Podcast · Leisure & Travel

3 Wise DMs

by The 3 Wise DMs · English · Leisure & Travel

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.

New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 49 min
Latest: 27 Sep 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

27 Sep 2026 · 50 min

The DMs Code: What Do We Owe Our Players?

Does a good DM need a Code of Ethics? Long-time listener, Dr. DM himself, Jason, brings Tony, Chris, and Dave a question that reaches beyond rules and encounter design: when a player dominates the spotlight, cheats, crosses a boundary, or simply stops having fun, what responsibility does the DM have to act? The 3 Wise DMs discuss the DM’s influence over the table, the responsibilities players share, and the value of setting expectations before play begins. Along the way, Tony recalls a treasure dispute that went spectacularly wrong, while the group considers character agency, honest…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E193 · 6 Sep 2026 · 52 min
Fear of the Dark: 3WD Reviews SHADOWDARK!
Shadowdark promises old-school danger with modern rules: fast character creation, deadly combat, limited resources, unpredictable magic, and a torch that burns for one real-world hour. But how does it actually feel at the table? After running Shadowdark for the Doctor’s Blades’ latest expedition, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to examine what worked, what surprised them, and which parts of the system took some adjustment. From simplified mechanics and real-time resource pressure to spellcasting, encounter balance, and character survivability, the Wise DMs explore whether Shadowdark…
E192 · 23 Aug 2026 · 46 min
Can “Yes, And…” Go Too Far? Balancing Player Freedom and the Story
“Yes, and…” is one of the foundational principles of improvisation and is a powerful tool for any DM or GM to encourage creativity at the table. But does a good DM always have to say yes? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss what happens when player freedom begins pulling against the setting, the adventure, or the enjoyment of everyone else at the table (from DM Tony's kitbashed Curse of Strahd campaign). From unexpected character motives and disruptive choices to campaign boundaries and the DM’s responsibility to the world, the Wise DMs explore when to embrace an idea,…
E191 · 12 Jul 2026 · 47 min
The Last Hit Point: How To Make Death Matter in Your TTRPGs
Few moments at the gaming table carry more weight than the death of a player character. Is it the ultimate consequence of failure, a dramatic turning point in the story, or simply an opportunity for the next chapter to begin? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave tackle one of the oldest debates in tabletop gaming: how should DMs handle character death? From the evolution of death mechanics across editions to player agency, storytelling, and the ever-present threat of the dreaded Total Party Kill, the Wise DMs explore how death can shape both the game and the stories we tell together. 2:15…
E190 · 21 Jun 2026 · 45 min
I Can't Explain: Does Your D&D Adventure Need To Make Sense?
Books, movies, and television shows benefit from one major advantage: the entire story is planned before the audience experiences it. D&D campaigns don't have that luxury. Players miss clues, chase unexpected leads, ignore carefully crafted plot hooks, and sometimes decide that the villain's plan sounds surprisingly reasonable. As a result, even the most carefully prepared campaign can become a tangled web of stories, side quests, and unanswered questions. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave tackle a question that arose during Chris's ongoing Lord of the Rings campaign: How important is…
E189 · 7 Jun 2026 · 52 min
Turn Slogs into Showdowns: Making Memorable and Epic Finales for Your D&D Campaign
Some listener questions come in and just HAVE to be answered. This was the case with a question that came in from longtime friend of the show, Dr. DM himself, Jason. His son’s school D&D club was planning a seriously epic finale to multiple campaign tables in a stupendous one-shot. Everything was gong well until the head DM brought their BBEG… we’ll let Jason tell you the rest. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss what makes a good finale, a good BBEG, and best practices for collaborating with multiple DMs. Not surprisingly, it always comes down to communication. 1:50…
E188 · 24 May 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
Two DMs Share Best Tips To Combine Call of Cthulhu and D&D into One Adventure!
Birthday games are 3WDs specialty… and it has now begun to grow. New DMs are joining in on the fun and running new, unique, and exciting games in all types of systems and taking on the challenge of one-upping the Wise DMs. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down with returning guests, Bonnie and Elizabeth, to review, unpack, and discuss the steps they took to take a one-off Call of Cthulhu investigation from last year and transform it into a massive 9-player adventure that spanned both Call of Cthulhu and D&D! For anyone that has ever thought of mashing systems and players together……
E187 · 3 May 2026 · 49 min
3 Wise DMs Reveal the 7 DM Styles To Make You Run The Best D&D Game Ever
Recently, Matt Colville of the Running the Game YouTube series and author of the new Draw Steel TTRPG, discussed the concept of “DM Style.” With someone who has been involved in all things tabletop for over 40 years, you would think that he would believe in developing a DM Style. However, his hot take was that he wasn’t sure there even was such a thing. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss DM Style: Is it a thing and, if so, what are the things that make it up. Along the way, we discuss how to take all these lists and types of DM Styles and make them work for you in…
E186 · 19 Apr 2026 · 56 min
First D&D Campaign Tonight? The 6 Must-Have Tips To Making It Memorable and Stress-Free
Maybe you’ve run some one-shots or even multi-night campaigns. But now you’ve made the decision to run a long-term campaign for many levels – maybe all the way to 20th. How do you make the jump? What do you need to know that will make the transition seamless? What are the differences between running a single session and many sessions that tell an epic, massive story? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down with our recurring special guest and player – the Monster Wrangler himself, Matt! Along the way, we discuss the tips, tricks, and pitfalls to making the jump to running a whole…
E185 · 5 Apr 2026 · 52 min
Join the Quest: Unearthing the Mysteries of Boomtown’s 5e Western Wonderland!
Over the course of twelve episodes, we have enlisted the help of all our listeners to create the first-ever crowdsourced and collaborative campaign setting – what we call Boomtown! In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to reveal the end of this very successful experiment… well, maybe not the end, but a very solid foundation from which to launch Boomtown. For anyone who is new to the podcast, as well as for all the listeners that have helped us craft it, this episode puts it all into perspective and wraps it with a nice bow. Stay tuned for next steps! 1:50 Boomtown is here! 3:25…
E184 · 22 Mar 2026 · 52 min
Super Heroes: When DMs Go to Marvel’s Secret Wars
You’ve seen the trailer. You saw the #MinisMonday post… Tony’s birthday game where Chris and Dave teamed up to run our group through a tabletop wargame in our own custom Marvel Universe of 6-1-SHIT, where the heroes were brought to Battleplanet to fight the SECRET WARS! In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly of our custom, simplified, Heroclix system that allowed for a game that reflected the scope of the Secret Wars: The Avengers, The Fantastic Four, The X-Men, The Heroes of Hells Kitchen, and our homebrewed heroes as they fought the…
E183 · 1 Mar 2026 · 44 min
Elevate Your TTRPG: Discover New Dimensions of Magic!
One of the easiest ways to make your campaign and your setting feel real, immersive, and unique is by taking away the certitude that magic is always going to act the same way. This mysterious, world-altering energy should not ever be completely understood by your characters, as the discovery of it is a big part of the fun. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to respond to a listener question about their homebrewed idea of making magic work differently in different areas of their world. They ask how we might approach it in our ever-growing, crowdsourced Boomtown campaign setting.…
E182 · 15 Feb 2026 · 59 min
The Magic Man – Building a D&D 5e Wizard in Boomtown
We continue to build upon Boomtown - our real-time worldbuilding experiment - armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss the class that is most effected by the inciting incident of Boomtown – namely, that arcane magic is derived from ancient technology being recovered in the…
E181 · 1 Feb 2026 · 58 min
Prophets of Doom – Reworking the D&D Cleric for Boomtown
We continue to build upon Boomtown - our real-time worldbuilding experiment - armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game , we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss Clerics in a world where all the magic that is known seems to be technologically-based. We take them from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the…
E180 · 18 Jan 2026 · 58 min
A Thief in the Night: Building a D&D 5e Rogue in Boomtown
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game , we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss what a Rogue would look like in our Boomtown campaign setting. We take him from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that reflect our…
E179 · 21 Dec 2025 · 1 hr 1 min
The Gunslinger: Building a D&D Fighter in Boomtown
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Having been playing through the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game , we’ve experienced firsthand how alterations to the classes available for players really helps to lend a unique and immersive quality to the campaign setting – setting it apart from all others. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to build the most classic D&D class, the Fighter, in our Boomtown campaign setting. We take him from 1st to 3rd level and, along the way, discuss the changes that…
E178 · 7 Dec 2025 · 49 min
Crafting Your Unique Realm: Build the Best Factions in D&D
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. One of the best things you can build for your campaign to feel real and immersive is by creating factions. Groups and organizations that have their own motives and goals that are distinct from the players. This creates inciting incidents, backstory fodder, and moving parts that conflict with the characters and create impetus for adventure. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave finally begin discussing the biggest faction, and the inciting incident for the Boomtown setting,…
E177 · 23 Nov 2025 · 49 min
Mystery Train – Making Magic Into Technology in D&D 5e
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. Science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke formulated three adages known as Clarke’s Laws that he expounded on in his writings. The third of these is the most famous, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave begin to unpack this idea of ancient technology being what makes magic in the ever-evolving, crowdsourced Boomtown Campaign Setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation! 0:24 DM Dave’s audio homage to the…
E176 · 9 Nov 2025 · 48 min
This Old Town: Craft A Captivating Starting Town For Your D&D Adventure!
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave return to the conversation started in Episode 174 and begin to build out the town that will be the start of most adventures in our Boomtown Campaign Setting. Make sure to Join the Conversation! 1:55 Where are we now? We asked, you answered! Boomtown #1 is known as Gallow Springs! 3:40 What’s in our border town? 6:05 What’s NOT in the town? Religion and Churches, per our last episode. 9:35 Our archetype for Boomtown was Wyatt Earp’s…
E175 · 26 Oct 2025 · 48 min
If I Was the Priest: How Do Clerics Work in Your D&D Campaign?
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave finish out the discussion of how magic will work in our crowdsourced “Boomtown” campaign setting by asking “Where does divine magic come from?” Make sure to Join the Conversation! 1:40 “Where Are We Now”: the Boomtown campaign setting, as it currently stands. 5:20 Discovering the Lost Gods? 6:00 Will this be monotheistic or polytheistic? What about the Cleric Domains? 10:00 Could Divine Magic be just advanced forms of technology or…
E174 · 12 Oct 2025 · 48 min
Why D&D Towns Matter: Transform Your Town Design With a Simple Secret
We continue to drive down deeper into our real-time worldbuilding experiment armed with the comments of our listeners. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave begin to ask the most basic question when building a town: why is the town there? In our D&D Tombstone idea, we realize the short answer is money. And what drives that money? Magic. Make sure to join the conversation as we build a Wonderful World with our 3WD community! 2:25 The “Elevator Pitch” for our new campaign setting. 4:05 Review our discussion of magic. 9:06 Our Sci-Fi, D&D Tombstone. 10:50 Why do towns exist? The short answer:…
E173 · 28 Sep 2025 · 42 min
: Revitalize Your Imagination: 3WD is Back for Real Time D&D World Creation!
Following on the heels of our last episode , we drive down deeper into our continued exploration of real-time worldbuilding armed with the comments of our listeners. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave discuss how magic might work in this new world, how the environment helps to create the setting, and stumble into an idea for a setting that has us really excited. Make sure to join the conversation as we build a Wonderful World with our 3WD community! 2:20 We asked and you answered: A Brand New World! 6:40 A little context for this experiment: we really just want to see how we all might…
E172 · 14 Sep 2025 · 43 min
Join the Ultimate D&D Experience: Real-Time World Building!
Worldbuilding. It’s one of the most talked about aspects of running TTRPGs, as it is the sandbox into which you will throw your party to adventure in. We’ve talked about tips and tricks in past episodes and articles, and have come down on both sides of the debate surrounding how much to do with a focus totally on your specific table and party. However, in this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave have decided to become a bit more involved with a new experiment that we cooked up. Something that has never been done on 3WD before – we’re going to start building a new world live! In real time, we…
E171 · 24 Aug 2025 · 43 min
Too Much: Overcome D&D Idea Overload and Unleash Your Creativity
Movies. TV series. Books. Other DMs running games. There are a multitude of sources that provide fodder for our imagination in developing cool ideas that we want to play with in our own games. But how many ideas are TOO MANY ideas? Can you have too many ideas? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to answer a listener question from our “Co-DM” Dr. DM (Jason) where he asks the question “If faced with an abundance of ideas, how would each of you decide which things to insert and which to hold onto for later?” 4:05 What is your table like and what is your frequency of play? 5:15 Bring…
E170 · 10 Aug 2025 · 57 min
Hey There, Cthulhu! Building The Immersion and The Horror in Your TTRPGs
Our last episode was the preamble. Last week’s article discussed some of what we learned from playing with new people. But, in this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down with the newest addition to our gaming group, Elizabeth, to delve deep into what went into running the Call of Cthulhu one-shot, playing with brand new people, and how to build a serious level of immersion into any game you’re running… especially horror! 0:25 Eben Brooks’ “Hey There, Cthulhu.” 2:33 The Keeper of Arcane Lore Herself, Elizabeth! 3:40 Hot take: This was the first time Elizabeth ran a game! 4:15 The “Seven…
E169 · 27 Jul 2025 · 43 min
People Get Ready: Is There Such a Thing as Too Much Character Backstory?
Backstory. Character development. It’s one of the most discussed topics in the TTRPG space. And the 3 Wise DMs were faced with the question when a friend offered to run a Call of Cthulhu one-shot for our group. This was followed by a Google Doc with twenty in-depth questions as to the character’s background, motivations, loves, and fears. For a one-shot. If you’ve ever asked yourself the question, “is there such a thing as too much character backstory?”, then this is the episode for you! 3:25 DM-Player communication: how much is the DM looking for and how much can you use in-game? 4:40 The…
E168 · 13 Jul 2025 · 44 min
Help! Our Best Tips For When the Forever DM becomes the Player
You’ve been the DM for a long time (maybe even Forever!) and one of your players has finally said those magic words: “I think I wanna run a game.” So, with all your wisdom, all your experience, all your skills – how do you help the new DM along in the game so that they have a good time and the table has a good time? So that they want to get back into the DM chair? For all you Forever DMs, and all you Prospective DMs, this is the episode for you! 2:05 3WD drops their Birthday Game Challenge! 2:45 The Wizard Washburn gets run through his 70th Birthday Adventure by our own Chaos Engine, Little…
E167 · 22 Jun 2025 · 45 min
Master of Puppets – What To Do When The DM Has To Control A Player Character
Possession. Dominate. Alignment shifts. There are a multitude of times where the rules make the DM take control of one of the player characters in the game. But, is that a good thing? In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss an issue that came up in DM Chris' Tales of the Yawning Portal campaign that he's running for 2 new players to the hobby and a run-in with a dwarven ghost. 1:45 DM Chris’ question that arose with Possession. 3:35 DM Tony’s initial thoughts. 4:35 The first time DM Dave makes the point that 2 players in a game can really change how the game flows. 9:40…
E166 · 8 Jun 2025 · 45 min
Unlock Your Inner Spy: Dive Into Top Secret's Espionage RPG Adventure!
Top Secret: New World Order. That’s right, for DM Dave’s Birthday Game (of which we are quickly becoming well-versed), DM Chris ran our gaming group through the update to the TSR classic espionage RPG, Top Secret from TSR, Inc. by Merle Rasmussen. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to review the system, and discuss what they liked and didn’t about playing as Agents of ICON. For anyone wanting to dip their toes into playing in worlds like James Bond and Mission: Impossible, this is the episode for you. 2:06 DM Tony’s quick overview of the system. 3:50 DM Chris’ high overview of…
E165 · 18 May 2025 · 43 min
Your Virtual DM: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Enjoy Solo TTRPGs
Artificial Intelligence is a polarizing topic these days. From Skynet-style flights of fancy to the very real implications for content creators, it’s an evolving technology that isn’t going away anytime soon. But free from worrying about profiting off of others’ work, using AI at the game table can help provide you with a set of tools and a pair of hands that can help lift the sometimes heavy and time-consuming duties of a DM. In this episode, Tony, Chris, and Dave sit down to discuss how they’ve started implementing AI into their toolbox, mainly through getting into some good old-fashioned…

About 3 Wise DMs

3 Wise DMs is a English leisure & travel podcast from The 3 Wise DMs. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: The 3 Wise DMs
Language: English
Category: Leisure & Travel
New episodes: Every two weeks
Typical length: 49 min
Latest episode: 27 Sep 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1519674761

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