Hook & Chance is a Dungeons and Dragons advice and game enrichment podcast for players and Dungeon Masters full of entertaining ideas for incredible games!
63 Subscribers
Podcast hosts
- HookandChance
@HookandChance
Hook and Chance
63 Subscribers
Reviews
RagingNarwhale
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent for DMs
Iâve deep-dived into dozens of DM-oriented D&D podcasts, and this one immediately became probably my #1. Very practical, super creative, and their website/patreon has a ton of free accompanying (useful) resources. This podcast deserves waay more attention.
bslaww
5 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Easily one of my top favorite dm podcasts. Their advice is consistently useful
Spfullan
5 out of 5 stars
Nat 20 on creativity check
Iâm about a dozen shows in and the ideas keep coming. Lots of great thoughts and new flavor (Iâm looking at you Source of Force episode secret weapon). Iâve listened to a few podcasts on DMing and this one is the real deal. Highly recommend for seasoned game masters or if youâre a new player.
Remote viewer 93
5 out of 5 stars
The best D&D podcast
Among a vast sea of D&D podcasts Hook and Chance really is a cut above the rest. It is the only rpg podcast that I look on Monday morning to see if it has downloaded. For starters, the audio quality is head and shoulders above basically all the others I have tried. This can be a sticking point for me... I donât understand putting out a mediocre quality when audio recording has become so cheap and easy over the years. This show is actually listenable. They have a good mix of super useful ideas and suggestions mixed in with the right amount of tongue in cheek humor. It is a delicate balance, and difficult to pull off but these guys seem to be able to do it. Finally, I have definitely improved my DMing thanks to their advice and ideas. Seriously, they seem to put a lot of effort into making the show useful. Thanks for the show and keep up the amazing work!
mycofish
5 out of 5 stars
My favorite D&D podcast
This podcast has a great level of creative energy. The hosts spin off all kinds of awesomely weird evolutions from basic D&D concepts while simultaneously producing focused, practical content that can be used to make your games better. I installed ickTunes just to leave them a five star review. The show is that good.
Jera Davis
5 out of 5 stars
Love it
I look forward to every episode of this show. The boys are hilarious and insightful. Part of me wishes Iâd discovered it later just so Iâd have more back episodes to listen to. Keep it up! <3
Big brother ed
5 out of 5 stars
Absolutely what I was looking for!
Players and DMs that love the game dissecting it and sharing their opinions and reasons for loving the game, all while giving fascinating advice on how to add to our games. Inspirational and an addictive listen! 10 âïž âïž âïž âïž âïž
Podcast information
- Amount of episodes
- 161
- Subscribers
- 63
- Verified
- Yes
- Website
- Explicit content
- Yes
- Episode type
- episodic
- Podcast link
- https://podvine.com/link/..
- Last upload date
- February 27, 2023
- Last fetch date
- March 29, 2023 5:58 AM
- Upload range
- WEEKLY
- Author
- Hook and Chance
- Copyright
susbcribers
- Beware the BasiliskThe Basilisk. A violent, monstrous lizard that can turn you to stone with a glare. While fun at first glance, this monster betrayed us. The first time using it turned into a panic, when we realized how immediately and irreversibly deadly they can be against a fledgling party of adventurers. âWait, petrified? Like, for good?â Not only that, but they come across like a beast to just plop in front of the party for slaying. But wait! Turns out thereâs plenty of lore and real-world inspiration we can use to turn these scaly brutes into battles to remember. In this episode, we run through inspiration and frameworks to create a compact horror adventure around the Basilisk.0 comments0
- Running a Monumental MonsterEver throw down a giant nasty monster only to have the most memorable moment be when you couldnât figure out the hp math for a minute? Without the party even realizing this was supposed to be the fight? Weâve been there. The last episode introduced our method of running massive, world-ending monsters in a way that feels complex, with frenetic action, epic scale, and lots of collateral damage. In this episode, we take that format and flesh out three scenarios of different scales. Hopefully, it helps your next gigantazord to be that much more intense.0 comments0
- Hook and Chance Jan 30 · 54m Planning a World-Ending MonsterWe all desperately crave the boss monster moment. When we pull out the miniature bigger than our heads and slam it down on the table. The players go wild. One of them is screaming while ripping out chunks of hair. One is vomiting in their dice bag in the corner. One is lighting the map on fire. You sit back and cross your arms, a satisfied grin creeping across your face as the chaos grows. Okay, maybe thatâs a little much. But in order to get this kind of grand reaction, thereâs a little leg work we have to do. If we donât, people will get a little excited. Then theyâll run up and start swinging. Then 4 hours later, they strike it down. Or, maybe you made it real tough, in which case they canât hurt it, get frustrated, and die. Also not fun. In this episode, we cover some planning you can do to ensure your boss-monster fight lives on forever as an epic moment.0 comments0
- Tame Your Game with Ticking ClocksIncredible concepts for games can be ruined without a few key details. Open-world "sandbox" games can leave players feeling lost and unmotivated, meandering through locations. Epic storylines can be swept away because the player characters didn't seem to care. Hours of game prep can be lost from players not realizing how compelling that direction could be. Grand finales can feel like math class. With just a few key details these problems vanish, and games can go as smoothly as we imagine they will when we're preparing for the big night.0 comments0
- The Great Homage Heist ft. The GM TimYou consume a story. Maybe a movie, or book. You love it. It speaks to you. It moves you. You want to jam it into your games, but how do you jam in the things that captured you? The things that matter? Throw in a character with a bullwhip and a fedora, you're not going to have what made Indiana Jones great. On the other hand, perhaps you are running dry on inspiration. Your mind, like ours, can act as a sieve that retains nothing of value. When it comes time for game prep, you slap at concepts like "monster" and "quest", hoping that something happens. In this episode, we hope to help you create a font of inspiration that matters to you, and never runs dry.0 comments0
- Alter Preceptions of Alter SelfThere are some odd addendums in the spell description of Alter Self. The challenge of using this spell for both GMs and players is that the rules as written confines us from the places where our imaginations naturally go. What a pain. With some minor clarifications and gentle relaxing of the rules, we can find some middle ground that both sides of the table can love.0 comments0
- How to Defend Your Lair ft. Keith AmmannReturning with another literal book full of wisdom is Keith Ammann. He's bringing the same strategic brilliance that he's brought to monster and player offense to base defense. It creates games that feel grounded, flexible, and full of potential. Most of all, it gives you the tools to create the lair of anyone or any monster you can dream up. We love it, and we think you will too.0 comments0
- Secrets of the FirbolgThe Firbolg represents an archetype that's been around a long time, and is a blast to playâthe gentle, nature-loving giant. Like most player options, however, there's a few traps to fall in if we don't consider their potential. Firbolgs are more than just the cultural equivalent of druids. And they can offer so much more than cliches about hippies or becoming the "shaggy" of the group.0 comments0
- Hook and Chance Oct 31 · 48m Using Tropes with Intent ft. Paige FordThe group of adventurers pledging themselves to a dangerous mission...The guttural clicking of a monster stalking the party...A passing shadow that clues the party to look up, its source an enormous red dragon. All tropes! All Incredible moments! We were once resistant to the power of tropes, until we realized that you can't avoid them, and that they're actually a useful tool for running games. They're a shorthand that gets everybody into the moment because we all have a meaningful reference point. For this episode we have the talented Paige Ford joining us! She's used her favorite tropes, mostly horror and romance, to write a delightful plethora of gripping adventures for different TTRPG systems.0 comments0
- The Revenant RevivalRevenants capture a particular genre of monster, and we love it. They have been represented in the great slashers in the form of characters like Jason and Michael Meyers. No matter how many times you think you got 'em, they're back and angrier than ever. And as a GM, nothing sounds more fun than chasing the party with an undead foe that, no matter how many times you blast to bits or behead, will just keep coming. But to use them in a satisfying way, as always, we need to do more than plop them into a session. They risk being a boring fight that just turns into a chore every time they come back from the dead. That's why we go through three stages of a revenant adventure that will hit all the right beats to terrify and delight your table.0 comments0
- Rules of Engagement ft. HeavyarmsEvery rule should engage. That's the episode. Playing D&D can feel like you're constantly getting buckets of rules tossed in your face, and you're trying to sort out which ones matter. Then there are rivers of homebrew. How could we possibly know what's good, and what's trash? With the question "Does it engage?", which is what our incredible guest Heavyarms is here to help with. He's created some of the most useful supplements we've ever touched, including The Armorer's Handbook and The Alchemy Almanac among others.0 comments0
- Rust Monsters: The Biggest RustholesIt's always tempting to use monsters like the rust monster because they seem iconic. Classics. Gotta try 'em at least once. The problem comes when we mix the original punishing design principles of D&D with the modern character and story first playstyle that we love so much. Now they just feel like an annoying trap that steals from me. In this episode, we adapt the Rust monster to the way we like to play games.0 comments0
- The Modron Mathematical MayhemSo we've got dimension-surfing cyborgs with cultural values, motivations, and personalities. Now we have to plan for the inevitability that some frantic adventurer is gonna wanna throw down. But as they're currently presented, we're a little underwhelmed by their combat dynamism. Advanced beings from a plane of law, and they're throwing javelins at us? In this episode, we aim to create encounters with Modrons that engage, confound, and allow for triumphant victories.0 comments0
- The Modron Metaphysical MotivationModrons capture attention and imaginationâbio-mechanical beings from an alien plane, with reality-bending inspirations. But when we start unpacking the lore, we can't figure out how or why to use them, how to roleplay a modron, how they behave, or what they really want. So in this episode, we answer these questions by tweaking the concept while staying true to its roots.0 comments0
- Hook and Chance Aug 8 · 43m Find Familiars UnforgettableThese magical minions add so much to a character. They're tiny strategic powerhouses that possess pure condensed roleplay potential. They're the dark matter of RPGs. Yet the same problems pop up again and again with these critters. They're easily forgotten, it's hard to get others invested in them, we keep leaning on the one gag that got a laugh until they're just a punchline, or with a massive amount of backstory, they start to take up too much game time. This episode is about creating just enough familiar to make them shine.0 comments0
- A Chimera of ChaosChimeras are legendary creatures that have invaded folk's imagination since the ancient Greeks cooked them up. An epic three-headed beast conquered by the son of a god. Juicy. But have you ever been a part of an uninspired Chimera fight? Yes, they're deadly, but after a couple flyby triple head attacks, things get stale. In this episode, we talk about building up to a Chimera reveal and spicing up combat to engage every player at your table.0 comments0
- Beyond D&D ft. The GM TimThere are many games with near-infinite themes, genres, flavors, new ideas, and fresh inspiration. It's an exciting world of possibility, and we'd love to play them all. Of course, there's only so much time, money, or x resource that we have to try these new games. Unfortunately, this stops us from even beginning to explore different systems. This episode aims to give you the same nudge we needed. The GMTim, with his experience as a professional DM running dozens of different systems, presents a few based on our favorite genres, and we discuss their merits as we try to figure out what to learn next.0 comments0
- Hazardous Hag BargainsHags offer so much potential as ruthless negotiators, incredibly clever antagonists and uneasy allies. But like many of the most brilliant monsters out there, their plots can be hard to actually conjure up in our games. And not just that, but the classic hag tales are ones in which someone a little foolish enters a bargain we all know they shouldn't have. So we need the ability to come up with clever plots that our players don't automatically dismiss. This episode aims to give you the steps to do just that.0 comments0
- How to Win at Warlock CharactersWarlocks inspire a lot of wonder, right out of the gate. They've got an incredible story hook baked right in, and one can sit there considering how terrifying they look for ages. But where we've fallen down before is really making that hook pay off. This episode explores the themes and potential stories that warlocks offer us, and how to play them to their heights.0 comments0
- Hold Person HandilyHold Person is wildly powerful and feels pretty cool when you get to snag a baddie with it. But it's one of the classic save or suck spells, meaning that either nothing happens, or something absolutely awful happens. This means dice start flying out of pure rage at the table when your barbarian is stuck in place during a climactic throw-down. Well, we demand better from our spells, and we hope you enjoy our exploration in making this enchantment feel as gripping as it sounds.0 comments0
- Hook and Chance May 16 · 45m A More Brutal BuletteThe Bulette is such a cool monster. A deadly tunneling, armored hunter, a leaping surprise attacker, a vicious apex predator. So then why does running one exactly as they allude to feel so lackluster? It turns out the answer may all be in the build-up.0 comments0
- Pacing like a Producer ft. Roz YoungEver find yourself scrambling to hit the gas, or notice that something is getting stale, but you just can't tell what? Well, this episode is packed with techniques that will keep everyone on the edge of their seats. The wisdom comes from the experience of our incredible guest Roz Young, the masterful storyteller of Ready to Roll, a boundary-pushing actual play YouTube series.0 comments0
- A Study in Spectacular Sentient ItemsEver thrown in a sentient item, thinking it would be an epic fantasy moment, only to have it become a joke? Or forgotten? A forgotten joke? Nothing worse. In this episode, we get into how to avoid their pitfalls and what you can do to unleash the many wondrous powers they give not just the heroes of your story, but you as the DM. We also discuss The Beasts of the Dissonance, an incredible new resource for dark fantasy loving DM's.0 comments0
- Show, Don't Tell ft. Ollo ClarkThose great sessions that are packed with character moments, epic fights, and emotional highs seem almost magical. Well, this episode unlocks a piece of that magic. We talk to Ollo Clark from Escape Plan Games all about how the storytelling concept "show, don't tell" can apply to all the elements of TTRPG's, and help us encourage those memorable moments.0 comments0
- Create a Cult MysteryIf you listened to our last episode, you've got an original cult to grip your players with their twisted, dastardly plans. Well, now it's time to play out those plans. And it's not always easy to prep for a game that needs to give players a plot to unravel, horrifying cult activities, and a captivating villain to lead the way. There are so many missteps that can quickly derail the tension and terror you want to build in these games. That's why in this episode we explore how to use a collection of our resources to create a cult mystery horror adventure by making one ourselves, and we're pretty excited about how it turned out. It's got shadow demons, brood mothers, dark rituals, and more!0 comments0
Podcast hosts
- HookandChance
@HookandChance
