Episode 184: Turn, Turn, Turn

 This week, we talk about transitions- transitioning between quarantine and the real world, from one campaign (and group) to another, and from one season to another. We're also announcing a new weekly giveaway, so be sure to listen!

And we're starting to wrap up our giveaway for Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks, but this week's winner is Andrew H! Congratulations, Andrew! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy, but time is running out! Listen to this episode for instructions on how to enter our next drawing as well!

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 us next time, if we haven't kicked that episode out!

Episode 184: The Times, They Are a-Changin'

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. How has Covid-19 affected your gaming habits, and when things are back to "normal", what will your future gaming be like?

2. I am finishing one campaign and starting another. Several players have come to me and requested that I not invite back one player in particular. What should I do?

3. How do you recommend making seasons and weather more important in a game, beyond just difficult terrain and disadvantage on checks?

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Noteworthy Links:

Made a Wrong Turn at Albuquerque (Obligatory TVTropes Warning)

Mirror of Erised, a magical artifact from the Harry Potter series

Tomb of Horrors

Captain Jack's compass

Foundry, a virtual tabletop program

Zoom, a popular video conferencing app

Can Coconut Water Be Used In Place Of Blood? 

The Batman trailer

Episode 183: A Dustun-Heavy Episode

 Welcome back everyone! This week our topics include advantage & proficiency (two basic mechanics in 5th Edition D&D that make your rolls more accurate), as well as the scroll mishap table in the DMG. I think we come to some pretty fun discussion in this one, but some of you are probably even more excited to hear the winner of our Deck of Many Things/Deck of Illusions drawing! Well, the winner is...

(drumroll please)

...Dustun F! Congratulations, Dustun! 

This drawing was a lot of fun and had a great response, so I think we'll do more of these in the future. (If you already left us a review you don't need to leave another one, but I will most likely require you to write in again just to re-enter the next drawing. I'll hammer out the details later.) Thanks to everyone who left us a review!

Now, back to our usual drawing- this week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is OhGodItsMason! Congratulations, Mason! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is our second giveaway, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

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 week, and stay safe out there!

Episode 183: Scrolling and Rolling

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Which is more powerful, having proficiency in something or having advantage on a skill/save?

2. Have any of you used the DMG’s Scroll Mishap table or anything similar?

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Noteworthy Links:

Pasties, a local food from Michigan

Gyroscope thing from Contact

SCP Wiki

Pathfinder 2e

Crit Academy episode we guested on

City of the Spider Queen

Meepo

Lost Mines of Phandelver

Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny

Episode 182: One More Week For The Giveaway!

Hey, everyone! This week, we talk about when a player comes up with a powerful combo that wrecks shop- and whether you should allow it, ban it, or beat them down with immunities.

Also, there's only one more week until we draw the winner for Cultzilla's Deck of Many Things & Deck of Illusions! All you have to do to enter is 1. Leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice, and 2. Send us a photo of the review. It's that easy! So go do it, right now! Your time is almost up!

Now, back to our usual drawing- this week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Philip D! Congratulations, Philip! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is our second giveaway, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

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, when we announce the name of one lucky winner!

Episode 182: Innovation and Punishment

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Let's say a player builds a very effective character that is designed around spamming one ability or spell. What should the DM do? Allow it? Counter it? Or outright ban it?

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Noteworthy Links:

Pathfinder 2e

Starfinder

Tomb of Annihilation

World of Warcraft Corpse Runs

Sekiro

Duckfeed.tv

Hollow Knight

Dragonball Z

Episode 181: We Turned Around, Now What?

Hey everyone! This week we're talking about a couple things I've dealt with in the past- deciding whether to reveal plot threads from a prematurely-ended campaign, and what materials to allow in an impromptu D&D game. This episodes a bit of a shorter one, but hopefully you won't hold that against us!

We also wanted to direct all of you to Crit Academy's Kickstarter campaign for their new book, Memorable Monsters! The campaign has been doing great in its first week and I have nothing but faith in them that they'll produce a great product everyone can be proud of. So go check it out!

Also, there's two more weeks until we draw the winner for Cultzilla's Deck of Many Things & Deck of Illusions! All you have to do to enter is 1. Leave us a review on the podcasting platform of your choice, and 2. Send us a photo of the review. It's that easy! So go do it, right now!

Now, back to our usual drawing- this week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is H Tank! Congratulations, H Tank! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is our second giveaway, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

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 us next time when we've got more great goofs & gaffs!

Episode 181: Making the Right Decision

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. Say you've got a grand campaign story with twists and turns involving a particular player character. Now, imagine that player leaves the game or the group disbands. Do you tell them what you had planned?

2. Let's say somebody calls you up and asks you to DM a game for them. With no additional information about the group, what sources do you allow?

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Noteworthy Links:

Pathfinder 2e

The Pick of Destiny

Sting, a weapon from Lord of the Rings that glows in the presence of orcs

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

d20 Mug

Episode 180: Turn Right Back Around

Welcome back, everyone! This week we celebrate (?) our 180th episode by talking about ye olde 5-foot step, maintaining momentum in a long-running game, and reworking your expectations. We're also continuing out giveaway for the Deck of Many Things and Deck of Illusions, so leave us a review on the podcatcher of your choice, and send us a photo to be entered! The winner will be chosen on August 25th, so get in your review by then!

Good luck!

Now, back to our usual drawing- this week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Elliot M! Congratulations, Elliot! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is our second giveaway, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

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, unless there's a big gap between episodes!

Episode 180: U-Turn

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. If you could bring back the 5 ft Step, would you?

2. How do you rebuild momentum and excitement in your game when there's a big gap between sessions?

3. Have you ever called a Session Zero after starting a campaign to reassess and realign the group’s style of play or expectations?

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Noteworthy Links:

Everfull Purse, an artifact from the Epic Level Handbook

The Room of Spirit and Time from Dragonball Z (aka the Hyperbolic Time Chamber)

The Princess Bride

Kitchen Nightmares, a reality show where Gordon Ramsey tries to help failing restaurants

Heavyweights

Lord of the Rings

His Dark Materials

Episode 179: Podcast In Disguise

Hey everyone! We're back with another rant-filled (sort of) episode this week, all for you! We cover fitting a character into a world when they don't really match the tone of the campaign, and also whether or not it's possible to play D&D "wrong". (Those may or may not be related.)

Plus, we're starting an exciting giveaway today! (This is in addition to our usual giveaway- but for an update on that, check with us in a few weeks!) We're giving away a physical copy of the Deck of Many Things & Deck of Illusions, donated by a wonderful fan who chose to remain anonymous. We'll be drawing a winner on August 25th, so wouldn't you like to know how to enter? It's easy!

LEAVE US A REVIEW!

That's it. Leave us a review on the Podcatcher of your choice- Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Podcast Addict, whatever. If it lets you leave a review for podcasts, leave one there, and send us a photo of your review. (If you've already left us a review, then you're halfway done! Just send us a photo and you'll be entered.) If you can't figure out how to leave us a review, let me know and I'll help you figure it out!

Good luck!

Now, back to our usual drawing- this week's winner of our Unearthed Tips & Tricks drawing is Andy K! Congratulations, Andy! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Crit Academy a review! They're a great group and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Unearthed Tips & Tricks" in the subject line! It's that easy! And remember- this is our second giveaway, so if you won one of our earlier drawings, you can enter again!

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!

Also- Crit Academy's new product, Unearthed Tips & Tricks: Volume II, is available for purchase! It's a great product and you should go check it out right now!!!

Have a great week!

Episode 179: Out of Place

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Question(s) answered this episode:

1. How would you deal with a player who's character is completely out of tone/theme of the campaign/world and insists that you add bits of their story to the world?

2. Is there a "wrong" way to play D&D?

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Noteworthy Links:

The Neuralyzer, a technological device the Men in Black use to erase people's immediate memory

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a movie by Michel Gondry about memory and relationships

Doctor Whom

Deck of Many Things & Deck of Illusions, two magical items from D&D

Transformers

Kanye the Giant, a Key & Peele sketch Jeff and I discussed in a bit that ultimatrely got cut from the episode

Ninja- a streamer apparently

The Film Reroll, an Actual Play podcast where they turn movies into roleplaying games

The Adventure Zone

Willow, a fantasy movie by George Lucas starring Warwick Davis

The Princess Bride

3D Printed Stein for a normal-sized can

Age of Worms mug I painted, minus the handle and plus a stuffed mouse and Captain America watching for good measure

Episode 123: Easy as ABC

Hello, all! We're back with another great episode for you this week. We talk about telling stories, camping, making a whole party of bards, boots that turn you to stone, Dr. Gregory House, all sorts of fun stuff. So come along for the ride!

This week's winner of our Chapel on the Cliffs drawing is Matthew N! Congratulations, Matthew! You should get your copy within the next few days. Whenever you have a chance to read it over, be sure to leave Goblin Stone a review! They're a great company and would love to use your feedback to improve their products.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Chapel on the Cliffs" in the subject line! It's that easy! As always, we need more entries for this drawing, so you have very good chances of winning very soon!

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

One last thing- be sure to get yourself a copy of Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks book! It's a great product, and I helped write it!

See you next time, and don't go telling tales out of school!

Episode 123: Everyone Should Tell Stories

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Question answered this episode:

1. How do you make camp interesting?

2. How do I create stories of fiction (like myths and legends) within a game?

3. What would a D&D party made up entirely of bards be like?

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Noteworthy Links:

Baldur's Gate 3

Divinity Original Sin 2

Neverwinter Nights

Prusa i3 Mk3s, the new 3D printer I just bought (and spent all day building)

Elden Ring

Kuribo's Shoe

Tanooki Suit

Mario RPG statue minigame

Zee Bashew

Shrek

Episode Won-Oh-Too

Hello out there, internet!

We've got another fun episode for you this week. We start off with some card tricks, then we talk about introducing superheroes to a fantasy setting (with a couple different approaches on that one), we give tips on finding a new gaming group in a new area, and then we close it on out by talking about beholders and music. What's not to love?

This week's winner of our Chapel on the Cliffs drawing is Mathew W! Congratulations, Mathew! You should get your copy within the next few days. If you like it (or if you don't) be sure to leave Goblin Stone a review! They're a great company and would love your feedback.

Would you like to enter the drawing? It's easy- just e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com with "Chapel on the Cliffs" in the subject line! It's that easy! We've been running low on applicants for some time, so your chances are very good!

And remember, Goblin Stone is just one of the great content creators in the Critnation Fellowship! For more books and adventures, check out Loresmyth, Aurican's Lair, and Jeff Stevens- and for more podcasts, visit our friends at Crit Academy and D&D Character Lab!

One last thing- be sure to get yourself a copy of Crit Academy's Unearthed Tips & Tricks book! It's a great product, and I helped write it!

Have a great week, and we'll see you next time!

Episode 102: Existing Heroes In New Lands

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Question answered this episode:

1. How would you deal with superheroes in a fantasy setting?

2. What is the easiest way to reach out in a big city to find a group for a new campaign?

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Noteworthy Links:

Willow, a great movie made by George Lucas when he wasn't able to secure the rights to Lord of the Rings

52 Pickup, a super-fun card game to play with your friends and family

Is Superman Weak to Magic?

The Wizard of Oz as portrayed by the Film Reroll crew

Sliders, a TV show from the mid-90s about a science student who eats small burgers travels through parallel universes

Spider-Man (2002)

Thanos vs. Darkseid

The Quick and the Fed and Wizards, Warriors, and a Word From Our Sponsor - Two episodes of the 90s CGI cartoon Reboot

Roll20, an online platform for playing tabletop games

Pen & Paper Games, a website that I've used in the past to locate gamers in my area

Beerholder, the beer-drinking Beholder

Shards of Eberron, a CD soundtrack that came with the Sharn: City of Towers sourcebook

Dawn of Victory by Rhapsody

Back to our usual shenanigans- it's episode 46!

Hey, everyone! I hope you all enjoyed last week's bonus episodes in lieu of a standard one. This week, though, we're back to our usual format, and I hope this one is great too! We're coming up on out one-year anniversary, and I'm trying to come up with something special we can do for that episode. If any of you have any suggestions, or just questions for us to discuss, e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Not much else to say, so I'll just remind you to go to AudibleTrial.com/conflict to get yourself a free audiobook, and us some free money! And of course check out the other podcasts on the Critnation Fellowship- Crit Academy and D&D Character Lab- as well as the content creators Loresmyth, Goblin Stone, and Aurican's Lair.

Episode 46: Everyone Starts Somewhere

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Questions answered this episode:

1. What is a good way to have your table set up play environment-wise? Whiteboards, gridded battlemats, dungeon tiles, constructed miniscapes- all seem to have their advantages and disadvantages. Which do you guys prefer?

2. What factors should be considered when thinking about becoming a DM?

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Noteworthy Links:

Dungeons & Dragons Clue

Deck of Many Things (I found a physical version on Amazon, but apparently it's really rare and as such it's really expensive. Just use a regular Tarot deck.)

Constantine, a movie starring Keanu Reeves and (loosely) based on a graphic novel

Vinyl Battle Mats by Chessex

Whiteboard Material from Lowes (Seriously, you could get a 4ft x 8ft rectangle of whiteboard for a measly $13, and have them cut it to whatever size you want for free.)

Warhammer 40k, a very popular tabletop war game

Maptool, a free program you can use with a screen or digital projector to project battle maps for your game

Dungeon!, a board game my brother had when I was a kid (and I bought a copy of my own a few years ago). Apparently it's gotten fairly rare and is really expensive, but WotC has made a new version that's much more affordable and is probably closer to modern D&D.

That picture of Kyuss I was talking about

Those two swords I was talking about too

Successful episode is successful!

So, after lots of double (and triple... and quadruple...) checking, we made it through this episode without any issues. Thanks to everyone for bearing through the difficulties, and I hope you appreciated the Garg and Moonslicer episode! I don't know if the quality is responsible, but we had more hits in the last week than in any other two weeks combined (possibly three). So I hope that means it was a worthwhile listen.

Anyway, this week we talk about losing your memory, switching editions, running a campaign with multiple DMs and when to give out magic items (spoiler: all the time!). I think this was a good episode, and I hope you all enjoy it too!

If any of you have any questions for us to discuss, or any magic items for the Dragon's Hoard, e-mail us at InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Episode 17: Group Activities

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Questions answered this episode:

1. Would you ever switch editions during a campaign?

2. You've mentioned playing in groups where the DMs and players switched off. How did you make that work with the in-game adventuring party? How did you manage the story for when the character's player suddenly became the DM? Any tips for doing a campaign like this?

3. As a new DM I'm having issues with knowing when and how I should give players magic items in-game. Also, should I just say "You have a flying broom, write that in your inventory" or should I make flash cards with all of the info with them?

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Noteworthy links:

Sandman, a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman

The Adventure Zone, a great podcast I've mentioned before

Order of the Stick, a long-running D&D webcomic

Here's a Gaming Historian video about the Super Mario Bros. Movie

The Black Egg

Apparently there isn't a published set of Magic Item cards for 5e, but you can make your own using https://crobi.github.io/rpg-cards/generator/generate.html.

I don't remember why, but while editing I had the thought to add this wonderful video into the show notes. So here you go.

Dragon's Hoard Items

Edit: This post was transposed into a separate page (located in the sidebar up and to the right side of the blog). Click there to see a running list of all Dragon's Hoard items!

Roll to persuade!

Just so you all know, this episode almost didn't happen. Blame Zelda: Breath of the Wild for being so awesome.

In this episode, we discuss building a water park out of cards, those times when someone else tells your jokes and gets way more laughs from it, and real-life gunfights. The Dragon's Hoard item is another RPG Superstar entry, and I think it's a cool one. If anyone out there wants to submit a custom magic item for us to discuss on-air, please send it to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com! We also need questions to answer. So please send us whatever you've got.

I've been coming up with ideas for bonus episodes- mainly so if we ever are unable to record on a given week, I can have something pre-recorded so that you all don't think we forgot about you. (Who are you again, btw?)

As always, please rate, review, and subscribe. Or, just tell someone about us! Word of mouth is great.

Thanks, and go play Zelda: Breath of the Wild!

Episode 9: All About Charisma

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Questions answered this episode:

1. How do you roleplay low charisma?

2. Lately, it has been difficult for me to set aside time for face to face campaigns. What are your thoughts on play by post campaigns?

3. How should I gauge if a fight is too difficult for my group?

4. What do you think of parties having pets/companions?

5. Do you feel 5E mechanics would work in a Modern setting?

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Noteworthy links:

This one 

A great 5e encounter generator 

The Deck of Many Things