Wandering DMs

Dan "Delta" Collins and Paul Siegel host weekly discussions on topics relating to old school D&D, tabletop RPGs, DM advice, and D&D history.

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27 episodes
weekly
Avg 1 hr 1 min
English

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Episodes 27

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November 2 · 1 hr 2 min
Disguises in D&D | Riotous Reveals | Wandering DMs S08 E34
Paul & Dan have a post-Halloween retrospective on using disguises and surprising reveals in games of D&D. How much do classic mechanics support that? Do you need to seed opportunities in advance for your adventures? And what about when a characte
October 26 · 59 min
Skeletons and Zombies | Classics That Never Die | Wandering DMs S08 E33
Dan and Paul celebrate Halloween with a look at two of fantasy gaming’s most enduring monsters: skeletons and zombies! What makes skeletons and zombies distinct as monsters? How have they evolved across editions of Dungeons & Dragons? What roles do t
October 19 · 1 hr 2 min
Classic Covers in D&D | How to Judge a Module? | Wandering DMs S8E32
Dan & Paul look back to our favorite covers in classic D&D modules. What makes for a great cover? How well do they balance the tension between showing the most exciting content versus giving away too much of the surprise? Do covers matter in the
October 5 · 58 min
Fatigue in D&D | Take a Rest Already | Wandering DMs S8E31
Paul and Dan chat about Fatigue rules in D&D and other RPGs. It was a key part of the Chainmail progenitor to D&D, and also an important mechanic in modern 5E rules. But it was absent or overlooked in classic rulesets like AD&D and B/X. Doesn
September 28 · 1 hr 1 min
Mapping the Dungeon | Communicating Space in Exploration | Wandering DMs S8E30
Dan and Paul talk about mapping the dungeon: how does the DM communicate an unknown physical space to the players as they explore it? Do you describe the dungeon entirely through words and let the players build a map in their heads? Have one player dr
September 21 · 1 hr
Poisons in D&D | Toxic Portrayals | Wandering DMs S8 E29
Paul and Dan chat about the history of poison mechanics in D&D. Is the classic save-or-die a realistic model, or does it make for lousy gaming? Should we distinguish between ingestible poisons versus animal venoms? Should your PCs have access to pois
September 14 · 1 hr 1 min
D&D Campaign Notes | Keeping Track of Long-Running Campaigns | Wandering DMs S8 E28
Dan and Paul dive into the practical problem of keeping notes and records for long-running D&D campaigns. Paul is gearing up to run a new campaign in the same world and setting hes been developing since 2010, which means digging back through nearl
August 31 · 1 hr
Swords & Spells | OD&D Goes to War | Wandering DMs S08 E27
Dan and Paul celebrate the 50th anniversary of Swords & Spells, Gary Gygaxs 1976 rules for bringing large-scale battles to Original Dungeons & Dragons. What was the history and reception of what could be considered the final supplement in the
August 17 · 56 min
Level Titles in D&D | What’s in a Name? | Wandering DMs S08 E26
Dan & Paul chat about level titles in early D&D. Did you know in the earliest editions of D&D (original, 1E, B/X), that every class level had a distinct title? You werent just a 4th-level fighter, you were officially a Hero. Were these titles
August 10 · 1 hr 8 min
Building a One-on-One Adventure Live! | Dungeon Design Dash #9 | Wandering DMs S08 E25
With Dan still away on vacation, Paul is taking on a solo Dungeon Design Dash! Inspired by a suggestion from our Discord community, todays challenge is to design an entire adventure built specifically for one Dungeon Master and one player. How does ad
August 3 · 59 min
Barbarian Prince | Going Solo in a Classic Hexcrawl | Wandering DMs S8E24
With Dan away traveling for the next two weeks, Paul is going solo… so what better time to play one of his favorite solo fantasy games ever? Its Barbarian Prince! Barbarian Prince is a sprawling fantasy hexcrawl game published by Dwarfstar Games in 19
July 27 · 1 hr 4 min
Invisibility in D&D | Rules, Rulings, & Edge Cases | Wandering DMs S8E23
Dan and Paul discuss one of D&Ds most iconic and surprisingly complicated—spells: Invisibility. On the surface it seems straightforward, but once players start dropping items, picking up treasure, attacking, casting spells, or sneaking around a du
July 20 · 59 min
Tsojcanth Review | Classic D&D Recap | Wandering DMs S08 E22
Paul and Dan look back to our marathon holiday weekend playthrough of the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, the classic D&D tournament adventure that first appeared 50 years ago! Does the module still stand up today for modern players? What lessons or surpr
July 13 · 1 hr
Shadowdark with Kelsey Dionne | Bridging OSR and Modern D&D | Wandering DMs S08 E21
Dan and Paul, the Wandering DMs, are joined by Kelsey Dionne, creator of the award-winning Shadowdark RPG. Shadowdark has become one of the most talked-about fantasy RPGs in recent years, winning over both old-school gamers and players coming from mod
June 29 · 1 hr 1 min
D&D Battle Mats | From Wet-Erase to Digital Tables | Wandering DMs S08 E20
Dan and Paul discuss the many ways theyve brought tactical combat to life at the tabletop over decades of running Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs. From classic wet-erase mats and gaming paper to elaborate 3D terrain, projector systems, and modern d
June 22 · 59 min
Diseases in D&D | Plagues, Poxes, and Pestilence | Wandering DMs S08 E19
Dan and Paul discuss diseases in D&D and other fantasy roleplaying games. From the surprisingly extensive disease rules found in the earliest editions of D&D to the colorful afflictions found in Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, how have RPGs handled s
June 15 · 1 hr
New Worlds & Ancient Myths | With Matt Finch | Wandering DMs S08 E18
Paul & Dan are joined by Matt Finch of Mythmere Games to chat about the competing motivations when using legendary references from the real world in your fantasy campaign world. How much do we want players to feel a deep-seated sense of recognition f
June 8 · 59 min
Size Matters | Physical Scale in D&D | Wandering DMs S08 E17
Dan and Paul discuss the role of physical size in D&D. From adventures set in giant-sized environments to scenarios where player characters are magically shrunk, changing scale can completely alter how players experience the game world. How have c
June 1 · 1 hr 6 min
Original D&D Eldritch Wizardry | Wandering DMs S08 E16
Paul and Dan review the 3rd supplement to Original D&D from May 1976: Eldritch Wizardry! An exotic mix of new and challenging ideas for Dungeons & Dragons from a variety of creators, shaped by editor Tim Kask. Introducing options for Psionics, De
May 25 · 1 hr 1 min
Forever Adventures | Our Favorite D&D Modules to Run Again | Wandering DMs S08 E15
Dan and Paul dive into the D&D adventures they would happily run again and again. From classic tournament modules to sprawling campaign epics, what adventures stand the test of time? Which modules keep surprising players, reveal new depths on repeat

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