera we love, including bits from the Greek legend, their potential nature of pure chaos, and how much of a monster they really are. Then we flesh out a mini adventure, focusing on the tension-building beats of horror to make it a moment.

In Lamashtu's Breeding Pit we push the concept of the chimera to its limits. Combine three creatures, you say? Can do. We each take a crack at a triple threat monster cobbled together from fearsome beasts of D&D. Which would win? You tell us.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

PeacockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Nico Y., Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

Beyond D&D ft. The GM Tim

Explore games that will breathe new life into your passion for tabletop gaming.

There are many games with near-infinite themes, genres, flavors, new ideas, and fresh inspiration. It's an exciting world of possibility, and we'd love to play them all. Of course, there's only so much time, money, or x resource that we have to try these new games. Unfortunately, this stops us from even beginning to explore different systems. This episode aims to give you the same nudge we needed. The GMTim, with his experience as a professional DM running dozens of different systems, presents a few based on our favorite genres, and we discuss their merits as we try to figure out what to learn next.

In The Oracle's Tower, we start by dispelling some of Travis' cherished excuses for why he doesn't play different systems so that we can all get on the same page. Then we explore some of The GMTim's highest recommendations in the TTRPG genres of Superhero, Heist, Sci-Fi, and a smattering of others. He fills us in on what makes them great, what might make them a "no thanks" for some, and an overview of just what to expect down each of these rabbit holes.

The GMTim

Follow @thegmtim on Twitter and Instagram

Check out his website

Watch Star Trek: Lost Voyages every second Sunday.

Superhero

• ICONS - Icons Superpowered Roleplaying | Steve Kenson

• Mutants and Masterminds - Mutants & Masterminds Quick-Start (freeronin.com)

• City of Mist - Shop | City of Mist Tabletop RPG (TTRPG)

Heist

• Blades in the Dark - Greetings, Scoundrel | Blades in the Dark RPG

• Fiasco - Fiasco – Bully Pulpit Games

SciFi

• Starwars EotE - Star Wars: Edge of the Empire (fantasyflightgames.com)

• Star Trek Adventures - Star Trek Adventures RPG Co-Op Game Homepage (modiphius.net)

• Tales from the Loop - Tales from the Loop RPG (loop-rpg.com)

Hazardous Hag Bargains

Have players bring about their own demise with the insidious offers of a hag. 

Hags offer so much potential as ruthless negotiators, incredibly clever antagonists and uneasy allies. But like many of the most brilliant monsters out there, their plots can be hard to actually conjure up in our games. And not just that, but the classic hag tales are ones in which someone a little foolish enters a bargain we all know they shouldn't have. So we need the ability to come up with clever plots that our players don't automatically dismiss. This episode aims to give you the steps to do just that.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we go through five steps that should bring some pretty satisfying outcomes to your table.

1. Find a Target
The Hag has to find someone good to mess with. The best targets are groups or characters that see things as black and white, or have a strong sense of right and wrong, seeing themselves firmly planted in the "right" category. Then the hag finds two values to pit against each other. As a DM, you can draw from the flaws and bonds of your party, because a hag really enjoys getting people to fall victim to their own flaws.
2. Make a Plan
The Hag has to figure out the perfect juicy moral choice, where the character has to make the best bad choice. Either way, they're going to sacrifice something they care about. The hag would prefer if it's their own morals.
3.  Disguise the Deal
We have to trick the party, at least for a bit, right? The hag has to use their mastery of disguise to impersonate a trusted NPC of some kind, presenting an offer the character can't refuse.
4. Disappear
Every hag tale needs the trademark "vanish and cackle" moment.
5. Repeat
The hag is going to keep at this target of theirs until their life is in complete tatters, or they hunt her down and stop her for good. Which she doesn't think will be anytime soon.

Then, because we know eventually the party is going to seek sweet revenge, we've got to plan ourselves an epic hag fight. We go through a few stages of combat and environmental changes you can take inspiration from, and with that, we think we've taken some of the intimidation out of using a hag in our games to incredible effect.

PeakcockDreams, DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

How to Win at Warlock Characters

Weave a warlocks tale of morality, hard choices, and being the most metal party member.

Warlocks inspire a lot of wonder, right out of the gate. They've got an incredible story hook baked right in, and one can sit there considering how terrifying they look for ages. But where we've fallen down before is really making that hook pay off. This episode explores the themes and potential stories that warlocks offer us, and how to play them to their heights.

In Kinship Camp we explore how to make the three elements of a warlock shine. When planning your character, you really have to consider their want and need. What were they trying to fix with their shortcut to power, and what's going to set them free from their pain? When creating your patron, work with your DM to consider their goal and the relationship between them and the warlock. Finally, we talk about steps to create a simple but powerful origin story for their deal, where their story could go, and some methods for roleplaying this unique class.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

Hold Person Handily

Make every casting of this controversial spell heighten your heroic adventures.

Hold Person is wildly powerful and feels pretty cool when you get to snag a baddie with it. But it's one of the classic save or suck spells, meaning that either nothing happens, or something absolutely awful happens. This means dice start flying out of pure rage at the table when your barbarian is stuck in place during a climactic throw-down. Well, we demand better from our spells, and we hope you enjoy our exploration in making this enchantment feel as gripping as it sounds.

In Kinship Camp we cover three tactics for bringing out the best in Hold Person. First, we talk about how much you can twist the flavor depending on your caster's whole deal. That'll give everyone involved more to respond to, and make it feel like a part of your character. Plus we do a weird dive into the terrifying world of sleep paralysis, how it relates to the spell, and how you can use it to add depth to your magic.

Then we talk about minor mechanical tweaks if you want something better than a single save while keeping the soul of the spell intact. We sprinkle on a couple more thoughts about how you could use the spell, and that'll do it! Let us know what cool ideas this sparked for your games.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

A More Brutal Bulette

Even more dangerous than a Bulette is running them as a surprise monster. The better build-up to a Bulette must be unearthed.

The Bulette is such a cool monster. A deadly tunneling, armored hunter, a leaping surprise attacker, a vicious apex predator. So then why does running one exactly as they allude to feel so lackluster? It turns out the answer may all be in the build-up.

We look to the original inspiration for this monster to build a more engaging lead-up to it's reveal in the Strategy Stateroom and use old approaches from our horror episodes to hype the Bulette for our players and whip them into a frenzy.

Pacing like a Producer ft. Roz Young

Learn the sorcery that attunes you to your group's energy, molding its ebb and flow with intent.

Ever find yourself scrambling to hit the gas, or notice that something is getting stale, but you just can't tell what? Well, this episode is packed with techniques that will keep everyone on the edge of their seats. The wisdom comes from the experience of our incredible guest Roz Young, the masterful storyteller of Ready to Roll, a boundary-pushing actual play YouTube series.

In the Strategy Stateroom we explore two major steps to improve pacing. The first is to think in acts, and helps prepare for a consistently engaging adventure. The second is to think in scenes, and Roz shares all kinds of perspective shifts from her varied fields of expertise that helps keep every moment feeling unrestrained, yet on track.   

Then we go to the Heroes Stage to learn more about Ready to Roll and what makes it extraordinary, from their rich world, to their cast of actors, to their vignettes, where they recreate key scenes from the game with an entire team of professional filmmakers. We're talking beautifully detailed sets and fully imagined costumes here. You'll think you're watching a movie.

Follow Roz Young

 on twitter: @squirrelsofdoom

on twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/roo_zilla

Check out Ready to Roll on YouTube or on their website.

A Study in Spectacular Sentient Items

Roleplay powerful, otherworldly items that draw the party deep into their mysteries.

Ever thrown in a sentient item, thinking it would be an epic fantasy moment, only to have it become a joke? Or forgotten? A forgotten joke? Nothing worse. In this episode, we get into how to avoid their pitfalls and what you can do to unleash the many wondrous powers they give not just the heroes of your story, but you as the DM.

We also discuss The Beasts of the Dissonance, an incredible new resource for dark fantasy loving DM's.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we go through five steps we use to bring out the best in our sentient items.  

1. Give the item character. 

   Starting off with our Character Planner, we talk through some unique options that make sentient items shine. 

2. Decide how it communicates. 

   The item's method of communication can have a huge impact on the game. 

3. Give it a relationship with its wielder. 

   The most powerful thing about these NPCs is the story they create with their champion. 

4. Use its values to create a character arc. 

   Using 4 corner opposition, we can figure out some potential directions their story can take. 

5. Pay off the relationship in the end. 

   Giving it a tangible goal and a boon of some sort for its wielder upon completion is a way to ensure it's never forgotten and to give that player something to look forward to.  

Then we head to The Temple of Inspired Hands where we highlight Beasts of the Dissonance,  an incredible Kickstarter beginning April 19th, 2022. It's a visually stunning bestiary packed with 40 new dark fantasy monsters, a new class that can summon and control these monsters complete with five subclasses, rich lore, and STL files for 3d printing these terrifying beasts so your table gets right into the horror. We love the theme, its easily navigable layout, the unique new monster abilities that help create tension and encourage roleplay, and of course, the detailed 3D printing files! Too often we have to represent some wicked creature with a giant toad, and it just doesn't land right. Now we've got it all.   

Check it out and support it here. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/grinninggod/beasts-of-the-dissonance-5e 

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

DM Thunderbum, Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, DangerousMarmalade, Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P.

Show, Don't Tell ft. Ollo Clark

Bring moments to life in a way that inspires roleplay, not rules referencing.

Those great sessions that are packed with character moments, epic fights, and emotional highs seem almost magical. Well, this episode unlocks a piece of that magic. We talk to Ollo Clark from Escape Plan Games all about how the storytelling concept "show, don't tell" can apply to all the elements of TTRPG's, and help us encourage those memorable moments.

In The Strategy Stateroom we go through Ollo's four filters he uses to create great descriptions.

1. Purpose. What do I want my players to feel or experience?

2. Action. Can I do it with action instead of emotive language?

3. Sensations. Can I use sensations instead of descriptions?

4. Meta. What can I do outside of the fiction to emphasize the moment?

Next, we use these steps to think about how we would introduce some NPCs, monsters, locations, and weapons starting from some great prompts from a few of the show's patrons, which they gave us on the Hook and Chance discord.

Then we go to The Heroes Stage to learn more about Ollo's journey to becoming a Creative & Art Director, how his education in literature and acting has influenced the way he runs games, and some of the innovative features that Tavern Tales Volume I brings to the world of 5e supplements. Check out Escape Plan Games - eplangames.com

Follow Ollo on Twitter @jackbnimble42

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, Nico Y., Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P

Create a Cult Mystery

Craft compelling mysteries with your cults that will surround and confound your party.

If you listened to our last episode, you've got an original cult to grip your players with their twisted, dastardly plans. Well, now it's time to play out those plans. And it's not always easy to prep for a game that needs to give players a plot to unravel, horrifying cult activities, and a captivating villain to lead the way. There are so many missteps that can quickly derail the tension and terror you want to build in these games. That's why in this episode we explore how to use a collection of our resources to create a cult mystery horror adventure by making one ourselves, and we're pretty excited about how it turned out. It's got shadow demons, brood mothers, dark rituals, and more!

In Kinship Camp, we create an adventure that culminates everything we talked about in previous episodes:

• 27. The Bones of Horror I

• 28. The Bones of Horror II

• 29. The Bones of Horror III

• 69. D&D Mystery Simplified I: World-building

• 70. D&D Mystery Simplified II: Story Beats

• 71. D&D Mystery Simplified III: The Details

• 136. Cult Based Mysteries

Don't worry, listening to them all isn't crucial to following this episode, but we do hope it inspires the creation of your own adventures. To use the free resources that came out of these episodes, be sure to check out our resources page.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Timewarp, Nico Y., Zach G., NoMaam, Michelle T., Hentenius, Alan E., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R., Aldrost, Leprecan, Will H-P

Essentials to Crafting a Diabolical Cult

Create fantasy cults from the roots of reality to inject morally twisted delights into your game.

D&D cults have some entertaining details, to be sure. Chanting, robes, and funky daggers are fun for the whole family. But what we've always run into is that beyond this, they're simply another group of evildoers that must be stopped, most likely with a mace to the face. But when we take a look at real cult-like behavior, from the charismatic leaders to the psychological manipulation they use to induct the innocents of your world, they become a force to be reckoned with. Your party is going to need not only their most explosive abilities, but their most cunning words, their most deceitful tactics, and their heaviest moral choices. The real-world details in this episode come from the books Cultish by Amanda Montell and Cults Inside Out by Rick Alan Ross.

In The Strategy Stateroom we go through a complete approach you can take to building up your own cults.

1. Determine a theme and nefarious goal

   This is usually what’s included in our existing cults. We’ve got a dragon cult that wants to summon a mega-powerful dragon. Whatever fits your game.

2. Create a Charismatic Leader

   Cult leaders are typically likable and kind on the surface, but deeply manipulative and sociopathic underneath. We talk about the many tools of influence your cult leader might use.

3. Create some cultists

   Adding a few cultists with differing opinions on the whole operation gives your players everything they need to take the game in whatever direction they want.

4. Design a culture

   You can follow along with our free culture creator, detailed in Episode 60 - Worldbuilding with Culture Creation, but there are a few specifics we discuss that will make your cultish cultures pop, including their initiation tactics.

5. Focus on the Details

   There are a few things you can add to make your cults truly stand out. Language is one of the biggest. Consider a few specific phrases your cults uses to distinguish themselves.

Then we put it all together and come up with a solid start for a cult in Travis’ fiend-filled campaign world. It’s called Children of the Steadfast Cathedral, and it’s led by a most charming devil.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Marley R., Garr the Pirate, Time Warp, Nico Y., Zach G., No Ma'am, Michelle T., Hentenius, Alan E., Matthew T., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R, Aldrost, Leprecan, and Will H-P.

5 Steps for Memorable Taverns ft. Escape Plan Games

Never have a dull moment again in the taverns of your world.

We've all sat down in the tavern, only to not know where to go next. As GM we've accidentally described the blandest, most cookie-cutter fantasy drinking hole, and can't conjure up an NPC that does more than asking "what're ye havin'?" while everyone looks around, hoping for something to engage with. Well, that's why Mike Pisani and Colin Heffernan from Escape Plan Games join us in this episode to bring us techniques and tools to create more dynamic and inspiring taverns.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we cover five elements to include in all your taverns.

1. Theme the Tavern.

   Starting with a unique premise helps the place come together, and gives you something to draw off as you create more.

2. Create three unique NPC's.

   Coming up with at least three contrasting individuals that feel deeper than their job titles, that are created from your theme really helps bring the place to life.

3. Get Players Invested

   Giving the party stakes in the tavern gives you something to play with, or, y'know, threaten. Letting players set up a stand to sell their adventuring loot from, or letting them literally invest in the tavern's success make the players lean in.

4. Create Entertainment Options

   Providing interesting mini-games and events allows players to engage on their own agenda, and create fun where they want it.

5. Kick off the Adventure

   The tavern exists to be the starting point, so you have to make it a great start!

Then we go to The Heroes Stage to Learn more about Colin and Mike, Escape Plan Games, and their newest supplement Tavern Tales Volume I. It's an incredibly rich and detailed body of work surrounding a tavern titled A Trip Away. It includes everything you could ever need and some things you didn't know you needed for your next pit stop. It has NPC's, adventures, magic items, tavern games, a full menu, and shady dealers, to name a few features.

Check out Escape Plan Games - eplangames.com

Follow them on Twitter @eplangames

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Garr the Pirate, Time Warp, Nico Y., Zach G., No Ma'am, Michelle T., Hentenius, Alan E., Matthew T., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R, Aldrost, Leprecan, and Will H-P.

The Tragic Backstory Made Useful

Make your tragedies matter to your character, the party, and the story.

Have you ever felt the backstory pains that we used to? This was our strategy: We write an elaborate backstory full of murder, mystery, and utter loss. We imagine telling our friends around the gaming table, hearing their "oohs" and "aahs" as their minds are blown by our creative genius. Then we get to the game and realize that it's probably inappropriate to give a half-hour monologue about how Goretrax the dragon emperor tricked us into shooting our family into the sun. And so the backstory is forgotten. To top it off, we play a character that exists completely separately from the backstory we labored over! Well, since then, we've grown and considered how the tragic backstory can not only be interesting to the party but create incredible moments for our characters.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we lay out what we think are four crucial questions about your character. Their answers will bring their tragedy into the game in the best way. We dive into each of them in the episode and talk about specifics that will help you get the most out of them.

• What is the source of your character's trauma?

• What is your character's path?

• How does your character's trauma manifest?

• How does your character's trauma get resolved?

Then we go to The Extra-Dimensional Gateway to talk about the traumatic backstories of Iron Man and Arya Stark to see what we liked about them, what we can borrow, and how they differ.

Fear, Cause Fear, and the Frightened Condition

Turn a flash of fear into one of your character's most defining moments.

When you're in the middle of an epic fight, whether you're the one inspiring the darkest fears in your enemies, or they're the one summoning the terror within you, it feels like that should be a big deal, right? Yet what we so often end up with is a restrictive mechanic slapped down that makes someone hang out for a turn or two. But we're talking about one of our most primal human emotions here! The one that can reduce us to a shivering pile, or cause us to funnel it all into pure rage and explode against our foes! Shouldn't this be a moment? We think it should, so that's what this episode is about.

In Kinship Camp, we use the five-step structure we talked about in Episode 126. The Five Steps to Every Story.

• Step one, the inciting incident, covers how we can make that moment of causing fear land. What can your character or monster do that's truly terrifying, and what are the physiological effects of fear that we can describe?

• In step two, challenges, we discuss what your character could do in their fight, flight, or freeze, and what it feels like to come down from fear.

• Step three, the choice, is about whether you're going to actually overcome your fear at that moment, or lean in, and turn the fear into something to wrestle with as a character.

• Step four, action, is about looking for your moment to show your choice, whether it be a two-handed screaming ax blow or a retreat to the shadows.

• And finally, step five is figuring out how your character feels about their fear afterward.

Then we go to Grandma B's Schoolhouse to take inspiration from three real-world creatures, and how they cast fear on their enemies. It gets nasty.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Garr the Pirate, Time Warp, Nico Y., Zach G., No Ma'am, Michelle T., Hentenius, Alan E., Matthew T., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R, Aldrost, Leprecan, and Will H-P.

Moral Dilemmas Made Meaningful

Haunt your party with moments where they'll always wonder if they made the right choice.

Playing good vs. evil games is great! You get to take down baddies, fighting your way towards ultimate and definitive justice! Morality, though? That's a whole different kind of fun. For the role-player, it’s the fun of putting a character through the trenches of what defines them. For the DM, it’s turning the party into a group of philosophers, debating the best path forward, and accepting its consequences. That's why in this episode we break down moral dilemmas, and figure out a way to build them up so we can present the most powerful, customized problems for our party.

In The Strategy Stateroom, we talk through three steps you can take to end up with a great dilemma.

1. Determining two factions and values to pit against one another.

2. Adding in competition, stakes, and the price of inaction.

3. Balancing and complicating the choice, so it's as meaty of a dilemma as it can be.

Throughout, we oversimplify some real-world ethical concepts for the purposes of game design. Seems wrong as I type it out, but we did it. Here they are for reference:

Ethical Frameworks:

• Utilitarianism. The net pleasure of the outcome

• Kantianism. Universality. If everyone did it, would it be ok?

• Care ethics. Our relationships, and caring for others.

• Virtue ethics. The virtue of the self

Ethical Fallacies:

• The law informs ethics

• Morality is subjective

• The fallacy of sincerity

Then we jump into The Extra-Dimensional Gateway to talk about a few of our favorite moral dilemmas in video games, and how we can use them to inspire our games.

As always, huge thanks to the support of our patrons for making this episode a reality.

Garr the Pirate, Time Warp, Nico Y., Zach G., No Ma'am, Michelle T., Hentenius, Alan E., Matthew T., Felix R., Chris F., The Senate, Lucas D., Lyla G., The GM Tim, Nevermour, Thomas W., Tyler G., Ty N., Heavyarms, Erik R, Aldrost, Leprecan, and Will H-P.