Learn how to kill your level 1 PC by celebrating, how to get infinite AC, and the lost art of Bardic Horsecasting in today's edition of Dueling GMs.

We finally return with a full episode of Dueling GMs and have we got a doozy for you. Today we dive deep into the differences between RAW (Rules as Written), RAI (Rules as Intended) and the Rule of Cool in your TTRPGs. Which do you prefer? When is it important to lean into one over the other? And most importantly, when reading the rules as written, how many things are just plain busted in D&D 5e? Find out now!

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild. 

Our big fall project, Baba Lysaga's Nocturnes & Nightmares, has been an amazing success. You don't want to miss it.

What does a Man-Beast hybrid Wizard/Bladesinger have in common with a Drunken Aviator Monk/Cleric? Find out in today's episode of Dueling GM's: Twisted Builds. This week we wanted to focus on making the most mobile characters we could, and it was intriguing to see the different directions we took to get there.

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a TTRPG character build for your DnD 5e games. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All of Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items are allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

Today we're joined by some extra special guests. Many of the contributors to the new hit Dungeons & Dragons 5e supplement, Baba Lysaga's Nocturnes & Nightmares are on the show discussing what it was like to bring such a big project together, how collaboration really makes for incredible projects and final products, and the soft skills needed to work in a collaborative space. The book is just a little over a week old and has already hit Silver Best Seller on DM's Guild, where it can be found for sale.

Listen in and find out if collaboration might be just the ticket to get your feet wet on content creation. Or perhaps you're an industry veteran but have always flown solo projects. Perhaps this will be exactly what you need to encourage you to branch out, tap a few friends, and do a collab yourself.

Buy Nocturnes & Nightmares here!

Connect with any of the contributors here:

Jackson Wagner - https://twitter.com/jwagnerdev
Anthony Anderson (EpicBlunders) - https://bio.site/anthonyanderson
Danny Kodicek (DnDWithPlumbing) - https://twitter.com/DnDWithPlumbing
Bryan Cetroni (Bjarke the Bard) - https://twitter.com/BjarketheBard
Anastasia Murray (DMStasia) - https://twitter.com/DMStasia
Caspian Cavieri (ProlificIllithic) - https://twitter.com/PrlfcIllithic
Colby Whittaker (Hagiologist) - https://linktr.ee/DMHagiologist

Art from:
Adlaya's Designs - https://ko-fi.com/adlayasdesigns
MapleDragoon - https://twitter.com/SyrupKnight

Welcome back, dear listeners! We have another solo episode today. If you're curious about the direction of tabletop gaming, and wondering what all the newer announcements regarding your favorite TTRPG might mean for the hobby, we've got you covered. Hear what we know to be true, focus down on what we believe is happening, and take a long look into the not-so-distant future of Dungeons and Dragons.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

Dueling GMs is taking a long rest! This week, Anthony has a conversation with himself about how to create a campaign where the players provide the backdrop for your world and your plot. It's a way to drive engagement to the next level while also limiting the excess planning many DMs feel they need when preparing for their tabletop roleplaying sessions.

Take a listen and maybe give it a try sometime. We'll be back at it in full force very soon.

You can connect with us at any time on Twitter. Or check out some of our 3rd-party published content for D&D 5e here on DM's Guild.

This week's build concept was all about having an Intelligence-centric Melee Combatant. On two opposite ends of the spectrum, we present a classically trained Dual-Wielding Elven Wizard who's nearly impossible to hit and Dwarven Tinker who uses science to put casters to shame and misfortune.

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop  RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted   Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items are allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

Finally, at long last, we get you to the episode that tells you why we are called the Dueling GMs! This week we talk about the benefits of Cooperative Game Masters (or Dungeon Masters). We teach you some of the ways we've learned to break down responsibilities and share roles so that everyone can maximize fun, surprise, and speed up your process as well. Plus, two heads are always better than one when prepping between sessions! All of this and more- take a listen and see how your TTRPG tables can benefit. Take a chance. Roll the dice.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd   also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate   with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

Episode Transcript

This week we're back at it with a full conversation certain to improve your time at your TTRPG table- especially for those of you using VTTs! What happens when it feels like the players are losing interest in what's going on? Who's to blame? And how does the group as a whole right the ship? (Hint: this isn't just the responsibility of the DM!)

We talk causes, solutions, and ways to prevent the issue in your future D&D or other tabletop games. Also, meet the newest member of the team!

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd  also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate  with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

This week's twist is all about Avoiding Hits and Damage.  We took up the challenge to see how far we could push our Armor Class (AC) and soak up damage being dished out. Our offerings include a Hulkbuster Artificer (who taunts people to hit him and laughs as they can't) and a Cleric/Wizard combo (that absorbs damage inflicted on itself and allies while using its actions to keep people at full health).

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted   Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items are allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

This week's twist is all about Fear. We have a Paladin of Conquest who paralyzes his foes in fright and a multiclass Monk who can lock down the battlefield by sight, sound, and more! What's more frightening than that? Find out in this episode!

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted  Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.  
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.  
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.  
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.  
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.  
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.   
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.   
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.  
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!   
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on DM's Guild.

This week we started with the twist- Heavy reliance on cold/ice damage. We present a Barbarian Warlock that dishes retaliation damage in chunks and a chaotic Sorcerer Warlock who snipes unseen!

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on Ko-Fi.

This week's challenge was to craft an elemental build using no Fire or Cold. It became a musical theme as Joseph offers a "Rock & Roll" Earth Genasi Druid and Anthony counters with an "Imagine Dragons" guardian that brings both the Lightning and the Thunder.

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on Ko-Fi.

This week- A triple-class combo called the Bloody Artillerist and a Warlock Crossbowman with only a +2 CHA!

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle or follow our other projects on Ko-Fi.

Old school TTRPG players reminisce about the days of hardcore alignment restrictions. Not only did it provide a list of do's and don'ts, but it explained why certain characters had access to spells, items, and classes that others did not. In more recent editions of games, alignment has become more of a legacy feature that you can take or leave as you please.

Today, we talk through the black, white, and large spectrums of gray present in modern-day alignment understanding. Does it serve any purpose at all? Is it a system of morality, personality, or both? And is it possible to play an "evil" character without the underlying assumption that you're a murderous psychopath? If so, what does that look like? All of this and more on this episode!

We borrow heavily this week from http://www.easydamus.com/alignmentreal.html and highly recommend that you take some time to read that essay and the other articles on their site. We found them incredibly helpful.

And then, yap yer fool head off on Twitter! Rate the show and leave us a review! Tell a friend! It's a trifecta!

The ol' Railroading GM gets a bad rap in tabletop gaming. And perhaps rightly so. But what if I told you that every game with a planned story arc has rails?

Learn the sliding scale of 4 different ways to run your games, from Hard Rails to Soft Rails and Choose Your Own Adventure to Sandboxes. Pick up on the pitfalls and player perspectives on each. And discover how to turn each of them into versatile tools for your GM toolbox. All on today's episode!

Like our TTRPG content? Leave a review! Tell a friend! And interact with us on Twitter!

So many DMs/GMs in their #ttrpg games have long struggled to balance their desire to plan ahead and the lack of time to do so. Sometimes, we even have the time, but writer's block or procrastination make it nearly impossible to get ideas on paper. What is a good Game Master to do? This week, we look at some pros and cons of planned and improv sessions. We give some of our own ideas on our preferences and how we implement them in our own games. And we offer tips for when each may be used best to your advantage.

Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle.

Today marks the full release of the new “Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse” from Wizards of the Coast for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It's the most expansive ruleset tweaks for monsters and races for this edition to date while also having little to no new content. In this episode, we’ll be discussing what we've been referring to as “Mordenkainen’s Racial Overhaul”, and speculate as to why it does what it does, where we believe the system is going, and what we think it means for the TTRPG community as a whole.

Thanks for letting us take a quick break from our usual content. We'll be back next week with more great stuff for you! Be sure to subscribe, leave a review, and tell everyone you know about the wonderful people here at Dueling GMs and EpicBlunders. Or, y'know, don't. We're not your real dad.

Follow us and chat all you want on Twitter!

This week- A Warlock who can't use Eldritch Blast and a Warlock who has to take CON as a dump stat!

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!  The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle.

Well, it had to happen sometime. We found an episode we recorded and forgot to publish!

Non-Player Characters are vital in your TTRPGs. But how do you keep it fresh and fun? Is there some way to make some things a little squishier and others much more hulked out? Absolutely! In today's episode, we outline 6 different types of NPCs: Mobs, Monsters, Champions, Nemesis, Legends, and Deities. We talk about what to change, what to leave out, and the important steps in creating each type. We also offer advice on how to keep the mechanics from bogging down along the way. This discussion is helpful whether you play D&D, Pathfinder, Vampire, or any of the great indie tabletop games out there.

Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle.

Everyone's got a unique idea and cool plan for optimizing a tabletop RPG character build. But what if your parameters were a bit askew? Or what if you wanted to semi-optimize, but flavor it around a specific roleplay concept? Well friends, look no further! We give you "Twisted Builds"! What are Twisted Builds, you ask? We set up 10 simple rules to follow. Listen in on any Twisted Builds episode and get some interesting ideas for new characters down the road. Or, write in and tell us how we did it all wrong!

The rules are simple.

1. Establish a Theme. Declare a Concept. Impose a Twist.
2. All characters are level 10 using Point-Buy.
3. All races and classes are acceptable without explanation.
4. All Tasha’s Optional Rules can be used.
5. No Homebrew unless it’s semi-official on DnDBeyond.
6. Multiclassing is allowed but must follow requirements for Ability Scores.
7. No magic items unless the class somehow grants them. Any mundane items allowed.
8. All Subclasses can only ever be used up to a total of 10 levels. We want to showcase different builds.
9. Established setting will be within the world we’ve been creating in other Workshops. We’ll continue adding things to the world in future episodes!
10. These builds are purely for fun and quirky concepts. They may be somewhat optimized, but no guarantees.

That's it! Subscribe, leave a review, and tell all your friends! We'd also love to hear what you think about the show. You can communicate with us directly at our EpicBlunders Twitter handle.