Thac0 with Advantage 82. The Sweet Spot – What’s so Special about 5th – 11th Level

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D convinced us that if we get high enough level, we’ll start attracting followers

Sometimes your worried that any wrong move will get your character killed. Sometimes you feel like you’re so powerful, only the big bad is going to be a challenge. But there’s a magical spot in the middle, where you feel challenged, but also badass. We’re going to look at why those middle levels of D&D feel like the sweet spot, and maybe if we look hard enough, we can figure out how to bring some of that tier 2 magic to either side of that sweet spot.

Thac0 with Advantage 81. The Best Way to Level Up in D&D: XP, Milestones, or Something Else?

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D grants us XP for doing the show.

When should your players level up their characters? Beyond gold and magic items, advancing a character can be the greatest reward in fantasy gaming. Traditionally that meant tracking and awarding XP, but increasingly, RPGs, including D&D, are embracing the concept of tracking advancement in other ways. Is there still a place for XP, and why might it still be a good system for your table? We’ll explore that in today’s episode.

Thac0 with Advantage 80. The Best Ways to Ask Players for Feedback in D&D and other RPGs

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, we’re still processing our game notes

It’s natural for a GM to wonder if what they presented in the last game session is what their players wanted. Did that section that you spent hours outlining provide the response you were hoping? Is the secret mastermind going to be rewarding for the PCs to uncover? What if I asked for too many ability checks? What if I forgot to ask for the ability checks that one player just put all of their effort into increasing? In today’s episode, we’re going to look at gathering feedback and putting that feedback into action in our games.

Under the Lamplight Ten. Religion

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode Ten of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about religion, how it’s a sham and what role it plays in the city.

Under the Lamplight Nine. The Guild System

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode nine of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about the Guild system in the city of Avalon, how it helps the city function and what role it can play in your SoA games.

Thac0 with Advantage 79. Playing Against Type

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D can still be unpredictable.

We all know the fantasy archetypes that spring from fantasy RPGs. The naïve but steadfast paladin, the stoic ranger who relates better to animals than people, the arrogant wizard that looks down on anyone less intelligent than they are. But we also know people that intentionally play against those archetypes. The hard drinking hedonistic paladin of the goddess of love, the ranger that has friends in every tavern in every city along the Sword Coast, the wizard that loves teaching and explaining new things to others. Today we’re going to look at playing against type, why you may want to do it, and how sometimes it can be very similar to playing a rigid archetype.

Under the Lamplight Eight. NPCs and Adversaries

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode eight of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about NPCs and Adversaries and how they work in the Streets of Avalon RPG.

Under the Lamplight Seven. The Griffons

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

Episode seven of Under the Lamplight. The Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast. Brett and Chris chat about The Griffons and their role in keeping the peace on the Streets of Avalon.

Thac0 with Advantage 78. Player Character Death

Welcome to THAC0 . . . with Advantage! We’re two friends that have been playing D&D a long time. While we both love lots of other RPGs, D&D still isn’t on its last breath.

Only two things in life are certain. Death and Taxes. Or in D&D, Death Saves and Upkeep rules. In this episode, we’re going to look at character death. How should you handle it? Can you run a game without it? How does it affect the stakes of your game? What does it mean to have a meaningful death in the game? We’re going to teeter on the boundary between life and death today in this episode of THAC0 w/ Advantage.

Under the Lamplight Six. GM Tools

Under the Lamplight (UtLL) is the Streets of Avalon RPG companion podcast where Brett and Chris talk about the setting and the game. The Streets of Avalon RPG is a Low Fantasy Urban RPG focused on the stories of people living in a city of classism, corruption, and decay while trying to bring a little light into their lives and the people closest to them.

On the sixth episode we give an overview of the GM Tools and how they can help Game Masters facilitate their Streets of Avalon Games.