The Storyscribe Podcast

This episode is all about how to think about alignment when playing a character in D&D. Enjoy this podcast? Share it out! 

A common compaint of D&D players is the lack of character progression. Nothing feels worse than sitting through a session and getting no XP; it doesn't feel much better waiting to be level 5 for ten sessions because progression is so slow. Here are a few thoughts on the systems and how to use them. 

How you as an English teacher (or not one) can encourage reading for your students. 

Today we're looking at the three act structure: what it is, how it works, and what it looks like when it doesn't. 

In which the protagonist shares why he won't be a teacher anymore. 

In this episode I discuss the variant rule that I use at my table for how languages work in my home D&D 5e game! 

While different groups have different focuses, I run a story-heavy game. Central to the game is not combat, but the arc of the campaign and the arcs of each character. Here are the steps I walk my players through when creating characters for my campaign and the same steps I go through when I create a character.

When looking around in the various fantasy histories of different fantasy works, there are five moments that stand out. These stand out for a reason and can help you build your own fantasy world or appreciate the fantasy worlds you experience on the page, on screen, or at the table. 

A review of Monsters of the Multiverse from Wizards of the Coast. 

A quick review of my latest acquisition: the Tal'dorei Campaign Setting Reborn-- the first setting used in Critical Role and which has now been made even more popular by the Amazon Prime series: The Legends of Vox Machina! 

The eight places I recommend looking for inspiration for your game at your TTRPG table. The first five tips work for dungeon masters and players alike, but the last three lean heavily toward the dungeon/game master. 

This episode talks about the Witcher T.V. series, seasons 1 and 2. This episodes contains spoilers. 

The thirteen rules of being at my table for a TTRPG, which I discuss during session 0 with my players. Some cross into some common mechanics, but most are about being the best player with me and with the group.  Most rules have been adapted from the various systems I’ve run at the table: Dragon Age, Witcher, or another TTRPG. These rules help me run a game which is fun for me and the majority of my players and might help you run a better game for yourself. 

Finishing this series of Writer's Archives: my dissertation with the conclusion and some thoughts for how we think about what we watch, read, and play. 

Writer's Archive episodes cover academia and academic thinking when coming to reading, writing, and viewing stories.

This episode is the second to last in this season's Writer's Archive episodes and focuses on one of my favorite graphic novels, Saga by Brian K. Vaughn and Fiona Staples. 

Writer's Archive episodes cover academia and academic thinking when coming to reading, writing, and viewing stories.

This episode is a Writer's Archive episode which continues my dissertation with the second chapter, focusing on American Gods and ideas of an American identity. 

Writer's Archive episodes cover academia and academic thinking when coming to reading, writing, and viewing stories. 

This episode discusses how fantasy literature can provide a means for us to deconstruct nationalist rhetoric in reality. 

(The Works Cited wouldn't post when I worked on this, but I've got the original paper published on my blog now, with the Works Cited.)  

Talking about COVID, writing, and coming back out of depression to create. 

In this episode I will begin with talking about the changes to Origins in Dungeons and Dragons given out by Tasha's Cauldron of Everything before starting my introduction to speculative fiction theory. 

A little on how I use sanity at the table in Dungeons and Dragons 5e; a recommendation for anyone planning to run a horror game for Halloween. 

This episode begins with a brief look at some of my past academic work into speculative fiction and then moves into looking at how the conversation is currently playing out in the world of Dungeons and Dragons. 

An episode which introduces me, the podcast, and, inadvertently, my difficulty with podcasting so far.