Tycho's Tales

In part two of our discussion on how to make low-level combat more interesting, we talk about alternative ways to wrap up combat that don't involve the enemy NPCs being killed (such as fleeing or surrendering, or potentially ending combat narratively); why you usually shouldn't modify monster stats on the fly, even if things are going badly; and a bunch of ways to modify stats prior to combat, to keep things interesting for your players.

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Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Low-level combat is often mechanically simple, and this can lead to potentially boring encounters, particularly if players are used to the range of abilities available with higher-level characters. In this two-part series, we discuss why low-level combat can sometimes fall short, and provide a bunch of ways to spice things up. In part one, we talk about how to make the opponents more interesting (giving them a personality, some prior relationship with the party, perhaps some emotional investment); ways to introduce alternative objectives so that combat isn't just about fighting to the death; how to create dynamic environments with weather or lair actions; and how to use different combat roles alongside things like resistances and vulnerabilities to keep things interesting.
Keep an eye out for part two of this discussion next week.

Get in touch by sending us a text message.

Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

This week's episode is a grab-bag of random topics, including the role of deities in tabletop RPGs; whether warlocks should lose their powers if they have a falling-out with their patron; the abomination that is Leomund's Tiny Hut; a new movie review segment; note-taking at the table; and, of course, our regular Spell of the Week section in which we abjectly fail to talk about a spell, and instead talk about rations.

Get in touch by sending us a text message.

Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Heds and Walt are joined by special guests Elly and Lars to talk about multiclassing in 5e! We yarn about why you might want to multiclass; some need-to-know details around ability score prerequisites and some other limitations; do a deep dive on how proficiencies work, and implications for choosing your starting class; and talk about how you might roleplay a multiclassed character. We also debut a new segment, which will surely be an instant hit: Correction of the Week!
This one's a two-parter, so keep an eye out for next week's episode, where we'll dive into how spellcasting works when you're multiclassing two spellcasters, and then take a look at each class in a bit more detail.

Get in touch by sending us a text message.

Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

Why are taverns so cosy for roleplaying games? In how much detail should you describe that NPC in the corner? Should you leave your axe at the door? Is it worth it to spend a bunch of time crafting 3d terrain, or are 2d combat encounters perfectly fine? Is this too many questions for a podcast episode description?

Get in touch by sending us a text message.

Tycho's Tales is an informal discussion podcast about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) like Dungeons & Dragons and Pathfinder. Episodes are released every Tuesday at 5 pm GMT (or, for the Kiwis, every Wednesday at 6 am NZST). Find out more about us at https://tychostales.com/about. If you enjoy the pod, please rate or review us on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.