Web DM Podcast Episode 247 - Q &A!

Hey all,

Sorry the pod is late- we're in Canada, and the internet has been going out all day where we're staying unfortunately.  But it seems like it's doing ok now - let's see if it works long enough to get this to you. We answered some of your great questions earlier this week and we're so happy to share them with you.

Here are time stamps:

15:19 - Klouse: What does it mean in narrative for what is happening when casters prepare spells? Especially wizards.

26:29 - Clayton Reaves: Any tips for running a game in a technically "stone-age" setting? I've been working on a world that relies on precolumbian american aesthetics rather than the pseudo medieval european aesthetic that most fantasy settings typically use. Thoughts on adapting something like this to 5e?

37:21 - Justin: I am in the creation phase of my first homebrew campaign world and story, and I am hitting a creative roadblock. I know that you all have talked repeatedly about simplifying and focusing on the start and the small scale (eg., having a detailed starting town rather than the starting kingdom and reacting to where the players want to take the game). However, every time I read a prompt-filled monster stat block or the details of magical items, or when I think about how to build players' characters and backstories into a wider world, I struggle to know how to incorporate large-scale topics and ideas when I should be focusing on a small-scale start. How would you recommend addressing this issue?

42:15 - Jordan: So I’m curious, how much of the NPC statblocks do you share with the players during and after combat, and how would you hint at different traits in combat without ruining the surprise?

48:07 - scotty: I have players who love to read through books because that's what they like. I'm fine with it, but how do I manage keeping things fresh/challenging when the players have read the stat blox?

50:22 - Creckzo: How would you do a planescape game of party in an afterlife, not hell, the abyss, etc, but want to return to life, (or at least to return to the material plane) with no one to resurrect them

55:07 - Myke: What’s going on with Short Rests and why?