Crit Academy: A Dungeons And Dragons Podcast

Becoming a paid Dungeon Master is a bit of a dream for many Dungeons & Dragons players. While others think that it is just ridiculous. Today we discuss how to become a professional Dungeon Master with Devon Chulick of Start Playing Games. Devon shares with us the details of what exactly is Start Playing Games and how it can be used to help gamers deliver a fantastic service to those who don't have the time, knowledge or time to prepare and run their own stories and campaigns. Not unlike deciding to go to a movie. Player's can seek out a Dungeon Master that runs the type of games THEY want. Whether it's complex political intrigue, dungeon crawls, or exploration you're looking for. There is always a Dungeon Master out there to fit your needs. Join us as we delve into the negative connotations of paid DMing and how to end them, the steps you can take to start running paid games today utilizing how Start Playing Games can help connect you with paying customers. Who knows, if you're really good you might be

How do you write a D&D Campaign Your Players will LOVE? Everyone wants to be the Dungeon Master (DM), but writing a Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) campaign can be intimidating. As long-time players and game designers, we want to share with you our tips for ensuring your adventure is fun for everyone. By the end, you will be writing adventures that your players will be talking about for years. Whether you’re a player or a Dungeon Master, you have probably been in a D&D campaign at some point in your life.  However, finding a toolbox to write amazing Dungeons and Dragons is what can make a difference between a fun Saturday night and the BEST Saturday night your group has ever had. And that is exactly why we wrote: “How To Write A D&D Campaign Your Players Will LOVE!”. Join us as we discuss these fantastic tips. We hope you will share with us and all of Crit Nation all of your own tips and tricks to writing D&D campaigns that your players will love!

Monster Manual Expanded III is a fantastic must-have supplement for any Dungeon Master. Not only does it assist DMs by cutting their prep time and providing them additional bestiary options to dress up their adventures. Many creatures in this tome are archetypes and variants found in the Monster Manual, Volo's Guide to Monsters, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, and other official 5E adventure books. This allows the DM to easily expand on the variety of monsters in their encounters and adventures. This book contains well over 250 different monsters! But, our show is short. So we pick some of our personal favorites and share the lore, mechanics, and some of our own ideas on how to get the most out of them.

The hexcrawl is a game structure for running wilderness exploration scenarios. Although it was initially a core component of the D&D experience, the hexcrawl slowly faded away. Robbins’ West Marches campaign went viral that people started to rediscover the lost art of the hexcrawl. The format has returned to prominence in one of Dungeons & Dragons newest releases Tomb of Annihilation for D&D 5th Edition. We delve into utilizing this fantastic tool to enhance exploration in your Dungeons & Dragons game.

The world of Dungeons & Dragons has hundreds, even thousands of monsters for a Dungeon Master to choose from. But, we can often find ourselves using some of the same monsters on a regular basis. A goblin, kobold, and orcs to name a few. But there are so many more interesting monsters to flesh out your adventures and stories with. We polled our audience and discovered what are some of the most underused monsters in D&D. In this episode not only will we discuss these monsters, but we will also delve into the myriad of different ways you can get the most out of them in your D&D game.

What is the difference between an adventurer and a soldier? The answer is simple, one seeks out to change or influence the world in some fashion. The other just takes commands and lets others decide what is best. Regardless if the PCs seek to be heroes or tyrants, they seek to be agents of change. A change they hope to steer to their desired change. Enter plot or in other words the outline or script of the story, often a book, movie, or similar medium. Depending on the skill of the writer and forethought placed into it, maybe convoluted or it may be festooned with diversion and subplots within. In the end, there is generally an overarching “plot”. In this episode, we deliver 7 tips to help you craft dastardly plots for your Dungeons & Dragons game.

Do you ever second guess a ruling in your Dungeons & Dragons? Do you want help ensuring you make the best ruling possible? If so, then check out these Top 5 Questions to Ask to Make Good Rulings in D&D. As Dungeon Masters, we often find ourselves having to make rulings on the fly. Either because it isn’t covered in the rules, we don’t fully know all the rules, or we just don’t have a way to look up other answers. Though, let's be honest, even looking up rules really slows down the game, and interrupts the flow. Using these questions, you ensure that you always make the best ruling possible, with, or without the rulebooks. We delve into each of these giving our thoughts and sharing our experiences. 5. Does it make sense? 4. Is it fair? 3. How much does it really matter? 2. Does it radically change the story or campaign? 1. Does it add to the fun of the group?

Crit Academy interviews Zac Harrison, one of the staff of the fantastic website Obsidian Portal. Obsidian Portal was created by gamers, for gamers. it exists to help take the pain out of managing your tabletop RPG. They are an award-winning, anytime, anywhere campaign notebook that you can your players can build together. Their small but committed team works hard so that you can focus on the fun and creative aspects of your gaming experience and less time on bookkeeping.

"We love playing RPGs because they offer an escape from the mundane. One of the biggest components of our enjoyment is getting the chance to encounter and interact with incredible creatures. Learning about what makes a creature tick--whether we're engaged in combat with it or negotiating a price for goods--stimulates our brains and keeps us interested in the game and the world we create through our story-telling." Crit Academy is joined by author Alan Tucker to talk about his popular Incredible Creatures book. A monster book with over 130 monsters to use in your 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Many even include a new conditional feature labeled "heroic". The artwork contains inside is amazing. Alan took a very cool approach to this book. Artists were given the freedom to draw whatever they wanted, and then professional writers had to create stat blocks for the monsters. Check it out here!

The legendary Dungeon Dudes joins Crit Academy to talk about their homebrew world Dungeons of Drakkenheim and its record breaking Kickstarter project! If you don't know, Dungeons of Drakkenheim follows the conflict and comedy-filled adventures of a brash prince, a streetwise survivor, and a meddlesome mage as they confront monsters and mystery in the meteor-blasted ruins of a fantasy city. A Dungeons & Dragons 5e actual play campaign presented by the DUNGEON DUDES! Featuring Monty Martin, Kelly McLaughlin, Jill Danaitis, and Joe O'Gorman. We're excited to have Kelly and Monty on to tell us a bit about themselves and their projects. Their most memorable D&D moments. The best piece of gaming advice they've ever received. Their process on building the world of Drakkenheim and so much more. Capes & Crooks a 5e Superhero RPG is NOW LIVE on Kickstarter! Become a backer today and help bring this project to life! 

Do you love superheroes? Do you want to play your favorite classic hero or build a unique hero of your own design? Then Capes & Crooks is for you! We are super excited to spend this episode talking about our Kickstarter Capes & Crooks: A 5e Superhero RPG. NOW AVAILABLE! https://www.critacademy.com/product-page/capes-crooks Let's be honest, many of us have watched cartoons, movies or read comic books with superheroes. Growing up on these fed our creativity and inspired us in many different ways. The Dungeons & Dragons 5e ruleset is a fantastic and flexible system. It was only a matter of time before we asked the question, "Can we build superheroes in 5e?" We weren't sure at first, but it quickly became evident that we could. Now, it's worth noting, that there are some features that don't lend themselves well to a superhero game. Combat mechanics, class mechanics, and a few of the rules. With just a few minor adjustments, we were able to take the core of 5e and successfully create a playtest S

What is the most versatile class in D&D? We asked ourselves this question. As there are many subclasses builds in D&D5e, we decided to look at the classes from a high level to determine which class was most versatile in the game. For this, we needed to define some criteria on what it means to be versatile in Dungeons & Dragons. We opted for 5 key categories: Damage, Defense, Battlefield Control, Movement, Healing ability. Capes & Crooks a 5e Superhero RPG playtest streams bi-weekly on Fridays. This is our upcoming Kickstarter Project that launches 6/29/21. To sign up for notifications on this project visit our website!

Crit Academy discusses the Top 5 Alternative Ways to use Dungeons & Dragons Spells. Whether as a player character or as a monster, there is a multitude of alternative ways to use D&D spells. Thinking outside the box helps us come up with new and interesting ways to enhance our stories and campaigns.

Crit Academy discusses Plane Shifting in D&D 5elive from Dungeon Con Online. This event was hosted and sponsored by Goodman Games, Kobold Press and DMsguild. What is Plane Shift? Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering are two different games, but that doesn’t mean their multiverses can’t meet. In fact, Wizards has already started plane shifting with the release of two of its official books. Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica and Mythic Odysseys of Theros campaign books. While we will touch on these lightly, we will be focusing on the free supplements Wizards of the Coast has made available to everyone based on many of their other popular multiverse settings. From the beginning, some of Magic’s planes, such as Zendikar, were conceived as an “adventure world” where parties of explorers delve into ancient ruins in search of wonders and treasures, fighting the monsters they encounter on the way. Many of the plane’s creative roots lie in D&D, so it should be no surprise that The Art of Magic: The

The Complete Armorer's Handbook is a 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons supplement for upgrading weapons and armor. Inside this best-selling DMsguild product is a comprehensive modular framework that allows characters to improve their equipment as they see fit by seeking out craftsmen and spending some coin! Chapter 1 covers nonmagical upgrades, which approximate the basic +1-3 progression of magic items in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Chapter 2 introduces rune magic as a means to imbue your equipment with magical properties, including a fully-realized crafting system for characters wishing to create their own runestones using simple gemstones. In this episode, Crit Academy is once again joined by the lovely Aelx Bomb. Together we walk through this well-laid-out and implemented equipment upgrade system. We each give our thoughts on not only the mechanics but the layout, artwork, and implementation. Certainly, our favorite part is appendix A. I think Travis - DM Hook) said it best. "also known as "STFU with you

Crit Academy dives into the article 7 Most Common Mistakes DMs and Players Make in 5e D&D from https://dungeonsmaster.com/ We are also joined by Aelx Bomb to get her thoughts on this article as well as a sneak peek into the new Initiative & intrigue actual play podcast that launches Friday May 21st. Watch the first episode here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y63esgGHeTU

Crit Academy is joined by special guest Anthony Thomas. Creator of the Sages of Forgotten Realms Community a Dungeons and Dragons Facebook group focused on the sharing of the D&D Forgotten Realms Setting. Today we talk about one of D&D's most notorious monsters, the Hag.

The Homebrew is a Dungeons and Dragons actual play podcast that takes their game into the future. Filled with veteran Dungeons & Dragons players who love phenomenal stories, endearing characters, and a good adventure. They are currently engaged in a slightly re-imagined 5th Edition Sci-Fi campaign called “Absurdism & A Millennium Abroad".

Crit Academy discusses the myriad of different Roleplaying Adventures types. Fortunately for us, Martin Rayla over at the Gnome Stew Gaming Blog already tossed a great list for us to delve into. Below is a list of some of our favorite types. You can find the full list from Martin's post here.