Wandering DMs – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Dan and Paul coach you in how to disrupt an enemy wizard's spells in D&D. And it varies a lot by what edition you play! From classic editions where casting in combat is strictly prohibited, to those where initiative tells the tale, to later editions where skills and counter-skills try to one-up each other. For house-ruling DMs, what's the fairest mechanic to use?

Paul and Dan tackle the age-old question of initiative in tabletop RPGs. From the simplicity of group initiative to the complexity of individual modifiers and segment counting, initiative rules can shape the entire feel of combat.

We'll explore how different editions and indie games handle turn order, what those choices say about their design philosophies, and how your own table might benefit from mixing it up. Is rolling every round more dynamic or just more bookkeeping? Should initiative reflect a character's reflexes, or just be a way to get the action moving?

Along the way, we'll share our own stories of initiative chaos, house rules that worked (or didn't), and some truly oddball systems that tried to rethink the whole idea.

Hasbro/WOTC announced this week that their long-anticipated virtual tabletop tool (VTT), Sigil, is suddenly end-of-life. How did they come to spend so many resources into a project like this, only to cancel it? Does it disrupt their overall strategy for the brand-new 2024 edition of Dungeons & Dragons? What's the landscape of VTT's for D&D look like today. And… is anyone really surprised?

Dan & Paul look back at the state of D&D in this past year of 2022, and the 4th season of Wandering DMs. What were your favorites, what were the critical fumbles for the year? What themes were unfolding for the D&D community? We'll share our top memories, and some announcements for what we have in store next!

• Watch the Wandering DMs Season 4 Playlist
• Watch Games from the Elder Times Season 1
• Watch Book of War Season 3

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Paul & Dan chat with D&D historian extraordinaire Jon Peterson about his latest book, Game Wizards, on the history of TSR, the makers of D&D, and the turbulent waters of changing creators and editions.

When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass-market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. As the game's fiftieth anniversary approaches, Peterson—a noted authority on role-playing games—explains how D&D and its creators navigated their successes, setbacks, and controversies.

Peterson describes Gygax and Arneson's first meeting and their work toward the 1974 release of the game; the founding of TSR and its growth as a company; and Arneson's acrimonious departure and subsequent challenges to TSR. He recounts the “Satanic Panic” accusations that D&D was sacrilegious and dangerous, and how they made the game famous. And he chronicles TSR's reckless expansion and near-fatal corporate infighting, which culminated with the company in debt and overextended and the end of Gygax's losing battle to retain control over TSR and D&D.

With Game Wizards, Peterson restores historical particulars long obscured by competing narratives spun by the one-time partners. That record amply demonstrates how the turbulent experience of creating something as momentous as Dungeons & Dragons can make people remember things a bit differently from the way they actually happened.

• Order the Game Wizards from MIT Press
• Read Jon's Playing at the World blog

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul exchange thoughts on the use of prepared Boxed Text descriptions in D&D adventures. Are they hostile, or benign in your games?

DM Shawn Merwin wrote on D&D Beyond: "If you’ve DMed, read, written, or even played D&D adventures at any point in the game’s existence, you are familiar with boxed text, which is also sometimes referred to as read-aloud text. It got its name from the thin boxed-line that sometimes surrounds the text in an adventure, denoting that it should be read aloud to the players. It’s as much a part of D&D’s history and brand as saving throws, hit points, and armor class…"

"Every couple of years, the topic of boxed text sweeps through the game-design community, opinions are thrown about, battle lines and drawn, and then we all go back to writing our own adventures, usually including boxed text. I wrote about the topic 20 years ago on forums, and 10 years ago in blogs, and now I’ll write about it again. Not much has changed in the conversation, but it’s still one we need to have."

What are your thoughts on the use of boxed text?

• Read Dan's blog on early encounter text
• See Shawn Merwin's full comments at D&D Beyond
• Read up on the "fierce debate" at ComicBook.com
• Check out Dyson Logos thoughts on his blog
• Read Jesse Decker's observations at Gen Con 2005 (via Wayback Machine)

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Paul & Dan chat with Keith Ammann ("The Monsters Know What They're Doing") on his newest book of dungeon design principles, "How to Defend Your Lair"!

In How to Defend Your Lair, gamemaster Keith Ammann pulls back the curtain on an underrated but crucial part of any tabletop roleplaying game: the theater of battle. Say goodbye to encounters in randomly generated dungeons and hello to a game in which where the fight takes place is just as important as who is doing the fighting.

This book teaches you how to use real-world principles of building security and area defense to create strongholds infused with flavor, informed by narrative, and complex enough to force your players to think strategically. You’ll look at the strengths and weaknesses of both defenders and potential attackers, creating spaces that are strong enough to keep out ordinary intruders…and to provide thrilling challenges to extraordinary ones.

Including more than a dozen fleshed-out sample strongholds, How to Defend Your Lair is a crucial resource for any RPG gamemaster who wants to push players to think about how to solve problems before running at them head-on.

Order Keith's "How to Defend Your Lair" here

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul reflect on their long history of playing RPGs in a wide variety of sometimes unusual locations, and how that can affect the play of your D&D games for better & worse!

Feng shui has found many uses. Landscape ecologists often find traditional feng shui an interesting study. In many cases, the only remaining patches of Asian old forest are "feng shui woods", associated with cultural heritage, historical continuity, and the preservation of various flora and fauna species. Some researchers interpret the presence of these woods as indicators that the "healthy homes", sustainability and environmental components of traditional feng shui should not be easily dismissed. Environmental scientists and landscape architects have researched traditional feng shui and its methodologies. Architects study feng shui as an Asian architectural tradition. Geographers have analyzed the techniques and methods to help locate historical sites in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, concluding that Native Americans also considered astronomy and landscape features.

Believers use it for healing purposes though there is no empirical evidence that it is in any way effective, to guide their businesses, or create a peaceful atmosphere in their homes. In particular, they use feng shui in the bedroom, where a number of techniques involving colors and arrangement achieve comfort and peaceful sleep. Some users of feng shui may be trying to gain a sense of security or control, such as by choosing auspicious numbers for their phones or favorable house locations. Their motivation is similar to the reasons that some people consult fortune-tellers.

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

This description uses material from the Wikipedia article "Feng shui", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

Paul & Dan look back at their favorite "Haunted House" adventures for D&D games. From Tegel Manor to Saltmarsh to Castle Amber and Ravenloft, we'll assess what works best and what doesn't for a truly terrifying D&D game!

Legends about haunted houses have long appeared in literature. The earliest surviving report of a haunted house comes from a letter written by Pliny the Younger (61 – c. 112 CE) to his patron Lucias Sura, in which he describes a haunted villa in Athens.[50] Nobody would live in the house until the philosopher Athenodorus (c. 74 BCE – 7 CE) arrived in the city. He was tempted by the low rent and undeterred by the house's reputation so he moved in. The ghost, an old man bound with chains, appeared to Athenodorus during the first night and beckoned to him. The apparition vanished once it reached the courtyard, and Athenodorus carefully marked the spot. The following morning he requested the magistrate to have the spot dug up, where the skeleton of an old man bound with chains was discovered. The ghost never appeared again after the skeleton was given a proper burial.

According to Owen Davies, a paranormal historian, hauntings in the British Isles were usually attributed to fairies, but today hauntings are usually associated with ghostly or supernatural encounters. In other cultures around the world, various spirits are said to haunt vacant homes and locations. In Middle Eastern countries, for example, jinn are said to haunt such areas. Historically, since most people died in their homes, whether they were mansions or hovels, these homes became natural places for ghosts to haunt, with bedrooms being the most common rooms to be haunted. Many houses gained a reputation for being haunted after they were empty or derelict. Davies explains that "if people were to fail to occupy a human space, then external forces would move in."

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.

Dan & Paul chat with Jim Davis, the wizard of Web DM, and get his thoughts on the rules drops so far for One D&D, the playtest for the upcoming next-edition of Dungeons & Dragons!

Jim Davis, the Web DM, creates RPG advice and actual play content on YouTube, Patreon, and Twitch. Through professionally produced, carefully researched conversations about all aspects of tabletop gaming, deep topic podcast dives, and heartfelt actual play streaming, Web DM has become one of the most popular RPG internet content creation companies in the world. They're lifelong friends and D&D players who want to share what inspires us about 5e Dungeons & Dragons to help all gamers love their games as much as we do.

One D&D is the codename for the future of D&D and includes: D&D Rules -- They're updating and expanding the rules of the game, and we’re looking for your feedback to help shape them. D&D Beyond -- The digital toolset joined the Wizards of the Coast family in 2022, and we want to make it even better. Digital D&D Play Experience -- Announced during Wizards Presents, D&D Digital is an immersive tabletop space that is in early development.

What's Jim's take on One D&D? Will the Wandering DMs agree? Tune in and find out!

• Preorder the Web DM Weird Wastelands sourcebook here

Wandering DMs Paul Siegel and Dan “Delta” Collins host thoughtful discussions on D&D and other TTRPGs every week. Comparing the pros and cons of every edition from the 1974 Original D&D little brown books to cutting-edge releases for 5E D&D today, we broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch so we can take viewer questions and comments on the topic of the day. Live every Sunday at 1 PM Eastern time.