
Episodes

Friday Nov 19, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 37: Ythryn Part 1
Friday Nov 19, 2021
Friday Nov 19, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Monday Nov 15, 2021
Monday Nov 15, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:34 Patreon Update: Sly Flourish's Uncovered Secrets Volume 1 & 2
- 02:59 Lazy DM Companion Update
- 03:55 DM Prep with Obsidian.md
- 13:19 Kickstarter: Expedition to the Mysterious Peaks
- 15:16 Kickstarter: cy_borg
- 20:05 Product Spotlight: Mork Borg Feretory
- 27:18 DM Tip: Beefing Up 5e Vampires
- 31:05 Using Fizban's Treasury of Dragons in Play
- 34:14 Patreon Question: Setting the Mood
- 39:10 Patreon Question: Planning Upward and Downward Beats
- 42:42 Patreon Question: Has Character Death Become Taboo?
- 50:57 Patreon Question: Satisfying Conclusions for Weak Villains
Links
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Obsidian.md
- Nicole van der Hoeven's video on using Obsidian with D&D Prep
- Kickstarter: Expedition to the Mysterious Peaks
- Kickstarter: cy_borg
- Mork Borg Feretory
- Descent into Avernus: Fall of Elturel
- Campfire Story Prompts During Rests in D&D

Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 36: Caves of Hunger Part 3
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Thursday Nov 11, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Monday Nov 08, 2021
Monday Nov 08, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00:44 Preorder Page for the Lazy DM's Companion
- 00:03:21 Thoughts on Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
- 00:12:43 WOTC's Problem with High CR Damage
- 00:20:45 Kickstarter: Planegea by Atlast Games
- 00:23:05 Kickstarter: Skyraiders of Abraxis by Laura and Tracy Hickman
- 00:25:06 Kickstarter: Rewards and Rarities by 2C Gaming
- 00:27:13 Kickstarter: Reliquaries by Dwarven Forge
- 00:32:04 Transitioning to 70% Online Play
- 00:35:39 Spotlight: Vault of Magic by Kobold Press
- 00:44:19 Patreon Questions and Answers
- 00:45:14 Patreon Question: Transitioning to Published Adventures
- 00:47:46 Patreon Question: Worrying about Subverting Expectations
- 00:50:37 Patreon Question: Character Deaths and New Characters
- 00:53:21 Patreon Question: Keeping Track of Characters' Knowledge
- 00:55:02 Patreon Question: Handling NPC to NPC Conversations
- 00:56:34 Patreon Question: Adding Details to Fantastic Locations
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Preoder the Lazy DM's Companion
- Level Up Advanced 5e
- Kickstarter: Planegea by Atlast Games
- Kickstarter: Skyraiders of Abraxis by Laura and Tracy Hickman
- Kickstarter: Rewards and Rarities by 2C Gaming
- Kickstarter: Reliquaries by Dwarven Forge
- Vault of Magic by Kobold Press

Friday Nov 05, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 35: Caves of Hunger Part 2
Friday Nov 05, 2021
Friday Nov 05, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Monday Nov 01, 2021
Monday Nov 01, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:01:01 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- 00:02:14 Thoughts on Ravenloft Halloween One-Shot
- 00:13:32 Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
- 00:21:50 Kickstarter: Amazing Encounters and Places
- 00:24:29 Kickstarter: Potbellied Kobold's Guide to Villains and Lairs
- 00:25:33 Kickstarter: Planebreaker
- 00:28:24 Numenera Humble Bundle
- 00:30:02 Kickstarter: Book of Ebon Tides
- 00:31:02 Building RPG Companies Around Kickstarter
- 00:32:43 Patreon Question: Best Encounters for 1st Session
- 00:36:54 Patreon Question: Ideal Sidekicks for One-on-One Games
- 00:38:46 Patreon Question: Running Natural Disasters as Villains
- 00:41:57 Patreon Question: Ideal Facts for the "Six Truths" when Campaign Building
- 00:43:38 Patreon Question: Lazy Prep for Dungeons
- 00:46:42 Patreon Question: Process for Building Boss Monsters
- 00:50:58 Patreon Question: Tell Players about Monster Immunities and Legendary Resistances
- 00:54:02 Patreon Question: Lazy Prep for Marathon Sessions
- 00:56:22 Patreon Question: Ideal Number of Sessions for Milestone Leveling
- 00:57:24 Patreon Question: Keeping the Tension in Roleplay Scenes
- 00:58:26 Patreon Question: Using Lazy DM Steps for Other RPGs
- 01:00:20 Patreon Question: Failing Forward on a TPK?
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Lazy DM's Companion
- Running a One-Shot Ravenloft Game Video
- Running a One-Shot Ravenloft Game Article
- Draft One-Shot Strahd Stat Block
- Kickstarter: Amazing Encounters and Places
- Kickstarter: Potbellied Kobold's Guide to Villains and Lairs
- Kickstarter: Planebreaker by Monte Cook Games
- Numenera Humble Bundle
- Kickstarter: Book of Ebon Tides by Kobold Press
- Running 1st Level Encounters
- Tier-based Quests and Adventures
- Spiral Campaign Development Video
- Dan Dillion's Tweets on Tuning Bosses
- Think Through the Eyes of your NPCs

Friday Oct 29, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 34: Caves of Hunger
Friday Oct 29, 2021
Friday Oct 29, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Monday Oct 25, 2021
Monday Oct 25, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:39 Artwork from the Lazy DM's Companion
- 03:22 Mike on D&D Beyond Talking Fizbans
- 04:21 Call from the Netherdeep Announced
- 06:23 Critical Role Season 3
- 08:10 Critical Role's Gaming Room
- 10:03 How Much Better Would Your Game Be with a Million Dollar Gaming Room?
- 20:15 Mastering Dungeons
- 20:59 WOTC's D&D Growth Over Time
- 25:01 Paizo's Union
- 27:23 Level Up: Advanced 5e Kickstarter
- 29:42 Raiders of the Serpent Sea Kickstarter
- 31:04 Kickstarters are the Most Interesting Growth Areas of RPGs
- 35:36 Patreon Questions!
- 36:11 Patreon Question: Running Lighthearted Campaigns
- 41:38 Which Third Party Products to Trust?
- 48:24 Running Chases in D&D
- 55:43 Avenues for Indy RPG Creation - Newsletters!!
Links
- Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- Mike on D&D Beyond Talking about Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
- Call from the Netherdeep
- Critical Role in Variety
- Critical Role's Gaming Room
- Hidden Brain podcast on Fear of Missing Out
- Select the Right Accessories
- The Best Ways to Improve your D&D Game are Free
- Mastering Dungeons
- D&D Growth Over Time
- Level Up: Advanced 5e Kickstarter
- Raiders of the Serpent Sea Kickstarter

Friday Oct 22, 2021
Let‘s Make an Adventure with the Lazy DM‘s Companion Part 2
Friday Oct 22, 2021
Friday Oct 22, 2021
Mike uses material from the Lazy DM's Companion to continue his preparation for a single-session D&D game!

Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 33: Chardalyn Dragon Aftermath
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Monday Oct 18, 2021
Monday Oct 18, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 00:29 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- 03:14 Fizban's Treasury of Dragons
- 05:38 The dragons in the First World
- 10:48 Aspect of Tiamat, Great Wyrm stat blocks, and spellcasting dragons
- 18:32 Monster Design Guidelines from WOTC
- 23:45 13th Age Spotlight
- 43:30 Patreon Question: Tracking what happened
- 46:44 Patreon Question: Putting on pressure in flexible campaigns
- 51:26 Patreon Question: The 8 steps in a megadungeon
- 54:29 Patreon Question: Putting puzzles into your game
Links

Saturday Oct 16, 2021
Frostmaiden Prep Session 32: The Chardalyn Dragon
Saturday Oct 16, 2021
Saturday Oct 16, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Friday Oct 15, 2021
Let‘s Make an Adventure with the Lazy DM‘s Companion
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Friday Oct 15, 2021
Mike uses material from the Lazy DM's Companion to build an adventure!

Monday Oct 11, 2021
Monday Oct 11, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 00:40 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- 03:24 Mastering Dungeons Live on Twitch
- 05:12 More New D&D Core Book Thoughts
- 05:41 This is Different from Other D&D Revisions
- 09:48 Thoughts on New Monster Design
- 11:57 Thoughts on the Different D&D Communities
- 22:28 On Fudging Hit Points
- 30:43 Patreon Questions
- 31:54 How do you handle the number of monsters with the lazy benchmark?
- 38:21 How do you keep a 20th level party going?
- 41:38 Making Your Own Encounter Tables
- 45:15 Better Support for Tier 3 and 4?
- 56:34 Can't Remember Spell Details? That's ok!
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Lazy DMs Companion Kickstarter
- 2nd Kickstarter Q&A Video
- Analysis of the D&D Twitter Community (2017)
- Daniel Kwan on Fudging Hit Points
- 2C Gaming's Epic Legacy
- 2C Gaming's Total Party Kill Bestiary Vol 1
- 2C Gaming's Total Party Kill Bestiary Vol 2

Friday Oct 08, 2021
Lazy DM‘s Companion Kickstarter 2nd Q&A
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Mike goes through more questions for the Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter!
Links
Contents
- 00:00 Start - About the Kickstarter
- 02:09 Any modifications based on upcoming D&D changes? No.
- 04:05 Will the Companion be useful for non-D&D games? Yes!
- 05:05 Can you show the book in action? Yes! Next time.
- 06:33 Will the spiral-bound Workbook be available post-Kickstarter? Yes!
- 07:36 Really? No Stretch goals? Yep, no stretch goals.
- 09:04 Will the PDFs come through DriveThruRPG? Yes!
- 09:22 Will we get the PDFs of existing books right away? Yes!
- 10:00 Will the digital versions include existing ePubs? Yes!
- 10:44 Can we get the physical versions of the "Fantastic" book add-ons? Not through the Kickstarter.
- 11:52 Is the Companion "Done"? No. First draft is done.
- 13:02 Can we see what the books will look like? Not yet.
- 13:30 Can we add audiobooks as add-ons? Unfortunately, no.
- 15:00 Can I print maps for my own private use? Yes.
- 15:17 Can I give away extra digital copies? Yes.
- 16:02 Can we get the digital art as a download? Yes.
- 17:41 Will these questions get added to the FAQ? Yes.
- 18:09 Will there be a retailer pledge? No, but...
- 19:16 Will the printed books be available on Amazon? Yes, eventually.
- 20:19 Will Return look like Babar in hardcover? No.
- 21:17 Going to any conventions this year? No.
- 23:05 How different are the printed books from PoD? Nicer!
- 25:03 Experiences with Off-set Printing? Too early to say.
- 29:12 Plans for different languages? Not at the moment.
- 31:30 How do you plan to cope with the next 21 days? It's great!
- 35:48 A look at the TOC and design of the Companion
- 37:03 The Lands of the Fey page and design
- 42:51 Turning a 1d20 list into a 1d400 list
- 45:23 Useful guidelines and generators each in a single page
- 48:00 Not re-creating existing guidelines
- 49:36 Monster templates
- 57:57 Can I mix and match physical and PDF orders? Yes!

Friday Oct 08, 2021
Frostmaiden Session 31: Grimskalle and the Tests of the Frostmaiden
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Friday Oct 08, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Wednesday Oct 06, 2021
Recovering from a Bad D&D Game
Wednesday Oct 06, 2021
Wednesday Oct 06, 2021
Mike offers advice for recovering from a bad D&D game.

Monday Oct 04, 2021
Monday Oct 04, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:09 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- 05:23 New D&D Core Books coming in 2024
- 21:04 Mordenkainen's Guide to the Monsters of the Multiverse
- 31:41 WOTC Doesn't Control D&D – We do
- 40:06 The Potential D&D Digital Armageddon
- 51:08 Patreon Question: Oscar M. Connecting Characters in an Ongoing Campaign
- 54:49 Patreon Question: Tim S. Spiral Campaigns in Cities
- 57:30 Patreon Question: Pierce S on Countdown Clocks in D&D
Links

Friday Oct 01, 2021
Frostmaiden Session 30: Grimskalle Fortress
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Friday Oct 01, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Lazy DM‘s Companion Twitch Q&A #1
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Thursday Sep 30, 2021
Mike talks all about the Lazy DMs Companion and takes questions from Twitch. Join the Kickstarter here!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/slyflourish/the-lazy-dms-companion?ref=9hlew2
Show Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 2:27 Will there be a hardcover version of the Handbook?
- 3:20 How come no stretch goals?
- 6:25 Is the hardcover of Return different?
- 8:56 Have you thought about combining the three books into one?
- 14:56 Who are the artists behind this great art?
- 16:25 How useful do you expect it to be for other systems and editions?
- 19:40 Will the shipping cost change?
- 20:20 Is the book future proof?
- 27:40 Will there be any changes to the Lazy Combat Encounter Guide?
- 31:46 What do you know about 6e?
- 32:37 Is there something you wanted in the book that didn't make it?
- 36:16 Have I started my next book? NO!
- 37:07 Ever considered WOTC-hardcover-focused guides and products?
- 39:20 Does the Lazy DM's Companion include downtime activities? No.
- 40:22 Will the book be available on Amazon? Yes. Mid to late next year after backers get theirs.
- 41:34 Do you have an "Appendix N" of inspirational resources? Yes!!
- 44:13 Have you considered adding indexes to your books? No, but I will now!
- 46:02 When do you get your stuff?
- 49:15 How is your day going?
- 52:52 Are you planning any appearances on YT/Twitch channels?
- 53:31 Would you ever consider streaming a one-shot if the campaign did crazy numbers?
- 54:59 Would you rather fight one horse-sized kobold or a hundred kobold-sized horses?
- 55:15 What is your favourite Monte Cook supplement or product?
- 55:47 How much for you to hand deliver the books?
- 56:22 Any plans on an audiobook version?
- 58:11 Have you thought of tabs for quick reference?
- 58:54 Will their be epub versions of Return and Ruins of Grendleroot in it?
- 59:36 What type of content is in the Lazy DM's Companion?

Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Customizing Published D&D Adventures
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Wednesday Sep 29, 2021
Mike talks about ways to customize your published D&D adventures.

Monday Sep 27, 2021
Monday Sep 27, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:24 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter Coming Soon!
- 02:34 Planebreaker Kickstarter
- 04:43 Dwarven Forge Reliquaries Kickstarter
- 08:02 Wild Beyond the Witchlight Thoughts
- 13:11 D&D Celebration
- 15:29 DM's Guild Dungeoncraft Adventures
- 20:03 DM's Panel on Immersion
- 24:51 New Adventurer's League Rules (They're Awesome)
- 28:41 Sharon C. Are Hybrid Conventions Here to Stay? (Yes!)
- 35:23 Tracking villains in published adventures
- 39:18 Questions about the Kickstarter
- 43:16 Running Wilderness Exploration
- 46:49 Non-combat Strong Starts for Adventures
- 50:22 Tips for Running NPCs and Giving Away Secrets
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter
- Planebreaker Kickstarter by Monte Cook Games
- Dwarven Forge Reliquaries Kickstarter
- D&D Celebration DMs Panel on Immersion
- DM's Guild Dungeoncraft Adventures
- D&D Adventurer's League
- Startplaying.Games

Friday Sep 24, 2021
Frostmaiden Session 29:Tomb of the Frost Giants
Friday Sep 24, 2021
Friday Sep 24, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Spiral Campaign Development
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Wednesday Sep 22, 2021
Mike talks about how to build a campaign from the characters outwards.

Monday Sep 20, 2021
Monday Sep 20, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 00:22 Lazy DM Companion Kickstarter Notification Signup!
- 03:14 Wild Beyond the Witchlight marketing in full force
- 06:29 World simulation vs scaling challenges
- 22:30 Pacing – potentially the main DM weakness
- 36:49 Shadow of the Demon Lord spotlight
- 53:11 Building NPCs for different situations
- 58:30 Building fronts in the middle of a campaign
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Lazy DM Companion Kickstarter Notification Signup!
- Mastering Dungeons Podcast on Wild Beyond the Witchlight
- Alphastream.Org: For an Epic Hero, What is the DC to Pick a Lock?
- Your Best Game Ever
- Improving Pacing - Sly Flourish
- Timing and Pacing Adventures - Sly Flourish
- Shadow of the Demon Lord Bundle
- Shadow of the Demon Lord Products
- Mike's quick NPC generator
- Thinking Back on Fronts - Sly Flourish

Friday Sep 17, 2021
D&D’s Best Subsystem – The Ability Check
Friday Sep 17, 2021
Friday Sep 17, 2021
Mike proposes using the ability check instead of more complicated subsystems.

Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Frostmaiden Session 28-2: Grimskalle Redux
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Thursday Sep 16, 2021
Mike prepares for his latest session of Icewind Dale, Rime of the Frostmaiden!

Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
D&D Random Encounters: Non-Focal, Previous, Upcoming, and Mashups
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Tuesday Sep 14, 2021
Mike talks about how we can help players make informed decisions in D&D.

Monday Sep 13, 2021
Monday Sep 13, 2021
Mike talks about all things D&D!
Contents
- 00:00 Intro
- 01:03 Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter Coming 28 September!
- 05:26 New Adventures League Rules! Yay!
- 15:17 Alignments on Monsters are back
- 20:51 WOTC published monsters are often took weak and its not getting better
- 27:39 Interesting Third Party Products
- 30:56 Raging Swan's Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands
- 41:40 Lazy DM Prep and Running West Marches
- 46:28 Getting Games Back On Track
- 49:50 Can All the Characters Roll an Ability Check?
Links
- D&D Talk Show YouTube Playlist
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Lazy DM's Companion Kickstarter Page! Sign up and be notified!
- Adventure League Article by Chris Tulach
- Jabberwock Stat Block with Alignments
- Tome of Heroes
- Tanares
- Valda's Spire of Secrets
- Delver's Guide to Beast World
- Quest-o-Nomicon
- Raging Swan Press at DriveThruRPG
- Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands
- Shadowed Keep on the Borderlands VTT Maps
- Grand Experiments: West Marches

Friday Sep 10, 2021
Help D&D Players Make Decisions
Friday Sep 10, 2021
Friday Sep 10, 2021
Mike talks about how we can help players make informed decisions in D&D.