Thinking Critically: A D&D Discussion – Details, episodes & analysis

Welcome back! I'm joined by fellow Englishman Austin, a.k.a. AC Whikcom, to discuss how to translate concepts and ideas into your TTRPG settings. Austin takes us through how to take those errant thoughts you have at 3am and turn them into publishable content worldwide, with a spattering of anecdotes throughout. We also criticise the language bloat of D&D 5e, and conclude that having a million random, niche languages that only one creature speaks probably doesn't add much value!

• 02:48 - From Brain to Page
• 15:41 - A Creative Journey
• 37:51 - The Language Problem
• 49:21 - Self-Publishing
• 53:56 - Genre Remixing

Buy Dead Surprise on Amazon!

Find Austin on:

• Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/A-C-Whikcom/author/B0CHWCZHT2
• Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/dead-surprise/a-c-whikcom/9781803528717
• Website: https://www.acwhikcom.co.uk/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/The-Lands-of-Ferox/100086909630678/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/landsofferox/

Find Thinking Critically online:

• Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
• Socials: @ThinkCritDnD
• Dungeons, Dice, & Dudes: https://linktr.ee/DDandD

Patrons:

• Tabletop Journeys @ttjourneys: https://ttjourneys.com/
• Joe from The Fourth Leg @jcd0818: https://anchor.fm/james-h-anderson
• Optional Rule @optionalrule: https://www.optionalrule.com/
• Matt Street @mpstreet88: https://www.virtualtimehustle.com/

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

Podcast art by Lily from https://www.facebook.com/beiworkshop

It's my pleasure to welcome back to the show a previous guest from the Generations episode, Mikey! What I had intended to be a "how characters can influence the campaign" discussion, quickly turned into what makes us tick, where we get inspiration from, and the people who've supported us along the way. Listen for titbits on how to conscientiously crib from popular culture and advice on finding our own DM soundboard.

• 02:00 - The Sub/Conscious Real World
• 29:31 - Art Rather than Science
• 36:52 - The Thinking Critically Effect

Find Thinking Critically online:

• Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
• Socials: @ThinkCritDnD
• Dungeons, Dice, & Dudes: https://linktr.ee/DDandD

References:

• 'Generations' episode of Thinking Critically
• 'Ravenloft' episode of Thinking Critically

Patrons:

• Tabletop Journeys @ttjourneys: https://ttjourneys.com/
• Joe from The Fourth Leg @jcd0818: https://anchor.fm/james-h-anderson
• Optional Rule @optionalrule: https://www.optionalrule.com/
• Matt Street @mpstreet88: https://www.virtualtimehustle.com/

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

Podcast art by Lily from https://www.facebook.com/beiworkshop

*Minor Outer Wilds spoilers in this episode*

I'm joined by Michael K. Ross from The RPG Academy to talk how to design enthralling and fair mysteries, puzzles, and enigmas.

Action 12 Cinema Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/therpgacademy/action-12-cinema

12-Hour Charity Stream for Naomi House: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/sl-gameon23

• 04:24 - There’s Been a Murder!
• 12:54 - Crafting Rewarding Mysteries
• 29:53 - Implicit Trust and the Beauty of Experimentation
• 45:35 - Building a Thematic Setting
• 55:33 - Quickfire Tips

Find Michael on:

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRpgAcademy
• Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/therpgacademy/action-12-cinema
• Website: www.therpgacademy.com
• AcadeCon: http://www.acadecon.com/

Find Thinking Critically online:

• Website: https://www.thinkingcritically.co.uk
• Socials: @ThinkCritDnD
• Dungeons, Dice, & Dudes: https://linktr.ee/DDandD

References:

• GUMSHOE: https://pelgranepress.com/2018/02/14/gumshoe/
• Brindlewood bay: https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/410316/Brindlewood-Bay-Kickstarter-Edition

Patrons:

• Tabletop Journeys @ttjourneys: https://ttjourneys.com/
• Joe from The Fourth Leg @jcd0818: https://anchor.fm/james-h-anderson
• Optional Rule @optionalrule: https://www.optionalrule.com/
• Matthew Perkins @heyitsMattyP: https://www.matthewperkins.net/
• Matt Street @mpstreet88: https://www.virtualtimehustle.com/

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

Podcast art by Lily from https://www.beiworkshop.com/

"A crazy babble of death and anteaters."
My good friend of 20 years, Jamie Mitchell, joins me to talk about all the mistakes we've made on our parallel journey to DM-hood. How these mistakes have shaped us and the mitigation strategies we take to ensure everyone continues to have fun. This one get's real crazy in the last 10 minutes so stick with it as you may not have heard such a segue from D&D into hentai before, and if anyone says I couldn't fight an anteater, they're lying!

• 02:15 - A game of happy accidents
• 04:08 - Player mistakes - creation & mitigation
• 28:28 - DM mistakes - embarrassing coverups
• 69:12 - Narrative fluidity to change mistakes into opportunities

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

This time I'm joined by Simon Eustace, and this episode is chock full of life lessons; you're going to come out the other side a better human being. Simon brings his four years of experience of playing unique D&D characters, and is my table-buddy in our Dungeons, Dice, and Dudes real play podcast (of which this episode is full of spoilers for). We talk about what makes each of us happy, and how to be happier both at and away from the gaming table.
Donate to Simon's Movember! https://uk.movember.com/mospace/14460089
P.S. See if you can spot my sneaky audio addition in post!

• 02:06 - Happiness: the goal of D&D
• 05:29 - Is player happiness intrinsically tied to their character?
• 16:13 - What makes us happy
• 23:18 - Unhappiness sandwich
• 35:45 - What makes a DM happy
• 46:00 - Player character happiness
• 55:52 - Non-player character happiness
• 63:02 - What to do if you're not happy

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

The second international episode! I'm joined by Howie, a.k.a the Blue Collar DM, and hooo boy do we hit some big topics. Everything from representing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to how to role play earnestly, and staying honest to yourself.

• 03:47 - DM Facilitation of party role composition
• 12:56 - Class stereotypical roles
• 23:48 - How the role of the DM differs from the players
• 28:34 - Disassociation and 'my guy' syndrome
• 39:14 - Ebb & flow
• 43:01 - Presumptions of role playing classes
• 48:02 - The role of NPCs
• 62:30 - Sincere role playing and earnest characters

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

A landmark episode! I'm joined by Karim, a.k.a FeverDreamStudios, and we get real deep into the design of D&D. How it's designed, how to design for it, and ways that PCs and DMs can design around and with each other. Too many nuggets of wisdom to list here, if I do say so myself!

• 01:49 - The design of Fifth Edition
• 08:26 - How PHB design affect player expectations
• 16:59 - How to start homebrewing
• 22:18 - Magic in a homebrew setting
• 31:35 - Designing adventures
• 39:05 - Integrating PC backstories
• 43:12 - Designing antagonists
• 52:30 - Avatar and alignments
• 57:00 - Designing social encounters

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

In this first of a two-parter, Ian Langton and I discuss how the "experience" of Dungeons & Dragons has shifted, not only since earlier editions, but also as the players mature. Ways to get "good" experience, and how differing levels of play experience can dramatically impact the moment-to-moment gameplay.

• 03:04 - What makes a fun experience
• 06:44 - How the DM experience has changed
• 15:25 - Difficulties of DM'ing
• 25:33 - How DM experience shapes player experience
• 33:45 - Good ways to get more experience
• 52:54 - The DM "experience"
• 59:55 - Anecdotal evidence

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod
Reference to 'The Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange' by Mark Barrowcliffe

Jack Wain and I discuss what "ability" means within the 5e context. We take a look at what makes an effective player and how those skills are transferable to being a successful DM. We discuss ability skills and how some, such as the oft derided Animal Handling, get a bad rap through no fault of their own. This episode's Big Question is ability modifiers: big box or small box?

• 00:01:41 - How to determine player ability
• 00:08:58 - Signifiers of a good DM
• 00:20:40 - Ability scores
• 00:40:59 - Dissonance between player and character ability
• 00:50:36 - Improvisation in published adventures
• 00:55:26 - Impact of score simplification over earlier editions
• 01:00:30 - Big box or little box?

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod
Reference to The Monsters Know What They're Doing by Keith Ammann.

Rob McPerhson and I discuss how "conflict" is an intrinsic part of the D&D experience; constructive and destructive conflict between PCs, but also how every PC requires an internalised conflict pushing them to adventure. We cover a few tools for resolving conflict both at the table and away from it, and how "my guy" syndrome can quickly and easily ruin an otherwise good game.

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod

Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod

Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod