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PODCAST

3 Wise DMs

3 Wise DMs is a podcast for dungeon masters (for Dungeons & Dragons) and game masters (any other RPG) with problems. And when we say problems, we don’t mean the kind of things you find answers for in the gamebooks. Think of it as a gaming philosophy show with a strong emphasis on applied knowledge. We all want to be great DMs, so what do we do to try to get there?

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All Episodes

01:07:34

Tribute to the Greatest Game In The World: The 3 Wise...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/09/17

12 players. 2 DMs. 6 dragons. Tiamat. 2 birthday cakes… and a whole hell of a lot of fun! As a companion piece to DM Tony’s recent article, the 3 Wise DMs are joined by some special guests to discuss and detail the lessons learned from running our largest endeavor yet – a massive, multiple-campaign ending game that required 2 DMs to pull off. If you’ve ever thought of running a massive Endgame-style game, or toyed with the idea of co-DMing, this is the episode for you!As always, please visit our

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44:10

To Roll or Not to Roll? The 7 Best Times To Roll The...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/09/03

In the immortal words of The Bard… “To roll or not to roll, that is the question…” Rolling dice is the cornerstone of TTRPGs, because without them, as DM Chris says, we’re just telling a story as we play with our GI Joe’s in the backyard. So, when you’re running a session, when do you decide to haventhe players, and yourself, pick up the dice? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave springboard off a listener question that deals with trying to speed the game up in a homebrewed superhero campaign

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50:34

Cutscenes – How to Deliver Lore and Secrets in Your...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/08/20

Cutscene. In a video game, it’s a scene shown to the player when they reach a particular point in the game, such as at the end of a level or when the player's character dies. The immense popularity of videogaming and the similarities between them and TTRPGs begs the question: Can you, or should you, utilize cutscenes in your game?In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave respond to a listener’s question regarding the idea of “cutscenes” in your TTRPG sessions and how best to deliver narrative, lore,

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45:27

Live and Let Die: Dealing with Anti-Murderhobos in...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/08/06

Murderhobos. It’s one of the most discussed issues in any TTRPG discussion. Players who don’t feel like there’s no encounter that can’t be solved by casting “Sword.” But what happens when your party turns out to be what we refer to as “Anti-Murderhobos”? What if the party isn’t motivated to engage and/or end the evil machinations of the Bad Guys? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss a listener question regarding their Curse of Strahd group who wants to let the evil NPCs in Barovia “Live

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46:04

How Low Can You Go? The Things Every DM Needs To Know...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/07/23

Magic. It’s the thing that separates Fantasy RPGs from all others. Every other TTRPG can have combat, exploration, social situations… but magic is the secret sauce that makes fantasy special. Many DMs and GMs toss around the idea of “low magic” worlds, but what does that mean exactly? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss the definitions and parameters of low magic and how we’ve implemented it into our games. Along the way, we share several tips and tricks to limit access to god-like powers

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43:54

D&D Accounting: 11 Tips and Pitfalls to Tracking...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/07/09

Gold. It’s the perfect representation of the reward mechanic from the earliest days of the White Box. Hell, it even used to represent experience! As a companion piece to our 19th episode on RPG Economics, Tony, Chris, and Dave delve into not just how to make things worth using the gold for, but also the idea of how you, or DO you, account for the treasure that the party finds? And please visit our affiliate link at FanRoll Dice for all your dice and dice accessories and get 10% off your entire

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01:08:48

Come Together: 3 Wise DMs and Tabletop Journeys Come...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/06/25

At some point, most DMs pursue the idea of a world and/or a campaign where multiple DMs are running the game. This is an audacious and exciting project, so in this week’s episode, 3 Wise DMs teamed up with our friends, Lewanika, Josh, and Glen at Tabletop Journeys (www.TTJourneys.com), to discuss shared worlds, shared campaigns, and shared universes… as well as all the other discussions that happen when you try to corral six DMs into a conversation.1:33 The first ever DM Duet In history?3:00 Our

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44:27

Behind the Screens: 3 Wise DMs Reveal What They Want...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/06/11

The DM Screen. It’s one of the quintessential D&D visuals. But what goes behind it? What lurks behind that foot-high barrier between the characters and the gods? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave delve into how they use the DM screen, what they want to have behind it, and what they need to have behind it. One thing you do need behind your screen though is dice… so check out our affiliate link with FanRoll dice for all your dice and dice accessories. Go to www.Fanrolldice.com/ref/2871 to

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46:26

Glory Days: 3 Wise DMs Shares the Pros and Cons With...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/05/28

We’ve talked about it many times on the podcast. We’ve been waiting for a chance to run it. We finally did! DM Dave ran us through an old-school dungeon crawl for our friend Scott's birthday with the Basic Fantasy Roleplaying RPG. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave review the pros and cons of returning to Basic Moldvay-era D&D with the OSR. Final verdict: More pros than cons… try it out!For any Dice and Dice Accessories, visit our affiliate link at www.FanRollDice.com/ref/2871 for 10% off

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41:35

My Name’s the Teacher: Making Leveling with Character...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/05/14

Sleep takes you as you wrap yourself into your bedroll in your campsite in the forest. Your slumber is surprisingly restful this night. As you wake in the morning, you find yourself having taken an Oath to a God and possessing several new spells… Not very satisfying, right? We can all understand that Fighters and Rogues just get better at doing the things they do, but what about Paladins, Warlocks, Clerics, etc… characters that gain incredibly powerful class abilities that are not of this world? In

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53:50

It’s So Easy: 3 Wise DMs 18 Favorite Dungeon Master...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/04/30

Running a game is a lesson in balance. There are so many dials and mechanics that you need to manage while also focusing on being what Gary Gygax referred to as “the Shaper of the Cosmos.” Anyone who has started running games or been running for decades has found hacks to make running the game that much easier and streamlined. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss their favorite DM hacks that we’ve employed in our games.1 :30 Hack# 1: Where are we going next? Focusing your prep.2:30 Hack#

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40:51

When Good Gaming Groups Go Bad: 3 Wise DMs Tips On...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/04/16

Game groups fall apart. It’s as inevitable as the rain. What do you do when your current group goes south, but you still have a player who wants to continue? Do you continue with the current campaign? Do you now run the entire rest of the party, the monsters, and all the NPCs? The 3 Wise DMs answer long-time listener Jared’s question about his Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign and delve deeper into utilizing Sidekicks, DMPCs, and other tips with one-on-one gaming.0:51 Co-host introduction… whom could

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52:39

Just Do It! 3 Wise DMs Interviews a Brand-New D&D...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/04/02

New DMs. It’s easily the most discussed topic in the TTRPG hobby. We’ve talked before about tips and tricks for new DMs looking to run their first games. However, this week, we got the chance to sit down with our return guest Chris and his brand-new to all things fantasy, D&D, and DMing friend, Lenny Szot… who decided to dive into the deep end and run his first game ever! Throughout the episode, we detail 13 tips and tricks to help but, in the end, Lenny’s advice is the most succinct: Just Do

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54:26

Terrain, Maps & Minis, Oh My! The Long Tradition of...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/03/19

In this episode, Tony and Dave sit down with our good friend and fellow gamer, Scott Washburn of Paper Terrain (www.paperterrain.com) to discuss the tradition of using terrain, maps, and minis from the earliest days of the game up to our current times. Along the way, we discuss how we have used and continue to use physical props to enhance our games as well as the tips and tricks to ease the burden on the DM.1:35 Scott’s Story.3:30 The mythical “White Box.”5:20 Minis evolution from wargaming to

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01:16:22

Back in Black: The Players Wrap-Up to the Absolutely...

3 Wise DMs ·

2023/03/05

Hello and welcome BACK to 3 Wise DMs! It’s been quite some time and we’re glad that we’re back… Back in Black, that is - like Vampyr, our epic, final BBEG to end all BBEGs in Barovia. We thought that it worked out that the absolute, final ending to our 2+ year Curse of Strahd campaign coincided almost perfectly with the initial launch of 3 Wise DMs – and that deserves a proper sendoff. So, we gathered the players, the Monster Wrangler (what’s that?), and the DM to discuss how we homebrewed the

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01:16:33

Finish Your Homebrew Campaign With a Bang: DMs’...

3 Wise DMs ·

2022/09/04

How do you bring a 4-year Dungeons & Dragons campaign to a satisfying, epic ending? With an epic, solo boss. Some would say you shouldn’t do that in D&D 5E because the action economy favors a more numerically balanced battle. But with seven level-15 PCs, that’s exactly how we finished off the main quest in DM Thorin’s homebrew, mostly improv, campaign.We realize that reviewing a homebrew campaign is different from Curse of Strahd or Storm King’s Thunder – after all, you can’t go pick up the

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48:30

Will Player Character Secrets Ruin Your Campaign?

3 Wise DMs ·

2022/08/28

Secrets: Are they powerful character-building tools or TPK time bombs waiting to destroy your RPG campaign? We’ve seen it go both ways, from character background secrets that added depth and immersion for the player to secrets pacts that saw PCs murdered in-game by other PCs. Is that second one a failure? That depends on your group, but it certainly wasn’t what the DM had in mind.In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about secrets in the game, how they’ve worked out in their campaigns, and

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01:06:10

The Epic-Tier Divide: Bringing Your DnD Campaign Into...

3 Wise DMs ·

2022/08/21

Super-powered archmages, alien vampire gods, Tiamat and the devil himself – once your campaign crosses about level 15, it’s all on the table. But the same is true for super-powerful spells, legendary artifacts, and a hundred other things that make the players as tough as your wildest villain creations. This is why epic-tier play just isn’t the same as everything your campaign has been through before. As you hit the endgame of your campaign, a couple things happen. First, your story should be coming

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55:59

11 Quirky Dungeon Master Habits of the 3 Wise DMs

3 Wise DMs ·

2022/08/14

Do you walk around talking in funny voices? Are you constantly thinking about how game mechanics apply to real-world situations? Have you ever turned a person or thing you know into a Dungeons and Dragons monster? (Did you have your players kill that monster?) … Then you, too, may be a quirky Dungeon Master.DMing certainly isn’t subtle. The little things we do to prep for sessions and keep the game fresh can seem a bit … well … weird. Sometimes they even drive our loved ones a little nuts. But

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51:44

DMing All-Ranged Parties in Dungeons and Dragons 5E

3 Wise DMs ·

2022/08/07

Has SEAL Team 6 rolled up on your D&D 5E dungeon yet? You know the party we mean: Archers, wizards, sorcerers, warlocks, ranged assassins … and not a single melee tank among them. Just hundreds of points of damage pouring into your helpless melee monsters from football fields away. It was near impossible to make the all-ranged party work in earlier editions, but in Dungeons and Dragon 5E, it can work shockingly well. It can even “ruin” the campaign for DMs who don’t know how to handle it. On the

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186 results

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