The Dm's Deep Dive With Mike Shea

Mike offers a review and tips for running the Spelljammer adventure, Light of Xaryxis, with experiences from his own campaign. Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books Show Contents 00:00 Video Start 00:28 Reviewing Adventures I've Actually Run 00:49 Top Tips for Running Light of Xaryxis 00:52 Tip 1: Use Stars Over Stormwreck to Connect the Characters to Light of Xaryxis 01:26 Tip 2: Stay with the Moondancer 02:22 Tip 3: Embrace Flash Gordon 03:03 Tip 4: Run Ship Combat in the Narrative 04:11 Tip 5: Give Players Agency Over the Ending 04:58 A Review of the Spelljammer Boxed Set 06:55 Breaking Down the Adventure 08:22 Tips for Part 1 11:36 Tips for Part 2 15:37 Tips for Part 3 18:11 Tips for Part 4 19:03 Missions of the FInal Battle 21:26 Who Lives and Who Dies? Let the Dice Decide! 23:26 Add a Touch of Mind Flayer... 24:06 Princess Xedali's Choice 26:04 Run a One Year Later Montage 27:12 Final Thoughts

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:13 Sly Flourish News: Dwarven Forge VTT 07:46 D&D & RPG News: Wizards on One D&D and 2024 Core Book Messaging 14:57 Commentary: 5e Isn't D&D 25:38 Commentary: High Trust Trad Concepts and Situation-Based RPGs 40:34 Patreon Question: Can the Eight Steps work for Dungeon World? 43:22 Patreon Question: Dealing with Missing Players and Absenteeism 47:49 Patreon Question: Why Are Hags Allowed to Persist? Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: D&D Community Update: Clarifying Language: One D&D, 2024 Core Rulebooks What are the 2024 Fifth Edition Core Rulebooks? D&D YouTube Video What is high-trust trad adventure design? How to Handle Missing Players

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:20 Kickstarter Spotlight: Deck of Player Safety 04:24 D&D & RPG News: Tales of the Valiant on What's Compatible and What Isn't 13:35 Commentary: Homebrew Adventures in Published Settings 32:14 Patreon Question: Better Inclusiveness and Representation In Our Games 36:39 Patreon Question: Dice-Rolling for Stochastic Countdown Timers 38:57 Patreon Question: Managing Pacing of Downtime and Roleplayy Scenes 41:45 Patreon Question: Building Combat Encounters 45:00 Patreon Question: Tools for Improvisation At The Table 48:16 Patreon Question: Forge of Foes General Use Stat Block Encounter Math 52:00 Patreon Question: Improving NPC Dialog 53:41 Patreon Question: Character-Focused Spiral Campaign Development Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Deck of Player Safety Kickstarter Tales of the Valiant on What's Compatible and What Isn't EN Worl

Mike offers tips and a recap for running the third part of Empire of the Ghouls. Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 01:16 D&D & RPG News: Candela Obscura 08:18 Kickstarter Spotlight: Tales of the Valiant 33:52 Commentary: The D&D Book Price Increase 47:58 Patreon Question: Trying Out House Rules 51:17 Patreon Question: Dials for Magic Items 53:41 Patreon Question: Physical Tools for Online Play 55:39 Patreon Question: Gods for your Homebrew Campaign 58:18 Patreon Question: Alternatives to Notion Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Candela Obscura Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter D&D Studio Blog on Price Increases Enshitification

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:56 Commentary: Maps - Is D&D an Incomplete Product? 02:54 Commentary: Maps - No Great Single Solution for In-Person Play 04:51 Commentary: Maps - What Does D&D Recommend for New DMs? 06:44 Commentary: Maps - A Big Digital Display 07:45 Commentary: Maps - The Pathfinder Basic Flip Mat 10:35 Commentary: Maps - Big Sheets of 1" Gridded Poster Paper 13:12 Commentary: Maps - Print "Blueprint" Maps for Cheap. 15:14 Commentary: Maps - Use Cloth for a Fog of War 16:24 Commentary: Maps - Print Individual Rooms on Normal Paper 18:59 Commentary: Maps - Mixing Different Types 20:24 Product Spotlight: JP Coovert's Drawing Dungeons Booklet 25:18 Commentary: Maps - Theater of the Mind and Abstract Maps 29:26 Commentary: Maps - Try Lots of Options 30:37 Product Spotlight: The Works of JP Coovert 40:18 Patreon Question: Rewarding Inspiration 43:57 Patreon Question: Balancing Encounters Across the Adventuring Day L

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 00:49 Product Spotlight: Crown of the Oathbreaker Physical Book 03:57 Sly Flourish News: The Lazy GM's Resource Document in the Creative Commons 08:14 Sly Flourish News: Lazy Solo 5e generator on Perchance 10:04 Commentary: Developers! Help Open5e! 14:22 Commentary: Will WOTC Use Open5e? 15:58 Commentary: Playing Five RPGs in Three Days 18:57 Commentary: Playing Dungeon World at 1d4 Con 21:15 Commentary: Playing Pathfinder 2 at 1d4 Con 25:57 Commentary: Playing Call of Cthulhu at 1d4 Con 29:05 Commentary: Playing Dungeon Crawl Classics at 1d4 Con 32:12 Commentary: Playing My Friend's New RPG at 1d4 Con 34:29 Patreon Question: Players Questioning the GM's Logic 38:04 Patreon Question: Remembering Campaign-Specific Rules 40:18 Patreon Question: Is the DM the Storyteller or the Referee? Neither! 42:53 Patreon Question: Running 45 Minute Battles with No Tweaking 47:19 Patreon Question: Reigning in Wanderlust in a

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:17 Kickstarter Spotlight: Knave 2.0 08:02 Kickstarter Spotlight: Amazing Encounters and Quests 10:35 Kickstarter Spotlight: Emporium of Wonders 13:20 Commentary: Tips from the Midnight Temple 36:13 Patreon Question: Organizing an big RPG Club and Community 40:14 Patreon Question: Building Mythic Monsters 44:53 Patreon Question: Action-Oriented Monsters in Forge of Foes? 46:15 Patreon Question: Playing In Person after 30 Years Away 49:24 Patreon Question: Lazy Gamemaster's Guide? 52:27 Patreon Question: Does Curse of Strahd Take a Lot of Work to Fix? No 55:34 Patreon Question: Needing to Take a Break? 58:35 Patreon Question: Top Tips for New and Experienced GMs Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Knave v2 Kickstarter Amazing Encounters and Quests Kickstarter Emporium of Wonders Kickstarter Fantastic Lairs Monstrous Appendix Lazy DM's Toolki

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:10 D&D & RPG News: Owen KC Stevens Bundles on DriveThruRPG 02:26 D&D & RPG News: Owlbear Rodel 2.0 Official Release in July 06:19 D&D & RPG News: Kobold Press Tales of the Valiant Monsters Playtest 19:51 D&D & RPG News: 2024 D&D Players Handbook Playtest 5 24:48 DM Tip: Mass Effect Style Preludes and Wars 33:46 DM Tip: Tuning the Lazy Encounter Bechmark 38:34 Patreon Question: Chat GPT and AI For Adventure Generation 44:26 Patreon Question: Running Ship Battles in Light of Xaryxis 47:40 Patreon Question: Character Grabbing the Wrong Hook Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Owen KC Stevens Bundle 1 Owen KC Stevens Bundle 2 Owlbear Rodel 2.0 Full Release Owlbear Rodeo Videos Kobold Press Tales of the Valiant Monster Playtest D&D 2024 Players Handbook Playtest 5 Lazy Encounter Benchmark

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:17 Sly Flourish News: The Lazy GM's Resource Document 18:21 D&D & RPG News: Darrington Press Roleplaying Games 22:19 D&D & RPG News: Chris Perkins on the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide 23:13 D&D & RPG News: Cubicle 7 on C7D20 Open Licensing 32:07 D&D & RPG News: More D&D Creator Summit Accounts 33:19 Patreon Question: Running High Level 5e Games 37:25 Patreon Question: Pointing Out Magic Items to Characters 40:16 Patreon Question: Tying Together Independent Published Adventures 43:04 Patreon Question: 5e Cross Compatibility Among Publishers Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Darrington Press RPG Announcements Chris Perkins on the 2024 DMG Cubicle 7 Interview about C7D20 Bob World Builder on the D&D Summit Alphastream Summit Writeup Part 3 Nerd Immersion Summit Recap

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:02 Product Spotlight: Regnum Rattus - The Rats in the Cellar 02:50 Product Spotlight: Iskandar Explorer's Journal Volume 1 04:36 Kickstarter Spotlight: Blood and Doom 11:24 Sly Flourish News: Three Books Released to the Creative Commons 14:21 Commentary: What's Changed over 13 Years of Lazy DMing? 27:52 Sly Flourish News: More Material to the Creative Commons 31:41 Commentary: What Does 5e Backward Compatibility Mean? 49:04 Patreon Question: Dealing with Non-Heroic Heroes 53:37 Patreon Question: Convincing a DM to Run Online Games 55:27 Patreon Question: Initiation Quests to Get Into a Cult 57:35 Patreon Question: Challenging Tier 4 Characters Links Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books: Iskandar Explorer's Journal Volume 1 (Affiliate Link) Blood and Doom Kickstarter Dungeon Master Tips – Creative Commons Running Epic-Tier D&D Games – Creative

Mike prepares for his weekly Scarlet Citadel game! Visit the Sly Flourish Blog Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter Support Sly Flourish on Patreon Buy Sly Flourish Books The 5e Artisanal Monster Database Buy Scarlet Citadel (affiliate link) Kobold Press Monster Database Scarlet Citadel Notion Notebook

Mike talks about the D&D Creator Summit with a focus on what matters most to 5e DMs and GMs. Contents 00:00 Show Start 02:10 D&D & RPG News: Kobold Press's Black Flag is Tales of the Valiant 02:48 D&D & RPG News: The ORC Open Gaming License Draft Released 05:18 D&D & RPG News: Thirteenth Age Humble Bundle 06:21 D&D & RPG News: D&D Summit Writeups by Others 07:05 D&D & RPG News: D&D Summit Top Three Observations for D&D DMs 10:51 D&D & RPG News: Looking Into the D&D Summit Organization, Missteps, and Recommendations for Next Time 18:50 D&D & RPG News: D&D Summit 2024 Core Book Updates 39:40 D&D & RPG News: The Format of Planescape 41:08 D&D & RPG News: Thoughts on a D&D Beyond Marketplace 44:51 D&D & RPG News: Other News from the D&D Summit 50:05 Patreon Question: What Should the Dungeon Master's Guide Do? 51:44 Patreon Question: Challenges for 11th+ Level Characers Links Tales of the Valiant ORC Li

D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com Contents 00:00 Show Start 01:22 D&D & RPG News: D&D Direct Announcements 05:50 D&D & RPG News: D&D 3D Virtual Tabletop First Look 09:54 D&D & RPG News: More Announcements from D&D Direct 13:03 D&D & RPG News: The D&D Virtual Summit 17:07 D&D & RPG News: PlayDnD and D&D Beyond 1st Level Pregens 21:04 D&D & RPG News: Cubicle 7's Design Goals for C7D20 25:22 D&D & RPG News: Shadow of the Weird Wizard Ancestries 27:09 Patreon Question: Getting Better at Being a DM 30:54 Patreon Question: Using Random Tables for Prep or At The Table? 33:12 Patreon Question: Using D&D For Facing with Real Life Issues 35:35 Patreon Question: Too Many NPCs as Upward Beats in a Dungeon Crawl 37:38 Patreon Question: Getting Through Lots of Story in Shorter Sessions 41:54 Patreon Question: Running Online With Some Players At Same Location 44:41 Patreon Question: How's Dungeon 23 Work