Mastering Dungeons
Episodes
DwDD – Jesse “Doc Palindrome” Edmond on Comedy
16 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
It’s finally happened! Doc Palindrome, himself, joins Shawn in chatting about comedy in gaming! Doc on Twitter
DwDD – James Haeck on New Players
09 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
D&D Beyond head writer James Haeck joins the Mad Wizard chatting about the experience of adding new players to the group! Given what is happening in t...
DwDD – Jeff C. Stevens on Growing the Audience
02 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The prolific Jeff Stevens joins Shawn to talk about possibly the most important topic in the gaming (or any) industry: expanding the audience. Jeff is...
DwDD – Gaming Online with Celeste Conowitch
26 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Podcaster, game designer, and Venture Maiden, Celeste Conowitch, chats with Shawn about something we can all learn more about, Gaming Online. Tips and...
DwDD – Storytelling with Will Doyle
12 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Note from Doc – Hi folks! I had a little issue with the audio with this one and, thus, Shawn sounds a bit like he’s using a megaphone while Will’...
DwDD – Editing Adventures with Scott Fitzgerald Gray
05 Mar 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn sits down with the highly-prolific Scott Fitzgerald Gray to talk about the experience of editing games and adventures! Scott’s Website Scott o...
DwDD – Sly Flourish a.k.a. Mike Shea!
27 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Sly Flourish, himself, chats with the Mad Wizard about all things Dungeons & Dragons! Plus: Great details about how to play D&D 1-on-1! Ruins of the G...
DwDD – James Introcaso on the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
20 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
James Introcaso stops by to talk about working with Matt Mercer on the Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount about the world of Critical Role! James Introc...
DwDD – Interview Special with Alan Patrick, Dave Christ, and Bill Benham
12 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The Mad Wizard hit Winter Fantasy and came back with some great interviews from some top names in Dungeons & Dragons! Check them out! Alan Patrick of ...
DwDD – Organized Play with Teos “Alphastream” Abadia
04 Feb 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Teos talk about the history and current state of D&D Organized Play. Links Teos Abadia on the DMs Guild Calimshan Adventurer’s Guide by MT...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 12
20 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus. This time they travel to the Wandering Emporium. Links The Lucky Die AP DnD 5e p...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 11
13 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus. This time they finish the Path of Demons of start the Path of Devils. Links The ...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 10
06 Jan 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus. This time they chat about the Path of Demons. Links Two new members of the Adven...
Christmas and New Years DwDnD
30 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris talk about gaming resolutions and low level D&D. Check out the Sneak Attack patreon bonus show for a chat about epics and other non-tr...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 9
26 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus. This time they chat about the warlords of Avernus and Haruman’s Hill. Links Wi...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 8
16 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus. This time they chat about Fort Knucklebones and it’s dark comedy along with ho...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 7
11 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus as they start trekking across Avernus towards Fort Knucklebones. Links Unearthed ...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 6
02 Dec 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus as they finish up making their way through Elturel and make a leap of hellish fai...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 5
26 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus as they delve into the depths of Avernus…well, Elturel in Avernus at least. Eit...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 4
18 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus, covering more of A Tale of Two Cities, now it’s time take a walk to Candlekeep...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 3
11 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus, covering more of A Tale of Two Cities, now it’s time to talk about boats and r...
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 2
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue their discussion about Descent into Avernus, covering a lot of A Tale of Two Cities, especially the Dungeon of the Dead Three...
DwDD – Unearthed Arcana: Twilight, Name, Fire
21 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris dissect the UA on the Cleric, Druid, and Wizard. Links Unearthed Arcana: Twilight, Name, Fire
DwDD – Descent into Avernus Walk through and Review. Part 1
14 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris start their discussion about Descent into Avernus and cover a few news items. Links Let’s Design an Adventure Encounters in Avernus
DwDD – AI Part 5
07 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris finish their discussion about Acquisitions incorporated and also talk about the Bard and the Paladin from Unearthed Arcana. Links Bard...
DwDD – Unearthed Arcana: Sorcerer and Warlock
30 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris get into the Unearthed Arcana about the Aberrant mind Sorcerer and the Lurker in the Deep Warlock. Enjoy and thank you for listening. ...
DwDD – Acquisitions Inc Part 4
23 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris keep going on AI, they’re talking about growing the rest of the Players Options in this edition of Down with D&D. Links Baldur’s G...
DwDD – Acquisitions Inc Part 3
13 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris keep going on AI, they’re talking about growing the franchise today. Links Eberron: Rising from the Last War announced Core 3-3 Tom ...
DwDnD – From Green Flame to Lasers. Creating in another’s world panel from PAX West
06 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Take a listen to a panel from PAX West about creating in another’s world from PAX West that Shawn was on with Teos Abadia (Alphastream), Liz Spain ...
DwDD – Acquisitions Inc Part 2
30 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris keep going on AI, breaking down the company positions and franchise tasks! Also, support the Commandroids Kickstarter! Not D & D, but ...
DwDnD – Acquisitions Inc Part 1 & Unearthed Arcana
23 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Money, Money, Money, Moooooooney…MOOOONEY!!! We’re gonna take some time to talk about the Acquisitions Inc book that our own Mad Wizard helped put...
DwDnD – Designing Adventure (Part 10) Challenges, Resolutions, Consequences cont’
19 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want a challenge? I’ll give you a challenge and then for dealing with the challenge we will resolve the situation with some type of consequen...
DwDnD – Designing Adventure (Part 9) Challenges, Resolutions, Consequences
01 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want a challenge? I’ll give you a challenge and then for dealing with the challenge we will resolve the situation with some type of consequen...
DwDnD – Designing Adventure (Part 8) Rewards
18 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to talk about all the things you get for doing stuff in your D&D game. No, not the TPK death stuff but all the shiny, magical, treasure an...
DwDnD – Interview with Elyssa Grant
12 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn interviews the incomparable Elyssa Grant, producer with Penny Arcade and project manager for Acquisitions Inc! @Hobbitzez
DwDnD – Mike Shea and Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot
01 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Sly Flourish is getting down with us to talk about the Grendleroot and his newest book, kickstarter, and methodology for adventures Links Fantastic Ad...
DwD&D – Origins Filler Episode
20 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Doc attempts to distract the listeners from the fact that everyone is too tired from Origins to get the usual quality of content. Results may vary. Ne...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 7) Adventure Flow
14 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Flow: the action or fact of moving along in a steady, continuous stream. We’re talking about the concept of creating flow in your adventures today. ...
DwDnD – Baldur’s Gate. Descent into Avernus
10 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Descend into a hell of infernal machines from a city that chews up and spits out adventurers. We delve into the newest storyline from Dungeons and Dra...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 6) Box Text
30 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking about Box Text. That’s right. Box Text. Think we can’t do a whole episode about Box Text. Well, you’d be wrong. We can and we do...
DwDnD – Interview with Alex Kammer
23 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The Mad Wizard chats with Alex Kammer, Director of Gamehole Con, on his new Kickstarter for D&D, the Sea King’s Malice! Links Alex Kammer’s Twit...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 5) Hooks and Openings
20 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris’ conversation about adventure design moves into hooks and openings but before they get to that Shawn interviews AL Administrator A...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 4) Adventure Types Cont’
09 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris talk continue to talk about frameworks and how they can help you design adventures. This is the second of two parts where we talk abou...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 3) Adventure Types
26 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris talk about frameworks and how they can help you design adventures. This is the first of two parts where we talk about Frameworks durin...
DwDnD – Interview with Ruty Rutenberg
11 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn sits and chats with Ruty Rutenberg chat about a variety of topics including Morgrave Miscellany, Maze Arcana, and a variety of other media enter...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 2) Scope and Length
04 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris chat about the scope and length considerations when designing adventures. Part 2 of our encounter and adventure design series. Enjoy. ...
DwDnD – Designing Adventures (Part 1) Overview
01 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris chat about an overview of designing adventures which is a continuation of the encounter design series. Enjoy. Links Tactical Maps: Adv...
DwDnD – Creating with a Team
28 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and James Introcaso get together to talk about teamwork and the trials, tribulations, triumphs, and tricks of creating with a group of people. L...
DwDnD#184 – The Artificer & The Critical Role Kickstarter
14 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris start building constructs, mixing potions, and summoning…turrets…huh? We also talk the Critical Role Kickstarter. Links Dan Dillon...
DwDnD#183 – Designing Encounters (Part 3) Pillars of Play continued
07 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris continue to get into the nitty gritty of the pillars of play and cover exploration and how to mix those pillars. Enjoy Links Ghosts of...
DwDnD#182 – Designing Encounters (Part 2) The Three…I mean first two Pillars
28 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris get into the nitty gritty of the pillars of play and cover combat and social. Enjoy Links A Warlord Class for 5e from Schwalb Entertai...
DwDnD#181 – Designing Encounters Part 1
25 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn and Chris talk about some of their foundational ideas and concepts when designing encounters. Enjoy Links Stranger Things’ Dungeons & Dragons ...
DwDnD#180 – Interview with Mike Shea at Winter Fantasy
14 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shawn gets down with Mike Shea at Winter Fantasy. Enjoy the interview. Links Mad Wizard’s Menagerie Patreon
DwDnD#179 – Planar Adventures
07 Feb 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Shawn get down with the planes of existence. It’s gates, and shadowfey fellwild realms, and fire & ice, and all the wackiness of the Eleme...
DwDnD#178 – DnD Beyond
30 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chris and Shawn get down with the premier spot on the internet for all things D&D. They wax poetical about D&D Beyond. They both love the sight and th...
DwDnD#177 – A Talk with Teos
23 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chris is taking the week off and Shawn is conversing with Teos Abadia about a variety of things related to DnD. Links DM David on Monster Ecology: Thr...
DwDnD#176 – Dragon Heist 8
16 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s our final look at Waterdeep Dragon Heist. Enjoy as we delve into some of the lairs of the villains and how they affect the campaign. Links The ...
The Streets of Avalon. Fifteen – Fionn
15 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
DwDnD#175 – Listener Q and A
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking Listener Q and A this week as we take a number of questions from the audience and dive into them. Enjoy and let us know what you’d l...
The Streets of Avalon. Fourteen – Urgon
14 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Thirteen – Sewers
11 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Twelve – Muddy Joe
09 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Eleven- Eye
07 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Ten – Fallout
04 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
DwDnD#174 – Sidekicks
02 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s all about having a little help from your friends in this weeks episode of Down with D&D. Shawn and Chris take some time with the UA article on ...
The Streets of Avalon. Nine – Pearl
02 Jan 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Eight – Enemy
31 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Seven – Fire
28 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
DwDnD#173 – Player Contributions
27 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This week we’re getting into a discussion about player contributions based on an article by DM David. It’s an excellent article with some wonderfu...
The Streets of Avalon. Six – Master Corwin
25 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in conjunction with the Streets of Avalon Kick...
The Streets of Avalon. Five – Allison
21 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in anticipation of the Streets of Avalon Kicks...
DwDnD#172 – Urban Adventures
19 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re taking a break from Dragon Heist to talk about Urban Adventures. We give the 101 overview of how we see Urban adventures working and use Eberr...
The Streets of Avalon. Four – Cutter
18 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in anticipation of the Streets of Avalon Kicks...
The Streets of Avalon. Three – The Box
14 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in anticipation of the Streets of Avalon Kicks...
DwDnD#171 – Dragon Heist Seven. Chapter 4. Part 3
12 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for Dragon Heist Chapter 4, Part 3. It’s the end of chapter 4 and where the end of the adventure is. The vault where all the coins are. ...
The Streets of Avalon. Two – Lamplighter
07 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in anticipation of the Streets of Avalon Kicks...
DwDnD#170 – Dragon Heist six. Chapter 4. Part 2
05 Dec 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for Dragon Heist Chapter 4, Part 2. We’ve come to a very interesting chapter in the book. The villain decides a lot of what happens here...
The Streets of Avalon. One – Shapeshifters
30 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to the Streets of Avalon by the Wednesday Evening Podcast All-Stars. This special re-release is in anticipation of the Streets of Avalon Kicks...
DwDnD#169 – Dragon Heist Five. Chapter 4. Part 1
28 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for Dragon Heist Chapter 4, Part 1. We’ve come to a very interesting chapter in the book. The villain decides a lot of what happens here...
DwDnD#168 – Dragon Heist Four. Chapter 3
21 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for moar Dragon Heist. What happens when you have your own tavern in Waterdeep. We talk a little about that and a bunch of adventure seeds...
DwDnD#167 – Dragon Heist Three
14 Nov 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for moar Dragon Heist. What happens when you have your own tavern in Waterdeep. We talk a little about that and a bunch of adventure seeds...
DwDnD#166 – Dragon Heist Two
31 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time for moar Dragon Heist. Time to talk about adventuring at level one and how you might manage to not kill your PCs right away. Get down. Lin...
DwDnD#165 – Rob Schwalb
24 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The darkest man in gaming lands on Down with DnD to cast a shadow over us with his Lordly presence. It’s Rob Schwalb coming to talk Shadow of the De...
DwDnD#164 – Dragon Heist One
16 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re going back to get down with mythic Ireland in D&D. It’s the Moonshae Islands part duet. Get down and get boggy. Links New Issue of Dragon+ I...
DwDnD#163 – Moonshae Part 2
15 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re going back to get down with mythic Ireland in D&D. It’s the Moonshae Islands part duet. Get down and get boggy. Links Great D&D Beyond Artic...
DwDnD#162 – Monster Design
02 Oct 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Mad Wizard is in the house talking about his Menagerie and we’re also gonna get down on some monster design. Links The Mad Wizard Patreon Prepar...
DwDnD#161 – The Moonshae Islands
25 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re talking about Mythic Ireland and Vikings and Fey OH MY!!! Get down with some D&D.
DwDnD#160 – Where are all the DMs
18 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to talk about DMs and how you can get started. We hit all the basic places for information and give some intro tips of our own. Enjoy and ...
DwDnD#159 – Dragon Marks
11 Sep 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re heading back to Eberron to talk Dragon Marks. We’ll get into the nitty gritty of what they are, how they fit into Eberron, and their design....
DwDnD#158 – Challenge Levels
28 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Challenge levels!?! We’re talking about challenge levels?!? Do they even matter and what is this edition of D&D trying to do with them. All that and...
DwDnD#157 – D&D Organized Play
21 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s OP. IT’S OP. No, not over powered. It’s organized play. So get O, get O, and get P because the mad wizard Merwin and Chris do on this episo...
DwDnD#156 – The State of the Adventurers League with Lysa & Alan
14 Aug 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We’re going to the admins on this one. It’s Lysa Chen and Alan Patrick to talk about all the new changes coming to the Adventurer’s League start...
DwDnD#155 – Two New Settings: Eberron and Ravnica
31 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
New settings. Alert. We have new settings. Chris and the Mad Wizard Merwin get down with Eberron and Ravnica, the two newest upcoming releases for D&D...
DwDnD#154 – One-Shots. Design vs. Publication
24 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Punch up a game for one night only. Chris and the Mad Wizard Merwin get down on One Shots this week. How to structure them, write them up, and the […...
DwDnD#153 – Design: Complexity vs. Simplicity
17 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is it elegant and does it matter. Chris and the Mad Wizard Merwin get down on the level of depth in D&D, where it is, where it isn’t, and why […]
DwDnD#152 – Alex Kammer, GameholeCon, and The Borderlands
10 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It’s time to get down with the Gamehole, the Borderlands, and the convention the Gamehole is named for. It’s Alex Kammer and he’s here to dish a...
DwDnD#151 – Social Interactions
03 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s get down with talking. Actually we talk a lot about challenges that aren’t about fighting and ways to approach them. Enjoy and we’ll talk ...
DwD&D#150 – Origins 2018 Wrap Up
26 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s get down with Origins 2018. We had a good time. You probably heard the audio from our panel. This week, since Chris did zero D&D at Origins Ci...
DwDnD at Origins 2018 – The Buisness of D&D panel
19 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Lets get down with the buisness of Dungeons and Dragons. Shawn and Chris talk about making money and how it works from the outside as freelancers and ...
DwDnD#149 – Waterdeep and the Stream of Many Eyes
06 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Lets get down with the city of splendor. It’s Waterdeep and the Stream of Many Eyes. There’s gonna be a Dragon Heist followed by delving into the ...