EPISODE TWO HUNDRED

TWO HUNDRED EPISODES! That's way too many episodes. But here we are, and we wouldn't have made it this far without all of you listeners out there. So along with this episode comes a big THANK YOU to everyone who's kept up with us for the last four years. You're all awesome!

As we've done the last couple years, this episode is a big grab-bag of questions we've been hanging onto for a while without great answers for them. But don't worry, we'll get some fun discussion out of them nonetheless.

And this week's winner of our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II is Fingers Fate! Congratulations, Fingers Fate! Be sure to leave Crit Academy a review, so they can keep on making great products! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products in the future.

Would YOU like a chance to win a copy of Unearthed Tips & Tricks Volume II? It's a great book (that I helped write!) and all you have to do to win is enter our drawing by sending us an e-mail with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks 2" in the subject line. (Gotta have that 2 in there though!) It's that easy!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

Thanks for listening to another year of podcasts, and here's to another year!

Episode 200: Another Year Down

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Are the games you’re good at running different from what you enjoy or the games you assumed you would be good at running?

2. What is your favorite board game?

3. What historical figure would (in your opinion) be a great Dungeon Master?

4. Is there any secret formula to getting accepted into a game on roll20 or finding a good online group?

5. What were times in your campaigns that you were able to make and/or experience a good balance of light-hearted fun and serious tension? 

6. What are some alternatives for when the host of your game cancels but the players and DM still want to play?

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Noteworthy Links:

The People's Trivia Company, a thrice-weekly online trivia game that you should go check out!

Monopoly

Lord of the Rings Stratego

Betrayal at House on the Hill

13 Dead End Drive

Rube Goldberg

Lord of the Rings

World of Warcraft

Shackled City

Polyhero Wizard Dice

Star Wars X-wing Miniatures game

Final Fantasy Tactics

Mouse Guard, a comic series that was later adapted into a tabletop RPG

Episode 199: The Houserules Have Become The Game

Hello everyone! We're back again with another fun episode- continuing our trend of covering one meaty question instead of several smaller ones (which isn't a permanent change, don't worry) this week we're discussing homebrew rules- at what point does it stop being D&D? Follow us along this winding path to eventually answering the question as we discuss the issues we have with trying to change the game through homebrew rules.

And this week's winner of our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II is Sean C! Congratulations, Sean! Be sure to leave Crit Academy a review, so they can keep on making great products! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products in the future.

Would YOU like a chance to win a copy of Unearthed Tips & Tricks Volume II? It's a great book (that I helped write!) and all you have to do to win is enter our drawing by sending us an e-mail with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks 2" in the subject line. (Gotta have that 2 in there though!) It's that easy!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

Catch you next time, on our TWO HUNDREDTH episode!

Episode 199: Games Have Limits

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Where do you draw the line on homebrew rules? For example, I played in a group where modifiers didn't exist. How much can you change the rules of D&D before it's not D&D anymore?

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Noteworthy Links:

Crit Academy Character Concept: Spells from a Hat

Time in a Bottle

Sunk Cost Fallacy

The Adventure Zone: Graduation

Monster of the Week, the RPG used for The Adventure Zone: Amnesty (which is itself a hack of Powered By The Apocalypse)

Armageddon plot hole

I totally found the website for the House-Rules-Heavy campaign I was in! (And if you scroll down about halfway on that link you can find the post made when I had to leave the group.)

Voltron D&D Episode

Dungeon Coach's Spell Tome-Brew, the supplement Crit Academy covered detailing improved Cantrips

Episode 198: Vidya Games

Hey listeners! Do you play video games? If so, what are your favorite items and weapons to find in your favorite games? This week we discuss some of ours, and how we would adapt them into a usable format for D&D. We're always open to suggestions, so be sure to let us know some of your thoughts in the comments below!

And this week's winner of our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II is Alistar the Minotaur! Congratulations, Alistar! Be sure to leave Crit Academy a review, so they can keep on making great products! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products in the future.

Would YOU like a chance to win a copy of Unearthed Tips & Tricks Volume II? It's a great book (that I helped write!) and all you have to do to win is enter our drawing by sending us an e-mail with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks 2" in the subject line. (Gotta have that 2 in there though!) It's that easy!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

See you next time- or next level...?

Episode 198: Arsenal of Games

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. What are some items from video games you'd like to see in D&D, and what changes would you need to implement to make them work?

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Noteworthy Links:

Remembrall, an item from the Harry Potter universe

The Matrix

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Master Sword

Leviathan Axe

Poké Balls

Materia

Mega Buster

Balder's Gate 3

Chaos Emeralds

Rod of Seven Parts

Portal Gun

Gravity Gun

Greasemonkey's Handbook (featured on an episode of Crit Academy)

Tetris

Calculator, an advanced job class from Final Fantasy Tactics

d3s are stupid

Episode 197: They All Look The Same To Me

Hey everyone! To go along with our Social Media discussion question this week, we're spending the whole episode talking about a fun topic: Making an entire adventuring party out of a single class! This definitely ended up being a much deeper vein than we were expecting, so hopefully you all enjoy the ride!

And this week's winner of our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II is Wilmer P! Congratulations, Wilmer! Be sure to leave Crit Academy a review, so they can keep on making great products! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products in the future.

Would YOU like a chance to win a copy of Unearthed Tips & Tricks Volume II? It's a great book (that I helped write!) and all you have to do to win is enter our drawing by sending us an e-mail with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks 2" in the subject line. (Gotta have that 2 in there though!) It's that easy!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

Catch you next week, with four others just like me!

Episode 197: Take Five

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. What single classes can make an entire 5 person party?

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Noteworthy Links:

Viktor Zsasz

Ring of the Grammarian

Four Corners

Single-Class Challenge

Nigerian Prince Scam

Episode 196: Cupcake Edition

Hello everyone! We're back with a normal episode this week- and our topics this time around include magic cupcakes, magical allergies, and magically-placed plot details that hint at the overarching story! (That last one might not be magic after all, that's just good storytelling.) Hear our thoughts and share yours below!

And this week's winner of our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II is Scott T! Congratulations, Scott! Be sure to leave Crit Academy a review, so they can keep on making great products! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products in the future.

Would YOU like a chance to win a copy of Unearthed Tips & Tricks Volume II? It's a great book (that I helped write!) and all you have to do to win is enter our drawing by sending us an e-mail with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks 2" in the subject line. (Gotta have that 2 in there though!) It's that easy!

And remember, Crit Academy is just one of the great podcasts in the Critnation Fellowship! For more podcasts, visit our friends at Brute Force and Ignorance, and the (unfortunately ended) D&D Character Lab! And for books, adventures, and videos, check out Goblin Stone, Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, Jeff Stevens, and The Kind GM!

See you next time, if you're not allergic!

Episode 196: It's In The Details

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Would you ever consider giving a character an allergy to magic (either mechanical or purely for flavor)?

2. How important is it to litter your campaign with subtle clues to the major plot?

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Noteworthy Links:

The Chocolate Touch, the story about a boy who gets a Midas-esque curse except it's chocolate (and the kid's name is literally John Midas)

Pop Rocks

Lady Tiefling

Spelltouched

Nowhere Man

The X-Files

Sim City 2000

Deepfakes

Room of Spirit & Time