In this meta-centric episode, we talk about the podcast! We've been going for a while and have been talking amongst ourselves about where we might go next and went 'hey, that's good content!' and hit record. A bit less advice for your tabletop games this week as a result, but we wanted to share what's on our minds with you, the listeners.

We're very fond of saying here that real life comes first, but dang it all we want to have fun in imagination land with our friends! So, what happens when having fun turns into work? It can be a real downer when that happens to your tabletop game. After all, exploring a dungeon shouldn't feel like you're actually IN the dungeon. (Unless you're into that.) This week, the boys talk about reigniting your interest in the games we play on the table.

This week the boys talk about ways to get inspired and make new ideas to use at the gaming table. In a hands-on demonstration we pair off to show some of the ways we can bring our favorite media to the roleplaying table. Along the way we discuss ways that you can bring these influences to your setting, mechanics, or overall campaign structure for your Dungeons and Dragons game.

Today the boys are all here and it's our time. It's our time here! We're going to talk about how to approach creating and enjoying a scene within your roleplaying games. These can be within a social encounter, or a small side scene between fights in your dungeons.

Sometimes, and by sometimes I mean almost always, we chat after recording an episode. We like to talk about other episode ideas. Today we just kind of hit record once we noticed we were in a groove about ways to mess around within combat, structure your Dungeons and Dragons sessions, and much, much more.

Can we interest you in a self-paced, highly lucrative employment opportunity where you set your own hours? No? Well fine, instead Mason and Trevor will talk your ear off about the merits of wealth in Dungeons and Dragons. Anyone can look at the wealth rules in just about any roleplaying game and come away frustrated. Why bother? Well we'll tell you.

This week, David, Mason and Trevor talk about ways in which characters die. Also addressed is the role of HP in Dungeons and Dragons. The boys disagree, then agree, then reagree about how to handle committing imaginary violence against players in tabletop games.

This week we have Mason and Trevor back, taking a more hands on (heh) approach to GM prep. We each take 15 minutes to plan a Dungeons and Dragons one shot. Along the way we'll talk more prep advice, as well as what makes a one shot different than a usual tabletop gaming session.

Of course we can! We totally planned for this to be a two part episode, and we definitely planned on losing that audio. While any advice we give for podcasting is likely to be dubious at best, here we talk about tried and true ways to get ready for a d&d session. Come learn Trevor and Mason's tools and strategies that game masters can use to prepare their tabletop sessions. (part 1 of 2)

Can you actually trust us to help you be prepared? look at us forgetting to say our own name. While any advice we give for podcasting is likely to be dubious at best, here we talk about tried and true ways to get ready for a d&d session. Come learn Trevor and Mason's tools and strategies that game masters can use to prepare their tabletop sessions. (part 1 of 2)

Yeah, you heard that right. This week we're getting hot and bothered, about getting hot and bothered. More seriously, we talk about the ways that including and extra dimension in your tabletop game can make it better. We talk about a variety of ways this can happen, and also about reasons why you might not want Dungeons and Dragons to be too sexy.

The man, the myth, the druid. This week we, and by that I mean you, meet Theo or as he's known in meatspace Danny. The fourth member of our party and self described tabletop tenderfoot. In this episode we review a lot of the ground we've covered thus far in our journey into the world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Everyone hears of grand, multi-year tabletop RPG campaigns. The thing is, they don't happen by accident. This week Dave, Trevor and Mason discuss what keeps a campaign alive. How can the GM, and even the players, contribute to the health of a D&D game? How much work is it (not much it turns out)? All this and more, this week on The Bards & The Bees.

You've done it, congratulations! The perfect group to play a tabletop RPG with, nothing will ever go wrong. Right? Here Dave, Trevor and Mason talk about the various processes through which a campaign can be brought into the world. How to set expectations, open communication and make sure the campaign is actually something everyone wants to play. All this and more found right here, right now.

Your curiosity has been piqued. You've heard rumors, whispers, tantalizing tales of suspense, comedy and adventure. Dungeons and Dragons say the illusory voices. You've decided to investigate but there remains a problem: finding other players. Here, Dave Trevor and Mason discuss the difficulties that lie in finding people to play tabletop RPGs with. Hopefully some of the possibilities explored here are helpful.

After talking about what engagement is and what it does, Dave Trevor and Mason now discuss how to keep a consistent level of engagement in your tabletop RPG campaign. They also discuss how you can decide what level is appropriate for your D&D game, as well as the fact that there will be an ebb and flow to it.

In a continuation of last week's episode, Trevor Dave and Mason talk about what we get when we take the time to create engagement in tabletop RPGs. We treat ourselves a little bit by talking about what it has done for our personal D&D campaign. In the process it turns out that we miss Danny.

In this episode Trevor, Dave and Mason enjoy some lovely hardware and software upgrades. Additionally, they speak about what engagement means to them in a tabletop RPG. What does it look like, and they try really hard to not jump ahead and talk about how good it can be for your D&D campaing.

In this episode Trevor, Dave and Mason talk about what roleplay means to each of them.

This was part of an initial recording session, there are sadly some audio issues we corrected for later episodes. If that is a concern, please skip ahead to episode 4: what is engagement.

In this episode Trevor, Dave and Mason talk about what roleplay means to each of them.

This was part of an initial recording session, there are sadly some audio issues we corrected for later episodes. If that is a concern, please skip ahead to episode 4: what is engagement.