Why D&D Towns Matter: Transform Your Town Design With a Simple Secret

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1. 

   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…

2. 

   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,…

3. 

   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…

4. 

   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…

5. 

   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…

6. 

   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…

7. 

   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…

8. 

   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…

9. 

   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…

10. 

    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…