Robert Sherman

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 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.

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.

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

Episode 30: Party Dynamics

January 2nd, 2018  |  31 mins 5 secs

What would the A-Team be without Hannibal?
The Fellowship of the Rings be without Gandalf?
Buffy the Vampire slayer without Giles?

Are there character archetypes that are necessary for a party to gel?
Are there character pairings that make parties fall apart?
We'll ask these questions and discuss general party dynamics today on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 29: Alignment (the inevitable episode)

December 19th, 2017  |  33 mins 52 secs

Most of you have seen your favorite fictional characters pigeon holed into a chart of the 9 Alignments.
Obiwan is "Lawful Good", Treebeard is True Neutral, The Joker is "Chaotic Evil".

Obviously that grid was popularized by D&D, but you may not know that it was not originally part of D&D.
We'll discuss that as well as how it fits into game play today on "Dungeons & Tangents"

Episode 28: Sports vs eSports vs Tabletop Streams

December 12th, 2017  |  29 mins 23 secs

esports, sports

Sports is a Trillion Dollar industry in the United States alone. And while Sports has been a part of our cultural landscape for more than a hundred years, eSports and tabletop streaming are very new industries that are vying for a very different audience. Can these new forms of entertainment satisfy the Nerd world's need for an alternative to Football, Basketball, and Baseball?
We'll discuss that and more, today on Dungeons & Tangents.

Episode 27: Running a "Theater of the Mind" Game

November 28th, 2017  |  38 mins 1 sec

We're planning on running an Actually Play in the future, but that means changing the way we play D&D. The main change is the removal of all visual aids from the game. Making the game purely audible. This episode we discuss how to run a "Theater of the Mind" style game and how it's different than running a game with Maps, miniatures, and other physical props.

Episode 26: DM for Hire & the Untapped Potential of D&D

November 21st, 2017  |  22 mins 22 secs

This episode we discuss a man named John Dempsey from Toronto Canada who has started making a living as a professional Dungeon Master. He charges clients for his time and efforts in prepping and running games of D&D. We also talk about the untapped potential of D&D as a form of entertainment and a viable platform for businesses like John Dempsey's