Between Two Screens: A D&D Podcast

Spicing Up Your Combat

March 31, 2021 08:00 - 30 minutes - 20.9 MB

In this episode we talk about different ways to spice up your D&D combat, make your battles more dynamic, and keep your players on their toes. We talk about using flavorful descriptions, unique monsters, and tactical thinking to keep your players engaged in the flow of combat. We also discuss adding more complex elements like reinforcements, objectives, and time pressure to up the intensity of your battles. Lastly we talk about those big climactic boss battles and how to make them fun and de...

All is Fair in Love and Surprise Rounds

March 24, 2021 08:00 - 29 minutes - 20.2 MB

Kagan recently brought in a guest player to infiltrate the party, gain their trust, and ultimately attempt to assassinate one of the PCs. It ended up being one of the most memorable moments in his DMing career and in this week’s episode we dig into it. We discuss what went well, what didn’t go quite as planned, and share advice on how to pull off this sort of delicate subterfuge while making sure that everyone has a great time.

Objectives, Pirates, and Payoff

March 10, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 23 MB

In this episode we plan an upcoming adventure full of pirates, dragons, and merfolk. We dig into how to lay down subtle, optional side quests for your players to discover and how to place clear objectives in their path. We also discuss how to set up encounters that will lay the groundwork for future allies and rivals, and how to wrap up your adventure with a satisfying payoff. We lay the food analogies on thick in this one, so it’s advised to not listen on an empty stomach or you might end ...

Tuning Your Game’s Challenge Level

March 03, 2021 09:00 - 32 minutes - 22.5 MB

In this episode we explore how to find the right balance between challenge and frustration for your D&D game. D&D is supposed to be fun, but sometimes the greatest rewards come from feeling like you overcame an immense challenge. Finding the right challenge level is really tricky, depends entirely on the preferences of the people at the table, and is often a moving target. We tell stories of games where we were able to find that perfect challenge level, talk about what it feels like when a ...

Giving a Voice to Your NPCs

February 24, 2021 09:00 - 23 minutes - 16.5 MB

This episode is all about getting into character and bringing your NPCs to life through vocal qualities, dialects, and physicality. We also give tips on getting over the nervousness that many people have with acting, discuss the different ways that we practice our NPCS, and the tricks we use to get back into the voice of a character. Remember that you don’t need to be a professional voice actor to be an awesome DM! It’s okay to be nervous and it’s okay to be terrible at it! Lean into it, ha...

Digital Dungeons and Virtual Dragons

February 17, 2021 09:00 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MB

In this episode we talk about playing D&D online. Since the onset of Covid, tons of games have moved online. Luckily there are a TON of great resources out there to help you make the most out of playing virtually. We discuss the different tools that we use, the pros of playing online, and the numerous things we miss about playing in person. Jargon Cheat Sheet APL: Average Party Level. For example, APL 12 is a group of level 12 adventurers (on average). Living Greyhawk: A massive shared ca...

5e Doesn’t Care About Your Physics

February 10, 2021 09:00 - 29 minutes - 20.4 MB

This episode is all about physics in 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons (or lack thereof). We discuss rules like falling, jumping, and encumbrance and talk about whether it bothers us that they’re so ridiculous. We also talk about how to handle situations that are based on physics or real world parallels that you as a DM might have a tough time coming up with a ruling on. Lastly, we talk about how to handle the tricky situation when a player challenges your world or your ruling based on their ...

One Shot Adventures

February 03, 2021 09:00 - 26 minutes - 18 MB

This episode is all about running one shot adventures. One shots are great for introducing people to D&D, trying out creative ideas, mixing things up from your normal games, and most importantly are a ton of fun! We dig into what makes one shots so fun, give advice on running one shot adventures, throw out some crazy ideas that we would love to run, and encourage you to kill your friends! Thanks to Emily for requesting this topic. If there’s something you’d like to hear us talk about you ...

Collaborative Storytelling

January 27, 2021 09:00 - 36 minutes - 25 MB

This week’s episode is all about taking your hands off the wheel and letting your players take control of the story. As dungeon masters we invent storylines, plant secrets, and build up anticipation for them to experience our awesome content! But what if the players miss those secrets? Or steer the story in a different direction? It can be difficult to deal with that disappointment, but this episode is all about the joy of letting your players be in charge of the story. We also dig more in...

Guest Players

January 20, 2021 09:00 - 33 minutes - 22.8 MB

This episode we discuss guest players in D&D. Guest players are a great way to mix things up, get a fresh voice, or introduce the game to a new player. But there’s a lot to think about when you’re considering throwing someone into your game! We talk about how much information to give them, what type of character is good for a guest player, and how including a guest player might change your session dynamics. We also plan for a guest player coming up in one of Kagan’s games. This episode cont...

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything: How Do You Want to Brew This

January 13, 2021 09:00 - 44 minutes - 30.9 MB

In this episode we discuss the latest addition to the D&D 5e library, Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. We discuss the bevy of new options available to players, brew up a spicy conversation on the rules for customizing your origin, dig into the Artificer class, drool over the new magic items, and say flavorful too many times to count. This episode contains spoilers for players in Joe’s Sunday night campaign and Kagan’s Storm King’s Thunder campaign.

Over the Hills and Far Away: Travel in D&D

January 06, 2021 09:00 - 30 minutes - 21.1 MB

In this episode we discuss the wide variety of options out there for travel in D&D. Skip it? Montage it? Immerse yourself in the details? So many choices! We talk about how to enhance your travel through thematic encounters, opportunities for role playing, epic fights, and building secondary plots along the way. We also discuss rules for downtime during travel, hex crawl adventures, and the importance of changing up your rules if they aren’t working out for you.

Dysfunctional D&D

December 30, 2020 09:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MB

This episode we discuss a couple of difficult questions: how do you improve a dysfunctional D&D table and when is it time to call it quits? We focus on the importance of communication before and during a campaign and share stories of times we were able to improve D&D groups by tackling issues head on. We also stress the importance of not being too hard on yourself if things don’t work out. There are a million reasons that campaigns break down (I’m looking at you scheduling), and it’s okay t...

Refining a Villain

December 23, 2020 09:00 - 43 minutes - 29.7 MB

In this episode we continue our discussion from last week’s episode, Crafting a Villain. We dig deeper into the origins and motivations of the "Boogeyman" villain, invent an order or wizards connected to him, and brainstorm creative ways to start introducing him to the party. We also find out that Kagan cannot do a British accent, fail to remember the difference between winch and wench, discuss how many plots are too many, and so much more! This episode contains spoilers for players in Joe...

Crafting a Villain

December 16, 2020 09:00 - 31 minutes - 21.4 MB

Villains are key to almost every D&D campaign, and they’re at the core of a lot of adventure planning. So what makes a good villain? This episode we dive into that topic, discussing some of our favorite villains from D&D, comic books, and movies and what we can learn from those examples. Then, we dive into building a villain in one of Joe’s campaigns. We discuss the logistics of building a campaign around a big bad, and go through a series of questions that can help you craft a villain. Th...

Bringing Your Cities to Life

December 02, 2020 09:00 - 30 minutes - 21.2 MB

This episode we talk about planning adventures in cities! Cities can be overwhelming to plan, with their abundance of history, points of interest, and endless ways for your party to get into trouble. We talk about how to focus your planning for cities around the content your party is interested in, and how to bring all the rich history and lore of a city to life through exciting encounters and memorable characters. We plan an upcoming adventure in the magical city of Silverymoon, focusing...

Writing and Integrating Backstories

November 25, 2020 09:00 - 29 minutes - 20.6 MB

This episode we discuss the foundation for your adventurer’s origins and motivations: their backstory. We look at backstories both from the perspective of the player and the DM, getting into what makes a good backstory, how a longer backstory doesn’t necessarily make a better backstory, and some of the pitfalls to avoid when crafting your backstory. We also dig into the importance of a backstory fitting into the campaign you’ll be playing in and how far good communication between players ...

Handling the Unexpected

November 18, 2020 09:00 - 30 minutes - 21 MB

This episode we talk about what to do when your best laid plans go completely out the window. One of the best parts about D&D is the freedom to creatively solve problems. The joy of being able to try just about anything, say whatever you want, and roam wherever you’d like is something you can’t find in most other games. But sometimes your players throw something at you you’re just not ready for. Or, if you’re like Kagan, you throw a wrench in your own plans and accidentally lead the party c...

Session Recap: Brains and Devils

November 11, 2020 09:00 - 21 minutes - 15 MB

This episode we circle back to the adventures we planned in Campaigns Arcs & Mind Flayers and the one-on-one sessions we planned in A Devilish Encounter. Hear what went great, what didn’t go as expected, and the surprising decisions the players made. We also talk about a creative rule for parties strategizing mid-combat, fun ways to handle a player’s character being out of action for a session or more, and meaningful consequences for making evil decisions. Spoilers for Kagan’s Storm King’s...

Role Playing

November 04, 2020 09:00 - 34 minutes - 23.8 MB

This episode we dive into the wonderful world of role playing! From ordering your first drink, to berating the rogue for getting in trouble again, role playing is the magic sauce that separates role playing games like D&D from other tabletop games. We discuss the different stages of role playing, the importance of creating a safe place for your players to role play, and our views on why encouraging role playing is important. We also discuss the merits of inspiration and different ways to r...

Campaign Arcs and Mind Flayers

October 28, 2020 08:00 - 32 minutes - 22 MB

Joe calls out for assistance as he begins building his next story arc full of creepy villagers, brains with legs, and mind flayers! We discuss creative ways to sow the seeds of future adventures, how to steal your players’ brilliant ideas, and incorporating their interests and backstories into your adventure planning. Spoilers for the adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver and for players in Joe’s Monday campaign.

Joe the Shield Lander

October 21, 2020 07:00 - 26 minutes - 18.1 MB

This episode we dive into Joe’s backstory and hear about his experiences growing up playing convention style D&D. Starting out as a wee 10 year old, Joe “The Boy” Crook went to conventions with his dad playing in the Living Greyhawk campaign setting. Hear about his terrifying transition to DMing, the laundry list of games he’s running and playing in, and the unexpected ending to his Lost Mines of Phandelver games. Shield Lands for life!! Jargon Cheat Sheet 3.5: A revised version of the 3r...

Halloween Adventures

October 14, 2020 07:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MB

Halloween is just around the corner, and that means it's time to dress up as your character and go on spooky adventures! Hear about Kagan’s past Halloween games and listen in on the creative process as Joe and Kagan brainstorm ideas for this year’s Halloween themed adventure. Get the juices flowing for your own creepy campaign! Major spoilers for players in Kagan’s Storm King’s Thunder campaign, but no spoilers for the published adventure.

Bending the Rules

October 09, 2020 16:00 - 29 minutes - 20 MB

Making up monsters and carefully bending the rules. When is it okay to bend the rules as the DM? How do you avoid players feeling like you’re not “playing fair”? How do you figure out how and where to bend the rules as a new DM?

A Devilish Encounter

October 09, 2020 15:00 - 26 minutes - 18.2 MB

Kagan and Joe brainstorm ideas for a devilish encounter. How do you slowly build up a villain and give the party fun options to interact with them? Running one on one sessions are fun! The difficulties of running super powerful villains. Minor spoilers for the adventure Storm King’s Thunder and major spoilers for players in Kagan’s Storm King’s Thunder campaign.

Session Zero: Getting into Dungeons and Dragons

October 09, 2020 14:00 - 51 minutes - 35.7 MB

In this first episode we get to know the hosts Joe and Kagan and how they got into Dungeons and Dragons, and how they’re continuing to play during a global pandemic. What happens when a minmaxer DMs? Do parties ever retreat? What do you do when your riddles totally bomb? And much more. Minor spoilers for the adventures Tomb of Annihilation and Storm King’s Thunder. Jargon Cheat Sheet 5e: Short for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition, the current edition of the game. Anti-party: A party of ...

Intro

October 04, 2020 15:00 - 1 minute - 830 KB

Running Dungeons and Dragons is a craft honed with experience and driven by creativity. Follow two dungeon masters as they share stories from their games, discuss challenges and missteps, and scheme for their upcoming adventures. Between Two Screens is a dive into the amazing world of D&D and the process and thinking that goes into running the game. Hosted and produced by Joe Crook & Kagan Riedel, two enthusiastic DMs with unique perspectives on the game. Whether you’re new to D&D, or have b...

Between Two Screens: A D&D Podcast

Episodes