Inspiration Point – Details, episodes & analysis

This week, Adam and Tiana introduce the second secret ingredient. We've talked about it before in passing, but this time, we dive deep into why curiosity is the second secret ingredient and how it can elevate your games. Be curious, not judgmental.

To watch the Death Campaign live: https://www.twitch.tv/vanalosswen

Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/gYSp3vcrqs

This week, Adam and Tiana talk about the lessons Adam learned from running two different sessions of Death: one on Friday for a private group of Patrons, and one on Tuesday for the livestream crew. No matter how long we've been playing or GMing, there's always something new to learn if we're willing to dig in!

To watch the Death Campaign live: https://www.twitch.tv/vanalosswen

Join the Discord! https://discord.gg/gYSp3vcrqs

This week, Adam and Tiana continue their deep-dive into what's known so far about the 2024 player classes. While we planned to talk about two classes as before, we had a lot to say about ranger and our perspective on the design philosophy behind the changes.

Ranger blog post: https://www.dndbeyond.com/posts/1759-2024-ranger-vs-2014-ranger-whats-new

Death Campaign live on Tuesdays at 6 pm Pacific: https://www.twitch.tv/vanalosswen

Tonight, we talk about real magic: the magic of the number THREE (3!)! It's everywhere and you, yes YOU, can harness it's incredible power to help you run and play your very best games. So come, stay a while, and listen as we reveal the true potential of this tiny, but mighty number!

Cults have to be one of the most common groups of bad guys that players are likely to run into in tabletop RPGs (probably right behind Bandits), but does the whole "Dark robes and doing objectively scary stuff" thing really make sense? Tonight we take a look at how cults work in the real world, and at ways you can use it to make the fake cults in your game a lot more believable, insidious, and hate-able.

Trigger Warning: Cults ARE a real, and do exist in the real world, and have often brought serious harm to people who thought they only meant well, only to find out later that they are in some serious trouble, or even life-threatening danger. Cults use, manipulate, and hurt people. We encourage you, if you (or someone else you know) is—or may be—in a cult, there is help out there, and people who care. Check out The Freedom of Mind Resource Center for more information.

In tonight's episode, Adam references the book: Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan, Ph. D. 

In this somewhat unique episode, Andrew brings a topic to the table, hoping to pitch the idea of wanting to play in a game where the story and theme(s) are emergent rather than planned by the GM. The discussion does not go according to plan and turns into... well... something a bit deeper.

Fair warning: this episode may seem a bit meandering or I (Andrew) may sound crazy or my  idea may even seem half-baked (it wasn't, but I am sure I could have explained things far better), but I think there is a lot of valuable stuff in this episode that, frankly, involved me getting perhaps a bit more vulnerable and introspective than I had planned. I thought for a moment about scrapping this episode, but thought better of it. I hope at least one person out there, whoever you may be, finds this episode helpful, or even just enlightening.

On this week's episode, Adam wants to talk about "shopping" sessions—basically sessions that have to do with gathering items/goods/materials/etc. and in what ways a session based around that can be fun. Join us as we bounce ideas around and talk some shop. ... ping... :D

Tonight, Adam brings a super duper Adam-y topic to the show: the Player Type Tier List! So, sit on down and join us as we discuss which types of players we find ourselves wanting at our table, and of course, which we don't.

NOTE: This episode is not intended to call anyone out, but instead encourage us to emphasize the things that we all do best, and work on the areas in which we struggle. All of us are a mix of many (if not all) of these different player types, and there is always room for any and all of us to grow and learn not only about the games we play, but the way we play it with the people around us.

Here's a link to the tier list so you can play along at home! https://tierlists.com/create/player-types

On this episode, Andrew wants to throw you all a bunch of free ideas for things like campaigns, adventures, player character connections, and stuff like that. This episode is far less about teaching you to fish ('cuz we do that a lot already, lol) and instead decides to just hand you a big net full of fish. It's up to you to decide which ones you like, and which ones seem... well... fishy.... :P Enjoy! 

Come sit down with us for this Q&A episode where we address common questions submitted by young players and GMs who are looking to grow and get the most out of their experience.

Mentioned in this episode:

DragnaCarta's 3-Step Session Prep for Running D&D 5e Adventure Modules