Tavern Watch Podcast
By: Blizzard Watch
Language: en
Categories: Leisure, Games, Hobbies
Tavern Watch is devoted to tabletop roleplaying games news, discussion, and group play sessions brought to you by the people behind the Blizzard Watch and Lore Watch podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Tavern Watch Plays Brindlewood Bay, episode 1: A night at the whaling museum
Dec 15, 2025Welcome to Brindlewood Bay, a peaceful New England village on the sea with picturesque views, cozy bookshops, and quaint B&Bs. It also has an unusually high murder rate, and that's where today's adventure comes in to play, as our party of sleuths attempt to untangle a mysterious death.
And, of course, our adventurers are all little old ladies. Let me introduce them:
Joan as Louisa, resident gardener who loves getting her hands dirty and has seen absolutely every episode of MacGyver. Always carries her Swiss Army knife (the TSA hates her).Matt as Ludmilla... Duration: 01:03:17Artificers, evil(?) Rogues, and new Daggerheart
Dec 01, 2025We're entering the winter doldrums of game scheduling, and many of our TTRPG adventures have been coming to a halt (or at least a slow) for the winter due to the difficulty of getting this many adults in a room, even a virtual one, for the holidays. But the snowier season here in the Northern Hemisphere doesn't mean a lack of new tabletop game material, especially if you like D&D. We've been enjoying the two Forgotten Realms books released in November, including new dangerous magical items and a thoroughly non-heroic Rogue subclass, the Scion of the Three. But playing...
Duration: 01:10:17Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder, Episode 3: A little warm, but it beats dying
Nov 24, 2025It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays Starfinder's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of Pathfinder with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast doom scroll (and yes, it does exactly what you think it does), this is the game for you.
In this exciting finale, our crew of completely licensed and insured adventurers is faced with their foe in the computer core -- and has no c...
Duration: 00:55:27Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder, Episode 2: Expedition to the computer core
Nov 17, 2025It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays Starfinder's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of Pathfinder with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast doom scroll (and yes, it does exactly what you think it does), this is the show for you.
In this case, our crew of completely licensed and insured adventurers has immediately found the trouble, and is on the way to stop it -- by...
Duration: 00:58:04Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder, Episode 1: We'll take the third option, where nobody dies
Nov 10, 2025It's time to take to the stars in search of interplanetary adventure as Tavern Watch plays Starfinder's newly-released second edition. This system blends the crunchy, high player choice character building of Pathfinder with a wholly original science fantasy setting, and there's really nothing like it. If you've ever wanted your space wizard to cast doom scroll (and yes, it does exactly what you think it does), this is the show for you.
In this case, our crew of completely licensed and insured adventurers returns to a spaceport to sell some very legitimately obtained goods and stumbles almos...
Duration: 00:58:13We have Spelljammer at home
Nov 03, 2025On the Tavern Watch Podcast, a mention of a crowdfunding campaign for Lodestar leads us to discussing areas where the community has picked up for Wizards of the Coast's slack on the Tavern Watch Podcast. While D&D's modern stewards often seem content to take a one-and-done approach to campaign settings (as opposed to multiple lines of products like in the past), the ever-creative community is stepping up to fill these gaps, leading to some fantastic third-party supplements. Lodestar seems to pick up where the Spelljammer release leaves off, while dark fantasy setting Dungeons of Drakkenheim and also-upcoming product Chapelwi...
Duration: 01:10:53Tavern Watch Plays Shadowdark, Episode 3: What lies below
Oct 20, 2025It’s spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we’re playing something appropriately spooky — Shadowdark! But a spooky old-school-esque system isn’t enough on its own, so we’re diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time — the original I6: Ravenloft for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts, will our heroes survive the night?
Episode three brings our adventurers into possibly the spookiest part of Castle Ravenloft: the expansive crypts underneath the castle, home to a wide variety of creepy things, from garden variety dead bodies to sha...
Duration: 01:06:35Tavern Watch Plays Shadowdark, Episode 2: Never trust strange furniture
Oct 13, 2025It's spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we're playing something appropriately spooky -- Shadowdark! But a spooky old-school-esque system isn't enough on its own, so we're diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time -- the original I6: Ravenloft for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts, will our heroes survive the night?
Episode two finds our trio of adventurers exploring the dusty back hallways and secret corridors of Castle Ravenloft, meeting some unusual individuals -- some of whom have unusual tastes, while others just w...
Duration: 01:02:55Tavern Watch Plays Shadowdark, Episode 1: It was a dark and stormy night
Oct 06, 2025It's spooky season here on Tavern Watch, so we're playing something appropriately spooky -- Shadowdark! But a spooky old-school-esque system isn't enough on its own, so we're diving back into one of the most classic horror tabletop game modules of all time -- the original I6: Ravenloft for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1E. When new spooky rules meet old haunts, will our heroes survive the night?
In this case, our intrepid heroes, outsiders to the realm of Barovia investigating some disturbing rumors surrounding the Burgomaster's daughter, Ireena, have found themselves invited to a dinner with the infamous ruler...
Duration: 01:00:20Thundercats and other TTRPGs we can't wait to play
Sep 29, 2025There are a lot of games we're excited to play — and excited to watch! — on this week's Tavern Watch Podcast. A Thundercats game by Dynamite Entertainment will be launching Kickstarter soon (you can join us in watching for the campaign by clicking "notify me" on the Kickstarter campaign). It's a 5e game, which could make it an easy sell to play with friends since 5e is so well-known, so this may be a better bet than coming up with a unique system. But we may be even more excited for what this game means about other properties in the Dynamite...
Duration: 01:11:38Tavern Watch Plays Outgunned Adventure, episode 3: Surviving almost certain death
Sep 22, 2025You know that feeling when you're exploring a viking ship suspended in the rocks over a volcanic chasm, and some poorly planned acrobatics cause it to slip and turn upside down? Well, I didn't either until this game of Outgunned Adventure, in which our party is attempting to survive this extremely unlikely situation... and frankly, it's only going to get worse from here.
Join us for episode three, where we'll finally see if our intrepid explorers can survive certain (maybe uncertain?) death as we wrap-up our game! GM Joe Perez as he guides our group of ex...
Duration: 01:15:39Tavern Watch Plays Outgunned Adventure, episode 2: A practical guide to completely safe tomb raiding
Sep 15, 2025Are we heading towards death or certain death? So far in our game of Outgunned Adventure, our crew of daring explorers has survived a fall into the hidden grotto that concealed the lost tomb of Erik the Red. (Possibly the reason they're so daring is that they don't know how close they were to death along the way.) But what will they find hidden inside as they hunt for treasures for their employer (and themselves) in this viking tomb?
Join GM Joe Perez as he guides the definitely ideal team of explorers through danger (sometimes self inflic...
Duration: 00:59:26Tavern Watch Plays Outgunned Adventure, episode 1: Climbing a cliff without any cliffhangers (maybe)
Sep 08, 2025It's time for a new adventure with our Tavern Watch crew as we dive into Outgunned Adventure (and, yes, we're going to be using the word adventure a whole lot here). Our story opens with our daring explorers climbing to the top of a mountain in the middle of the ocean near Greenland in search of the tomb of the viking king Eric the Red, and whatever treasure he has left behind. (Valuable both monetarily and historically, of course.) Our party must brave the elements, each other (sometimes the biggest challenge), and any traps left behind by the ancient viki...
Duration: 01:07:11Draw Steel is a spiritual successor to D&D 4e, and we're into it
Sep 01, 2025On the latest Tavern Watch Podcast, we're excited about Draw Steel, a new game from MCDM that strikes us as spiritual successor to D&D 4e. The game features crunchy combat where all of your attacks hit (but may not hit very well) and you're encouraged to push your luck to rack up more victories before resting — but it also includes rules that encourage roleplay, like detailed downtime activities that could play back into your adventure (rather just saying you spent your downtime making healing potions and leaving it at that). The game has a lot of interesting features for t...
Duration: 01:12:32Tavern Watch Plays Rebel Scum, Episode 3: Fighting fascism with the power of friendship (and a blaster)
Aug 25, 2025This week we’re wrapping up our game of Rebel Scum, a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like Star Wars — so of course we just used it to play in the Star Wars universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight back, you fight hard, and you don’t stop until you win.
Join GM Phil Ulrich as the crew of the Furious Tooka makes their way to a hidden...
Duration: 00:46:14Tavern Watch Plays Rebel Scum, Episode 2: Liberation day at the mines
Aug 18, 2025This week we're continuing our game of Rebel Scum, a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like Star Wars -- so of course we just used it to play in the Star Wars universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight back, you fight hard, and you don't stop until you win.
Join GM Phil Ulrich as we follow the crew of the Furious Tooka on their quest to free t...
Duration: 01:09:14Tavern Watch Plays Rebel Scum, Episode 1: A hive of scum and villainy
Aug 11, 2025This week we're playing a game of Rebel Scum, a game of anti-fascist space opera that seems a lot like Star Wars -- so of course we just used it to play in the Star Wars universe! When an overwhelmingly powerful fascist Empire threatens those who want to see a better future for those around them and for the rest of the galaxy, what do you do? You fight back, you fight hard, and you don't stop until you win.
Join GM Phil Ulrich as I take the crew of the Crew of the Furious Tooka throug...
Duration: 01:12:22Danger from Diamond Comic Distributors (and more tabletop news)
Jul 28, 2025In this week's Tavern Watch Podcast, we dig into the disaster of Diamond Comic Distributors, which filed for bankruptcy in January and is now trying to claim books in its inventory are its property, to be sold to pay off creditors. This includes comics and books it was holding on consignment, to distribute for companies that aren't paid until the books are sold in retail stores — and the loss could be crushing for small press publishers who could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of books. Green Ronin Publishing is crowdfunding to cover legal fees to fight the move...
Duration: 01:21:54Tavern Watch Plays Daggerheart, Episode 3: The hidden heart of the Motherboard
Jul 21, 2025This week we continue our adventure of Daggerheart, as our crew becomes the first to enter the towering spire that is the Motherboard. While it's forbidden by the church, delving into these untouched halls may be the only way to save the Motherboard — and perhaps the entire Echo Vale. Let's see how it goes, shall we?
Join GM Liz Harper as I attempt to guide a motley crew of adventurers through the Echo Vale! Here's our cast of characters:
Joan as Lithyen of Redcanyon (Rogue), a faun who lost her family at the hands of cul... Duration: 01:28:26Tavern Watch Plays Daggerheart, Episode 2: Ambushed! (But not very well.)
Jul 14, 2025This week we continue our adventure of Daggerheart, as our crew walks away from the settlement surrounding the Motherboard and into a not entirely unexpected ambush. Or maybe it's a reverse ambush? Well, you'll have to listen to see all of that works out, as our party searches for a way into the hidden heart of the Motherboard herself.
Join GM Liz Harper as I attempt to guide a motley crew of adventurers through this adventure! Here's our cast of characters:
Joan as Lithyen of Redcanyon (Rogue), a faun who lost her family at the h... Duration: 00:57:58Tavern Watch Plays Daggerheart, Episode 1: An invitation to the Motherboard
Jul 07, 2025This week we're playing a game of Daggerheart, largely because I was enchanted by the Motherboard setting in the book — a funny turn of phrase, since the setting has no magic! In the Echo Vale, civilization has been reborn in the ruins of the old world, repurposing the technology of people long gone. But the robotic creatures roaming the valley have been stirred into a wild fury, and the Prophet of the Motherboard thinks our party may be able to help.
Join GM Liz Harper as I attempt to guide a motley crew of adventurers through thi...
Duration: 00:57:31Looking forward to playing Rebel Scum (but you can't buy it on DriveThruRPG)
Jun 30, 2025It's a new week of drama in the TTRPG community, and we're here to dig into the latest news. We talk about the controversy surrounding the game Rebel Scum, a Star Wars-alike that was recently removed from DriveThruRPG after complaints about the game's political messaging. Surprise: Star Wars itself is pretty political, and the game takes it from there in what it calls an "antifascist space opera." (We may be checking the game out ourselves soon!) In other gaming news, Darrington Press continues to make waves by adding both Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford to the staff after both left W...
Duration: 01:18:28Tavern Watch Plays Masks, Episode 3: A blast from the past
Jun 23, 2025This week on Masks, with the tip from Perseus Pyrite, the Mavericks are hot on the tail of -- presumably -- Silver Age villain Mirror Master, back and probably up to no good. But why did Mirror Master want Pyrite's shield, rumored to be able to open portals in time and space? Is he truly operating on his own? Is the past ever truly buried and behind us? Our teenage powerhouses are about to find out those answers -- for better or worse -- in an encounter that will test their mettle as heroes... and as a team. If y...
Duration: 00:53:47Tavern Watch Plays Masks, Episode 2: Heroes and hero worship
Jun 16, 2025This week on Masks, our new superhero team comes together to defeat a new threat: paralyzing hero worship as they meet famed Silver Age hero Perseus Pyrite. Could the team be on the trail of a Silver Age villain come back to haunt the city? It's time to make plans (and maybe make friends). If you like Young Justice, Young Avengers, and Teen Titans, you'll probably like this game.
GM Phil Ulrich helps our young heroes find their footing in Halcyon City, as the newly named superhero team The Mavericks takes on a new (or possibly old) th...
Duration: 01:17:33Tavern Watch Plays Masks, Episode 1: The trouble with team names
Jun 10, 2025It's time for some superhero action as the team dives into Masks, where we find out just how tough it is to pull a superhero team together. (The name. You've gotta have a name.) If you like Young Justice, Young Avengers, and Teen Titans, you'll probably like this game. (And I happen to think we came up with a pretty good superhero group.)
GM Phil Ulrich helps our young heroes find their footing in Halcyon City, with a crew of misfits (and maybe heroes?). Here's our team:
Joan as Vida, aka Little Marvel (Beacon). At just fi... Duration: 01:09:13There are too many new TTRPGs to list (but we'll try anyway)
Jun 03, 2025Daggerheart has just launched, so in this episode we talk about our first impressions of this new game, which seems poised to take on D&D. It's a game that encourages worldbuilding and storytelling, and it's flexible enough to tell different sorts of stories (and comes with several diverse campaign settings) — but not all of us love this new game from the creators of Critical Role.
Fortunately, there are a lot of other games coming out, many of them crowdfunded: we talk about Blades in the Dark: Deep Cuts, a rules expansion for this supernatural criminal TTRPG...
Duration: 01:17:10Tavern Watch Plays Legend in the Mist, Episode 3: Why did it have to be snakes?
May 26, 2025n our third and final game of Legend in the Mist, our little group of friends may be on their way to becoming proper heroes as they track the undead that attacked their village back to its source. (To protect the village, but also to make sure one of their own doesn't turn into a zombie after being poisoned in the attack. One undead zombie was bad enough.) But the sunken, abandoned watchtower they find has secrets of its own. And, knowing their luck, these secrets will have teeth.
To see how this party of neophytes i...
Duration: 01:05:21Tavern Watch Plays Legend in the Mist, Episode 2: In which we learn that fairy tales aren't always tales
May 19, 2025Our group of hometown adventurers has set off and found that adventure isn't quite as exciting as the fairy tales make it seem. Even for a short trip to investigate the undead that ventured into their village, road is full of risks — for example, did you know a person could have the moldy status, because that's apparently a thing (and not a good one). But we're definitely not going to spiral out of control and worry about every fairy-tale-turned-reality that might jump out of the shadows and ambush us.
Definitely not.
To see ho...
Duration: 01:04:22Tavern Watch Plays Legend in the Mist, Episode 1: Never fight the undead after lunch
May 12, 2025This week we're diving into a rustic fantasy of small town heroes (or heroes to be) in Legend in the Mist, where our humble villagers come together to deal with a single shambling undead that found its way to town. Where did it come from? Are there more of them? And is the right solution for the entire town to panic?
That last one really depends on who you ask, but join GM Phil Ulrich along with a group of wannabe heroes venturing out into the world, with:
Chris as Dunny, the local blacksmith, whose f... Duration: 01:16:18Tavern Watch Plays Pigeon's 11, Episode 3: All the pretzels you can eat (just gotta steal them first)
Apr 28, 2025It's a once-in-a-lifetime heist: to sneak into the biggest game convention around (celebrating much loved baking sim and MOBA Heroes of the Dough) and steal the esports trophy (which happens to be made of pretzels) from under everyone's noses (both literally and metaphorically). But that's not enough for our fine flock of feathered felons, who want to make off with the recipe for the limited edition pretzels that conventioneers are gobbling down, turning one heist into two heists. (Trust me, it all makes sense in context. Well, it all mostly makes sense in context.)
Join GM L...
Duration: 01:19:39Tavern Watch Plays Pigeon's 11, Episode 2: Stealing the coveted pretzel trophy
Apr 21, 2025This week we're bringing you another game Pigeon's 11, in which our feathered cast of criminals dives into the world of esports and culinary delights at MetzlCon. The plan: to steal the coveted pretzel trophy in the middle of a packed house of gamers and amateur chefs. It may be the biggest gaming convention of the year, but our pigeons only have eyes for the pretzels. (Well, most of them anyway.)
Join GM Liz Harper and a cast made up of Blizzard Watch's bird alter egos:
Phil Ulrich as Frankie Two-Talons, a boat-tailed grackle.Joan Albright a... Duration: 00:50:59Tavern Watch Plays Pigeon's 11, Episode 1: A fine flock of felonious fowl
Apr 14, 2025This week we're playing Pigeon's 11, an adventure where our fine flock of felonious fowl are getting ready for the heist of a lifetime. (Spoiler: it involves a lot of baked goods and bread puns.) Join GM Liz Harper and a cast made up of Blizzard Watch's bird alter egos:
Are TTRPGs taking a turn away from crunchy to bring us more narrative-focused one-shots?
Mar 31, 2025While there are still plenty of crunchy tabletop games out there, lately we're playing a lot of shorter TTRPGs that lean into narrative elements — and are easier to schedule than long form campaigns. We talk about our recent Pigeon's 11 game, the cozy fantasy of Legend in the Mist, and the Nebula-nominated Yazeba's Bed and Breakfast. Also, we're apparently going back to Eberron this year in a surprise D&D book that wasn't part of the original 2025 release slate.
Plus the speedy demise of Sigil, Wizards of the Coast's Unreal-based VTT that launched and laid off its st...
Duration: 01:10:37Tavern Watch Plays Triangle Agency 3: That's fine, Get in the briefcase
Mar 24, 2025It's a tough day for the employees of Triangle Agency, but our skilled Agents are always ready to beat back any challenge — even when that challenge is a mass of anomalous electrical wires intent on their deaths! But don't worry about them, because Triangle Agency is always here to help Agents who help themselves. They've really earned their paychecks today! (At least those of them who get paid.)
In this episode, GM Phil Ulrich does his very best to get all of our Agents killed (or at least rack up some demerits). But if you want to kn...
Duration: 01:01:11Tavern Watch Plays Triangle Agency 2: An unintended (artistic) detour
Mar 17, 2025Triangle Agency's agents are on the case — with a little help from corporate HQ, of course! Our highly skilled team of experts is in the process of tracking down a dangerous anomaly, but don't you worry (or you might become a loose end we have to deal with).
In this episode, GM Phil Ulrich helps the Agency's best make some art, earn the high score in their favorite video game, and untangle some extremely dangerous wires. It's all in a day's work for the employees of Triangle Agency!
This is the second of a...
Duration: 01:00:46Tavern Watch Plays Triangle Agency 1: The Agency has your very best interests at heart!
Mar 10, 2025Welcome to beautiful Ternion City, home of the Triangle Agency. In our corporate headquarters, agents are hard at work — right now! — to preserve reality. You like reality, don't you? Of course you do. And your friends at Triangle Agency are here to keep the reality you love safe... preferably without you noticing any of those pesky breaks in reality in the first place! What breaks in reality? We certainly haven't seen any!
GM Phil Ulrich helps the Agency's latest employees with their new field assignment: to investigate a string of strangely similar and equally unexplained deaths. Soun...
Duration: 01:03:16D&D's messy release schedule continues into 2025
Feb 24, 2025This month on Tavern Watch, we discuss the messy release of D&D's 2024 edition, which was staggered out into 2025... and seems to have lost some hype in the process. But Wizards of the Coast could turn things around, with an upcoming live action D&D show on Netflix and two new Forgotten Realms books coming out late this year. Plus all the games we're looking forward to, in which Liz could probably spend the entire show talking about Magpie's Fallen London Kickstarter (but doesn't).
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can ge...
Duration: 01:09:16Tavern Watch Plays Murder on the Eberron Express 03: To (maybe) catch a killer
Feb 17, 2025The Eberron Express is about to pull into the station, and when it does Egan Bakker's killer could vanish forever. Can the passengers solve the mystery before time runs out... and do they even want to?
Join DM Elizabeth Harper on this trip across Eberron, with colorful group of characters:
Nick Marino as Talis, a scholar that Bakker publicly humiliated, and neither of them have forgotten it.Phil Ulrich as Jindaar, who was Bakker's business partner until he was squeezed out of the business... just before Bakker made it big.Anne Stickney as Orchid, a... Duration: 01:22:22Tavern Watch Plays Murder on the Eberron Express 02: The murderer among us
Feb 10, 2025Someone on this train killed Egan Bakker, and the passengers of the Eberron Express are determined to track them down... but is the killer right in front of them? We'll see how the party fares one roll for initiative later.
Join DM Elizabeth Harper on this trip across Eberron, with colorful group of characters:
Nick Marino as Talis, a scholar that Bakker publicly humiliated, and neither of them have forgotten it.Phil Ulrich as Jindaar, who was Bakker's business partner until he was squeezed out of the business... just before Bakker made it big.Anne St... Duration: 01:02:18Tavern Watch Plays Murder on the Eberron Express 01: It's going to get him killed one day
Feb 03, 2025Famed artificer Egan Bakker has invented a new weapon, and it's going to get him killed one day. As Bakker boards the luxurious Eberron Express, an unusual group or passengers joins him on the three-day route to Fairhaven... and because each of them have their own grudge against Bakker, the trip isn't likely to end well.
Join DM Elizabeth Harper on this trip across Eberron, with colorful group of characters:
Nick Marino as Talis, a scholar that Bakker publicly humiliated, and neither of them have forgotten it.Phil Ulrich as Jindaar, who was Bakker's business... Duration: 00:52:17Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder 2: The great planetary escape!
Jan 27, 2025Our crew of seasoned spacefarers made it safely to the planet surface, so the hard part is over... right? All they have to do now is survive (which means not blowing themselves up), find a way home (with the nearest spaceport several solar systems away), and maybe thwart this strange new alien threat along the way. It's all the day in the life of an adventurer.
Join us as we wrap up our Starfinder 2e playtest game, run by GM Matthew Rossi with co-conspirators— ah, players Joe Perez, Joan Albright, Chris Chesno, and Liz Harper. We ho...
Duration: 01:39:52Tavern Watch Plays Starfinder 1: Does anybody know how to fly this thing? Maybe.
Jan 20, 2025A dead pilot (maybe), a crashing starship (definitely), and a tiny problem that's causing the dead to rise. (Does that mean the pilot is now... okay?) As they hurtle into the planet, our crew of adventurers has to figure out how to contain this unexpected threat before it can spread across the galaxy.
Fortunately we have a team who knows what it takes to survive (a lucky set of dice, of course). Join us as we try out the Starfinder 2e playtest with a rollicking adventure from GM Matthew Rossi, with players Joe Perez, Joan Albright...
Duration: 01:01:58Tavern Watch Plays Sentai & Sensibility 3: You can't miss the social event of the winter season!
Jan 13, 2025A threatening swarm of robots isn't enough to delay the Queen's Winter Gala, and it's up to our heroes to safeguard the Queen's perfectly packaged holiday gifts — and the festive fate of the winter season. Can they keep everyone safe and still make time for a spin around the dance floor? This year's Winter Gala is truly a can't miss event!
Liz is hosting this game as Master of Ceremonies, joined by the following gentlefolk:
Dame Margaret Clytemnestra Marlborough, a not-so-famed paleontologist (Matthew Rossi)Ser Riley Mullabyaly, a military man through-and-through (Joe Perez)Diviner Haruka Ha... Duration: 01:12:01Tavern Watch Plays Sentai & Sensibility 2: Welcome to our prehistoric robot rampage
Jan 06, 2025Our sentai is on the chase! As present-pilfering robotic spiders flee across the city, Her Majesty's Prehistorian Praetorians race to find the culprit and salvage the holiday season. But the Queen's Winter Gala is just around the corner, with a palace full of presents to be handed out... and it's sure to make a tempting target.
Liz is hosting this game as Master of Ceremonies, joined by the following gentlefolk:
Dame Margaret Clytemnestra Marlborough, a not-so-famed paleontologist (Matthew Rossi)Ser Riley Mullabyaly, a military man through-and-through (Joe Perez)Diviner Haruka Hadagami, an astrologer who blurs... Duration: 01:30:40Tavern Watch Plays Sentai & Sensibility 1: A tale of romance and robots
Dec 30, 2024There's a tabletop game for everyone, even those of us who want to combine regency romance with sentai superhero teams. Join Her Majesty's Prehistorian Praetorians as our prehistoric-themed sentai — you can thank Matt for that — takes its first steps into society by attending the grand opening of a new gallery in the museum. It goes about as well as you would expect from our creative crowd of players.
Liz is hosting this game as Master of Ceremonies, joined by the following gentlefolk:
Dame Margaret Clytemnestra Marlborough, a not-so-famed paleontologist (Matthew Rossi)Ser Riley Mullabyaly, a mili... Duration: 01:21:17Diving deeper into the D&D 2024 Player’s Handbook
Sep 18, 2024In this episode, we are joined by Phil “The goblin with the dumb name that you all love” Ulrich as we go in-depth on the good, the bad, and the ugly of the new Player’s Handbook. Also the trend of more open development by TTRPG game designers, what upcoming games we are looking forward to playing, and what we want from Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming virtual tabletop, Project Sigil.
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
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Duration: 01:26:56Exploring the 2024 D&D Handbook updates
Jul 11, 2024In this episode, we discuss the updated D&D rulebooks rolling out soon, the impact of the recent massive layoffs at Wizards of the Coast on both their own products and the larger industry, the role of AI in game development, and the importance of community trust for TTRPG companies to be successful.
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
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Duration: 01:22:03Is Critical Role’s Daggerheart the future of TTRPGs?
Mar 21, 2024In this episode, we discuss the renaissance in TTRPGs since Wizards of the Coast alienated the community with last year’s pricing and royalty shenanigans. Creators are now going in new directions like Critical Role’s d12-based game Daggerheart, romance-driven TTRPGs, and Chaosium’s game design challenge that encourages creators to build new games they retain the rights to. Also, AI DMs. Because who wanted improv in their game sessions anyway?!
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
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Duration: 01:25:18Wizards of the Coast responds to OGL criticism
Mar 01, 2024If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
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Duration: 01:06:58What Wizards of the Coast’s draconian OGL proposal means for players
Feb 17, 2023In this episode recorded back in January 2023, we dive into the details of Wizard of the Coast’s controversial proposed update to its Open Gaming License that would allow it to control, prohibit, and seize the rights to third-party published content compatible with Dungeons & Dragons. Yep, the same content that has been fueling the game’s popularity over the last decade.
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!
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Duration: 01:00:53One D&D play testing brings welcome changes
Oct 20, 2022In this month's episode, we discuss the recent One D&D playtest changes to Bards, Rangers, and Rogues, as well as the addition of rules for handling more social, less combat oriented campaigns. We also cover Vox Machina, the Critical Role Campaign 1 animated series that is debuting its second season in January and the Avatar TTRPG that is now shipping to Kickstarter backers.
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Duration: 01:23:54What to expect from One D&D
Sep 23, 2022In this month's episode, we deep dive into One D&D, the upcoming massive update coming to our favorite RPG. We explore the changes to character backgrounds, feats, and more from the current playtests.
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Duration: 01:19:28WotC’s Greg Tito on Radiant Citadel, diversity, and the new D&D movie
Jul 24, 2022In this month's episode, we sit down with Wizards of the Coast’s Greg Tito to talk about adding diverse voices to D&D in the new Journeys Through the Radiant Citadel book, the speedy pace of new D&D books, bringing D&D Beyond's digital toolset in-house, and how the upcoming D&D movie, Honor Amongst Thieves, seems to capture a true D&D experience.
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Duration: 01:28:29How to make combat encounters fun for everyone in your TTRPG
May 31, 2022In this month's episode, we discuss how many games are getting delayed launches due to supply chain issues, a new Giant-themed subclass currently being play tested, and how a DM can alter combat encounters on the fly to keep their players engaged.
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Duration: 01:24:45Diving into WOTC’s new BIPOC-written D&D adventure announcement
Apr 08, 2022In this month's episode, we discuss the implications of WOTC’s new direction with feats, the new Dungeon Alchemist software for AI-powered dungeon building, and Journeys to the Radiant Citadel, an upcoming compilations of adventures written by BIPOC creators.
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Duration: 01:04:08The importance of character concept in TTRPGs
Feb 09, 2022In this month's episode, we discuss the streamlining of spell casting for monsters in D&D, the controversy surrounding upcoming Monsters of the Multiverse bestiary, and why players should start with character concept before they dive into classes and stats.
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Duration: 01:06:042021 TTRPG year in review
Jan 04, 2022We look back at TTRPGs in 2021 including major releases and indie ones as well. We also discuss the importance of Kickstarter, our favorite TTRPGs of the year, and highlights from our first year recording the podcast.
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Duration: 01:00:08A look back at Rossi's Riatan D&D campaign
Dec 09, 2021We go behind the scenes of our just finished two-year Riatan D&D campaign to talk about how the game evolved over the course of the campaign. Matt talks about the pivot he had to make when the party decided to avoid the magical city he'd constructed, instead sending us off on an adventure with undead pirates. We also learn a little more about the stories we didn't explore and the characters we wish we'd seen more of.
If you enjoy the show, please support us on Patreon, where you can get these episodes early and ad-free!<...
Duration: 01:33:41Interview with Greg Tito from Wizards of the Coast
Nov 23, 2021In our interview with Wizard of the Coast's Senior Communication Manager Greg Tito we talk about growing up with D&D, how Critical Role has introduced new fans to the game, and the new release of The Wild Beyond The Witchlight as well as the upcoming Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos.
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Duration: 01:16:57Setting player expectations for successful D&D campaigns
Oct 26, 2021Today we discuss the release of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons D&D sourcebook, TTRPG company Paizo recognizing its new employee union, and the start of Critical Role Campaign 3. We also explore best practices to setting expectations with your D&D group for a successful campaign aka session zero.
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Duration: 01:12:17Exploring The Wild Beyond the Witchlight
Sep 28, 2021Today we discuss The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, WOTC's new Feywild adventure book; Call of Cthulhu and other brutal TTRPGs; and offer tips for DMs on handling flying players.
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Duration: 01:12:56Interview with Avatar Legends TTRPG Lead Designer Brendan Conway
Aug 30, 2021Matt Rossi, Joe Perez, and Liz Harper sit down with the Lead Designer behind the upcoming Avatar Legends tabletop role-playing game, Brendan Conway of Magpie Games. Based on both the popular Avatar: The Last Airbender and Avatar: The Legend of Korra animated series, this game has quickly become the biggest RPG to be funded in the history of Kickstarter. Please note that we accidentally referred to one of the Avatar Legends designers as Clio Davis. Their actual name is Yeonsoo Julian Kim.
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Duration: 01:17:27Welcome to our TTRPG podcast!
Aug 04, 2021We are excited to announce that we have just launched a brand new podcast. In this debut episode of the monthly Tavern Watch podcast Matt Rossi, Joe Perez, and Liz Harper make their introductions and delve into the focus of this new show: the wonderful world of table top role playing games. They will cover everything TTRPG related, from their on-going D&D play session podcasts to the trials and tribulations faced by both DMs and players to the latest news across a multitude of TTRPGs. Pull up a seat and join us!
If you enjoy the...
Duration: 00:56:34