Behind the Screens: DM Advice Q&A
Added 2023-06-23 03:26:59 +0000 UTCAD-FREE EPISODE FOR $5+ PATRONS!
The Three DMs of the Two Crew gather to answer questions about running a game of D&D! Whether you're a newbie DM looking to build a likable NPC, or a Forever DM trying to balance four campaigns at once, this episode has got it all! So grab your dice and meet us... Behind the Screens.
Sound Mixing and Editing by Trevor Lyon
Get tickets to our upcoming live shows HERE!
Comments
No shit when they were talking about dummy npcs to make an Emily was talking about the magic water treatment I was at work mockingly being like oh hello my names Gerald then they said that name an I got so excited they picked that name I almost dropped my work hahaha
KSM101
2024-07-12 00:45:57 +0000 UTCrobert great shout with the old kingdom books, that is a MAJOR emily vibe
Matt Doughty
2023-08-14 03:42:15 +0000 UTCOn the subject of items behind my DM screen, I did actually wear my 2 crew pin (available at shop.naddpod.com) the first time I DM’d because I was nervous (despite know the other players since high school).
Tim
2023-07-02 18:30:28 +0000 UTCI love the Sabriel series!!! I’ve had Abhorsen as my tag forever!
Thomas Hegarty
2023-06-26 20:31:43 +0000 UTChttps://homebrewery.naturalcrit.com/
Jacobi
2023-06-26 17:24:05 +0000 UTCThis is such a great idea thank you!!!
Parker
2023-06-26 17:14:34 +0000 UTCYay my question was answered! I look forward to the next Dungeon Court so I can speak of my blessings from Dice Christ!
Zach Z
2023-06-25 18:36:28 +0000 UTCI love when Murph goes fully unhinged and makes everyone else play the straight man
Michaela
2023-06-25 18:12:31 +0000 UTCDoes anyone know the time stamp for when they listed some good beginner one shot options? Or alternatively any personal suggestions? :)
Olivia
2023-06-25 04:52:10 +0000 UTCSchrödinger’s Lore
Jay Yoder
2023-06-24 23:07:58 +0000 UTCYou know your DM is sweating when Gerard the Mailman shows up.
m. white
2023-06-24 19:04:21 +0000 UTCHoping they put a Murph & Emily wedding photo up in the store so I can also put one behind my screen.
Jenna H
2023-06-24 18:29:28 +0000 UTCI believe she was referring to Wild Beyond the Witchlight.
Joe F.
2023-06-24 14:22:30 +0000 UTCWhat was the campaign module Emily said lots of people were running? When I went back to scrub through I couldn't find the timestamp
Steve Haack
2023-06-24 13:50:00 +0000 UTCEmily, Sabriel is so good!! If you like audiobooks, I highly recommend listening to Sabriel, the narrator is Tim Curry!
Caitlin Sales
2023-06-24 10:05:23 +0000 UTCCan anybody figure out what Caldwell was saying at the end when he mentioned the Orb DM’s TikTok username? I’ve listened several times, but everyone was laughing (understandably), and I can’t make it out. 😅
Boots
2023-06-24 02:24:26 +0000 UTCDude. This all sounded insanely awesome.
Mike
2023-06-24 01:41:33 +0000 UTCAnd for combat descriptions: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-n2Jdt7lWBwvZCWuP8f9Q2R5yvXk7fTc/view?usp=sharing
Shimshon Adam Zeevi
2023-06-24 01:14:30 +0000 UTCI'm about halfway through the episode, and I just had to share these tables for coming up with stuff: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1DIvgOgmnP9mxXhfCNF6XjRYEPHMpu7Zb?usp=sharing
Shimshon Adam Zeevi
2023-06-24 01:13:40 +0000 UTCmy good luck tchotchke is a little rubber rat we used as a mini for a hellhound in a different campaign two years ago, my character made the killing blow and my dm gave me the rat to keep. he lives in my dice bag now
bees
2023-06-24 01:04:21 +0000 UTCFor GMs who use laptops like me, look into mind maps (xmind is great and free)! You can put in foldable sections all your NPCs, locations, events and stuff all under your eyes. Very easy to update on the fly to, so you don't forget NPCs or important information.
Garga Lenoir
2023-06-23 22:03:26 +0000 UTCThat's awesome, best of luck with your game!
Leah Stigale
2023-06-23 20:57:14 +0000 UTCThanks for answering my question!
BrethrenBlev
2023-06-23 18:09:12 +0000 UTCNiiice, this is perfect lol looking at getting back into dungeons and dragons and there's a chance I'll be needed to DM ☺️
Silver
2023-06-23 17:42:57 +0000 UTCMurph starting out immediately saying the most unhinged shit? Amazing.
Kaileigh Rose
2023-06-23 17:41:52 +0000 UTCThank U, I’m going home in July so I’ll use these tips!
Raul Ramos
2023-06-23 16:17:52 +0000 UTCI'd like to be Where dead roam free In a necromancer’s garden In the graves He'd let us in To flay our skin In his necromancer’s' garden In the graves I'd kill my friends Unwillingly In the necromancer’s garden You see I'd like to be Where dead roam free In the necromancer’s garden In the graves Where evil’s born And our flesh torn Where weapons are no help Not swords or glaives Sever my head Until I’m dead In the necromancer’s garden Near a cave We would scream Beneath the ground Because we know We can't be found I'd like to be Where dead roam free In an necromancer’s garden In the graves We would shout And cry and pout And the demons would hear Our rants and raves (Demons hear our rants and raves) Oh what joy For every ghoulish boy Knowing that we Cannot be saved (Know that we cannot be saved) We would become undead You and me No soul to tell us What to do I'd like to be Where dead roam free In the necromancer’s garden In the graves In the necromancer’s garden In the graves In the necromancer’s garden In the graves
Joe F.
2023-06-23 16:12:56 +0000 UTCEh I don't think you need to make every npc kind of pathetic or goofy, not every group is going to be as comedic all the time.
An_Armed_Bear
2023-06-23 15:41:58 +0000 UTCI think Patreon changed how the download works now, I had this issue recently and I had to: . click on the full details page . then click on the triple dot menu in the corner . to click "save as" to download externally
Myka Donati
2023-06-23 15:31:58 +0000 UTCI can't download it as a file like I can the other podcasts. Is there a way to do that?
Beth N
2023-06-23 15:06:15 +0000 UTCOn the heart breaking betrayal front, Bev Senior is a great example. Especially bc Murph and the Crew do such a good job explaining where he's coming from.
Seth Carson
2023-06-23 14:24:45 +0000 UTCMaking likeable NPCs that will betray the party: for me it's a balance between making them likeable and making their betrayal motives make sense. And I don't like if they have to always lie because some bad rolls could mess it up. I introduced a character for this-- they wanted a npc healer to join them, and I thought this was a good opportunity to introduce a traitor. So I made an absolutely adorrable fairy healer. Part of what helped the party latch on was that she teased one of the players in a very fun way that made him annoyed, in general making ttheir interactions very fun. Her motives are known to the party somewhat, because her whole tthing is loving a fascinating plot. This makes her so fascinated by everything the players do. But what's a spicy story than being central in a betrayal? She just doesn't care about morals as much as a good story... which can vibe very well with the party but at tthe same time should make sense for why she betrays them.
Emma
2023-06-23 14:04:47 +0000 UTCUSE HOMEBREWERY.com FOR PHB STYLE HOMEBREW MONSTER SHEETS. Sry for yelling
Adam Baker
2023-06-23 13:05:29 +0000 UTCjust play with a guest character wheres Jabari at
bradley Battaglia
2023-06-23 12:34:18 +0000 UTCI would say be so SO careful having an npc betray the party. I did it with my group and they are wildly suspicious of everyone they meet. Somehow they’ve kept their guard down and of course it’s with an npc who is going to betray them. I say plant clues and evidence that the npc is betray-focused to give the players a more-than-50% chance to discover the betrayal before it occurs.
Zaxbeez
2023-06-23 12:18:37 +0000 UTCThis is sooo good! I love hearing what's physically behind everyone's screens.
Jennifer
2023-06-23 11:43:43 +0000 UTCThe fact that 3/4 of the permanent cast of the show have been DMs is really making me wish for a Jake DM one-shot at some point.
Robert
2023-06-23 11:29:39 +0000 UTCThe fact that there's an actual action in basketball called a screen and Murph didn't go there is wild.
KEVIN LAWS
2023-06-23 11:13:17 +0000 UTCPlease keep doing these I’m wanting to dm and this is a major help! Thanks!
Petmygoldfish
2023-06-23 11:08:03 +0000 UTCI'm really looking forward to that too, but it's not happening at least until Jake's back.
Garga Lenoir
2023-06-23 10:50:30 +0000 UTCplease do more Hot Boys Summer
Raphael Miller-Figueroa
2023-06-23 07:32:06 +0000 UTCMurph coming out swinging with real Ernie energy
Cj Ferrigno
2023-06-23 06:59:27 +0000 UTCTHANK YOU SO MUCH!! I will be working on this one-shot for little later this summer. My lower level party is the RP power houses so I'll make sure to make them feel important and get v some good moments! I've got just the npcs to make this happen too! Thank you so much again!!!
Myles R Harris
2023-06-23 05:35:52 +0000 UTCI need Murph to play that goblin PF2E character immediately with 'that' goblin voice! PLEASE!!
JR Lonergan
2023-06-23 05:12:51 +0000 UTCIn regards to the improving descriptions, one of my favorite tips I heard: next time you're watching something on Netflix or whatever, check to see if you can change the audio to "audio description". It's weird at first, but going through The Witcher or something and hearing everything described... I feel like it's helped my descriptions a lot.
Jacobi
2023-06-23 04:48:42 +0000 UTC“Tiny Hat Helm” - A cute, shiny, metal tiny red baseball cap that can be used once to nullify any non-magical attack if the enemy rolls a natural 1 or 2 (shout out to the 2 crew) Gets destroyed after nullifying 1 attack, so use it wisely.
Potatochip Jenkins
2023-06-23 04:41:36 +0000 UTCAb to listen the HELL out of this on my ten out car ride tm
Dippity_Dip
2023-06-23 03:41:05 +0000 UTC3rd. cant wait, you lot bring joy to my week; every week. Hello and love from Binghamton NY, and from Tupelo, MS
Nick Lerche
2023-06-23 03:34:44 +0000 UTCHell yeah, cleaning and naddpod
Beef
2023-06-23 03:34:11 +0000 UTCGood morning from Germany, after night shift, 5am Thank U lads, I treasure this
Thimo Trommer
2023-06-23 03:32:42 +0000 UTC1st
Matthew Elias
2023-06-23 03:29:58 +0000 UTC
