Hey! I was just wondering how you get the audio you use from MBMBaM?

Hello! Great question! If you go to maximumfun dot org (“comedy and culture, artist owned listener supported”) and go to the mbmbam feed, all their audio files are actually downloadable! I download the full episode, scrub through it to the time code I want, pop that in after effects, and then the magic happens!

Wonderland round 3!

wonderland round 3: what’s the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to you?

I met Justin McElroy in a Starbucks once. We had a nice conversation and then the second he was gone I screamed for the next 48 hours.

Oh dang dude! TarotQuest and Class of 1021 sound super cool! I love the idea of TQ revolving around the narrative of tarot cards, and fantasy grad school? Heck YES! Sounds legit! Also the characters sound like tons of fun! Your personal characters Peach Blossom and James also sound like totally interesting characters, and I'm sure it's such a blast to actually be a playable character! So I have a few more questions~ What are your top tips for DMs? For players? What makes a campaign a success?

you are now my favorite person and also i am crying. your enthusiasm is so kind and good thank youuuu

Great questions! Going to answer in reverse order:

Campaign Success- make sure your goal is always Fun. Now, Fun can mean different things for different players. For TarotQuest, fun is both “how much chaos can I cause” as well as “I want to Feel Things” for my players. For 1021, it’s largely more the former. When I play as Janes, it’s the latter. In Fate of War, Fun was “the power of friendship!!” If you’re a DM, try to ask your players what they love/want more of in dnd before starting a new campaign (or even after each session! I love getting feedback).

I’d also totally recommend Griffin’s philosophy for bigger narrative structure if you’re DM a grand story. Make the story module. If players want to seduce the grim reaper or cast Geas on a minor deity (Bo and Taako have similar chaotic energies. But if I give my sister a secret in-narrative sibling, I will make her cry. And I already made her cry once in TQ and it felt horrible) but those smaller arcs will hopefully keep the bigger story in one piece (Johnny Voreman in taz and [redacted because my date follows this blog] in TQ)

Player Advice- tbh, I’m not often a player. I think my best advice would be “be passionate, be committed, but accept that death saving throws will happen.” My first character, Lyra*, was a wizard with the worst AC. I was on the brink of death in most rounds of combat. It was very stressful because I was sooo attached to her. In the final session of that campaign, I critically failed my third failed death save. It felt like the dice themselves were screaming “your problematic fav is dead” and it hurt. Beyond even things to that extreme, try not to let bad dice rolls affect your attitude as a person. When the DM says no, accept that. Also, when the DM is clearly in the middle of a monologue of flavor text, please don’t interrupt them. Because when you ask five minutes later what was described during that monologue, the DM will be annoyed with you.

Your goals are Fun and Respect. Also, don’t be afraid to Go Hard with improv and crazy character choices. The DM usually is going All Out as an actor. If you are too, that makes the DM feel less weird.

DM Advice- accept now that your players will interrupt you. Try not to take it personally, they’re just excited.

But in all seriousness, take that module advice to heart. At the end of the day, dnd isn’t your story, it’s a shared story. It’s a collaboration. The best moments will be the ones you never saw coming. Prepare ahead, do your homework and really flesh out your world as much as you can. Your players will not see all of it, but it will always feel better to be overprepared than underprepared. Be flexible, know that everything you prepared might be thrown out the window. The best advice I have for DMing is “don’t say no. Tell them to roll for it.” Because sometimes your players want to do something wild- let them try. Let them fail. Or, sometimes they roll a nat!20 and you have to let them do the crazy thing they wanted to do. When that happens, my favorite thing to do is “yeah okay, you successfully do that crazy thing. Now here are the consequences of that.” With my players, this is usually when they persuade an npc to join them on an adventure. I usually can’t manage an npc and run the rest of the story. So when they roll well, I let them ‘succeed’ in presaussion, and the brutally murder said npc in front of them a few hours later. Nat!20 doesn’t mean “everything goes how you want and there are no consequences.” It means “yes, you do this very specific action how you want.”

Think about why you want to DM and be aware of what you’re wanting to get out of dnd in this very particular role. I DM because I want to tell stories- I have beginnings and some endings, but I don’t have the middle of stories. I want my players to make that middle bit with me, to give life to the story. If you want to DM to see how much you can break the players you’re playing with, that’s fine, but make sure the players have a similar desire to break your world right back.

And remember that this is supposed to be Fun for you too. If DMing isn’t Fun, take a step back and figure out why. You don’t want to dread DMing. Stage fright (which I even get playing with my closest and dearest friends) is understandable, but DMing should not be misery.

This is way more than I expected to write. Hopefully this makes sense? Your questions are so insightful!!! I’m so honored you asked lil ole me for advice!

*so funny story. I have a necromantic wizard named Lyra [lie-rah]. With no knowledge of her, my sister’s boyfriend made a blacksmith warlock named Lyrra [lee-rah] at the exact same time. It’s equal parts hilarious and a nightmare for my easily confused brain.

hey yo hi! i'd love to hear about your 4 (?!) dnd campaigns you run! how do you manage 4?! what are they about? are they all with different friends?

hello hey hi!! Oh goodness, thank you so much for ask!? I was so excited when I saw this post, but I wanted to make sure I could answer it on desktop, so thank you for your patience.

Okay, minor correction - I’m only DMing two campaigns rn. And it’s easier to juggle than I expected.

(You probably didn’t ask for all this detail but I want to share these stories so badly. If the read more doesn’t work, someone please let me know)

I was running three a few months ago, but Fate of War wrapped up, so now I’m down to just two. But all three stories, while different and with different people, are set on the same planet, so I get to reuse city structures and NPCs, which is really fun. Also, many of these players are friends with each other, making improv really easy, which makes DMing easy! I’ve given them a sandbox (and some gods to go kill) and they do a lot of the rest. They’re all joys to DM for.

I’m a player in one ongoing campaign, and then my roommate and I went to a one-shot come-in-costume event so that makes four dnd adventures nearly as many days!

DMing

TarotQuest: TQ is my second ever creation. I got into DND because of the McElroys, so I wanted to start DMing for my sister. The party is her (Half-Elf Bard named Bo), her boyfriend (Human Warlock named Lyrra), my girlfriend (Merfolk Druid named Potato), and my roommate (Human Cleric named Thalassa). The name is because the plot points of the campaign follows the narrative arc of a deck of tarot. The campaign is over video chat, so I don’t do maps or anything. It’s a LOT of improv. My sister, as a bard, enjoys undoing all my enemies with persuasion rolls. And my date was flirting with my key NPC (Dragonborn Warlock named Tilo, ask me about them please) before we even started dating. It’s been wild.The story? The god of chaos approached the party, needing champions. “The balance of the pantheon is at risk. And I can’t do my job if I don’t have balance to disrupt myself.” He sends them across the continent, on quests that don’t make much sense, until just last session. The party found The Godkiller - a weapon rumored to kill a god, if only wielded by a mortal. They hand it over to whom they think is the god of chaos, only to see him /immediately/ stabbed with it. Now, they head to where their journey started, looking for answers in what appears to be a poisoned sea...

Class of 1021: Another digital campaign! It’s all my friends from high school, we have players from Los Angeles to Dublin, so it’s really an adventure of timezones. We’ve known each other so long that, honestly, I don’t do much planning for session. They will go off on side quests immediately, interacting with each other and the imagined world around them. The plot? They’re all in magical grad school! Final semester project: Explore the world and write your thesis on an undocumented magical phenomena. They’re in a village of ancient divination magic, on the cusp of discovery. Little do they know, the real plot is [checks to make sure none of them follow this blog] of corruption deep within the administration of their own school. They’ll, hopefully, overthrow the administration- if they get back across the continent in time to write their papers, of course.

Player

One-Shot: Compared to DMing, I don’t have a lot of opportunity to be a player! So when my roommate suggested we go to an event on Saturday afternoon, I was thrilled! I played (and dressed!) as Peach Blossom, an Elf Sorcerer. She was abandoned by her family when she was just thirty years old (a baby for an elf) and she’s spent the last century trying to figure out why. She wears pink, has flowers in her hair, and sort of looks like Ty Lee from Avatar: The Last Airbender but /really/ tall. She’s an absolute moron and, in her isolation, created her own religion which is absolute nonsense. She’s best friends with my roommates Tiefling Rogue and the two of them are goth/pastel ladies going on adventures in order to be able to afford lunch.

Under A Stone Sky: This is my heart and soul right now. While my DMing campaigns have flexible schedules (we’re all very busy people) this campaign is done with my coworkers every week! The story takes my party across the land, uncompleted quests blending into each other as we try to prevent the rise of ancient sorcerer-kings. There’s blood magic, there’s horrific beasts, and honestly? I think this DM might be more grimdark than I am (and I stabbed a god in front of my players and made them cry with said god’s distraught significant other) and the party may or may not have accidentally killed a city one time by summoning a giant ancient crab. It’s fine, it’s totally fine...See the best thing about this campaign is my boy. His name is James. And I thought he was true neutral but no. James is lawful good and he just wants to help. He’s a sailor rogue, loves his crew, and has grown to love his fellow party members. He’s the only human on the team and, in a world of low-magic, he’s the one that does most the talking with locals. Meanwhile, the rest of the party is /absolutely/ chaotic neutral /at best/, so it’s been difficult to juggle that. He’s got a Tragic BackstoryTM, but honestly, my favorite part of being James he feels comfortable? I like playing him.That said, his AC and HP are shit, he’s also an absolute idiot because I had to dump my INT and WIS stats, and I already have his tragic death scene with his Paladin sister (my back up character) written up.

Wow that was a lot. Anyway, thank you for asking, dnd is the highlight of my life right now.

I’m a little bit tempted to do periodic updates here with the status of these campaigns if anyone was interested?

I loveeee Kliff's Vicious Mockeries! Those are amazing and definitely quotable. Also, I'm so happy you take down Lucretia-style notes. That's so awesome! Also omg. I would love to hear other shenanigans your party gets into!

ahahaha pls dont encourage him*

And ah! Thank you! I’ve found it to be a really nice way to stay involved and engaged with the story, without hogging the spot light too much. I’m a theatre kid, so I know my own vices, I am absolutely prone to making everything about my own PC if I don’t keep myself in check.

But speeeaaaaking of James,

Last week’s session was pretty wild. Our dragonborn got feebleminded a few weeks ago, and we hung out in some abandoned cabins and did a little montage to wait until he could try to WIS save out of it. The big day came and--- he failed the save. It was pretty disheartening.

We continued on our quest, and met with this ‘Seer’ who had sent us on this mission after our first boss fight (nasty guy, all into blood magic and torture, not a great scene). We asked a few questions, got directions, but before we continued on our quest, James asked “Why us?” And this Seer said the most metal thing:

“This is destined to happen. But not necessarily by you.”

It was very heavy. Out of narrative, it was the DM’s way of telling us he’s definitely not afraid to kill off our characters. But in narrative, James took a little inspiration from it. He’s not much one for ‘destiny’ but someone is going to have to do this quest. It might as well be him, so no one else has to suffer through it.

Anyway, The Seer sent us to this beehive to steal some magic jelly that our Dragonborn could eat in order to fix his brain. It was a great heist and, honestly, the perfect one shot. Here’s where things get interesting tho. We’re escaping out the back of the beehive, these bear-sized insects chasing after us, and I’m pulling my team up over a ledge to get out. Kliff, your favorite bard, decides to cast Fear. Which would have been great to get rid of the bees IF I WASN’T IN RANGE.

So I had the joy of figuring out James’s worst fear. There’s a lot of options, this boy had enough PTSD-causing angst in his backstory, and then the DM decided to give him canon-related PTSD after our first fight where I almost got eaten by a slime monster.

I ended up informing the party that James’s worst fear is his ex-fiancé, so now they’re a little clued into his backstory. Which, while the DM and I have known the whole time, the party did not have a lot of knowledge of.

*if my coworker reads this blog, I’d have bigger problems than his sub-par insults being encouraged.

ahhh! thank you for answering those! i've just recently started up a campaign with friends where i'm a player, and am just looking of ways to grow and improve~! so i super duper appreciate your advice. especially focusing on what the player wants out of the game, not letting dice affect your attitude towards other players and the dm, and be willing to go with the flow. you're very very wonderful! ( also, i'm a huge fan of your 'the dispel magic incident' fic. like. holy shit. i looooove.

The fact that you’re seeking out knowledge already indicates what a dedicated and kind player you are, so like, hell yeah my dude. I’d be thrilled to hear about your character and the adventures you and your friends go on! idk what it is about dnd stories, but something about them is just extra wonderful. They’re always outlandish, but there’s just heart because you’re playing with people you care about.

Also aaaah thanks, i’m just trying my best. (I’m so glad you like the fic! I’ve finally gotten into better writing habits and am wrapping up a few projects for another fandom, so I should get back to writing DMI soon!)

sauté! and No dogs on the moon >:3c

sauté!: favorite video game?

I’m born and raised on Nintendo products so probably Super Smash Brawl- had an excellent story mode and obviously great replayability with friends- or Paper Mario for the N64, which is the first video game I ever completed and the only long form video game I’ve ever completed twice. Honorable mention to Skwyward Sword, do not @ me it’s a good game and you know it. I am also on a Monster Prom kick rn, to list a more modern game.

Also, here’s a deep cut for ya: Mario Mini Golf on the N64 absolutely slaps.

no dogs on the moon!: talk about a good memory from this past week.

In the last 96 hours, I played 4 different dnd campaigns. Each and everyone one of them was amazing and good in their own unique way. I love spending time being creative with my idiot nerd friends who can’t keep a rogue alive for more than two rounds of combat.

voidfish duet?

voidfish duet: talk about your best friend

Our meeting was an incredible stroke of luck. It was hard for both of us to start conversations with strangers, but they were brave and made the first move. They came up to me and we’ve been friends ever since. They’re still so brave, and I really admire how determined they are.

They’re sooooo so so smart, they don’t think they are, but don’t let them fool you. It’s really wonderful to hear them talk about what they’re passionate about. Be that sustainable environmental policies or kingdom hearts, it’s all interesting when it’s coming from them. They get really flustered sometimes and it’s hilarious to watch them try to remember how words work before they keep going. Their mind jumps around and approaches ideas so uniquely, language just can’t keep up.

We crewed on the same comedy show together and they are hilarious. They make me laugh every day. They think outside the box, make terrible puns, and speak all the good meme languages. They make me smile everyday; a softer kind of expression than from laughter. They’re thoughtful, they listen. And they really really care, not just about their friends, but about the world. They’re trying their best and their best is really damn good.

Knowing them makes me a better person, I think.

And they’re gonna see this post and make fun of me forever but it’s fine. We’re going to the Atlanta Liveshow in two weeks as Magnus and Taako and that will be eight months since we last saw each other in person. They give really good hugs.