Episodes

Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Ep93: Helping New Players Choose a Class
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Thursday Aug 22, 2024
Join us as John and Danielle discuss this topic that was suggested by listener Robert Spann!
If you're getting new players to your table, they probably don't know or understand the differences between the various classes that they can choose from. In this episode, we discuss different strategies and techniques to help players settle on a choice while still having it be their decision. Join us!
Have you got an idea like Robert did? Let us know! Submit your idea for a future becomingDM episode topic by going to https://becomingDM.com/ideas

Thursday Jun 27, 2024
Ep92: Ending the Game
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
Thursday Jun 27, 2024
At some point you may need to end your campaign. Maybe you've come to the logical conclusion of the story for these characters, maybe people are needing to move away. Whatever the reason, how you end your game can have a big impact on how people look back on the game and you as a DM. Join John and Danielle in this episode as they talk about some of the questions to ask when a game is ending and some strategies to use to make the most memorable game possible!
As always, we want to hear from you! If you've got an idea for a future episode of becomingDM, let us know by submitting an idea at: https://becomingDM.com/ideas

Thursday May 30, 2024
Ep91: Laws and Morality
Thursday May 30, 2024
Thursday May 30, 2024
If you think about the world that your characters are moving through, there is probably some sort of legal structure that says what is allowed and what's not allowed. Within communities of the world there may be a moral structure that is in line with or counter to the laws of the land. In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about defining laws and moral structures for your game to add depth and flavor to the experience. Join us now!
If you've got an idea for a future episode of becomingDM, let us know! Go to https://becomingDM.com.ideas to submit your idea today!

Thursday May 16, 2024
Ep90: Running Large Scale Combat Part 2
Thursday May 16, 2024
Thursday May 16, 2024
In part 2 of our Running Large Scale Combat episodes we continue the conversation digging deeper into what happens when the party members take on leadership roles in the military. Join us as John and Danielle further explore this topic!
Got an idea for a future episode? We'd love to hear it! Go to https://becomingDM.com/ideas to let us know!

Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Ep89: Running Large-Scale Combat
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Thursday Apr 25, 2024
Are there large armies clashing in your world? If so, then eventually you may have the party getting involved with fighting them, so knowing how to run large scale combat is a useful skill for DMs. In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about some options for how to run large scale combat scenarios and what to consider before you get yourself into this fun situation. Join us!
We'd love to hear from you! Let us know what you'd like a future episode of becomingDM to be about by submitting it at https://becomingdm.com/ideas

Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Ep88: Running Theater of the Mind Combat
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Thursday Apr 11, 2024
Sometimes you don't have time to create a map for your combat encounters. Sometimes the players do something unexpected and get into a fight that you weren't prepared to put on the table in front of you. Sometimes you just don't have enough space to run the combat that you would like with minis and everything. Whatever the reason, running theater of the mind combat is a great way to add a different perspective to you game. Join John and Danielle as they discuss the things to consider when running theater of the mind and find out why Danielle is so infatuate with bees!
We'd love to hear your ideas for new episode topics! Let us know by going to https://becomingdm.com/ideas

Friday Apr 05, 2024
SQ6:How Much Time Does it Take to Plan a Session
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Friday Apr 05, 2024
We have seen several people curious about how long it actually takes to plan out a session lately. In this becomingDM side quest, John looks at the factors that can influence how long session planning takes and then reveals his average prep time. Join us for the side quest!

Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Ep87: Running Play By Post Games
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Thursday Mar 14, 2024
Are you finding that you have trouble scheduling games with your group and no one seems to be available at the same time? Or maybe you don't have the time to dedicate to a single long session. If that's the case, consider running play by post games. In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about the benefits and challenges of pbp as well as things to consider if you're getting involved in a pbp game.
We'd love to hear from you! If you have an idea for a future episode of becomingDM, go to https://becomingDM.com/ideas and let us know!

Thursday Mar 07, 2024
SQ5: Finding Local Games
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Thursday Mar 07, 2024
Having trouble trying to figure out where to look for players for your game or where to find a game that you can play in or run? In this becomingDM side quest, John talks about some of his favorite places to look for people for local games. Join us to find your next game!
Got an idea for a future side quest or main line episode? We want to hear about it! Go to https://becomingDM.com/ideas to share your episode idea.

Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Ep86: Campaign Management
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
Thursday Feb 29, 2024
There is a lot of stuff that happens in your games every session. If you don't stay on top of managing your campaign, you could end up with players asking to revisit an NPC that you haven't thought about in months and don't really remember anything about. In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about what sorts of things you might want to include in your campaign management as well as three common ways of performing campaign management. Join us to hear all the details! That, and Danielle's love of paper.
Got an idea for a future episode? Let us know all about it! Submit your episode ideas at https://becomingDM.com/ideas