RPGBOT.Podcast

Have you ever opened a published TTRPG adventure, read three chapters in, and thought: "There is absolutely no way my players will do any of this"? Welcome to Adapting Published TTRPG Settings, where the RPGBOT crew explains why modules are suggestions, railroads are imaginary, and your Big Bad will absolutely die three sessions early because someone invented an arcane nuclear device. Whether you're running Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder 2e, or your favorite tabletop roleplaying game, this episode is all about how to customize published adventures, steal player backstories, break plots responsibly, and still pretend you planned it all from the beginning.
Show Notes
In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts dive deep into adapting published TTRPG settings to better suit your table, your players, and the chaos they inevitably create. Drawing from years of experience running official D&D adventures, Pathfinder 2e campaigns, and homebrew nightmares, the team explains why no module survives first contact with players—and why that's a good thing.
Topics include how to customize published adventures without breaking the story, when it's okay to railroad (yes, really), and how to balance sandbox freedom with guided play. The hosts discuss common pitfalls like breaking narrative continuity, accidentally ruining game mechanics, and losing focus when a side quest becomes the main plot. You'll also learn why player backstories, class features, and character goals are the best raw material for reshaping any tabletop RPG setting.
Practical advice covers adding new villains, replacing weak encounters, cutting boring dungeons, and remixing iconic elements from other TTRPG adventures and settings. From fixing overly linear modules to turning side quests into emotional gut punches, this episode is a masterclass in adventure customization for Game Masters who want their campaigns to feel personal, memorable, and fun.
Key Takeaways for Game Masters
Published TTRPG adventures are guidelines, not gospel, and should be adapted to fit your players' interests and play style.
There is a healthy middle ground between sandbox chaos and rigid railroading, often called a guided experience.
Player backstories, goals, and class mechanics are the best tools for customizing published modules.
It's easier to add content than remove it, but cutting boring or irrelevant sections is sometimes necessary.
Breaking the story, mechanics, or balance can be fun—if you know what you're doing and why.
Players don't remember plot holes; they remember closed narrative loops that make past actions feel meaningful.
If a side quest becomes more fun than the main plot, promote it—your players will thank you.
Every published TTRPG setting can support wildly different campaigns depending on how the GM adapts it.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players.
Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings.
Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community.
Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET
Ash Ely
Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
BlueSky: @GravenAshes
YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
Amateurjack.com
Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)
Producer Dan
@Lzr_illuminati

Death in tabletop RPGs is a lot like a group project: everyone insists they're prepared for it, nobody actually reads the rules, and somehow it's always the wizard's fault. In this episode, the RPGBOT crew stares straight into the great beyond—death saves, dying conditions, resurrection magic, and those awkward moments when the cleric checks their spell slots and quietly says, "So… about that body." Whether your character goes out in a blaze of glory or bleeds out behind a crate because no one had an action left, we're breaking down how death really works at the table—and how to make it memorable instead of miserable.
Show Notes
Character death is one of the most emotionally charged—and mechanically misunderstood—parts of tabletop roleplaying games. In this episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, the hosts dig into how death mechanics work across popular systems, why they often feel harsher (or softer) than intended, and how players and GMs can turn character death into a powerful storytelling moment instead of a buzzkill.
The discussion covers death saves, dying conditions, instant death effects, and the role of healing magic in prolonging—or preventing—the inevitable. The crew examines how different RPG systems handle mortality, from forgiving safety nets to brutal attrition-based designs, and what those choices say about the kind of stories those games want to tell.
Beyond raw mechanics, the episode explores meaningful death: heroic sacrifices, last stands, narrative consequences, and when resurrection magic enhances the story versus when it cheapens the moment. The hosts also share table-tested advice for GMs on foreshadowing danger, setting expectations, and making sure character death feels fair—even when it's devastating.
If you've ever wondered whether death should be rare, frequent, reversible, or permanent—or why every party suddenly becomes a tactical mastermind the moment someone drops to zero HP—this episode is for you.
Key Takeaways
Death mechanics shape tone. How a system handles dying directly affects whether the game feels heroic, gritty, or forgiving.
Death saves are drama engines. They create tension, spotlight teamwork, and often reveal who really read their character sheet.
Instant death is rare—but memorable. When it happens, it should feel earned, telegraphed, or narratively significant.
Resurrection is a storytelling tool. Bringing a character back should have consequences, costs, or complications to preserve emotional weight.
Heroic sacrifice beats random loss. Deaths tied to player choice are almost always more satisfying than unlucky math.
GM communication matters. Clear expectations about lethality prevent resentment and help players invest emotionally.
Death doesn't end the story. It can launch new arcs, reshape the party, or permanently change the world.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players.
Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings.
Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community.
Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET
Ash Ely
Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
BlueSky: @GravenAshes
YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
Amateurjack.com
Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)
Producer Dan
@Lzr_illuminati

Dragons are eternal. Gaming mice are not.
In today's episode of the RPGBOT.Podcast, we survive cursed peripherals, catastrophic Kingdom turns, and at least one near-fatal werewolf encounter before finally turning our attention to the real reason we woke up before dawn: Paizo's Lost Omens: Draconic Codex. It's a book that asks the important questions—like "What if dragons were powered by magical traditions?", "What if dragons were made of swords?", and "What if a dragon respawned because you can't kill the joke?" Pour yourself a gallon of coffee and join us as we dig into archdragons, dragon gods, delight dragons, wish dragons, and more dragons than should legally fit in one hardcover.
Show Notes
In this episode, the RPGBOT crew reviews Lost Omens: Draconic Codex, Paizo's definitive Pathfinder Second Edition sourcebook for dragons. The discussion covers both lore and mechanics introduced in the Remaster era, highlighting how Pathfinder 2e has fully reinvented dragons to align with its four magical traditions: Arcane, Divine, Occult, and Primal .
Covered Topics Include: 
Remastered Dragon Lore
Pathfinder's clean break from chromatic/metallic dragons
Dragons aligned to magical traditions instead of color
Why these dragons feel "native" to PF2e mechanics
Dragon Creation Myth & Dragon Gods
Apsu, Dahak, Sarshalatu, and the draconic origin story
Dragon gods, pantheons, edicts, and anathema
Cleric and champion support for dragon-aligned worship
Archdragons & Dragon Physiology
New age category: Archdragon
Young → Adult → Ancient → Arch progression
Why archdragons emerge during times of conflict
Expanded archdragon stat blocks for existing dragons
Bestiary Highlights (So Many Dragons) - Over 40 dragon types, including:
Delight Dragons (joy, bubbles, toys, and respawning punchlines)
Mocking Dragons (laughing at your failures—mechanically)
Wish Dragons (granting wishes with no ritual cost… interpreted by the dragon)
Vorpal Dragons (made of swords, can decapitate you and leave you alive)
Sage Dragons (dragon nerds who weaponize your secrets)
Wyrm Wraiths (void-fueled undead dragon horrors)
Player & GM Options
Dragon-themed archetypes and ancestry options
Dragonets as playable, pseudo-dragon-like companions
Expanded kobold options
New spells, magic items, and dragon contracts (mechanical pacts that actually matter)
GM Tools & Campaign Hooks
Dragons as quest-givers, gods, villains, and punchlines
High-level storytelling with wish-granting dragons
Using dragons as expressions of magical philosophy
Key Takeaways
Lost Omens: Draconic Codex fully redefines dragons for Pathfinder 2e, making them mechanically and narratively distinct from D&D while remaining iconic .
The four magical traditions give dragons clearer identities, spell access, and story roles.
Archdragons provide true level-21+ threats with campaign-defining presence.
Dragons in this book are not just monsters—they're gods, philosophers, tricksters, wish-granters, and walking rules arguments.
Player options (dragonets, archetypes, contracts) meaningfully support dragon-centric campaigns.
This book is a must-own for Pathfinder 2e GMs, especially for high-level or lore-heavy games.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players.
Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings.
Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community.
Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET
Ash Ely
Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
BlueSky: @GravenAshes
YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
Amateurjack.com
Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)
Producer Dan
@Lzr_illuminati

Welcome back to RPGBOT.Podcast, where Ash is a Top GM™, Tyler is still emotionally processing Bastions, and Randall has discovered that Eberron finally lets you live your best divorced-dad-with-a-houseboat fantasy.
In Part 2 of our review of Eberron: Forge of the Artificer, we leave the artificer workshop behind and dive headfirst into dragonmarked intrigue, mobile bastions, noir detectives, political backstabbing, and the deeply dangerous question: "What if my base could walk?" This episode contains airships, crime fiction, economic monopolies, and at least one moment where we realize the answer to most Eberron problems is "build a bigger construct."
Show Notes
In RPGBOT.Podcast – Eberron: Forge of the Artificer (Part 2), the hosts continue their in-depth review of the book by shifting focus away from the artificer class and into the broader Eberron ecosystem.
This episode examines the character options beyond artificers, including dragonmarked feats, reworked species, and the lore implications of opening dragonmarks to wider character concepts. From there, the discussion moves into Bastions, including mobile bases like airships, lightning rail trains, and ships—raising important questions about gameplay practicality, narrative freedom, and whether your party should legally be allowed to own a war machine.
The back half of the episode explores Eberron's storytelling frameworks, including noir-inspired Sharn inquisitives, dragonmarked house intrigue, and campaign structures built around politics, monopolies, and inevitable wars.
Key Takeaways
Dragonmarks are the backbone of this book. If you like dragonmarked houses, intrigue, and economic power struggles, this chapter delivers in spades.
New species updates are a big win. Warforged as constructs, kalashtar as aberrations, and revamped korovar (half-elves) meaningfully impact gameplay and spell interactions.
Dragonmark feats heavily favor spellcasters. Martials should be cautious—many benefits scale best with spellcasting.
Mobile Bastions are conceptually excellent and mechanically… messy. Airships, trains, and ships are cool, but DMs will need to smooth the edges.
Eberron leans hard into genre play. Noir detective stories, Renaissance-style intrigue, and political drama are clearly supported.
High-level play quietly breaks old Eberron assumptions. The book embraces higher-level NPCs and epic conflicts, even if it bends earlier canon.
Everything eventually leads to war. Political intrigue, dragonmarked monopolies, and bastions all point toward large-scale conflict—and that's very on-brand for Eberron.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players.
Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings.
Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community.
Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET
Ash Ely
Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
BlueSky: @GravenAshes
YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
Amateurjack.com
Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)
Producer Dan
@Lzr_illuminati

Show Notes
Elementals are the walking embodiment of the four classic forces—fire, air, water, and earth—and they're one of the easiest monster families to drop into any campaign while still feeling mythic, dangerous, and thematically sharp. (Spotify) In this remastered episode, the RPGBOT crew digs into how to make elementals more than "a pile of hit points with a damage type"—including encounter roles, terrain design, and how to telegraph threats so your table feels challenged instead of cheap-shotted.
What elementals are (in play): not just monsters, but mobile hazards and "terrain with teeth."
Element-by-element encounter design: how fire/air/water/earth fights should feel different, even at the same CR/level band.
Battlefield engineering: using smoke, wind, currents, collapsing ground, and difficult terrain to make elementals do elemental things.
Player-facing tactics: reading resistances/immunities, avoiding trap damage types, and solving the encounter with positioning and control (not just DPR).
GM toolbelt: telegraphing danger, escalating phases, and mixing minions/terrain so elementals don't devolve into a slog.
Practical GM ideas you can steal immediately
Fire: oxygen, visibility, spreading zones, panic movement (force decisions, not just damage).
Air: verticality, forced movement, disarms/knockdowns, splitting the party without hard walls.
Water: grapples, drowning pressure clocks, currents, "you can't stand where you want" fights.
Earth: cover that changes, chokepoints that collapse, tremors, being pinned or isolated.
Key Takeaways
Elementals work best when the environment participates. If the room is a blank grid, elementals lose most of their identity.
Make the "element" a problem to solve, not a damage type to resist. The memorable part is usually the smoke, the current, the sinkhole—not the stat block.
Telegraph early, punish late. Give clear warnings (heat shimmer, rising wind, sudden undertow) so players can adapt before consequences spike.
Different elements reward different counterplay. Fire wants spacing and line-of-sight management; water punishes isolation; air punishes clustering; earth punishes predictable lanes.
Elementals shine in mixed encounters. Pair a "big elemental" with lesser hazards/minions so the fight has motion, decisions, and tempo.
Welcome to the RPGBOT Podcast. If you love Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and tabletop RPGs, this is the podcast for you.
Support the show for free: Rate and review us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app. It helps new listeners find the best RPG podcast for D&D and Pathfinder players.
Level up your experience: Join us on Patreon to unlock ad-free access to RPGBOT.net and the RPGBOT Podcast, chat with us and the community on the RPGBOT Discord, and jump into live-streamed RPG podcast recordings.
Support while you shop: Use our Amazon affiliate link at https://amzn.to/3NwElxQ and help us keep building tools and guides for the RPG community.
Meet the Hosts
Tyler Kamstra – Master of mechanics, seeing the Pathfinder action economy like Neo in the Matrix.

Randall James – Lore buff and technologist, always ready to debate which Lord of the Rings edition reigns supreme.

Ash Ely – Resident cynic, chaos agent, and AI's worst nightmare, bringing pure table-flipping RPG podcast energy.

Join the RPGBOT team where fantasy roleplaying meets real strategy, sarcasm, and community chaos.
How to Find Us:
In-depth articles, guides, handbooks, reviews, news on Tabletop Role Playing at RPGBOT.net
Tyler Kamstra
BlueSky: @rpgbot.net
TikTok: @RPGBOTDOTNET
Ash Ely
Professional Game Master on StartPlaying.Games
BlueSky: @GravenAshes
YouTube: @ashravenmedia
Randall James
BlueSky: @GrimoireRPG
Amateurjack.com
Read Melancon: A Grimoire Tale (affiliate link)
Producer Dan
@Lzr_illuminati