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The Lazy RPG Talk Show and the Lazy GM Prep show. D&D news, commentary, spotlights, Q&A, and lazy GM prep with Mike Shea of Sly Flourish.
Episodes
Friday Dec 15, 2023
Friday Dec 15, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Dec 11, 2023
Monday Dec 11, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:03 Sly Flourish News: Sly Flourish Bundle of Holding!
- 02:22 Kickstarter Spotlight: MCDM's RPG
- 05:31 Kickstarter Spotlight: One Dollar One-shot by Penny Dragon Games
- 09:16 Patreon Spotlight: Game Master Screen for Lazy GMs
- 12:04 Sly Flourish News: Mike on EN World's Podcast Talking D&D Beyond
- 13:27 Product Spotlight: Level Up Advanced 5e Adventurer's Guide
- 46:19 DM Tip: Tips for Using Paper Character Sheets
- 58:48 Patreon Question: Secrets and Clues Creating Too Many Adventure Hooks
- 01:01:37 Patreon Question: Running a Prequel Campaign
- 01:03:43 Patreon Question: Preparing a Big Campaign Adventure
Links
- Sly Flourish Bundle of Holding
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- MCDM RPG Backerkit Campaign
- One Dollar One-Shot – Tomb of the Undead King Backerkit Campaign
- Petero's Tome of Adventure by Penny Dragon
- Game Master Screen for Lazy GMs (affiliate link)
- Mike on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop RPG Talk Show
- Level Up Advanced 5e's Adventurer's Guide
- YouTube Discussion on Paper Character Sheets
- EN World Discussion on Paper Character Sheets
Friday Dec 08, 2023
Friday Dec 08, 2023
Mike shares his experiences with Empire of the Ghouls!
Links
- Visit the Sly Flourish Blog
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- Empire of the Ghouls (affiliate link)
- Midgard Worldbook (affiliate link)
- Zobeck Clockwork City (affiliate link)
- Southlands Sourcebook (affiliate link)
- Book of Ebon Tides (affiliate link)
Show Contents:
- 00:00 Show Start
- 00:51 This Adventure Is Awesome
- 04:26 Top Tips for Running Empire of the Ghouls
- 04:37 Tip 1: Deal with the Loads of Travel
- 11:19 Tip 2: Prepare for Dark and Mature Content
- 14:20 Tip 3: Add Upward Beats to the Final Two Chapters
- 15:41 Tip 4: Change Things to Suit Your Game
- 16:50 Tip 5: Use the Whole Kobold Press Midgard Library as Source Material
- 21:08 Tip Summary
- 21:37 A Deeper Chapter by Chapter Guide
- 22:15 Dread Chambers of the Undercity
- 24:20 Holy Robes of Sister Adelind
- 27:33 The Blood Marriage
- 30:45 Catacombs of the Ghul King
- 32:40 Into the Fuligin Realm
- 36:08 The Pure City of Vandekhul
- 38:34 Final Thoughts -- It's Awesome
Monday Dec 04, 2023
Monday Dec 04, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:17 Sly Flourish News: Sly Flourish Bundle of Holding!
- 03:15 Product Spotlight: Raging Swan 2021 5e Megabundle
- 05:01 Product Spotlight: Drake Koboldson's Exotic Weapons and Gadgets
- 06:00 Patreon Spotlight: Dyson Royalty Free Maps Gallery
- 08:59 Commentary: Other 5e Publishers on D&D Beyond
- 13:18 Commentary: What Can We Do to Strengthen 5e?
- 18:49 Commentary: Is it Good for Publishers?
- 22:55 Commentary: Why It Matters to GMs
- 28:32 Commentary: What Can Wizards Do For the 5e Community?
- 34:02 Commentary: What Can We Do for a Resilient 5e Hobby?
- 40:16 Commentary: You Can Get Involved
- 41:11 Commentary: WOTC's Role in the Community
- 45:35 DM Tip: High Value Prep Activities
- 57:52 Patreon Question: Helping Players Discover Secrets and Clues
- 01:00:10 Patreon Question: High-Level Monster Tactics
- 01:02:57 Patreon Question: Alignment for Factions
- 01:04:42 Patreon Question: Running Ariel Combat
- 01:06:03 Patreon Question: Revealing Lots of Campaign Info as Secrets and Clues
Links
Friday Dec 01, 2023
Friday Dec 01, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Nov 27, 2023
Monday Nov 27, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:51 Kickstarter Spotlight: Grimtooth's Traps
- 07:51 Kickstarter Spotlight: Seekers Guide to Enchanting Emporiums
- 16:51 D&D & RPG News: Big Sales This Month
- 17:39 D&D & RPG News: EN World's Article on Free and Bundled RPG Products
- 18:50 DM Tip: Awarding Treasure in 5e
- 38:47 Patreon Question: Best Features for Funnels
- 41:06 Patreon Question: Forgetting Things in Combat
- 44:53 Patreon Question: Running Short Episodic Sessions
- 47:33 Patreon Question: Adding Spells to Monsters
Links
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- Grimtooth's Traps
- Seekers of the Enchanting Emporiums
- Blasphemies of Bor Bwalsch
- Midgard Worldbook on sale for $30
- EN World Free and Bundled RPGs
- Awarding Treasure and Magic Items in D&D 5e
- Trials and Treasure – Level Up Advanced 5e
- A5e Treasure Generator
- donjon.bin.sh Treasure Generator
Friday Nov 24, 2023
Friday Nov 24, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Nov 20, 2023
Monday Nov 20, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:02 D&D & RPG News: Free WOTC D&D After-School Materials and Adventure
- 05:34 Commentary: This Is What We Want WOTC To Do
- 08:36 Commentary: Practical 5e Digital Interoperability Today
- 25:20 Patreon Spotlight: Lazy GM's Random Generator
- 29:31 DM Tip: Prepping on a High Stress Short Timeline
- 39:32 Patreon Question: When to End a Campaign
- 42:02 Patreon Question: Prep NPCs with Personality Quotes
- 49:52 Patreon Question: Getting Backstory for New Characters
Links
- D&D Educator Resources
- Free Peril in Pinebrook Adventure PDF
- WHO on the Dangers of Loneliness
- Beyond 20
- Mr Primate's Foundry D&D Beyond Importer
- How to Import a D&D Beyond Character Into Shard VTT
- Open5e
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
Friday Nov 17, 2023
Friday Nov 17, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Nov 13, 2023
Monday Nov 13, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:33 D&D & RPG News: Fantastic Deals on D&D and 5e Books
- 06:51 D&D & RPG News: Roll 20 D&D Character Builder Outside the VTT
- 11:47 Commentary: A D&D Digital Utopia
- 26:10 DM Tip: Build Monuments of Power for Big Battles in 5e
- 41:48 Patreon Question: Dialog Options for NPCs
- 45:45 Patreon Question: Good AD&D Adventures for Shadowdark RPG
- 46:40 Patreon Question: Learning New RPGs
Links
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- Radiant Citadel on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
- Eberron Rising from the Last War on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
- Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
- Mythic Odyssey of Theros on Amazon (Affiliate Link)
- 5e Humble Bundle
- Roll20 D&D Character Builder
- Level Up Advanced 5e System Reference Documents
- A5e Foundry Module Github Repo
- Anatomy of an Environmental Effect – Chernobog's Well
Friday Nov 10, 2023
Friday Nov 10, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Nov 06, 2023
Monday Nov 06, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 00:01:06 Commentary: What's the Value of an RPG Product?
- 00:29:07 DM Tip: Using the 8 Steps At Your Table
- 00:49:15 Patreon Question: How I Feel about D&D 2024
- 00:54:17 Patreon Question: Where to Get D&D News
- 00:57:05 Patreon Question: Encounter Builiding for Waves of Monsters
- 01:03:48 Patreon Question: Running Gladiatorial Arenas
Links
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- Eberron Rising from the Last War (affiliate link)
- Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft (affiliate link)
- Midgard Worldbook
- Southlands
- Tal'Dorei Reborn
- Ptolus
- Cursed Scroll 1
- Shadow of the Demon Lord (affiliate link)
- Iskandar (affiliate link)
- Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- EN World
- Lazy Encounter Benchmark
- Dials of Monster Difficulty
Friday Nov 03, 2023
Friday Nov 03, 2023
Mike shares his experiences, tips, and tricks for running the original 1983 I6 Ravenloft using the Shadowdark RPG.
Show Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:17 Did Shadowdark and Ravenloft Work Well Together?
- 03:26 Get Ravenloft for $3
- 05:21 Main Experiences Running Ravenloft with Shadowdark
- 05:30 Use 5th Level Characters
- 08:06 Use Twice as Many Pregens as you Have Players -- Plan for Death
- 09:28 Include Some Silvered Weapons
- 10:31 Use Old-School Mapping
- 11:35 We Got Through a Lot of the Castle -- They Ran from a Lot
- 12:55 Introducing Shadowdark to 5e Players
- 20:06 Running Ravenloft in One Session
- 28:29 Modifying Ravenloft for Shadowdark -- Very Little Needed
- 35:59 Patreon Toolkit to Run Ravenloft with Shadowdark
- 39:50 VTT Ravenloft Maps
- 40:46 Other Ways to Run Ravenloft
- 41:57 Ravenloft + Shadowdark = Awesome
Links
- Visit the Sly Flourish Blog
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Podcast
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books
- I6 Ravenloft (affiliate link)
- Shadowdark RPG
- Shadowdarklings
- Running Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd in a Single Session
- Ravenloft VTT maps (affiliate Link)
Monday Oct 30, 2023
Monday Oct 30, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00:00 Show Start
- 00:01:27 D&D & RPG News: Arcane Library Bundle of Holding
- 00:03:00 D&D & RPG News: Level Up Advanded 5e SRD in the Creative Commons
- 00:07:50 Commentary: Planescape Adventures in the Multiverse
- 00:37:20 Commentary: The Mortuary
- 00:42:42 Patreon Spotlight: Lazy GM Screen Sheets and a Forge of Foes Monster Stat App
- 00:47:41 DM Tip: Music Playlists For Your Game
- 00:57:52 Patreon Question: Pacing High-Level Campaigns
- 01:03:06 Patreon Question: Running Two Campaigns with the Same Setting and Story
Links
Friday Oct 27, 2023
Friday Oct 27, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Oct 23, 2023
Monday Oct 23, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:22 D&D & RPG News: Black Flag System Reference Document
- 07:37 Commentary: A Comparison of Cult Fanatics
- 20:53 DM Tip: Lazy Tricks for Making Great Magic Items
- 33:05 Commentary: Defining Adventure Types
- 50:29 Patreon Question: Running Battles in the Background (again)
- 53:42 Patreon Question: Running Ravenloft with Shadowdark
Links
Friday Oct 20, 2023
Friday Oct 20, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Oct 16, 2023
Monday Oct 16, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:38 D&D & RPG News: Amazon Sales on D&D Books
- 07:25 Commentary: What Do We Need from WOTC for D&D?
- 29:16 DM Tip: Running Monsters in Dynamic Situations
- 43:14 Patreon Question: Character Wants to Defer to Authorities
- 48:26 Patreon Question: Running Flashbacks
- 52:25 Patreon Question: Managing Big Battles in the Background
Links
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Friday Oct 13, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:03 Commentary: D&D Playtest on Bastions and Cantrips
- 23:30 Kickstarter Spotlight: The Vault of Life Well Lived by Cubicle 7
- 29:21 Patreon Spotlight: Secret of Summervine Villa
- 34:41 DM Tip: Prepping and Improvising Pacing
- 51:01 Patreon Question: Foreshadowing Roach Motel Dungeons
- 57:15 Patreon Question: Showing Locations in a Hex Crawl
Links
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Friday Oct 06, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Oct 02, 2023
Monday Oct 02, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00:00 Show Start
- 00:01:05 Flee Mortals (Qualifiers)
- 00:02:28 Flee Mortals Overall Assessment
- 00:03:48 Flee Mortals - Not a Monster Manual Replacement
- 00:06:17 Flee Mortals - Are 5e Monsters Boring?
- 00:09:50 Flee Mortals Overview
- 00:13:32 Flee Mortals Monster Roles
- 00:15:54 Flee Mortals Action Oriented Monsters
- 00:17:44 Flee Mortals Minions
- 00:25:48 Flee Mortals Encounter Building Guidelines
- 00:28:21 Flee Mortals Monster Index Spreadsheet
- 00:29:10 Flee Mortals and Other Monster Books
- 00:30:20 Flee Mortals and D&D Beyond
- 00:31:59 Flee Mortals Other Chapters
- 00:34:22 Who Should Buy Flee Mortals?
- 00:35:22 Flee Mortals Lightning Round Questions
- 00:41:42 Flee Mortals Final Thoughts
- 00:42:37 Patreon Spotlight: Readings and Reflections Podcast
- 00:44:26 Patreon Question: Alternatives to Legendary Actions for Legendary Monsters
- 00:46:14 Patreon Question: WOTC changing Legendary Actions to Reactions
- 00:48:36 Patreon Question: Buying or Leasing Material from D&D Beyond or Demiplane
- 00:52:53 Patreon Question: Safest Place to Buy Digital RPG Content
- 00:55:40 Patreon Question: Going Off the Path on Published Adventures
- 00:57:13 Patreon Question: Good Advice I Don't Follow
- 01:02:46 Patreon Question: Handling Villagers in Protect the Village Situations
- 01:04:38 Patreon Question: Managing Sandbox Situations with the 8 Steps
- 01:06:40 Patreon Question: Overcoming the Need for High Production Value D&D
Links
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Friday Sep 29, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Sep 25, 2023
Monday Sep 25, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:03 Kickstarter Spotlight: Wanderer's Guide to Enchanted Emporiums
- 03:21 D&D & RPG News: VTT "Maps" in D&D Beyond
- 18:41 D&D & RPG News: Monstrous Compendium 4: Eldraine Creatures
- 28:57 Patreon Spotlight: Mire's End 4th Level Adventure
- 30:36 DM Tip: Adventure Structures
- 50:04 Patreon Question: Shaking Up Castle Ravenloft
- 53:14 Patreon Question: Three Weeks of GM Improvement
Links
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Friday Sep 22, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Sep 18, 2023
Monday Sep 18, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:08 D&D & RPG News: Chris Perkins's DM Tips
- 07:39 Kickstarter Spotlight: Level Up Advanced 5e Starter Set by EN World Publishing
- 12:01 Kickstarter Spotlight: Monstrous
- 14:19 Commentary: Correction on A5e Counterspell
- 17:13 DM Tip: Run Really Hard Battles and Let Player Get Away with Stuff
- 28:45 Patreon Spotlight: Dwarven Forge VTT Backdrops
- 32:59 Patreon Question: Prepping Adventures While Visually Impared
- 38:54 Patreon Question: Reciting Session Recaps and Previous Session Summaries
- 42:32 Patreon Question: GMs Bringing More Energy to the Game
- 46:37 Patreon Question: Best Starting Adventures for New Players and DMs
Links
- Subscribe to the Sly Flourish Newsletter
- Support Sly Flourish on Patreon
- Buy Sly Flourish Books:
- Chris Perkins's DM Tips
- Level Up Advanced 5e Starter Set Kickstarter
- Monstrous Kickstarter
- A5e's Counterspell
- Choosing the Right Steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Knights of the Braille Discord Server
- Dungeons And Dragons: a How-To For Blind And Low Vision Tabletop Enthusiasts
- Accessible Gaming Quarterly magazine
- That All May Read apparently has services for the D&D 5e core books in braille and audio
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Friday Sep 15, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Sep 11, 2023
Monday Sep 11, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 01:13 D&D & RPG News: 2024 Players Handbook Playtest 7
- 09:43 Commentary: I Hate Counterspell
- 16:42 Kickstarter Spotlight: Side Quests and NPC Decks by Inkwell Ideas
- 18:14 D&D & RPG News: Demiplane Gets 5e Content
- 22:58 Commentary: Adventure Pitfalls -- Where Do Our Games Fail to Be Fun?
- 34:25 Patreon Spotlight: The Lazy RPG Talk Show Database
- 37:57 Commentary: Baldur's Gate 3 Ability Checks
- 47:10 Patreon Question: Does Baldur's Gate 3 Match the D&D Experience?
- 51:34 Patreon Question: Fudging Monster Stats Feels Bad
- 56:38 Patreon Question: Tips for Rules Versus Rulings in OSR Games
- 59:34 Patreon Question: Only Using Half of your Prep Notes
Links
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Friday Sep 08, 2023
Mike prepares for his Shadowdark RPG campaign, the Gloaming!
Monday Sep 04, 2023
Monday Sep 04, 2023
D&D and RPG news and commentary by Mike Shea of https://slyflourish.com
Contents
- 00:00 Show Start
- 00:53 Kickstarter Spotlight: Old Town Saga by MT Black
- 03:43 Kickstarter Spotlight: Weapons of Legend by Jeff Stevents
- 06:35 Commentary: D&D on Death Row
- 14:33 Patreon Spotlight: Tomb of the Red Headsman
- 18:06 Patreon Question: The Eight Steps for Call of Cthulhu and Investigative or Mystery Games
- 24:10 Patreon Question: Incentivizing Moving Around During Combat
- 28:03 Patreon Question: Thoughts on Anti-Colonial Chapter of Forge of Foes
- 36:29 Patreon Question: Player-Focused Tasks and Roles
- 39:22 Patreon Question: Where to Drop In the Three Choices For Future Sessions
- 41:56 Patreon Question: Fitting a Strong Start Into a Three-Hour Game
- 44:57 Patreon Question: Where Does Treasure Make Sense?