Erik Dewhurst

Fright Fight 2018 - Episode 2 - Challenge Rating 1/2

November 6th, 2018  |  38 mins 4 secs

fright fight, halloween, monster manual

This Episode we continue our Halloween Special: A D&D 5th edition monster vs monster tournament.
Robert and I will run through all the monsters in the 5th edition Monster Manual that fit a Halloween theme and seeing how they fair against each other.
For Challenge Rating 1/2 we pit Worg, Shadow, Sahuagin, and Barovian Witch against each other.

Fright Fight 2018 - Episode 1 - Intro & Challenge Rating 1/4

October 29th, 2018  |  32 mins 35 secs

fright fight, halloween, monster manual

This Episode we start our Halloween Special: A D&D 5th edition monster vs monster tournament.
Robert and I will run through all the monsters in the 5th edition Monster Manual that fit a Halloween theme and seeing how they fair against each other.

It's a helpful review of the monster manual, and a good way to see your favorite Halloween themed monsters in action.

Episode 42: Backstories (Part 2) - The Backening

June 19th, 2018  |  42 mins 33 secs

In Episode 16 of of this podcast we talked about the process of creating a Character's Backstory. But once you have that backstory, what do you do with it?
This episode we talk about how backstories are integrated into game play. We discuss the differences between writing an elaborate backstory or creating a simple character concept. Halfway though this episode we inadvertently develop a new backstory generation technique. We discuss that and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents

Episode 41: Massive Tangents #4 - The Pokemon Universe is a DARK place

June 12th, 2018  |  19 mins 45 secs

massive tangent

Sometimes, when the mics are on, we start talking about some odd things.
And sometimes those odd things are worth sharing with our listeners.

This episode started as a couple of off hand comments from Ben. What resulted was a very dark conversation about the horrors of Universe that Surrounds Pokemon.

Follow us down a Massive Tangent, this week on Dungeons & Tangents

Episode 40: Religion & Role-playing

June 5th, 2018  |  45 mins 5 secs

Role-playing games have had a difficult time getting along with religion, and specifically American Christians.
From the start, there was a disconnect between them.
Sadly, misunderstandings in the early 80's started a feud that continues to this day.
It's a difficult and sensitive subject, but we will discuss that and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 39: How Players Become Murder Hobos

May 22nd, 2018  |  35 mins

The term "Murder Hobo" is a recently popularized term. It is, however, a surprisingly accurate description of the tendency for some D&D players to use killing as their primary problem solving tool.
Is it a result of video game culture? Antagonistic DMs? Or maybe it's just the nature of playing D&D?
We'll discuss how players become Murder Hobos, this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 38: Munchkin Mechanics

May 15th, 2018  |  30 mins 52 secs

There have been loopholes in nearly every editions of D&D. Those loopholes are often the target of "Munchkins", or players who will exploit any and every advantage in a rule-set.
Obviously, the DM has the ultimate authority to allow such exploitation, but these cracks in the rules can still cause headaches.
We'll walk through a series of examples and discuss the implications of Munchkin Mechanics, this week on Dungeons & Tangents

Episode 37: Every Edition of D&D

May 8th, 2018  |  1 hr 9 mins

Dungeons & Dragons was first published in 1974. But the game has changed a lot in the last 4 decades. There have been 8 official versions released in that time. Some with small, incremental changes. Some that fundamentally transformed the feel and mechanics of the game.
We discuss what we know about each version, what makes them different, and how and why the game changed this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 36: Introducing new players to D&D

March 27th, 2018  |  34 mins 45 secs

We all have friends, family and coworkers who've never played a role-playing game.
Plenty of them just aren't interested. And that's okay. But when you have the opportunity to introduce new players, how do you do so in a way that has them coming back for more? We discuss this and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 35: Players Contributing to the Gaming World

March 20th, 2018  |  34 mins 42 secs

If a player wants to write the back-story for their character's home village. That's cool, right?
If, during session 0, they suggest that the world you're about to play in should have no magic at all. Is that cool?
What if they recommend that the villain of your campaign should be seeking revenge on another Player's Character?
Players and DMs are always working together to tell a collaborative story, but it CAN be unclear where the line between DM agency and Player Agency should be drawn. We discuss this and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Knowledge History D&D - Episode 5: The Start Up (1974-1975)

March 6th, 2018  |  12 mins 58 secs

This episode is all about the first two years of the existence of TSR, the company that Gary and Don created to publish D&D.

Episode 34: GCPWest 2018 - An Interview with April Westervelt

February 13th, 2018  |  30 mins 14 secs

interview

This week we have our first official interview.
Robert and I talk with April Westervelt; the organizer of the Portland based GCPWest TableTop gathering.
What is GCPWest? How did it start and what makes it unique?
We talk to April about these subjects and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents

Episode 33: Session 0: the planning session

February 6th, 2018  |  48 mins 23 secs

When you build a house, you need a blueprint.
But When you play D&D, you may run a module that gives you a plot, but there's no blueprints for how your players interact with each other or the world around them.
A planning session, sometimes called "session 0" can help make sure Player and DM expectations are in sync.
We discuss makes a good session 0, this week on Dungeons & Tangents

Episode 32: Failing Forward & Awareness of Risks

January 30th, 2018  |  45 mins 4 secs

A rogue tries to pick a lock. "Roll a sleight of hand Check" that DM says. The roll is low.
So What happens next?
Does the DM say "you failed to pick the lock"?
Is this a dead end in the game?
It doesn't have to be.

If a player is rolling the dice, failure must always an option, but success or failure, the game must go on.
We consider the relationship between risks, successes, and failures this week on Dungeons & Tangents.

Knowledge History D&D - Episode 4: The Making of Dungeons & Dragons (1972-1974)

January 16th, 2018  |  15 mins 21 secs

This episode is all about the first edition of D&D. How it was written and the struggles of publishing a innovative game without any money.

Episode 31: At The Movies (part 1)

January 9th, 2018  |  27 mins 25 secs

A Cartoon in 1983,
A live action Feature in 2000,
An Animated Feature in 2008,
There have been a lot of attempts to take D&D into the world movies and TV, but many have fallen far short of fan expectations.

In late 2017, a new D&D movie was announced and is set for release in October of 2021.
we'll discuss that and more, this week on Dungeons & Tangents