The Lazy RPG Podcast - D&D and RPG News and GM Prep from Sly Flourish

Mike prepares to run his next session of his Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00:00 Show Start 00:00:34 WOTC Product Spotlight: Heroes of Krynn Playtest 00:20:07 Product Spotlight: Book of Wondrous Magic Volume 2 00:27:18 Product Spotlight: Free Dwarven Forge Adventures 00:34:33 DM Tip: Attack Again on a Miss 00:39:19 RPG Industry Tip: Lunch break Heroes on Making Money in RPGs 00:45:59 Patreon Question: Scaling Combat for Six Players 00:49:32 Patreon Question: Lazy Tricks for Incorporating Character Backgrounds 00:53:39 Patreon Question: Tools for In-Person Games 00:56:47 Patreon Question: Handing Out Magic Items 00:59:32 Patreon Question: Best Adventure I've Ever Played In 01:01:16 Patreon Question: Running Structured Social Encounters 01:03:47 Patreon Question: Blades in the Dark for D&D Heists Links Join the Sly Flourish Patreon Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Workbook Heroes of Krynn Unearthed Arcana Playtest Book of Wondrous Magic Volume 2 Alphastream on YouTube Alphastream's Blog and Newsletter Dwarven Forge Adventures Lunch Break Heroes on Making a Living in RPGs Lazy D&D Combat Encounter Benchmark Tools for In-Person Games Invasion of the Planet of Tarrasques

Mike prepares to run his next session of his Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery

Mike covers the remainder of the February 2022 Sly Flourish Patreon questions! Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:28 Commentary: Patreon Q&A Guidelines 01:41 Commentary: Disclaimer...I'm Just Sharing My Experiences 02:45 D&D News: The Lazy D&D Talk Show Topic Database 04:04 Patreon Question: Managing Mechanics-Focused Players 07:23 Patreon Question: Being Too Nice? 10:47 Patreon Question: Limiting Turn Time in Combat 13:55 Patreon Question: Druids Conjuring Giant Octopi 17:27 Patreon Question: Projecting Deadly Threats in Numenera 19:29 DM Tip: Limiting Polymorph by Treating Monster Sightings like Pokemon 20:46 Patreon Question: Getting Ideas for Fantastic Locations 22:53 Patreon Question: Managing Table Talk in Online Games 25:47 Patreon Question: Really Big Pointcrawls? Sure! 28:28 Patreon Question: Campaign Outlines for Lazy DMs? 31:08 Patreon Question: Player Agency with Dominated Characters 33:24 Patreon Question: What Program Did I Layout City of Arches In? 34:39 Patreon Question: Appendix N for Grendleroot Games 37:13 Patreon Question: Better System for Quest Rewards? 38:59 Patreon Question: Upward and Downward Beats During Combat 41:22 Patreon Question: Selecting Magic Items for Shopping Characters 43:37 Patreon Question: Experiences Writing City of Arches 51:42 Patreon Question: Telegraphing Deadly Situations Links Ginni Di on Table Talk Etiquette for Online Games Join the Sly Flourish Patreon for the City of Arches and much more! Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Pick up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Pick up the Lazy DM's Workbook

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:24 D&D News: City of Arches Updates 10:06 Commentary: The Shift to Online Play 18:08 Product Spotlight: Cult of the Hydra 26:44 Commentary: Writing Expensive Products for the DM's Guild 36:01 Patreon Question: Getting Players to Read the Books 40:34 Patreon Question: Building a Dark Lord Boss Monster 43:34 Patreon Question: Speeding Up Milestone Experience Rewards 46:00 Patreon Question: Introducing Villains All at Once or One At a Time 48:30 Patreon Question: Deadly Encounter Benchmark for Level 11+ 54:01 Patreon Question: Experiences Playing Solo RPGs Links Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Shift in Online and In Person Play Roll 20 has 10 million users Cult of the Hydra Collective Experiences Running D&D Boss Monsters Improvising Legendary Boss Monsters Video Improvising Coleville-style Action Oriented Monsters Lazy Encounter Benchmark Ironsworn Thousand Year Old Vampire Mork Borg Feretory

Mike prepares to run his next session of his Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery

Mike uses the Lazy DM's Companion and the City of Arches to put together a heist one-shot adventure! See the show notes for details Links Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Check out the Lazy DM's Companion Sample Pages Join the Sly Flourish Patreon for the City of Arches and much more! Check out the final Notion page for the adventure Learn more about Notion for Lazy Campaign Building Pick up Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Pick up the Lazy DM's Workbook

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00:00 Show Start 00:00:23 City of Arches Player's Guide 00:02:39 City of Arches Map by Chloe Bollard 00:06:19 Obsidian Skull Patreon Adventure 00:08:26 Lazy D&D Talk Show Topic Database 00:13:38 Product Spotlight: Uncaged Godesses 00:27:57 Kickstarter Preview: Old School Essentials 00:34:57 Patreon Question: Lazy DM Steps for Sandbox Urban Adventures 00:39:30 Patreon Question: Tips for Running One-on-One D&D Games 00:42:16 Patreon Question: Tips for Describing Combat 00:44:14 Patreon Question: Player Worldbuilding 00:46:08 Patreon Question: Feats in DMG, Magic Items in PHB? 00:48:12 Patreon Question: Random Tables for Hunt-Based Adventure 00:51:01 Patreon Question: Character Race and WOTC Storylines 00:54:30 Patreon Question: Favorite Non-D&D RPG 00:55:17 Patreon Question: Lazy D&D Tips for Megadungeons 00:57:06 Patreon Question: Re-Balancing High Level Characters 01:00:13 Patreon Question: Filtering New Players for Online Games Links Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Uncaged Godesses Old School Essentials Kickstarter A Framework for One-on-One D&D Games: Sherlock Holmes and Watson Balancing D&D Combat for One-on-One Play Running One-on-One D&D

Mike prepares to run his next session of his Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery Injecting the Weird Voices in the Datasphere Technology Compendium: Sir Arthour’s Guide to the Numenera

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00:00 Show Start 00:00:37 Lightning Rods - Leaning In on Powerful Character Abilities 00:10:19 New D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle 00:15:32 Kickstarter Spotlight: Epic Legacy - Tome of Titans 2 00:26:21 Product Spotlight: Home Field Advantage - Lair Actions for Most D&D Monsters 00:37:16 Alphastream on Spellcasting Monsters 00:51:40 Patreon Question: Using GM Intrusions from Numenera in 5e 00:55:24 Patreon Question: Setting Up Gamestore Games for New Players 00:57:13 Patreon Question: Faster Leveling in Witchlight 01:00:16 Patreon Question: Overwhelmed with Lore 01:03:02 Patreon Question: Lazy DM Tips for Drawing Maps Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Ginni Di on Leaning In on Powerful Character Abilities Nerd Immersion on New D&D Starter Set EnWorld on New D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle Ray Winninger on Starter Set Price Error Kickstarter: Epic Legacy Tome of Titans 2 Home Field Advantage: A Compendium of Lair Actions Alphastream: The Future "We" Want for Spellcasting Monsters Alphastream: How WotC Already Found the Future of Spellcasting Monsters Dyson Map Key for drawing quick battle maps Map Fu by Chris Perkins Map Fu SF Archive

Mike prepares to run his next session of his Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery Injecting the Weird Voices in the Datasphere Technology Compendium: Sir Arthour’s Guide to the Numenera Taking the Narrative by the Tail: GM Intrusions & Special Effects

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:51 Kickstarter Spotlight: Elements of Inspiration Decks 05:53 Product Spotlight: Dragonflight by 2C Gaming 27:09 Sly Flourish Patreon Product: The City of Arches Guidebook 38:55 Patreon Question: Running Sandbox Games with the Eight Steps 42:47 Patreon Question: Going Too Far with End-of-Campaign Montages 44:49 Patreon Question: Underused Nugget from the Eight Steps? 46:28 Patreon Question: Good Aspects of 4e 49:10 Patreon Question: Organizing Useful Info from RPG PDFs 52:27 Patreon Question: Running Labyrinths in D&D 55:22 Patreon Question: Preparing Upward and Downward Beats 59:24 Patreon Question: Preparing Options after a Cliffhanger Battle Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Elements of Inspiration Deck Kickstarter Dragonflight by 2C Gaming

Mike offers tips and discussion for chapter 1 of Wild Beyond the Witchlight and prepares to run chapter 2! Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:20 Top Three Tips for running Chapter 1 of Wild Beyond the Witchlight 11:25 Other Tips for Running Wild Beyond the Witchlight 14:30 What Did I Do in Chapter 1 in My Game? 23:36 Adding Dreadful Incursions - Not Good for Every Witchlight Campaign 28:41 Thoughts about Chapter 2 35:13 Prepping my Next Session in Chapter 2 48:16 Building a Dreadful Incursion 58:38 Finishing Up our Session Prep Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy Wild Beyond the Witchlight on Amazon (affiliate link) Wild Beyond the Witchlight Notion Template Wild Beyond the Witchlight One-Page Campaign Guide Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning

Mike prepares to run his session zero of his first Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery Injecting the Weird Jade Colossus

WOTC's new president, Lazy DM's Companion PDF for sale, Tal'Dorei Reborn product spotlight, more on Monsters of the Multiverse monster difficulty, and February Patreon Q&A in this week's Lazy D&D Talk Show! Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:35 New President of Wizards of the Coast and the Unpredictability of the Future of D&D 07:20 Lazy DM's Companion PDF Now for General Sale! 08:36 Tal'Dorei Reborn Product Spotlight 25:17 Videos and Articles about Monster Difficulty in Monsters of the Multiverse 37:57 Patreon Question: Running with One Remote Player and Three Physical Players 41:55 Patreon Question: Running a Predator-style Adventure that Doesn't Suck 45:55 Patreon Question: Any Further Tips on Campaign Development? Not really! 47:51 Patreon Question: Getting Players to Use More Character Features 50:31 Patreon Question: Getting Players to Understand Old-School Style Adventures in 5e 53:29 Patreon Question: Building Legacy Weapons that Scale Up in Power Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master New WOTC President – Cynthia Williams Lazy DM's Companion PDF for general sale! Tal'Dorei Reborn

Mike discusses his Blades in the Dark finale and thoughts about the game. Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Cheat Sheet by Justin Alexander Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike prepares to run his session zero of his first Numenera campaign! Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Numenera Lazy DM Campaign Notebook Numenera Discovery Injecting the Weird Jade Colossus

Mike goes through the final 33 Patreon questions of January 2022! Contents 00:00:00 Show Intro 00:01:01 Cliche Bad Guy Expositions 00:02:49 Managing Treasure Distribution 00:05:08 Describing Three of Five Keys In Fiction 00:07:30 Building Quick Monsters from Scratch 00:09:39 Incorporating Character Backstories - Not for Everyone 00:13:46 Lazy Tips for Character Retreats 00:17:41 Sly Flourish DM Screen? 00:21:05 Creating Interesting Combat Encounters 00:25:12 Adding New Characters to Descent into Avernus 00:27:06 Making a CR 3 Vampire 00:28:56 More Sly Flourish Streamed D&D Games? Nope, Sorry. 00:30:29 Running One-Hour D&D Games 00:33:33 Tracking Factions in Notion 00:35:26 One-Page Campaign Guide for Homebrew Worlds 00:38:49 Setup for Running Games Online 00:41:08 Experience with Devesting Critical Hits 00:42:05 Using Extra Encounters for WOTC Hardcover Campaigns 00:43:33 Fog of War for Tabletop Maps 00:46:01 Secrets and Clues for West Marches Games 00:48:16 Managing Monsters with Debilitating Fun-Stealing Effects 00:51:04 OGL Good for Smaller Publishers? Not sure. 00:52:57 Running Grendleroot in Avernus 00:54:10 Integrating Monuments 00:55:50 Running Forgotten Realms for Knowledgable Players 00:58:05 Running Townbuilding Scenarios 00:59:44 Revealing Pointcrawls to Players 01:01:59 Playing in an 11-year-old's D&D Game 01:03:01 Running Grendleroot to 20th Level 01:04:31 Converting Settings to Other Systems and Running Fate 01:07:12 Speeding Up Combat 01:09:10 High-Level Relics Too Powerful? Nope! 01:11:03 Getting Players to Roleplay With Each Other 01:12:26 Revealing Numenera to Unknowing Characters Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Ruins of the Grendleroot Shawn Merwin Deep Dive on One-Hour Games Three of Five Keys Sly Flourish D&D Cheat Sheet Running a West Marches Grendleroot Campaign

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:29 My friend Bryan and the Importance of D&D 08:07 Quick Thoughts on Blades in the Dark 09:23 Further Thoughts on D&D Beyond and Monsters of the Multiverse 12:28 Kickstarter Spotlight: Tome of Beasts 3 by Kobold Press (Sponsored) 17:04 Product Spotlight: Level Up 5e Monstrous Menagerie 42:58 Patreon Q&A 43:23 Patreon Question: 5e's Time Sinks 48:22 Patreon Question: Do Monster Dials Prevent Character Death? 50:27 Patreon Question: Digital 3rd Party Products Outside of PDFs? 53:09 Patreon Question: Tips for Monster Morale 55:18 Patreon Question: 4e Modules of Note for 5e Conversion? 56:59 Patreon Question: Secrets, Clues, and Discoveries for Numenera Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Playing D&D Can Save Your Life Tome of Beasts 3 Kickstarter (Sponsored) Level Up Advanced 5e Monstrous Menagerie Madness at Gardmore Abbey

Mike prepares for his Blades in the Dark game. Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Cheat Sheet by Justin Alexander Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:38 Lazy DM's Companion PDF Delivered! 09:29 Monsters of the Multiverse on D&D Beyond on May 17th 13:25 MotM Not Updating Previous Content on D&D Beyond 23:26 A Look at Monsters of the Multiverse Stat Blocks 47:56 Patreon Question: Transitions Between Scenes and Encounters 50:47 Patreon Question: Running "World Without Heroes" Campaign 53:35 Patreon: Using Callbacks 56:08 Patreon Question: Problems and Benefits of D&D Canon 59:36 Patreon Question: Bite-sized Lore and Inspiration Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preorder the Lazy DM's Companion Monsters of the Multiverse on D&D Beyond on 17 May 2022 Enworld on Monsters of the Multiverse not replacing existing monsters Reddit transcript of D&D Beyond Twitch show on Monsters of the Multiverse DDB Taking Queues from WOTC on MotM integration Brandes Soddard's Twitter Preview of MotM See Brandes Soddard's media files for all of his MotM previews Level Up 5e Monstrous Menagerie (affiliate link) A World Without Heroes: A 1st to 20th level Campaign Outline

Mike talks about his first full session of Wild Beyond the Witchlight. Contents 00:00 Show Start 02:10 Seven D&D Tips from Last Night's Game 12:31 The Theme of Witchlight and the Dreadful Incursions 16:42 The Characters in my Witchlight Campaign 21:22 First Witchlight Session Retrospective 45:11 Prep for my Next Session 59:49 Listing the Cool Dreadful Domains for Dreadful Incursions Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy the Lazy DM's Companion Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Buy Wild Beyond the Witchlight on Amazon (affiliate link) Wild Beyond the Witchlight Notion Template Wild Beyond the Witchlight One-Page Campaign Guide Eventyr's Complete DM's Bundle for Wild Beyond the Witchlight (affiliate link) Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning

Mike prepares for his Blades in the Dark game. Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Cheat Sheet by Justin Alexander Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Sorry about the plosives in the recording, I was speaking too much into the mic (no need to comment =)) Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:41 Lazy DMs Companion Update - All is Great! 05:02 Thoughts about Wild Beyond the Witchlight Sesson Zero 15:42 More on D&D Not Being Like World of Warcraft 33:05 Patreon Questions 33:28 Patreon Question: Revisiting Old Eliminated Prep Areas 36:04 Patreon Question: Preparing Multiple Sessions in Advance 38:35 Patreon Question: Handling Unexpected Character Deaths 41:25 Patreon Question: Publishing Homebrew Campaigns 45:14 Patreon Question: Favorite and Least Favorite Parts of 5e Seven Years In 51:07 Patreon Question: Evaluating Published Adventures 55:30 Patreon Question: DCs Higher than 30 and Choosing DCs based on the Characters Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preorder the Lazy DM's Companion

Mike's special mic-check episode of the Lazy D&D Talk show. Just general chatter about lots of random stuff. Contents 00:00:00 Show Intro 00:01:16 What Did I Do Today? 00:03:33 Cobra Kai 00:05:15 Reddit on Character Race Changes 00:13:12 Checking my Mic 00:16:58 Predictions on the Next D&D 00:18:47 Jim Collins's "Good to Great" and Wizards of the Coast 00:28:07 Lots of Monster Books Coming 00:28:50 Dangerous Destinations by Nord Games 00:32:32 Potential Numenera Campaign Adventures 00:45:17 Alphastream's New Patreon 00:49:23 My Dream: An RPG Industry Talk Show 00:52:45 Mike's Next Thing... (Join Patreon to find out!) 00:55:35 Latest Lazy DM's Companion Preview 01:06:54 How do you Grow Your Patreon Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preorder the Lazy DM's Companion Good to Great Five Stages of Decline Dangerous Destinations Preorder Page Alphastream's New Patreon

Mike prepares for his full Blades in the Dark game. Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike prepares for his session zero of Wizards of the Coast hardcover adventure Wild Beyond the Witchlight! Video contents 00:00 Show Intro 01:09 How I feel about Wild Beyond the Witchlight 07:41 Running a Session Zero 12:15 Witchlight Campaign One-Pager 39:26 Reading and Absorbing Wild Beyond the Witchlight 44:04 Adding Dreadful Incursions for Combat Options in Witchlight 57:13 Prepping the First Session at the Witchlight Carnival Links Buy Wild Beyond the Witchlight on Amazon (affiliate link) Wild Beyond the Witchlight Notion Template Eventyr's Complete DM's Bundle for Wild Beyond the Witchlight (affiliate link) Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00 Show Intro 01:24 WOTC CEO Chris Cocks Promoted to Hasbro CEO 10:03 Kickstarter Spotlight: Limitless Heroics 14:53 Kickstarter Spotlight: Adventurer's Guide to the Bible 18:47 Kickstarter Spotlight: Nerdarchy's Mage Forge 20:33 Kickstarter Preview Spotlight: Tome of Beasts 3 by Kobold Press 22:31 Product Spotlight: What Crooked Roots 28:04 4e Skill Challenges vs. Blades Progress Clocks 34:52 Patreon Questions 35:27 Patreon Question: Keeping High Levels Challenging 41:00 Patreon Question: Sly Flourish Books on Roll 20? 44:44 Patreon Question: When Do You Give Out the One-Page Campaign Guide? 46:19 Patreon Question: Pre- and Post-Game Rituals 48:34 Patreon Question: Running Complicated Political Intrigue 51:12 This Isn't Gospel. I'm Just Sharing My Experiences 52:05 Patreon Question: Good 5-Page Product Types? 56:11 Patreon Question: Running RPGs for Kids? 57:55 Patreon Question: Good Downward Beats from Hamlet's Hit Points 59:25 Patreon Question: Scaling D&D for Three Characters Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Kickstarter: Limitless Heroics Kickstarter: Adventurer's Guide to the Bible Kickstarter: Mage Forge Kickstarter: Tome of Beasts 3 What Crooked Roots (affiliate link) Mike on Progress Clocks RPG Kids No Thank You Evil Honey Heist Hamlet's Hit Points

Mike prepares for his first full Blades in the Dark game. Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Notable 3rd party D&D products of 2021 and Patreon Questions! Contents 00:00 Show Intro 00:12 Mastering Dungeons for D&D News 01:14 Lazy DM Companion Art Previews 04:44 Notable 5e Third-Party Products in 2021 06:02 Arcadia by MCDM 08:54 The Book of Fiends by Robert Schwalb and Green Ronin 10:11 Complete Kobold's Guide to Monsters by Kobold Press 11:43 Iskandar by MT Black 12:32 Level Up Advanced 5e by EnWorld Publishing 14:08 Ptolus 5e by Monte Cook Games 16:12 Scarlet Citadel by Kobold Press 18:16 Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands by Raging Swan Press 19:22 Southlands by Kobold Press 20:19 Vault of Magic by Kobold Press 21:49 Where the Machines Wait by Monte Cook Games 24:56 Patreon Questions 25:22 Patreon Question: Epic and Meaningful Deaths 28:58 Patreon Question: Handling Petrification and Flight 30:40 Chamber of Secrets - Worst Harry Potter Movie 33:19 Patreon Question: Rolling Secret Rolls for Characters 35:29 Patreon Question: Organizing Digital Products 40:18 Patreon Question: Tying Hooks to Characters in Published Adventures 42:55 Patreon Question: Separating Treasure, Traps, and Locations in Prep 43:46 Patreon Question: Thoughts on 1st Level Adventures 45:37 Patreon Question: Revealing Pointcrawl Maps to Players 49:46 Patreon Question: Tying Characters to Linear Adventures 51:31 Patreon Question: Gaslighting Players and the False Hydra 55:05 Patreon Question: Tracking In-World Time 57:24 Patreon Question: Go-To Reskinnable Monsters 59:31 Patreon Question: Preparing GM Intrusions with Cypher System Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Mastering Dungeons Podcast Favorite 2021 3rd party D&D Products Tweet Thread Arcadia by MCDM The Book of Fiends by Robert Schwalb and Green Ronin Complete Kobold Guide to Monsters Iskandar by MT Black Level Up Advanced 5e Monstrous Menagerie by EnWorld Publishing Ptolus 5e by Monte Cook Games Scarlet Citadel by Kobold Press Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands by Raging Swan Press Southlands by Kobold Press Vault of Magic by Kobold Press Where the Machines Wait by Monte Cook Games Pointcrawls Mermaid graphs Organizing RPG Products Tweet Thread

Mike prepares for his session zero of Blades in the Dark! Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Notion Campaign Notebook Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! 00:00 Show Intro 00:23 DM Tip: Lightning Rods in Boss Fights 09:04 Player Campaign Survey Results 17:16 1,100 Pages of Awesome 5e Third-Party Books in One Day 27:21 Patreon Questions 28:18 Patreon Question: What Lazy DM Material Do I No Longer Agree With? 34:14 Patreon Question: Help Struggling Players Explore 39:26 Patreon Question: Organizing Campaigns in Notion, OneNote, and Other Tools 45:35 Patreon Question: Character Options in One-Page Campaign Guides 48:41 Patreon Question: Game Intro Rituals 51:01 Patreon Question: Concluding a Campaign with Limited Time Left 52:47 Patreon Question: Point Crawls with Geographic Maps Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Player Campaign Survey Results Grim Hollow Monster Grimoire Grim Hollow Monster Grimoire Lairs Dungeons of Drakkenheim Remarkable Inns Remarkable Shops Remarkable Cults

After finishing his Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign, Mike offers his thoughts and advice for the adventure and describes the epic conclusion to his campaign. Contents 00:00 Show Intro 01:14 Experiences and Tips for Running Rime of the Frostmaiden 02:07 Be ready to modify a lot of this adventure 04:01 Cut quests liberally from chapter 1. It's far too big. 05:46 Add quests, adventure paths, and keys to tie chapter 2 to the rest of the adventure 07:38 Modify the timing of the Chardalyn dragon's attack to suit your story 09:47 Add trials of Auril based on the characters' backgrounds and drives 11:23 Tie Grimskalle and Ythryn together as requirements to end the Endless Night 13:03 The Conclusion to Mike's Frostmaiden Campaign 18:49 The Final Battle - Waves of Nasty Monsters and Lightning Rods! 28:21 The Final Sacrifice 32:03 One Year Later... 41:06 The End of my 18th campaign in seven years 44:45 Preview of the Witchlight campaign: Dreadful Incursions! Links Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden Notion Notebook Rime of the Frostmaiden One-Page Campaign Guide Using Notion.so for Lazy D&D Campaign Planning Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon

Mike prepares for his final session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00 Show Intro 00:45 Lazy DM's Companion Art and Maps Preview 03:53 D&D Errata and Feedback 17:39 Kickstarter and Blockchain - Ugh. 25:48 D&D Beyond Combat Tracker Automatically Includes Character Initiative! 31:45 Dungeon Craft Reviews Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master 33:45 RPG Spotlight on Index Card RPG 40:48 Patreon Questions 41:07 Patreon Question: Filling Empty Rooms 46:05 Patreon Question: Homebrewing Rest Mechanics 49:28 Patreon Question: One-line 5e Monster Stat Blocks? 51:44 Patreon Question: What's In the Lazy Player's Guide? 53:37 Patreon Question: Adding Fate-style Aspects to D&D Games 56:12 Patreon Question: Advice for Adventurer's League DMs? Links D&D Errata Kickstarter on Blockchain Kickstarter Announces Blockchain Future, Doubles Down After Users Say 'No Thank You' D&D Beyond Combat Tracker Auto-Tracking Character Initiative Dungeon Craft Ultimate Dungeon Terrain Dungeon Craft review of Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Dungeon Craft spotlight on Index Card RPG Index Card RPG Free Preview Index Card Hardcover Index Card Master Edition PDF Index Card Essentials Deck Lazy DM's Companion Free Preview (with Monument generators!) Good Behaviors for D&D Players Building a Great D&D Character

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike offers some thoughts and shares some experiences on the topic of what it takes to "make it" in the D&D and RPG industry. No magic bullets here but hopefully some useful thoughts on the topic. Contents 00:01:03 What does "Making It" Mean to You? 00:04:30 Advice is Bullshit 00:06:28 The Duality of Optimism and Pragmatism 00:09:46 Practical Advice (oops) 00:13:07 Use Lots of Platforms 00:14:38 The Marketing Funnel 00:21:33 The Value of Email Newsletters 00:28:09 Getting Attention - Go Wide 00:28:42 What About Podcasting? 00:32:17 What About Conventions? 00:33:59 Consistency + Visibility. Both Are Important. 00:38:13 40% Find Me Through YouTube 00:43:17 What Products Should One Make? 00:54:37 RPG Writer's Workshop 00:56:22 Where Do You Sell Your Stuff? 01:08:37 Final Thoughts (NOT ADVICE!) Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon John Baldessari and the Three Rules for Artists Washington Post article about the Twitch streamer Glengarry Glen Ross Put the Coffee Down The Marketing Funnel Great video on the value of newsletters Tubebuddy Rob Schwalb's Short Adventures Raging Swan Press Waterdeep City Encounters Dyson's Commercial-Usable Maps Adventure Writers Workshop

Mike does a spotlight look at the new Wizards of the Coast hardcover D&D sourcebook and adventure, Strixhaven, a Curriculum of Chaos. Contents 00:00 Show Intro 02:16 Digital vs. Physical. Why not both? 04:08 A Different Kind of Sourcebook 05:57 Magic University 07:15 Three Facts about Strixhaven 17:39 A Place You Want to Go 26:42 Character Options 44:06 School is in Session 52:31 Mike Hates the D4. Worst Die Ever. 56:20 Let's Look at Monsters Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon

Mike talks about all things D&D! Open up these notes for video contents and links. Contents 00:00 Show Intro 01:33 Lazy DM's Companion Update 04:09 Tips for High CR Monster Damage 13:10 Product Spotlight: Southlands by Kobold Press 37:59 DM Tip: Don't Punish Characters Taking Initiative 42:47 Patreon Questions 43:16 Patreon Question: Restarting an Old Campaign 45:42 Patreon Question: Transitioning a Game to a New DM 48:02 Patreon Question: Unconnected Fronts 51:31 Patreon Question: What's the Problem with Twilight and Peace Clerics? 59:16 Patreon Question: Breaking Up with a Player or Game Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Southlands by Kobold Press

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Lazy DM Companion update, Polls on Fudging HP, Silvery Barbs and Opting-In for Non-Core books, Blades in the Dark, and Patreon Questions! Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:39 Lazy DM's Companion Update 07:55 Fudging Hit Point Polls for DMs and Players 11:06 Silvery Barbs and Opting-In for Non-Core Books 23:16 Blades in the Dark Spotlight 38:32 December Patreon Questions 39:08 Patreon Question: Too Much Hoarding of Physical Books? 42:13 Patreon Question: Options for Zombie Characters? 44:47 Patreon Question: Procedures for Dungeon Crawls 47:49 Patreon Question: Balancing the Campaign Theme and Six Truths in Spiral Campaign Development 51:43 Patreon Question: High Charisma "Face" Characters Stealing the Show in RP Scenes Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Fudging HP Poll (Players) Fudging HP Poll (DM) Think DM: Why Are DMs Banning Silvery Barbs Blades in the Dark Blades in the Dark Player's Kit Video on Spiral Campaign Development

Mike chats about all things D&D! Contents 00:00:00 Show Intro 00:01:12 Lazy DM Companion Update 00:03:59 The Sly Flourish After-School RPG Grant 00:06:22 D&D Beyond Usage Poll 00:11:45 Patreon Q&A 00:12:16 Patreon Question: Tuning Encounters Around Your Group 00:19:30 Patreon Question: Noir-Style Adventures in Tier 2+ 00:24:00 Patreon Question: Running Fun High-Level (Level 16+) Campaigns 00:30:36 Patreon Question: More Stuff for Martial Characters 00:34:11 Patreon Question: Players Hoarding Relics and Magic Items 00:38:34 Patreon Question: Getting Players to Use High Level Spells 00:39:54 Patreon Question: Balancing Custom Monsters 00:45:26 Patreon Question: Completely Improvising a Session 00:49:02 Patreon Question: Making Use of Tool Proficiencies 00:52:55 Patreon Question: Avoiding Plot-Armor for Character-Focused Plots 00:55:45 Patreon Question: Rewarding Magic Items While Avoiding Overpowering Characters 01:01:53 Patreon Question: Incorporating Character Secrets 01:05:50 Chat Question: Magic Item Identification 01:06:40 Chat Question: Converting Older Adventures 01:07:09 Chat Question: Fistful of Copper 01:07:43 Chat Question: Creating Rivals 01:08:53 Chat Question: Ideal Endings 01:11:38 Chat Question: Recommended Books, TV Shows, Movies, and Games? 01:13:39 Chat Question: Grendleroot with Small Parties 01:14:00 Show Ending Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Sly Flourish After-School RPG Program Grants D&D Beyond Usage Poll Lazy Encounter Benchmark

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 01:02 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter Update 02:30 Mastering Dungeons on Fizban's Treasury of Dragons 08:14 Improvising Monsters With Stat Tables 18:16 Using Different Monster Books for Different Areas 19:52 Sharing Experiences - Not Offering Advice 23:26 Patreon Questions 23:42 Patreon Question: The Non-Core Books with the Biggest Impact on D&D 27:44 Patreon Question: Running Games at a Game Store 31:48 Patreon Question: Using Old School Essentials to Teach D&D? 36:17 Patreon Question: Challenging both Optimized and Non-Optimized Characters 41:52 Patreon Question: Guidelines for Alternative Systems 45:02 Patreon Question: Thinking About Villains Early On 47:17 Patreon Questions: Managing PC Home Bases 48:38 Patreon Question: Managing Character Creation for New Players 51:26 Patreon Question: Is D&D Become Less Flexible? No. Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Mastering Dungeons on Fizban's Treasury of Dragons Blog of Holding, Monster Manual on a Business Card Managing Time Old School Essentials D&D Basic Rules Teaching New Players D&D Video Lord Gozumba's D&D Twitch Show Ythryn Expanded Towers by Daniel Khan Deep Magic by Kobold Press

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00 Intro 00:34 Patreon Update: Sly Flourish's Uncovered Secrets Volume 1 & 2 02:59 Lazy DM Companion Update 03:55 DM Prep with Obsidian.md 13:19 Kickstarter: Expedition to the Mysterious Peaks 15:16 Kickstarter: cy_borg 20:05 Product Spotlight: Mork Borg Feretory 27:18 DM Tip: Beefing Up 5e Vampires 31:05 Using Fizban's Treasury of Dragons in Play 34:14 Patreon Question: Setting the Mood 39:10 Patreon Question: Planning Upward and Downward Beats 42:42 Patreon Question: Has Character Death Become Taboo? 50:57 Patreon Question: Satisfying Conclusions for Weak Villains Links Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Obsidian.md Nicole van der Hoeven's video on using Obsidian with D&D Prep Kickstarter: Expedition to the Mysterious Peaks Kickstarter: cy_borg Mork Borg Feretory Descent into Avernus: Fall of Elturel Campfire Story Prompts During Rests in D&D

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:00:44 Preorder Page for the Lazy DM's Companion 00:03:21 Thoughts on Fizban's Treasury of Dragons 00:12:43 WOTC's Problem with High CR Damage 00:20:45 Kickstarter: Planegea by Atlast Games 00:23:05 Kickstarter: Skyraiders of Abraxis by Laura and Tracy Hickman 00:25:06 Kickstarter: Rewards and Rarities by 2C Gaming 00:27:13 Kickstarter: Reliquaries by Dwarven Forge 00:32:04 Transitioning to 70% Online Play 00:35:39 Spotlight: Vault of Magic by Kobold Press 00:44:19 Patreon Questions and Answers 00:45:14 Patreon Question: Transitioning to Published Adventures 00:47:46 Patreon Question: Worrying about Subverting Expectations 00:50:37 Patreon Question: Character Deaths and New Characters 00:53:21 Patreon Question: Keeping Track of Characters' Knowledge 00:55:02 Patreon Question: Handling NPC to NPC Conversations 00:56:34 Patreon Question: Adding Details to Fantastic Locations Links D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion Level Up Advanced 5e Kickstarter: Planegea by Atlast Games Kickstarter: Skyraiders of Abraxis by Laura and Tracy Hickman Kickstarter: Rewards and Rarities by 2C Gaming Kickstarter: Reliquaries by Dwarven Forge Vault of Magic by Kobold Press

Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden! Frostmaiden YouTube Video Playlist Notion Frostmaiden Campaign Notebook Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Join Sly Flourish's Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Mike talks about all things D&D! Contents 00:01:01 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter 00:02:14 Thoughts on Ravenloft Halloween One-Shot 00:13:32 Fizban's Treasury of Dragons 00:21:50 Kickstarter: Amazing Encounters and Places 00:24:29 Kickstarter: Potbellied Kobold's Guide to Villains and Lairs 00:25:33 Kickstarter: Planebreaker 00:28:24 Numenera Humble Bundle 00:30:02 Kickstarter: Book of Ebon Tides 00:31:02 Building RPG Companies Around Kickstarter 00:32:43 Patreon Question: Best Encounters for 1st Session 00:36:54 Patreon Question: Ideal Sidekicks for One-on-One Games 00:38:46 Patreon Question: Running Natural Disasters as Villains 00:41:57 Patreon Question: Ideal Facts for the "Six Truths" when Campaign Building 00:43:38 Patreon Question: Lazy Prep for Dungeons 00:46:42 Patreon Question: Process for Building Boss Monsters 00:50:58 Patreon Question: Tell Players about Monster Immunities and Legendary Resistances 00:54:02 Patreon Question: Lazy Prep for Marathon Sessions 00:56:22 Patreon Question: Ideal Number of Sessions for Milestone Leveling 00:57:24 Patreon Question: Keeping the Tension in Roleplay Scenes 00:58:26 Patreon Question: Using Lazy DM Steps for Other RPGs 01:00:20 Patreon Question: Failing Forward on a TPK? Links D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Running a One-Shot Ravenloft Game Video Running a One-Shot Ravenloft Game Article Draft One-Shot Strahd Stat Block Kickstarter: Amazing Encounters and Places Kickstarter: Potbellied Kobold's Guide to Villains and Lairs Kickstarter: Planebreaker by Monte Cook Games Numenera Humble Bundle Kickstarter: Book of Ebon Tides by Kobold Press Running 1st Level Encounters Tier-based Quests and Adventures Spiral Campaign Development Video Dan Dillion's Tweets on Tuning Bosses Think Through the Eyes of your NPCs