Behind the Screen | GM Screens in Practice & Theory | Wandering DMs S07 E22
Paul and Dan pull back the veil on GM screens — what they're good for, when they're essential, and when to ditch them entirely. They compare the old-school cardboard panels, DIY screens with swappable inserts, GMing from behind a laptop, and more.
What belongs on the GM side? What’s worth showing to players? From reference tables and monster art to clipped-on initiative trackers and Paranoia’s player-facing gadgets, there’s more than one way to use that cardboard shield.
And what about the game itself - can you even run Paranoia without a screen? Do GM-less games use screens at all? Tune in live to join the discussion and share your own screen stories.
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Lizardfolk in D&D | The Moral Muck of Marsh-Dwellers | Wandering DMs S07 E21
Paul & Dan wade deep into the swamp to uncover the shifting role of lizardfolk across Dungeons & Dragons editions. From their earliest days as faceless wilderness threats to complex cultures with alien worldviews, how has D&D's portrayal of these scaled humanoids evolved?
We’ll dive into classic modules like Danger at Dunwater and Tomb of the Lizard King, trace their pulp fantasy roots, and even compare how video games like Pool of Radiance handled their moral ambiguity. Were they ever really "monsters", or were we just too quick to draw our swords?
Join us as we explore what makes lizardfolk one of D&D's most misunderstood creatures - and maybe one of its most revealing.
Dan and Paul coach you in how to disrupt an enemy wizard's spells in D&D. And it varies a lot by what edition you play! From classic editions where casting in combat is strictly prohibited, to those where initiative tells the tale, to later editions where skills and counter-skills try to one-up each other. For house-ruling DMs, what's the fairest mechanic to use?
Paul and Dan tackle the age-old question of initiative in tabletop RPGs. From the simplicity of group initiative to the complexity of individual modifiers and segment counting, initiative rules can shape the entire feel of combat.
We'll explore how different editions and indie games handle turn order, what those choices say about their design philosophies, and how your own table might benefit from mixing it up. Is rolling every round more dynamic or just more bookkeeping? Should initiative reflect a character's reflexes, or just be a way to get the action moving?
Along the way, we'll share our own stories of initiative chaos, house rules that worked (or didn't), and some truly oddball systems that tried to rethink the whole idea.
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Magic Jar in D&D | Change Your Life | Wandering DMs S07 E18
Dan and Paul do a deep dive on the "Magic Jar" spell that's been in every edition of D&D to date. First edition said, "Magic jar is a very unusual spell" and gave it a completely unique school of magic. Put your soul in an object and you can possess any other creature's body you desire. Total safety from destruction, right? But detail vary wildly by edition: Should it be eternal duration, or more limited? Infinite range, or something less? And how will it reshape the tone of your whole campaign?
Read Dan's blog on Spells Through the Ages: Magic Jar
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