Making a Monster

What's his deal, anyway? Amy Vorpahl is the voice of Fizban, multiverse-spanning god of dragons, in Fizban's Treasury of Dragons. We discuss this character's view of the world, how to write for D&D, and whether Fizban is fun to hang out with. Spoiler alert: he is. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-fizbans-treasury-of-dragons-with-amy-vorpahl Meet my guests: https://www.twitter.com/VorpahlSword https://www.amyvorpahl.com/ Get bonus episodes and...

Amy Vorpahl couldn't resist adding a cute little Pokémon to her Candlekeep Mystery. Here's more about the skitterwidgets, what Pat Rothfuss could gain from a little more magic, and how to stay motivated while writing. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-amy-vorpahl-candlekeep-mystery Meet my guests: https://www.twitter.com/VorpahlSword https://www.amyvorpahl.com/ Get bonus episodes and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio...

Fun City is the best Shadowrun actual play podcast on the Internet, and its two Gms, Mike Rugnetta and Taylor Moore, crafted a beautiful, dimension-spanning arc with the most thought-provoking villain this show has featured yet. Making a Monster: GM Edition asks actual play podcasters how they use the monsters in their games. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-fun-city-mike-rugnetta-taylor-moore Meet my guests: https://funcity.ventures...

Chosen Ones is a visual-novel style D&D podcast on YouTube with an all-artist and LGBT+ cast. DM Cassiroll and I discuss playing too much D&D, too little combat, and the window between heroism and villainy. Making a Monster: GM Edition asks actual play podcasters how they use the monsters in their games. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-chosen-ones-dnd/ Meet my guest: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqa9_zBgST-wPRCVL7PXwvw...

The First Watch is a cinematic actual play podcast making the most of genre-based storytelling. DM Andrew Coons and I discuss the seven types of conflict in literature and how heroes make the courageous, if stupid, choice. Making a Monster: GM Edition asks actual play podcasters how they use the monsters in their games. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-first-watch/ Meet my guest: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu5p4VD1CxwndFhal7DF0mA...

The Last Tapestry is a tech-noir, Eberron-inspired actual play D&D podcast. DM Dan Locke and I discuss "monster monsters" and the definition of villainy. Making a Monster: GM Edition asks actual play podcasters how they use the monsters in their games. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-the-last-tapestry/ Meet my guest: https://www.thelasttapestry.com/ Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks like the recording at the beginning of...

Nikki Yager makes D&D podcasts. Like, a lot of D&D podcasts. Like a lot. Her favorite villains are the ones who think they're the hero. We talk about heroism and villainy on a dimmer, and the many, many times gamers seem to end up at Denny's. Making a Monster: GM Edition asks actual play podcasters how they use the monsters in their games. Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-beholder-to-no-one/ Meet my guest: https://linktr.ee/BeholdertoNoOne Get...

Avatar Legends brings the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender to your tabletop as an RPG. The game has a balanced take on what it means to be a villain and a monster. Join designers James Mendez Hodes and Sharang Biswas and discover how the Apocalypse World engine becomes a faithful representation of the show Read the transcript and get more from the show: https://scintilla.studio/monster-avatar-legends-the-rpg/

Roll20's exclusive sci-fi RPG Burn Bryte asks you to jump in to a galaxy where an adorable teleporting mischief fox could just walk right into your ship. It's also a game where hope wins. Learn more about Burn Bryte and get 3 monsters from My Dad's Monster Manual on the episode page here: https://scintilla.studio/monster-blipp-burn-bryte Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/JamesIntrocaso http://www.jamesintrocaso.com/ https://worldbuilderblog.me/ https://burnbryte.com/ Get early access to...

Roll Play Lead uses Dungeons & Dragons to teach social skills to teens in Colorado. Kids and teens use monsters to explore the obstacles in their own lives. You can support Roll Play Lead Directly, use Jamie's adventures in your home game, or check out her TEDx Talk at the links here: https://scintilla.studio/monster-roll-play-lead-social-skills-dnd Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/Rosey_Games Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks like the recording at the beginning of...

Leading unsuspecting adventurers to the Feywild with a gentlemanly hand, the tamlin combines the Scottish folk tale with the literary trope of the white rabbit for a planes-hopping, swashbuckling good time. To read the transcript and find out what a "gish" is visit the show's website: https://scintilla.studio/monster-tamlin-feywilds-white-rabbit Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/LabLazarus Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks like the recording at the beginning of this...

As one of D&D's very few Celestial monsters, Varadrel is an agent of divine justice best compared to the personified disasters of Japanese kaiju. To read the transcript, check out "Titans of Faerun", or see the full-color, "be not afraid" illustration of Varadrel, visit the show's website: https://scintilla.studio/varadrel-the-kaiju-angel/ Meet my guests: https://twitter.com/honeybadger3495 https://twitter.com/theicequeer Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks:...

The shattered kalashtar asks questions about dealing with trauma, and lets other players participate in the answers. It expands D&D's Eberron campaign setting with a psychic dystopia reminiscent of Neuromancer and Brave New World. Download the stat block and read the full transcript here: https://scintilla.studio/monster-shattered-kalashtar-eberron/ Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/ILGingell https://imogen.space/ Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks:...

Andrew Grondin wrote a tabletop game that combines European fairy tales and Lovecraftian existential horror. Inside that Venn diagram is a surprisingly encouraging message about power and who has it. Read the full transcript here: https://scintilla.studio/shakespeare-lovecraft-combine-delirium Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/TheSiegeAndrew https://s-15studios.squarespace.com/#/delirium/ Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio...

Nils Hintze is the lead writer of Vaesen, a Nordic horror role-playing game by Free League Publishing. In this game, fairies and other monsters manifest the anxieties of a rapidly-urbanizing 19th century Sweden. Read the full transcript here: https://scintilla.studio/free-leagues-vaesen Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/KeithAmmann https://www.themonstersknow.com Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio https://ko-fi.com/sparkotter...

The true and actual origins of the displacer beast with author A. E. Van Vogt. Find out more at www.patreon.com/scintillastudio

Keith Ammann, author of Monsters Know What They're Doing, shows us how to decode a monster's game mechanics to discover its intended use. We also get into how culture makes monsters, both in game and out. Read the full transcript here: https://scintilla.studio/the-monsters-know-what-theyre-doing-with-keith-ammann Meet my guest: https://twitter.com/KeithAmmann https://www.themonstersknow.com Get early access to episodes and other monstrous perks: www.patreon.com/scintillastudio...

The Cherokee myth of the Raven Wizard is retold in Connor Alexander's Coyote and Crow, a tabletop role-playing game set in an alternate future of the Americas where colonization never occurred. Full transcript: https://scintilla.studio/monster-coyote-and-crow-raven-wizard/

From the Bard College of Silence by Kai Linder comes Vo the Voice Snatcher, an aberration capable of stealing the voice from your throat and adding it to its own. It's a kind of creepy that stays with you long after the fight is over. Get the College of Silence for 75% off by clicking here: https://scintilla.studio/monster-college-of-silence-voice-snatcher

Dvati is a race option for D&D to play 2 characters at once. An extra-long bonus episode 20 years in the making, bringing together the original designer, the 5th edition homebrewer, and maybe the only person to play the Dvati in a long-running campaign. Full transcript: https://scintilla.studio/monster-dvati-race-dnd/