A new milestone- episode 30! And it's a big one!

This is a very special episode of Inter-Party Conflict- we have our first guest host! And it's not just anybody, but fellowship member Justin from Crit Academy! It was a blast having him on the show and he provided some great insights that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. If you haven't listened to Crit Academy yet I highly, highly recommend it. (In fact, if you listen to their most recent episode as of this posting- you just might hear a familiar guest on their show!)

(It's me. I was a guest on their show. In case you didn't get the hint.)

In this episode we talk about Roll20, Halfling Diviners, fitting characters concepts into pre-written material and paying people so you can send them on quests. Justin provided both the Dragon's Hoard item and the tale for the Funeral Pyre, so a huge thanks to him!

If I can, let me just remind you all to go to Audibletrial.com/Conflict to get yourself a free audiobook. And as always, please rate/review/subscribe to us on iTunes, and thanks for listening!

Episode 30 - Wealth of Fellowship

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Questions answered this episode:

1. What do you think of just playing with a group of strangers on something like Roll20?

2. What are some good ways of turning a massive amount of wealth a character acquired into worth while plot hooks? In other words, how can they use that money to drive the story?

3. How do you integrate your characters back stories and personal goals into pre-written material? And does running pre-written material for a whole campaign put a strain on you creatively?

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Noteworthy links:

Roll20, a great resource for playing games online

Dark Souls, a great game that we reference from time to time

Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil

Eberron, the official D&D campaign setting

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This week's Audible Picks:

Way of Kings, by Brandon Sanderson

Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline (Note: Apparently Audible also has a version not narrated by Wil Wheaton. However, it's in German. So take your pick.)

Episode 29, the one with the questions

Hey, guys!

Here's episode 29. We talk about rituals, building encounters, and how to know whether your players are enjoying your campaign. And some other stuff too, but who's counting?

This episode brings with it a big announcement: We now have an Audible sponsorship! If you enjoy listening to audiobooks (which you probably do) then go to Audibletrial.com/conflict to get an audiobook of your choice 100% free! They have 180,000 titles to choose from so I'm sure there's plenty that will interest you, and it won't cost you anything!

Thanks to everyone for your submissions, and if you have any more please send them to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com! We can always use more Dragon's Hoard items, Funeral Pyre stories, or just questions about how to make your game the best it can be.

Oh, and of course, be sure to check out Crit Academy! If you like us and you like them, stay tuned- there may very well be some collaborations in the near future. :-)

Episode 29 - Abilities Galore

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Questions answered this episode:

1. Have you used any rituals or exorcism style encounters and have any tips or know of any good resources for ideas on how to design them?

2. How can a DM effectively deal with monsters with multiple abilities/skills?

3. What are some general tips for running a combat encounter to make the best and most interesting use of a monster's abilities?

4. What is the best indicator that I should be running more episodic adventures rather than a long linked campaign? You have talked before about the risks between doing one or the other, but are there any signs I should be looking for?

5. Have you ever done a campaign just so you could use an idea you had?

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Noteworthy links:

Percy Jackson & the Olympians, a genuinely great Young Adult fantasy series you should read

The Last Exorcism - I mentioned this movie in the podcast and I was hesitant to post this trailer because I really don't think it does a good job of showing what the movie is like. (It makes it seem a lot more generic than it is.) In any case, I recommend you watch this movie!

Dicey Tales

The Executioner's Chariot, a cool boss from Dark Souls 2

Matthew Colville, a GREAT Youtuber who's got a great series of videos on running (and playing) D&D

Vocaloid

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This week's Audible Picks:

Mort, by Terry Pratchett

The Beam, Season 1

Episode 28- Tell me, have you ever been saved by an Orc?

Hey, everyone!

Episode 28 of Inter-Party Conflict is here. In this episode we discuss alignments and how to go against them, as well as lots of resources for helping with your game. I also want to take a brief moment to direct you all to our buddies over at Crit Academy- they're a great podcast I think you would all benefit from listening to.

I haven't got a ton else to say at the moment, but thank you all for listening and telling your friends about the show. We've had some record-breaking numbers over the last couple weeks, and it's all because of you! So keep up the good work.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention. This episode marks the introduction of a new segment, the Funeral Pyre. If you have any interesting stories about player character deaths, send them to us (along with any questions or magic items) to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com and we may use them on future episodes! Try to keep Funeral Pyre stories short if you can, but we can always trim them down if need be.

So thanks again, and I hope you enjoy the show!

Episode 28 - Saved By an Orc

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Questions answered this episode:

1. What are some ways to show players that alignment is not a concrete thing and to stop hastily making assumptions when they see a monster?

2. What are some tools or resources you use to help run a game?

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Noteworthy links:

Ed Wood, the movie my wife refused to watch for the longest time

The Adventure Zone

Minority Report

Road to Oblivion, the adventure I mentioned with the village of friendly monsters


Tools to help run a game:

Kobold.club 5e encounter builder

D&D Beyond

Heromachine, a resource for creating pictures of characters (I recommend the online version of Heromachine 2, but feel free to explore)

WotC Dice Roller

Donjon- I'd heard of this but never used it, and it kept coming up while searching for resources. This site has generators for just about everything- names, cities, taverns, entire adventures, for multiple different editions of the game, too. Definitely a great resource.

Pinterest

The image board I mentioned- be warned, this link is NOT safe for work, and I strongly recommend using an adblocker.

Reddit's Imaginary Image network- I've found a link that combines all of the /r/Imaginary subreddits (ImaginaryCharacters, ImaginaryLandscapes, ImaginaryMonsters, etc.). Great for inspiration and portraits.

A Fellowship has been born!

Attention, everyone! I am pleased to announce that we have been made Fellowship members with the amazing podcast, Crit Academy. I've talked about them several times on Inter-Party Conflict in the past few episodes, but I just wanted to direct anyone that hasn't listened to them to check them out. They're a great resource for character concepts, monster ideas, magic items, and anything you could need to take your game from being good to being great. Go to their website (Http://www.critacademy.com) to see what they're all about, and if you sign up through their form, you can actually win things just by listening! And, hopefully, you'll have a great time on the way.

I'll be putting a permanent link somewhere here on the blog, but until then I just wanted to tell everyone what's going on.

So as Justin would say, keep your blades sharp and spells prepared, heroes!

-Gabe

Episode 27: With Great Power

Hello, loyal listeners! I've noticed a significant increase in our listenership over the last month- and I'm almost certain it has to do with the guys over at Crit Academy giving us such positive shout-outs in their last few episodes. So all of you out there, go over and give Crit Academy a listen! They're a great podcast and if you like Inter-Party Conflict, you'll probably like them. (And vice versa.)

In this week's episode we talk about killing your players because they don't know how to play the game, telling other players at the table what to do, making your puzzles impossible, and tacking on extra plot twists to pad out the campaign. (Or... wait, maybe those were the other way around. Is it opposite day? No? Then that means yes?) We also have another item from Justin at Crit Academy, and hopefully no sound issues this time.

One thing I should note: There's been a buzz around the proverbial water cooler that supposedly Soundcloud is having issues. If that's true and not just rumor, then that will probably mean some changes for us in the future, though I'm not certain exactly what. I'll play it by ear and let you all know whenever I know- though I doubt it will mean much of a change (beyond me having to go back and edit thirty or more links in the blog here...).

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this (tangent-filled) episode, and thanks for listening!

Episode 27 - Inter-Party Responsibility

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Questions answered this episode:

1. As the DM is it my responsibility to make sure characters are playing to the best of their ability or should I let the other party members sort that out? Should I run combat encounters in a more forgiving manner or play on the side of realism?

2. As a player, how do you discourage another player from hogging the spotlight constantly but do so with tact?

3. When creating a puzzle or riddle for the players, should I always have a backup ready in case they can't solve the puzzle or should I offer hints until they do?

4. What do you feel about campaigns having plot twists that make the game longer?

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Noteworthy links:

Ethereal Filcher, the monster Jeff mentioned

The Matrix, a lesser-known indie movie from the late 90's about hackers

The Quiet Earth, one of the movies I talked about

Labyrinth, another movie because why not

Resident Evil

Carrot Top (Note: I originally had a more current video to link, but Carrot Top looks so terrifying now I went with an older one that I actually found genuinely funny. Don't tell Jeff.)

Space Flea From Nowhere (Warning: TVtropes is a black hole you will never escape from)

Episode 26- and a surprise milestone!

Hey, everyone! It's another week, and another episode of Inter-Party Conflict. We discuss finding a group, using the same monster over and over, taking initiative and developing characters and campaigns. We had some (very minor) audio issues during this episode, but I put a disclaimer at the beginning just in case it bothers anyone. I'm also going to be looking into creating a custom website for us- as utilitarian as this blog is, I'll be the first to admit it doesn't look all that great and after finding out how Justin at Crit Academy designed their website I'm going to try and make one too. So keep your fingers crossed that we might have one in the upcoming weeks.

In this episode (way at the end) I also mention a new segment that I'd like to include! It's going to be called the Funeral Pyre, and we'll be reading listener stories about a memorable character death. It could be your first character death, or one where the dice stabbed you in the back, or just one where your character went out in a blaze of glory. If you have any character death stories you want to share, or if you want to submit an item for the Dragon's Hoard, or you have questions for us to discuss, please send them to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Episode 26 - Early Development

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Questions answered this episode:

1. What is the best way to go about finding or starting a game?

2. Are there any methods you can recommend to make rolling for initiative simpler? Also have you ever had a DM or been a DM who keeps forgetting a player's turn frequently and is there a trick to correcting this habit?

3. As a DM, how does one break out of the habit of just using the same type of monster over and over?

4. How do you plan out your campaigns? What do you think is the best way to plan out a campaign?

5. What are some ways to get players to develop their characters more? Should I let players be as two dimensional as they like if they are having fun?

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Noteworthy links:

Shut up, Wesley

Pen and Paper Games, a website with a great resource for finding players in your area

Ill Mitch, a Russian rapper (who created the fanfare played before Question 100)

In this episode, I mentioned a monster called the Gravorg from the 3rd Edition Monster Manual 2. Click this link for its stats and description; once you've done that, Click Here for the official artwork depicting one. Something about the two seems a bit off.

Monster in my Podcast, a small-servings podcast going through the 2nd Edition Monster Manual. It's also part of the Duckfeed.tv podcasting network, which has provided me with literally hundreds of hours of free gaming-related podcasts.

Episode 25- we've been doing this for half a year!

I forgot to mention it while we were recording, but this week's episode marks the 6 month point from when we started. Six months! Half of a year! The time flies when you're having fun (and, incidentally, it flies when you're editing a podcast twice because Audacity crashed; time flying isn't a good thing when you have to get up early the next morning). So wherever you are reading this or listening to the episode, kick back and enjoy a can of RC Cola and celebrate the half-anniversary of what I hope is your favorite tabletop gaming advice podcast.

This week's episode deals with fudging dice, paintings of dragons, tieflings that aren't demons and breaking ribs because the DM told you so. Give us a listen, tell your friends about us, and if you have any questions for future episodes or items for the Dragon's Hoard, submit them to InterPartyConflict@gmail.com!

Episode 25 - How to Fudge Dice and Influence People

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Questions answered this episode:

1. Should the DM fudge dice rolls, and if so, when is it appropriate?

2. How do you address a DM who you feel has ruined an encounter by not so discreetly fudging rolls?

3. Are there any elements of D&D that you don't think fit into the setting?

4. What are your thoughts on the DM tracking [player] hit points and not relaying numbers to the players, but instead relying on vivid descriptions?

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Noteworthy links:

My dog, Super Hans

The Black Egg, a deadly adventure mentioned in this episode

Farscape, my favorite TV show

The Frellcast, an amazing Farscape podcast

The Werecar from Futurama