Wandering DMs

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

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 monste

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 c

Fatigue in D&D | Take a Rest Already | Wandering DMs S8E31

Paul and Dan chat about Fatigue rules in D&D and other RPG's. It was a key part of the Chainmail progenitor to D&D, and also an important mechanic in modern 5E rules. But

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 entirel

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 betw

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

Swords & Spells | OD&D Goes to War | Wandering DMs S08 E27

Dan and Paul celebrate the 50th anniversary of Swords & Spells, Gary Gygax's 1976 rules for bringing large-scale battles to Original Dungeons & Dragons. What was the his

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 weren'

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, today's challenge is to design an ent

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? It's Barbarian Prince! Barba

Invisibility in D&D | Rules, Rulings, & Edge Cases | Wandering DMs S8E23

Dan and Paul discuss one of D&D's most iconic and surprisingly complicated—spells: Invisibility. On the surface it seems straightforward, but once players start dropping

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

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 RPG

D&D Battle Mats | From Wet-Erase to Digital Tables | Wandering DMs S08 E20

Dan and Paul discuss the many ways they've brought tactical combat to life at the tabletop over decades of running Dungeons & Dragons and other RPGs. From classic wet-era

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 color

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

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

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

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 t