I just this moment realised that a month ago I started a podcast, and I haven’t told anyone what it was about.

Here’s the pitch: An episode a week, less than 10 minutes long, each about a single module from Dungeon Magazine. Tear it apart, find the problems and the great things about it, and translate them into things to apply to your home game.

How did I come to that? So, a year or two ago, I discovered Monster Man, a podcast that came in very short, bite-sized episodes, each about a monster from a monster manual from the history of Dungeons and Dragons. It’s an absolute banger, to be honest, and James Holloway must have some kind of background in folklore or mythology studies because what he brings is absolutely fascinating.

I started to think about other ways to use that capsule-sized podcast format. And the first thing that came to mind: Dungeon Magazine. This is before I started even the first, Twitter-thread version of Bathtub Reviews, when I first became interested in reading and analysing more modules to see what makes great, good and not-so-great modules tick. I actually recorded an episode back then, and then I fell sick and never had the capacity or energy to continue. The first episode, “The Dark Tower of Cabilar” has been floating about in my mind since then, and while I reconsidered it when I finally recorded it, my opinions haven’t really changed. In fact, my opinions on Dark Tower of Cabilar influenced my upcoming module, Bridewell, considerably, and solidified my belief that we have a lot to learn from even not-so-good modules.

So, I recorded a few takes of a first episode, polished the format a little, and am trying to figure out how to make my set up cleaner, but on a $0 budget it’s difficult. I figure it’s better to make a thing than make a perfectly produced thing. I’ve now released episodes for the first three modules of Dungeon Magazine.

If you want to listen to it, check it out on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify, or Podchaser, or probably any directory you want. If it’s not on your directory, let me know in the comments and I’ll add it! I’ll try to keep up a new episode every Sunday.

17th October, 2023

Idle Cartulary