3 Wise DMs

By The 3 Wise DMs

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Subscribers: 45
Reviews: 0
Episodes: 191

Description

3 Wise DMs is a podcast for dungeon masters (for Dungeons & Dragons) and game masters (any other RPG) with problems. And when we say problems, we don’t mean the kind of things you find answers for in the gamebooks. Think of it as a gaming philosophy show with a strong emphasis on applied knowledge. We all want to be great DMs, so what do we do to try to get there?

Episode Date
I Can't Explain: Does Your D&D Adventure Need To Make Sense?
Jun 21, 2026
Turn Slogs into Showdowns: Making Memorable and Epic Finales for Your D&D Campaign
Jun 07, 2026
Two DMs Share Best Tips To Combine Call of Cthulhu and D&D into One Adventure!
May 24, 2026
3 Wise DMs Reveal the 7 DM Styles To Make You Run The Best D&D Game Ever
May 03, 2026
First D&D Campaign Tonight? The 6 Must-Have Tips To Making It Memorable and Stress-Free
Apr 19, 2026
Join the Quest: Unearthing the Mysteries of Boomtown’s 5e Western Wonderland!
Apr 05, 2026
Super Heroes: When DMs Go to Marvel’s Secret Wars
Mar 22, 2026
Elevate Your TTRPG: Discover New Dimensions of Magic!
Mar 01, 2026
The Magic Man – Building a D&D 5e Wizard in Boomtown
Feb 15, 2026
Prophets of Doom – Reworking the D&D Cleric for Boomtown
Feb 01, 2026
A Thief in the Night: Building a D&D 5e Rogue in Boomtown
Jan 18, 2026
The Gunslinger: Building a D&D Fighter in Boomtown
Dec 21, 2025
Crafting Your Unique Realm: Build the Best Factions in D&D
Dec 07, 2025
Mystery Train – Making Magic Into Technology in D&D 5e
Nov 23, 2025
This Old Town: Craft A Captivating Starting Town For Your D&D Adventure!
Nov 09, 2025
If I Was the Priest: How Do Clerics Work in Your D&D Campaign?
Oct 26, 2025
Why D&D Towns Matter: Transform Your Town Design With a Simple Secret
Oct 12, 2025
: Revitalize Your Imagination: 3WD is Back for Real Time D&D World Creation!
Sep 28, 2025
Join the Ultimate D&D Experience: Real-Time World Building!
Sep 14, 2025
Too Much: Overcome D&D Idea Overload and Unleash Your Creativity
Aug 24, 2025
Hey There, Cthulhu! Building The Immersion and The Horror in Your TTRPGs
Aug 10, 2025
People Get Ready: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Character Backstory?
Jul 27, 2025
Help! Our Best Tips For When the Forever DM becomes the Player
Jul 13, 2025
Master of Puppets – What To Do When The DM Has To Control A Player Character
Jun 22, 2025
Unlock Your Inner Spy: Dive Into Top Secret's Espionage RPG Adventure!
Jun 08, 2025
Your Virtual DM: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enjoy Solo TTRPGs
May 18, 2025
We Built This City: Tools, Tips, and Tricks on Increasing Immersion in Your D&D Game
May 04, 2025
Cobblers, Glassblowers, and Weavers Unite! Utilizing Forgotten Proficiencies in Your D&D Games
Apr 20, 2025
Too Much Time On My Hands – Our 8 Best Hacks For Busy D&D Players
Apr 06, 2025
Halls of Valhalla - 3WDs Player Review of Our D&D Viking Epic, Journey to Ragnarok
Mar 23, 2025
Conquer the Viking Saga! 3 Wise DMs Campaign Review and Wrap-up of Journey to Ragnarok
Mar 09, 2025
Master the Art of Non-Combat D&D Encounters with 16 Essential Tips!
Feb 23, 2025
I Don't Know: 9 Tips to Master D&D Settings That You're New to Running
Feb 09, 2025
Dragonlance Decoded: Your Front-Row Seat to Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Jan 19, 2025
The High Tale of the Dragonlance: What We Loved and 3 Things We Didn’t in Shadow of the Dragon Queen
Jan 05, 2025
The Great Pretender – How To Lean Into Metagaming To Enhance Your D&D Games
Dec 22, 2024
Can I Ask You A Question? When and How to Exert Your Unlimited Power as a DM in D&D
Dec 08, 2024
Misty Mountain Hop: Unleash Epic Adventures and Elevate Your Game with Middle-Earth's Magic
Nov 17, 2024
We’ve Only Just Begun: Kickstarting An Epic D&D Campaign With Expert Player Guides
Nov 03, 2024
The Time Warp – Mastering the Strange Way Time Flows in Your D&D Campaign
Oct 20, 2024
Don't Worry About A Thing: Essential Tips To Turn Your D&D Fails Into Wins
Oct 06, 2024
Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Revolutionize Your D&D Games With Digital Tools
Sep 15, 2024
Shipping Up To Boston – Uncovering The Secrets To Running An Epic Pirate D&D Campaign
Sep 01, 2024
Love the One You’re With – 3WD’s Top 7 Tips To Running Published D&D Adventures
Aug 18, 2024
It’s the End of the World: 3 Wise DMs Pro Tips to Ending Your D&D Campaign the Right Way
Aug 04, 2024
The Ties That Bind – Tying Together Characters, Backstories, And Adventures To Create The Most Immersive D&D Game Ever
Jul 21, 2024
Chill, Till The Next Episode – 3WD Answers The Question Of How Long An Adventure Should Be And How To Build Episodic Adventures For Your D&D Game
Jul 07, 2024
What I Like (And Hate) About You – 3 Wise DMs Reflect On A Decade of 5e and Share Tips That Will Make You Have Your Best D&D Game Ever
Jun 23, 2024
Go Go Godzilla! 3WD Brainstorms The Best Ways To Bring Unbeatable Monsters Like Godzilla Into Your D&D Campaign
Jun 09, 2024
Back in the Saddle Again: Our Best Tips and Tricks for Coming Out of DM Retirement and Running Your First D&D Game in Decades
May 26, 2024
Changes - 3 Wise DMs Absolutely Best Tips For The Player That Wants To Change Their D&D Character Class
Apr 28, 2024
RPG Mythbusters: The Tavern is the Best Place to Start Your D&D Adventure
Apr 14, 2024
I Just Dropped In To See What Condition My Condition Was In: 3 Wise DMs Discuss How Using Conditions Will Enhance Your D&D Game
Mar 31, 2024
She’s a Mystery to Me: How Long To Keep Secrets and Clues From Your Players In Your D&D Game
Mar 17, 2024
Whatcha Got Cookin’? – 3WDs Top 9 Tips To Homebrewing Magic and Magical Items From Pop Culture In Your D&D Campaign
Mar 03, 2024
You Say It’s Your Birthday – 3WD Reveals 7 Tips That Will Help You Build Your Own Very Special One-Shot D&D Game
Feb 18, 2024
Inspiration: How You Use It and 4 Ways You Can Improve It In Your D&D Game
Feb 04, 2024
Share and Share Alike: 3WDs Top Tips For Dealing With D&D Players Who Won’t Share The Spotlight
Jan 21, 2024
The Breakup Game – How Constant Splitting of the Party Can Lead to DM Burnout and What to Do About It
Jan 07, 2024
Damage, Inc. – 3WD Discuss What Hit Points Represent And How To Improve Your D&D Game By Changing Your Perspective.
Dec 17, 2023
Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting – 3WD Reviews the Avatar Legends RPG and Reveals Tips on Running Brand-New Systems in Your D&D Group!
Dec 03, 2023
Stone Cold Crazy – How a First-Time DM Ran a Crazy One-Shot With Four Kurt Russell’s!
Nov 12, 2023
Tumbling Dice – Using Board Games in Your D&D Game To Create Unique And Fun Sessions
Oct 29, 2023
Strange Magic – The Best Ways To Adjudicate Spell Effects In Your D&D and TTRPG Campaigns
Oct 15, 2023
Let’s Give ‘Em Something To Talk About: Our Best Tips To Get Your Players Roleplaying And Talking Amongst Themselves In Your D&D Game
Oct 01, 2023
Tribute to the Greatest Game In The World: The 3 Wise DMs Share The Lessons Learned From Running A 12 Player D&D Game
Sep 17, 2023
To Roll or Not to Roll? The 7 Best Times To Roll The Dice In Your D&D Game And When Not To.
Sep 03, 2023
Cutscenes – How to Deliver Lore and Secrets in Your D&D Games and TTRPGs While Still Keeping Your Players Involved
Aug 20, 2023
Live and Let Die: Dealing with Anti-Murderhobos in Curse of Strahd and Players Who Don’t Want to Confront the Enemy in Your TTRPG Game
Aug 06, 2023
How Low Can You Go? The Things Every DM Needs To Know When Creating Low Magic Settings in Their D&D And TTRPG Campaigns
Jul 23, 2023
D&D Accounting: 11 Tips and Pitfalls to Tracking Treasure in your TTRPG
Jul 09, 2023
Come Together: 3 Wise DMs and Tabletop Journeys Come Together to Discuss the Best Tips to Running a Shared TTRPG Campaign World
Jun 25, 2023
Behind the Screens: 3 Wise DMs Reveal What They Want and Need Behind Their DM Screens and Offer Tips to Improve Your DM Set-Up
Jun 11, 2023
Glory Days: 3 Wise DMs Shares the Pros and Cons With Their Return to Basic D&D Through the Old School Renaissance
May 28, 2023
My Name’s the Teacher: Making Leveling with Character Abilities, Oaths, and Patrons Matter in your Dungeons & Dragons Campaign
May 14, 2023
It’s So Easy: 3 Wise DMs 18 Favorite Dungeon Master Hacks To Help Make Running Your TTRPG Game That Much Easier
Apr 30, 2023
When Good Gaming Groups Go Bad: 3 Wise DMs Tips On How To Continue Your TTRPG Campaign With Only One Player
Apr 16, 2023
Just Do It! 3 Wise DMs Interviews a Brand-New D&D Enthusiast About the 13 Tips and Tricks to Mastering the Dungeon
Apr 02, 2023
Terrain, Maps & Minis, Oh My! The Long Tradition of Using Terrain and Minis in D&D to Enhance Your Game
Mar 19, 2023
Back in Black: The Players Wrap-Up to the Absolutely Epic Curse of Strahd Finale with Vampyr, the Star of Blood
Mar 05, 2023
Finish Your Homebrew Campaign With a Bang: DMs’ Breakdown of the Epic Ending of the Woodstock Wanderers
Sep 04, 2022
Will Player Character Secrets Ruin Your Campaign?
Aug 28, 2022
The Epic-Tier Divide: Bringing Your DnD Campaign Into the Wild World of High-Level Play
Aug 21, 2022
11 Quirky Dungeon Master Habits of the 3 Wise DMs
Aug 14, 2022
DMing All-Ranged Parties in Dungeons and Dragons 5E
Aug 07, 2022
When Is It OK to Kill a Player Character and What Do You Do Next?
Jul 24, 2022
Creating Fantastic RPG Factions: How to Use Groups, Guilds, Criminals, Guards, and More Organizations in Your TTRPG Campaigns
Jul 17, 2022
Playing With the Future: How to DM Foreshadowing in Dungeons and Dragons and other TTRPG Campaigns
Jul 10, 2022
DMing Advantage and Disadvantage: How and When to Play With D&D 5E’s Most Elegant Tool
Jun 26, 2022
The Pregnant PC: Handling Odd Character Creation Requests in Dungeons and Dragons and Other RPGs
Jun 19, 2022
100 Episodes of Dungeon Master Advice: The 22 Most Important DM Lessons From 2 Years of Gaming and Recording 3 Wise DMs
Jun 12, 2022
A Dark Sun Rising: The Allure and Compromises of Using Pre-Made Settings
Jun 05, 2022
Ending the Campaign: Bringing Your Dungeons & Dragons Story to a Satisfying Conclusion
May 22, 2022
DMPCs vs. Sidekicks: What’s the Better Way to Give Your Dungeons and Dragons PCs a DM Avatar?
May 15, 2022
Is ‘Don’t Over-Prepare’ the Worst Advice for New DMs?
May 08, 2022
Are Red Herrings Derailing Your D&D Game? Here’s What to Do About It
May 01, 2022
DM Hacks and Tricks to Make Running D&D Less Tedious and More Fun
Apr 24, 2022
How Many Players Are Too Many for One D&D Game? What About Other RPG Systems?
Apr 17, 2022
Putting PCs In Charge: How Do You Handle RPG Players Characters Moving Up to Become Kings, Queens and Leaders of Powerful Organizations In Your World?
Apr 10, 2022
When Should You Bend RPG Rules? Handling Players Who Want to Adjust Game Mechanics They Don’t Like
Apr 03, 2022
How Do You Make New DMs?
Mar 27, 2022
No Rest for the Weary: How the Rest Cadence of D&D 5E Can Completely Change Your Game
Mar 20, 2022
The Sinister 7: How to Run 7 Iconic D&D Monsters for Maximum Mystique
Mar 13, 2022
Do D&D Magic Item Limits Crimp Your DM Style?
Mar 06, 2022
The Fetch Quest: Are They Fun? Are They Worth It? Are They Just Filler for the Big Story?
Feb 27, 2022
Getting the “Face” Player to Shut Up and Let Other Players Share the Spotlight
Feb 20, 2022
9 Alternate D&D Rules to Try: Our Favorite Optional Mechanics From the DMG, Homebrew and Other Games
Feb 13, 2022
How to Handle a Backseat DM: 11 Things to Know
Feb 06, 2022
Sharing RPG Worlds: Balancing PC Power Levels and NPC Portrayals Across Shared Campaigns With Multiple DMs
Jan 30, 2022
Does D&D 5E Need Character Levels? Radical (Heretical?) Ideas About D&D Advancement
Jan 23, 2022
How to DM PC Builds and Abilities That Piss You Off
Jan 16, 2022
How Hard Is Too Hard for Your RPG Campaign and Players?
Jan 09, 2022
Characters Over Combat: What We Learned From Gaming in 2021
Jan 02, 2022
What to do With a Bored D&D Player? A DM’s Dilemma
Dec 19, 2021
The Curse of Strahd Postmortem: Our Players Talk About What They Thought of D&D 5E’s Barovia, the Things They Loved, and a Few Things They Didn’t
Dec 12, 2021
Strahd, Dead and Loving It? The 3 Wise DM’s Review of D&D 5E’s Curse of Strahd and DM Dave’s Campaign Through Ravenloft
Dec 05, 2021
All Eyes on the Game: 12 Tips to Keep Your RPG Players Involved and Focused on Playing
Nov 28, 2021
Motivating Your Players: How to Get Your TTRPG Player Characters to Take the Hook and Get On With the Adventure
Nov 21, 2021
It Takes a Village: 19 Tips for Building Towns and Cities for Your RPG Campaigns
Nov 14, 2021
D&D 5E for Old Fogeys: What Old-School DMs Like Us Should Know About How this Edition Compares to Earlier Versions of Dungeons & Dragons
Nov 07, 2021
Horror Gaming for Halloween: How We Squeeze Scares Out of Players Around the RPG Table
Oct 31, 2021
Teaching Your Wife to Play RPGs: How to Bring a Non-Gamer — and Perhaps Shy or Unmotivated Player — Into the Game You Love Without Making Them Hate It
Oct 24, 2021
WotC Changing D&D 5E Monsters and More – Are These the Updates the Game Needs?
Oct 17, 2021
29 DM Ideas for Spicing Up D&D 5E: New Twists for Campaigns, Combat, Equipment, Magic and More!
Oct 10, 2021
Patrons, Powers and Punishments in D&D 5E: So Many Classes Get Their Powers From a Higher Power … But at What Price?
Oct 03, 2021
RPG Weather, Puzzles and Ritual Challenges: 3 Ways to Make Your Campaign World More Immersive
Sep 26, 2021
Keeping Your Story Straight: How We Manage All the DM Details of Our RPG Campaigns
Sep 19, 2021
I’m on a Boat! Running Sea-Faring, Space-Faring and Other Ship-Based RPG Campaigns
Sep 12, 2021
Dragons: Why We Love Them and How We Run Them
Sep 05, 2021
How to Bring WrestleMania to Barovia: DM Dave’s Curse of Strahd Goes WAY Off Book With a Homebrew Wrestling PPV
Aug 29, 2021
Strange D&D Homebrew: Knowing When, Where and How to Make Your RPG Campaign Weird Without Losing Your Players
Aug 15, 2021
When DMs Go to War: How to Run Mass Combat in D&D (and similar RPGs) and Not Bore Your Players
Aug 08, 2021
When Your Game Goes Hollywood: How to Adapt Jurassic Park, Jumanji, and Any Other Movie Into an RPG Adventure or Campaign
Aug 01, 2021
Surrender Like a Boss: When RPG Monsters and NPCs Should Give Up and How to Get PCs to Accept Their Submission
Jul 25, 2021
21 Tips to Master D&D Combat: How to Run RPG Fights That Balance Fun, Challenge and Time Investment
Jul 18, 2021
Powering Up! Bringing D&D Monsters, Villains and Campaigns Up to Your Party’s Level
Jul 11, 2021
13 Tips for DMing Across the Multiverse: How to Bring Different RPG Genres to Life, From Fantasy to Steampunk, Intrigue, Horror and More
Jul 04, 2021
Superhero Roleplaying: How to Run Comic Book RPG Campaigns That Feel Super
Jun 27, 2021
11 Ways to Be a Better Dungeon Master: Lessons Learned in Our First Year Recording 3 Wise DMs
Jun 20, 2021
Bringing RPGs Back From COVID: How Do We Get Back to In-Person Gaming After More Than a Year of Roll20 and Quarantine?
Jun 13, 2021
21 Things Wise DMs Want From Their Best RPG Players
Jun 06, 2021
DMing Big Character Changes: How to Handle PCs Shifting Alignments, Races, Classes, and More Without Ruining the Game or That Player’s Fun
May 30, 2021
14 Tips for DMing First-Time RPG Players
May 23, 2021
15 Tips for Running RPG Villains: Playing BBEGs Your PCs Will Love to Hate
May 16, 2021
D&D Alignment: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for Your TTRPG Campaigns — RPG MythBusters
May 09, 2021
The Players’ Review of Storm King’s Thunder: The Whole Party Spills the Tea on Tony’s Version of #SKT
May 02, 2021
Storm King’s Thunder DM Review: The 9 Deviations DM Tony Used to Make D&D’s Giant Globetrot His Own
Apr 25, 2021
Bringing Your RPG Campaign World to Life: 37 Tricks to Give Your Setting a Soul
Apr 18, 2021
RPG MythBusters: PC Party Balance Is Essential! … Maybe Not as Much as You Think?
Apr 11, 2021
TTRPG Party Dynamics: How We Want Players to Work Together and What We Do When They Don’t
Apr 04, 2021
Missing in Action: How to Handle Players Skipping Games and Scheduling Conflicts
Mar 28, 2021
RPG MythBusters: Never Split the Party! … Or Should You?
Mar 21, 2021
How to DM Epic-Tier Games: 19 Tips for Running – and Ending – High-Level TTRPG Campaigns
Mar 14, 2021
Party Downtime: When, How and Should You Let the Players Pursue Their Own Character Goals?
Mar 07, 2021
When the DM Isn’t Having Fun: How to Fix a Game That Feels Like a Chore
Feb 28, 2021
When Metagaming Goes Wrong: How Do You Stop Out-of-Character Knowledge From Ruining Your Game?
Feb 21, 2021
Bringing NPCs to Life: How to Build Legendary Characters Your Players Will Talk About for Decades
Feb 14, 2021
How to Move a Stalled RPG Campaign Forward
Feb 07, 2021
DMing Large Groups: 19 Tips for Running Games With 6 or More Players
Jan 31, 2021
Our Favorite DMing Inspirations and Influences
Jan 24, 2021
DM Burnout: 6 Things That Cause It, and How We Recover From It
Jan 17, 2021
The Bootstrap Guide to DMing Your First Role Playing Game
Jan 10, 2021
2020: A Year in the TTRPG Lab
Jan 03, 2021
How to Set Traps in D&D: Causing Chaos, Mayhem and Problems for Your Players
Dec 20, 2020
D&D and Mental Health: Therapy, Autism and Exploring the Things We Can't Just Say
Dec 13, 2020
RPG Communication Breakdowns
Dec 06, 2020
D&D Errata: Love It or Hate It, Here’s How We DM It
Nov 29, 2020
Theater of the Mind: Is It a Better Way to Play D&D?
Nov 22, 2020
Rolling the Dice: How to Balance Randomness, Story and PC Agency in TTRPGs
Nov 15, 2020
Famous Fictional PCs: Should You Let Players Run Pop-Culture Clones in Your RPG Campaigns?
Nov 08, 2020
3 Ways to Design RPG Campaigns: Railroad vs. Open World vs. Dave
Nov 01, 2020
RPG Economics: What Can Players Do With All That Gold?
Oct 25, 2020
Digging Into Character Backstories for Fun and Pathos
Oct 18, 2020
19 Crazy Player Characters’ Stunts and How We DMed Them
Oct 11, 2020
9 Things D&D 5E Does Really Well, and 10 Things It Doesn’t
Oct 04, 2020
Adventure Time: 15 Tips to Build and DM Great Adventures, and the Ways We Fail at Them
Sep 27, 2020
7 Questions Dungeon Masters Ask and Our ‘Wisest’ Answers
Sep 20, 2020
3 Styles of RPG Campaign Storytelling
Sep 13, 2020
The Tao of D&D Encounters: How We Build Fights That Fit Our Games
Sep 06, 2020
39 Tips for New Dungeon Masters — and a Few for Veteran DMs, Too
Aug 30, 2020
13 Crazy DM Stunts You Won't Believe We Pulled
Aug 23, 2020
3 Ways to Pace D&D Encounters, Sessions and Games
Aug 16, 2020
What’s Fun for the Dungeon Master?
Aug 09, 2020
The 8 D&D Player Types and How to DM Them
Aug 02, 2020
What Makes Good Players and Problem Players?
Jul 26, 2020
The Biggest DM Mistakes We’ve Made
Jul 19, 2020
Rules vs. Continuity: Managing the Verisimilitude of Your Game
Jul 12, 2020
WotC's Racism Fix: Can Good DMs Help D&D's Stereotypes Problems?
Jul 05, 2020
Roll20 DM Newbs: Tips and Tricks From the Wise DMs' First Online Campaigns
Jun 28, 2020
Introductions: Traumatized Players, Improv Tricks and Our Biggest Struggles
Jun 21, 2020
Trailer
Jun 20, 2020