becomingDM

Ep11: Build Your Own Story

In the next episode of our continuing series discussing building your own campaign, we cover building your own story.  Whether its dungeon diving or palace intrigue, every role playing game has some sort of story, but where do you begin?  Whether you need help just getting the ball rolling or you need to understand story progression, this episode is for you.

John and Felicia cover taking the personal goals of the players into account as well as where to start.  A favorite topic of both of the hosts is developing stories that are more ambiguous than just good and evil.  Plus we take a listener question!  We're getting closer to the end of the "build your own" series, but we're not done yet, so join us!

If you've got ideas for future episodes or comments on this one, we'd love to hear about it!  Use one of the following channels to reach out:

Web: https://becomingDM.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

Ep10: Build Your Own Setting (Part 2)

Religions and Governments and Races, oh my! Knowing the what the map looks like and some of the other basics in your world is great, but what if you want to get more nitty gritty details that you can build stories with and get your players even more involved in the setting? In the third episode of our series on building your own campaign, John and Felicia welcome special guest Malcolm Richardson to the show to talk about some of the aspects of setting. Whether you're thinking about building our a complex pantheon of gods or creating a government that even the most complex modern day bureaucracies would be proud of, there's a boatload of information in this episode for you.

John, Felicia, and Malcolm discuss many of the important aspects that are involved in creating more immersive detail in your setting like: How many gods will be in your pantheon? What are the relationships between the gods and mortals? Is the king just a figurehead or does he have real power? and What happens when a party of drow elves walks into a bar?

Join us as we continue our series on building your own campaign, and as always if you have questions or comments about this or any episode, or if you have ideas for future episodes, let us know! You can reach us at any of these locations:

Web: https://becomingDM.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

 

And check out Malcom's show, Street Nerdz TV here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/StreetNerdzTV/

Ep9: Build Your Own Setting (Part 1)

Where your story happens can be just as important as the story itself.  If you're planning on running a game in a country, a region, or even just a single city the content of those locations can enrich and enhance the story that your players will be a part of.  In the second episode in our series dedicated to building your own and home brewing, John and Felicia start to break down some of the important things to consider when it comes to building the setting. But this is only part one of discussing building your own setting!  We had so many things to talk about that it just wouldn't fit in a single episode!

For the first build your own setting episode we talk about determining what the land looks like and building maps.  Once that is determined, we plan out the climate as well as discuss the flora and fauna (and more importantly, the monsters!) that are found in different areas of your world.  Then finally we discuss cities and the various aspects that should be considered when planning a city, especially if your campaign will be mostly told within a city setting.  Join us for the first of two episodes on building your own setting!

If you have comments on this episode or if you have ideas for topics on future episodes, please let us know!  You can contact us in any of the following ways:

Web: https://becomingDM.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

 

Thanks and we will see you in two weeks!

Ep8: Before You Build Your Own

Whether it's the stories they tell or the worlds that their players exist in, many DMs often decide it's time to build their own adventure.  But the question is, where do you start? In this episode of becomingDM we will talk about the things to do before you get started building your own campaign.

John and Felicia discuss what the scope of your planning should be and a little bit about how to avoid overbuilding.  Additionally, we talk about session 0 and how leveraging input from your players can not only make your job easier, but also create a world that everyone is sure to have fun with.  And finally we will discuss one or two items that John and Felicia consider incredibly important to have before beginning on your journey to build out this world. 

This is the first of a multi-episode series to discuss building your own campaigns.  In addition to this episode, the topics that we will cover in the coming weeks are: Build Your Own Settings, Build Your Own Stories, and Build Your Own Nemesis/Factions.  We hope to see you back in the coming weeks as we explore this topic!

If you have questions about this episode or suggestions for future episode, we would love you hear from you! You can reach out to us in any of the following channels:

Web: https://becomingDM.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

Ep7: The Holiday Gift Guide

Do you have someone that plays role playing games and you don't know what gift will really hit the mark?  Have you been through year after year of buying crappy gifts that end up in the trash and just don't know what to do?  Never fear, dear listener, becomingDM is here to help you roll a nat 20 on gift buying for your RPG playing friends this year.

This week on becomingDM we talk about the trinkets, gadgets, and super gifts that are available for any budget.  So whether you're buying for a swag collector, a dice goblin, the consummate host, or the forever GM we've got some gift ideas for any budget. So take a listen as we work to help you to solve your gift buying dilemma.

Have a question for us?  Want more information on anything we've talked about?  Reach out to us on any of the platforms below and we would love to help!

 

Web: https://becomingDM..com

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

Ep6: Creating Compelling NPCs

Whether it's someone that you had planned for your party to interact with or someone that they randomly chose out of the crowd, creating NPCs that help give your story extra depth is important for any role playing game.  But sometimes it can seem daunting to tackle the different personalities, backgrounds and motivations that come with every NPC that gets introduced. So what's a DM to do?

In this episode of becomingDM, John and Felicia discuss how to create compelling NPCs that will add to your story without killing all of your time for story development.  Whether it's determining what to do when a player chooses to focus on an NPC that was just supposed to be an extra, building backgrounds for the NPCs you plan to integrate into the story, or creating interesting and unique voices for them there's a lot of ground to cover in this episode.  Join us as we dive into the psyche of the NPC!

 

For more information about becomingDM or to contact us, please use the links below:

Episode Page: https://becomingDM.com/ep6

 

Web Page: https://becomingDM.com

 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/becomingDM

 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomingDM

 

Ep5: Do We Really Need Alignment?

When players create new characters the fill out stats, they add points to skills, they choose weapons and all of these things have specific times where they are called upon again through the course of game play.  But with alignment, you fill it out and there isn't typically a specific check for it.  With this in mind, do we really need alignment in modern role playing games?  This week John and Felicia talk about the pros and cons of alignment and what some potential alternatives to the current alignment system in D&D and Pathfinder.  Also this week, mail call!  We field a question from a listener that was raised from listening to a previous episode of the show. Whether you're lawful good or chaotic evil, there's sure to be something to pick up from this episode of becomingDM!

 

If you have any questions of your own or ideas for future episodes, we want to know!  Contact us at any of the locations below:

 

https://becomingDM.com

https://facebook.com/becomingDM

https://twitter.com/becomingDM

 

Ep4: Incorporating Monsters and Treasures Into Your Campaign

Are you having trouble deciding what monsters to put your players up against?  Do you struggle with trying to figure out whether or not you'll decimate your players with the monsters you've chosen?  Or maybe you're concerned that you're giving out too much treasure when your players succeed.  Making the right choices around monsters and treasure can be difficult if you want to make it challenging and rewarding to your players without a guaranteed total party kill.

 

This week,John and Felicia talk about how to incorporate monsters and treasure into your game to make it challenging and rewarding for players, but not too challenging and rewarding.  Whether it's understanding the challenge rating system or making decisions for treasure that is thematically appropriate for your location, we discuss the ins and outs of planning these two aspects of your campaign. 

 

As always,if you have ideas for future episodes, make sure to reach out to us and let us know!  We'd love to hear them!  Contact us in any of the following locations:

 

https://becomingDM.com 

https://facebook.com/becomingDM 

https://twitter.com/becomingDM

 

Thanks for listening!  Check back in two weeks for our next episode!

Ep3: Tools to Amp Up Your RPG Experience

We've all been there, sometimes you want to bring something new to your role playing game experience to give it that extra bit of special.  Whether it's improving your miniatures game, giving your players tools to make their game more enjoyable, or technology and organizational tools we've got something for you.  Join us this week as John and Felicia talk about gadgets and tools that you might not know about that will help make your tabletop RPG even more excellent than it already is!

Did we miss something in our discussion that you use to amp up your game?  Let is know in one of the following channels:

https://becomingDM.com 

https://twitter.com/becomingDM 

https://facebook.com/becomingDM 

 

Make sure to check out the episode page for this episode at https://becomingDM.com/ep3 to see pictures of many of the tools that we talk about, and if you're interested in getting something for yourself, check out the linke below!

 

Source for 3D printed things like the hit point tracker, dice box, minis, landscape and more:  https://thingiverse.com 

 

For Arkenforge Tabletop: https://arkenfoge.com

 

For Trello: https://trello.com 

 

For Combat Manager: http://combatmanager.com/

 

Ep2: When Players Break Your Story

Your players just killed the NPC that you spent hours creating and now your story's been ripped off track?  This week, we'll discuss those times when players go astray with the story line and how to get them back on track, and if that's even the right course!

Is your story broken on purpose because of boredom, or distractions at the table?  Has the campaign been overtaken by murder hobos?  Or maybe going astray was a complete accident when your players missed or misinterpreted clues.  Whatever the cause, we'll talk about some tips and tricks and other suggestions to help you deal with the disruption.

Do you have suggestions for topics in future episodes?  We'd love yo hear from you!  Contact us through one of the following channels!

https://becomingDM.com

https://facebook.com/becomingDM

https://twitter.com/becomingDM

Thank you so much for listening!  Check back in two weeks for our next episode!