Taking 20 Podcast

I wanted to address an aspect of Critical Role's success that's mentioned too often called the Matt Mercer effect.  Its most common manifestation is that every Tabletop RPG should be just like Critical Role and every DM should be just like Matthew Mercer.  In this episode, Jeremy breaks down why that's simply unfair to him and to your DM.

Traps - some DMs love them and others hate them.  PCs usually hate them so how do you use them effectively in your campaign?  How can they go wrong?  Why are Pixie farts brought up so often this week?

Mind flayers - evil alien beings with octopus heads and the ability to fry your mind from 60 feet away then eat it while you're still breathing.  I know.  Freaky, right?  What about these monsters and their abilities?  How can you use them in a campaign?  Well, wonder no longer.

Let's flip the screen.  What should players do to get ready for Session 0 and how can they help make the session a success?  I'm glad you asked, voice in my head.  Here are some tips!

Most campaigns are better when they start with a Session 0 but what the heck is a Session 0?  What do you do during a Session 0 and how do you conduct one?

You're a DM and you have a story you'd like to tell but the darn Player Characters won't follow the story.  What do you do?  How do you handle the campaign that's not going as planned?  Jeremy pulls a major piece of advice from a song from 1980s band 38 Special.

A lot of people dismiss D&D 4th Edition as a mistake but there were a lot of good aspects to that version of the game.  One of them was minions which were simplified monsters used in tandem with bosses and boss fights.  In this episode Jeremy suggests that bringing the concept back can spice up combat encounters.

It's almost Halloween in the U.S. and maybe you'd like to run a scary One Shot or Adventure.  How do you bring scary elements into your game?  What types of horror are there?  Jeremy waxes poetic about one of his favorite adventure types.

Want a Roc that can teleport giant rocks to drop on the players?  How about an alien with acid for blood found on a crash landed ship.  That's completely unique and no one else has ever thought of it.  In this episode Jeremy gives some tips for customizing monsters and mostly encourages you to be creative with your creatures!

In the finale of the 3-part interview, Johnn and Jeremy discuss garnering emotional responses from your players and a weird question about the Stone to Flesh spell.