Crit Academy: A Dungeons And Dragons Podcast

This week on Episode 97 we discuss an amazing D&D5e supplement DM Options: Monster Talents by Dragonix! DM Options: Monster Talents: contains over 150 pages of detailed talents to spice up your monsters and make your encounters more challenging, fresh, and unpredictable!  In addition, it also has a player section for the six new character races presented in Volo's Guide to Monsters! Finally, it includes a new creature template: the Elite Monster! Get your copy of DM Options Monster Talents Here!   Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com Show Notes Here:  

This week we interview DMsguild creator Dragonix, and talk about his amazing D&D5e supplement Character Options: Talents Character Options: Talents offers variant rules for your 5th edition gaming. It does not change any of the existing rules. Instead, it provides you with additional options for character customization and development. It offers over 230 talents that you can choose from, enabling you to bring flavor, diversity, and much needed punch to your characters! Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com Show Notes:  

On today's show we interview Darrin Scott about his Versatile NPCs and Versatile NPCs II supplement, a tool for adding a host of interesting and inspiring NPCs to your games, available now on DM's Guild! Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com   Pick up your copy here! https://www.dmsguild.com/m/product/250621&affiliate_id=1546158 On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UA1iMtmFRjV1dWEnAAtERqQdsV53Tx4cqbMIfD7U-fA/

On today's show we dig into  Kobold Press' awesome Midgard Heroes Handbook! We finish our short series of class analysis of this must have supplement to any D&D player. Huge thanks to Wolfgaung Baur for allowing us to make our way thru this awesome book! Today we discuss two wizard archetypes! Visit www.koboldpress.com to pick up your copy, and check out their other amazing content. Or visit our amazon affiliate link: https://www.tinyurl.com/y9vejrgn Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at  www.critacademy.com On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YETJ1QBIeaDHM0Y7CZrDEyjNTLQSEqw6ktFPVaum8jshttps://drive.google.com/open?id=13IDSQQAgvmezeXunO_lTv2BBv3ww0bHBJAYdxDOuLMc

On today's show we dig into Kobold Press' awesome Midgard Heroes Handbook! We continue our short series of class analysis of this must have supplement to any D&D player. Huge thanks to Wolfgaung Baur for allowing us to make our way thru this awesome book! Today we discuss the rogue archetype the Duelist! Visit www.koboldpress.com to pick up your copy, and check out their other amazing content. Or visit our amazon affiliate link: https://www.tinyurl.com/y9vejrgn Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=13IDSQQAgvmezeXunO_lTv2BBv3ww0bHBJAYdxDOuLMc  

On today's show we dig into Kobold Press' awesome Midgard Heroes Handbook! This is the start of our short series of class analysis of this must have supplement to any D&D player. Huge thanks to Wolfgaung Baur for allowing us to make our way thru this awesome book! Today we discuss two fighter archetypes, the Ghost Knight and Shieldbearer Visit www.koboldpress.com to pick up your copy, and check out their other amazing content. Or visit our amazon affiliate link: https://tinyurl.com/y9vejrgn Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gr31_wz2xzNUESbkXmVjxWUb_KwDmRLgWUm9tbMwl0ohttps:

On today's show we dig into Kobold Press' awesome Midgard Heroes Handbook! This is the start of our short series of class analysis of this must have supplement to any D&D player. Huge thanks to Wolfgaung Baur for allowing us to make our way thru this awesome book!  Visit www.koboldpress.com to pick up your copy, and check out their other amazing content. Or visit our amazon affiliate link: https://tinyurl.com/y9vejrgn Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12kk5z8VJBHsXUgzc7cZXQkjdkG9sAyS2eb3XQdDB9cI

Today special guest DM Scotty of the popular youtube channel The DMs Craft. DM Scotty's youtube channel is all about helping you build, beautiful and inexpensive terrain for your table top experience. In our main topic we interview DM Scotty and poke and prod him on his experiences in game and at the crafting table. You can visit the DMs Craft here => https://www.youtube.com/thedmscraft  Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Visit us us at www.critacademy.com On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=12kk5z8VJBHsXUgzc7cZXQkjdkG9sAyS2eb3XQdDB9cI

The School of Invention claims credit for inventing the other schools of magic—a claim other wizards find absurd. Wizards of this school push magic to its limits. They stretch the known laws of arcane power and strive to reveal important truths about the nature of the multiverse. Adherents of this school believe that innovation is best served through experimentation. They have a reputation for acting first, thinking second. Most wizards are scholars who have mastered their craft through careful study, rigorous practice, and endless hours of repetition. These wizards would rather throw spells together and see what happens. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rFWVgpQnKpK9yGGTbiy

Brutes are simple warriors who rely on mighty attacks and their own durability to overcome their enemies. Some brutes combine this physical might with tactical cunning. Others just hit things until those things stop hitting back. We discuss the player options available in this Unearthed Arcana release. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18rJ4DN6OI18rA1P-QkFHPMdbajZ63yBBbRj0_qr65dQ/edit

Druids of the Circle of Spores find beauty in decay. They see within mold and other fungi the ability to transform lifeless material into abundant, albeit somewhat strange, life. These druids believe that life and death are portions of a grand cycle, with one leading to the other and then back again. Death is not the end of life, but instead a change of state that sees life shift into a new form. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor at www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18rJ4DN6OI18rA1P-QkFHPMdbajZ63yBBbRj0_qr65dQ/edit

Today we discuss Metamorphica a book with a collection of biological, psychic, and supernatural mutations, all grouped into tables so results can be randomly selected, using dice. These can be used for monsters, npc's or even player characters. Get your copies at the links below. Metamorphica - Classic: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/115703/The-Metamorphica-Classic-Edition&affiliate_id=1546158 Metamorphica - Revised: http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/198038/The-Metamorphica-Revised&affiliate_id=1546158 Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LzVEk-tSI4Oo5R0c8qb-gw4fo74rsZA7iW3iDNQXhHk

Campaign Achievements What is a campaign achievement? It is a predefined goal that the players must achieve in game. In video games for instance, a player may earn them just playing thru the game, but some can only be earned with very specific circumstances, thus giving the player some sort of self satisfaction, or a way to impress other gamers with their “gamer score” Today we will discuss how achievements can be constructed to be added to a D&D game by being enticing, meaningful for players. Often times, achievements are used to convince players to go out of their way to do things they wouldn’t normally do. This is a great way to figure out what is important to each player. The goal is to increase player loyalty, motivations and interest in the campaign in addition to adding a new layer to their fun.  I love when players come up with extremely creative solutions to problems, or come up with a unique solution, or just go out of their way to have a “cool” moment. Achievements can encourage that sort of b

Cliffhangers We discuss the different styles of cliffhangers and how best to incorporate them into your game. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon doner! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xcZOn7njBRVZ3ldt3kPiwM8fEt1MmZtcIlUyQXiYHqo

Wizards of the Coast Easter Eggs We did a little more relaxing show for this week to talk about how cheeky the Wizards of the Coast writers and designers are. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon doner! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xcZOn7njBRVZ3ldt3kPiwM8fEt1MmZtcIlUyQXiYHqo

D&D games are memorable because of the stories told during the game. In rare cases players experience an event that occurs that catches them off guard, something they didn't see coming...a plot twist. We discuss several different plot twist ideas from https://www.roleplayingtips.com/campaigns/24-plot-twist-ideas/ adding our own thoughts and commentary. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Show Notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1s0RnIDFUK3cYN3hSf1jiC46Nys4ZBPvn210UZoKPN0I

Pacing is the rhythm of action and story progression that unfolds in encounters over the course of the session. You can keep tension and focus by having great pacing in your encounters. Generally speaking, there are three different pacing models: balanced, spike, escalation. We will be discussing how you can use these models to plan encounters for your gaming sessions. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon donor! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy Today's show notes: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OO681jLs1sKXWWcTm72zajGWItt6xjBgRFEwv4A1ebM/edit

This is a special episode. Our show doesn't generally release an episode for the holidays. But, we had this recording of us playing an adventure called "The Haunt". We had so much fun, we decided to release it as an extra episode for our listeners.  If you like the adventure, I highly recommend picking it up from DM's Guild here.  http://www.dmsguild.com/product/206076/The-Haunt?filters=45469_0_0_0_0_0_0_0&affiliate_id=1546158 We had the pleasure of having Phil on for our Monsters of the Guild episode. We discussed our romp through his creation and decided to share it.  This is an actual play, and as such, is not the same type of content as you are used to experiencing from Crit Academy. If you're not interested in an actual play feel free to skip this episode. Our show will return after the holiday. Thanks for listening. Keep your blades sharp and spells prepared heroes!

Summary: Cloak and Dagger While everyone loves a good smash and grab job, sometimes you need a bit more subtlety to accomplish your goal. We discuss handling a more cloak and dagger style adventure and how to get the most out of it. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes. Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither is our D&D game. Become a patreon doner! www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy On today's show notes: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1R0Z6QpwNziD7-vn2Ry3DOfA6JuiT9ybv9qPjUi-33rs

Political Intrigue Sometimes dungeon crawls aren’t your bag, or you need a change of pace. Cloak-and-dagger style play is a great way to change it up. This covers political intrigue, stealth missions, and lots of wheel n dealin to get even the slightest advantage over an opponent, aside from just tearing them from life or limb. Make sure to subscribe at www.critacademy.com for a chance to win free prizes every week! Our show may not be suitable for children, but neither are our D&D games. Become a patreon donor! Go to www.patreon.com/critacademy and help support the show. Get access to behind the scenes footage, enjoy the show live, and even chat with us during the show. Get a free audio book at www.audibletrial.com/critacademy