3 Wise DMs is a podcast for dungeon masters (for Dungeons & Dragons) and game masters (any other RPG) with problems. And when we say problems, we don’t mean the kind of things you find answers for in the gamebooks. Think of it as a gaming philosophy show with a strong emphasis on applied knowledge. We all want to be great DMs, so what do we do to try to get there?
Subscribe:.rss.atom.json.md.m3u.pls
Live Last read · last published · next check
Saves to your Listen queue, to pick up on another day or another device.
Few moments at the gaming table carry more weight than the death of a player character. Is it the ultimate consequence of failure, a dramatic turning point in the story, or simply an opportunity for the next chapter to begin? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave tackle one of the oldest debates in tabletop gaming: how should DMs handle character death? From the evolution of death mechanics…
Books, movies, and television shows benefit from one major advantage: the entire story is planned before the audience experiences it. D&D campaigns don't have that luxury. Players miss clues, chase unexpected leads, ignore carefully crafted plot hooks, and sometimes decide that the villain's plan sounds surprisingly reasonable. As a result, even the most carefully prepared campaign can become a…
Some listener questions come in and just HAVE to be answered. This was the case with a question that came in from longtime friend of the show, Dr. DM himself, Jason. His son’s school D&D club was planning a seriously epic finale to multiple campaign tables in a stupendous one-shot. Everything was gong well until the head DM brought their BBEG… we’ll let Jason tell you the rest. In this episode,…
Birthday games are 3WDs specialty… and it has now begun to grow. New DMs are joining in on the fun and running new, unique, and exciting games in all types of systems and taking on the challenge of one-upping the Wise DMs. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down with returning guests, Bonnie and Elizabeth, to review, unpack, and discuss the steps they took to take a one-off Call of Cthulhu…
Recently, Matt Colville of the Running the Game YouTube series and author of the new Draw Steel TTRPG, discussed the concept of “DM Style.” With someone who has been involved in all things tabletop for over 40 years, you would think that he would believe in developing a DM Style. However, his hot take was that he wasn’t sure there even was such a thing. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit…
Maybe you’ve run some one-shots or even multi-night campaigns. But now you’ve made the decision to run a long-term campaign for many levels – maybe all the way to 20th. How do you make the jump? What do you need to know that will make the transition seamless? What are the differences between running a single session and many sessions that tell an epic, massive story? In this episode, Tony, Chris,…
Over the course of twelve episodes, we have enlisted the help of all our listeners to create the first-ever crowdsourced and collaborative campaign setting – what we call Boomtown! In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to reveal the end of this very successful experiment… well, maybe not the end, but a very solid foundation from which to launch Boomtown. For anyone who is new to the…
You’ve seen the trailer. You saw the #MinisMonday post… Tony’s birthday game where Chris and Dave teamed up to run our group through a tabletop wargame in our own custom Marvel Universe of 6-1-SHIT, where the heroes were brought to Battleplanet to fight the SECRET WARS! In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of our custom, simplified, Heroclix…
One of the easiest ways to make your campaign and your setting feel real, immersive, and unique is by taking away the certitude that magic is always going to act the same way. This mysterious, world-altering energy should not ever be completely understood by your characters, as the discovery of it is a big part of the fun. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to respond to a listener…
We continue to build upon Boomtown - our real-time worldbuilding experiment - armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others. In this episode,…
