Ray and Ariel discuss the the benefit of running dnd in a detailed setting. Fifth edition is largely setting agnostic. People have used the fifth edition ruleset to run games in modern, ancient, high-magic, and low-magic fantasy genres. This gives people a ton of flexibility, but is in stark contrast with most RPGs (e.g. 7th Sea, Blades in the Dark, etc.). Ray and Ariel use some classic examples like the Dark Sun setting from older dungeons and dragons editions to show the benefits of choosing a tone-appropriate setting when planning a campaign. It may add extra work before sitting down to play, but it will help the players and the DM stay on the same page, and curate a tone for the road ahead. Dark Sun Setting Guide Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G1vep6rcCI&t=5187s Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel discuss the Implicit Knowledge Disparity—the gap between what a player knows and what their character knows. When the player and their character are expected to know very little about the setting, dnd tends to run very smoothly. But when the character is expected to know a lot about the setting, you could end up with a large knowledge disparity. Ray and Ariel discuss how to design your campaign so that players implicitly know enough about the world to fulfill the fantasy you're excited to run. Whether that be a plane jumping campaign of novel exploration, or a deeply political campaign with alliances and back-stabbing in the very first sessions. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel both have found running high level dungeons and dragons to have serious challenges. Players have so many tools it can be hard to challenge them while building a story for your players that feels satisfying. Ray and Ariel look to examples of high magic, high power level adventures in Critical Role's EXU: Calamity and Netflix's DOTA Dragon Blood to discern what makes a good D&D setting for the highest tiers of power. The three most important lessons learned: no rest for the wicked, too much threat to handle, and relying on the characters' arcs. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray's player JJ feels that his Barbarian isn't as fun to play as Mark's Warlock or Ali's Cleric. This feeling that martial classes are under-tuned compared to spellcasting classes is a feeling that many players feel and take to the internet to discuss. Ray and Ariel lay out the meta reason why they believe this is the case and detail 3 separate approaches that DMs can take to solve this dilemma at their DnD tables. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel discuss the loaded subject of "balance" in D&D. Ray asserts that balance is an illusion and that chasing it can be fruitless or a false target. After listening to this episode players and DMs will be able to more effectively evaluate balance at their table and make meaningful decisions that facilitate more fun for all of your players. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel follow up on the principles for great mysteries that they discussed in the previous episode to create their own mysteries. They each go through the mystery they wrote, discussing the specific tools and strategies they used to ensure that their players would get the full Mystery experience. Ray and Ariel share all the lessons learned from writing these mysteries, differentiating between the challenges of a short mystery and a mystery that is the centerpiece for a full campaign. If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Youtube content, and new DM's guild content. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel lay out how to deliver on the promise of the mystery genre at your D&D table. They start by teasing apart the nuances of an adventure that is structured around a mystery and how to give players the opportunity to solve a mystery themselves rather than explaining it as the players bear witness. Ray and Ariel discuss the core elements of mystery board games and video games and how to port those key innovations into our D&D experience. What makes a good suspect? What makes good evidence? When do players love a Red Herring and when are they disappointed by one? What about skill checks? Ray and Ariel suggest that we should throw them out if we hope to deliver a mystery, but what do we replace them with? If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Youtube content, and new DM's guild content. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Cory joins Ariel to discuss the extensive process he went through when designing his first homebrew class. They discuss how to balance mechanics and thematics, and how to take a concept for a class and split it into subclasses. Then Ariel talks through some of the challenges he's having refining his homebrew class for the publishing process. If you enjoyed the show today, please follow us on Instagram and Twitter for updates about giveaways, blog posts, new Youtube content, and new DM's guild content.   Website: https://runningofftherails.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Ray and Ariel discuss how to have constructive conversations about the morals your party will live by and society's morals you introduce as a DM. D&D is only partially a medieval fantasy analog, and our morals as people outside the game are going to influence what we enjoy roleplaying at the table. But uncritically adhering to our modern day morals, aka Presentism, can hurt fantasy escapism in the same ways that being inconsiderate of our modern morals can. Ray and Ariel bring up their own examples to show how they've navigated these potentially campaign-ending issues. Kickstarter: https://runningofftherails.com/kickstarter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClX4fN2Xdlw3H-9cZpqBikg

Ray and Ariel discuss how to emulate larger-than-life characters from fiction in TTRPGs with a tool called Gestalt Leveling. Gestalt Leveling means that when your characters level, they gain the features of two different classes simultaneously. This works particularly well for small parties that might have too many gaps in their abilities. Many of the best larger-than-life characters are NPCs in your world. It can be difficult to make iconic NPCs because they can overshadow the players. A gestalt NPC can still be the kind of character from fiction that strikes out on their own and has inspiring stories to tell, without being an overwhelmingly high level. Kickstarter: https://runningofftherails.com/kickstarter Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClX4fN2Xdlw3H-9cZpqBikg