Enhancements

01/29/21 • 70 min

This episode I am joined by the creator of the My Sound Delve mobile app, Christian Borchert, and we talk about all the tricks, tools, and talents used to enhance your gameplay experience. Although we have different approaches and preferences to our TTRPG experience, some things never change and it's always about the camaraderie and social experience. This episode is split pretty cleanly between digital and physical enhancements, as Christian takes us through his splendid sound-board app before some tips for creating table-top terrain.

05:07 - Enhancing published modules
12:31 - Improving as a DM
21:38 - Enabling different systems/editions
29:54 - Benefits of remote play
38:31 - Adding another dimension through terrain
51:58 - The key enhancement for a player
64:35 - My Sound Delve

Find Christian on on:

Twitter (https://twitter.com/MySoundDelve)
MySoundDelve website (https://mysounddelve.com/)

The app is available on:

Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eveninghuddle.app)
Apple App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-sound-delve-dice-roller/id1534739333)

Find me on:

Twitter @Danilo_DnD (https://twitter.com/Danilo_DnD)
Instagram thinking_critically_dnd (https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/)
Facebook ThinkingCriticallyDnD (https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD)

References:

The DM's Craft with DM Scotty
Black Magic Craft
Gaslands by Mike Hutchinson, published by Osprey Games
Wyloch's Armory

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

This episode was not sponsored or supported in any way.

05:07 - Enhancing published modules
12:31 - Improving as a DM
21:38 - Enabling different systems/editions
29:54 - Benefits of remote play
38:31 - Adding another dimension through terrain
51:58 - The key enhancement for a player
64:35 - My Sound Delve

Find Christian on on:

Twitter (https://twitter.com/MySoundDelve)
MySoundDelve website (https://mysounddelve.com/)

The app is available on:

Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.eveninghuddle.app)
Apple App Store (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/my-sound-delve-dice-roller/id1534739333)

Find me on:

Twitter @Danilo_DnD (https://twitter.com/Danilo_DnD)
Instagram thinking_critically_dnd (https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/)
Facebook ThinkingCriticallyDnD (https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD)

References:

The DM's Craft with DM Scotty
Black Magic Craft
Gaslands by Mike Hutchinson, published by Osprey Games
Wyloch's Armory

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

This episode was not sponsored or supported in any way.

Previous Episode

Progression

I'm joined once again by my DM confidant and close friend of 20 years, Jamie Mitchell, where we talk all about "Progression". We spend a lot of time talking about the age-old discussion of milestone versus XP. Despite the pros and cons of both, ultimately there is only one clear choice. Once we get out of the mire of mechanically progressing characters, we move on to trickier concepts such as player and DM progression not only within the 5e framework, but also as human beings. A big take away from this episode, apparently a theme of this podcast, is there's no silver bullet and if you're ever anxious of embarrassing yourself at the table, don't worry, because Jamie and I have done it all before! Lot's of swearing in this one.

01:41 - Milestone versus XP levelling
28:33 - Progression compared to video games
33:58 - The bell curve PC level trends
39:45 - Managing progression as a DM
52:25 - Character narrative progression
58:54 - How we've become better DMs

Find Jamie on:

"Mistakes" episode of Thinking Critically

Find me on:

Twitter @Danilo_DnD (https://twitter.com/Danilo_DnD)
Instagram thinking_critically_dnd (https://www.instagram.com/thinking_critically_dnd/)
Facebook ThinkingCriticallyDnD (https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingCriticallyDnD)

References:

The Order of the Stick web comic

Intro Music: 'Local Forecast' by Kevin MacLeod
Intermission Music: 'Chill' by Kevin MacLeod
Outro Music: 'Local Forecast - Elevator' by Kevin MacLeod

Next Episode

Utilities

In this useful episode I'm joined by Phill, a.k.a Blue Munchkinite, to discuss all the different utilities DMs and players use to help them play and generally increase the quality of their experience. Everything from maps, music, and VoIP is covered in this episode, and all the utilities we use are linked below in the references. Despite the potentially dry sounding topic, Phill deftly ties his years of experience together to explain why all these mechanical tools all serve the same purpose: to increase the enjoyment of all the players. Obviously, a lot has changed in recent times and now it's not only the DMs playing behind "screens", we can all appreciate some fireside talk about what unites us, and the tips and tricks we can use to make that easier.

04:49 - Creative tools for DMs
16:08 - DMing in the remote "new normal"
28:30 - Campaign prep
38:40 - Calendars, cartographies, & characters
49:52 - Player utilities, in-game and out

Follow Phill (@BlueMunchkinite) on: