Category Archives: The Knowledge Check

This week Eric and Philip return to their series on D&D classes by diving into the Cleric class.  But given how long an episode would take to break down every option for a casting class, Eric and Philip tweak their normal formula to focus on narrative elements and character concepts.  They also take some time to debunk some common misconceptions about the Cleric class, and answer some listener questions.

This episode is brought to you by the generous donations of our amazing Show Sponsors: Laura Pickrahn, Jessica Smith, Irene Viorritto, Ryan Royce, Darrin Katzska, Darrell DeLaney, Charles Compton, and Nikko Batson.

Download Here This week Eric and Philip tackle a listener requested topic:  Co-DMing.  We have mentioned it a lot in the past, and now we are going to break it down for you all:  the pros and cons, the missteps to watch out for, and what it means to truly partner with someone to runContinue reading “Ep. 26 The Art of Co-DMing”

This week Eric and Philip dive into the elegant art of homebrews and houserules, or as it’s known to early D&D players: breaking the game!  All kidding aside, we take a look at the do’s and don’ts of tweaking D&D to fit your table’s needs, and share our success stories and our horrible, horrible failures.

This week Eric flies solo with Philip feeling ill.  Eric breaks down some different ways to look at a campaign’s structure to shake up your table’s experience.  The long form, narrative driven campaign is the industry norm for a reason, but if you find that being Frodo, Luke Skywalker, or King Arthur just isn’t for you; why not try shaking things up a bit?

This week Eric and Philip break down the most terrifying aspect of D&D for some players… ROLEPLAYING.  We take away some of the stigma surrounding roleplaying and give some tips on how to start out if roleplaying “isn’t your thing”.

This week Eric takes an episode off while Philip outlines some recommendations of Non-D&D games to play if you are looking for a little variety at your table.  Philip breaks down the highlights of each system, and why they are worth you time.  Come join us for the first episode of the New Year on The Knowledge Check!

In the spirit of the season Philip and Eric are taking a look at the greatest gift of all:  LOOT!  We dive into the different types of items that you can give and receive as loot, some of favorites, making your own, and a general guide to what has worked for us in the past.  So grab some hot cocoa, curl up next to the fire, and settle in for another episode of The Knowledge Check!

This week on The Knowledge Check we answer YOUR questions!  So come join us for an episode filled with a grab bag of knowledge from all over the place.

This week on The Knowledge Check Philip and Eric take a look at Dragons: how to use them is your campaign, how your characters may interact with them, and some iconic examples that you can steal from.

On this episode of The Knowledge Check Eric and Philip dive into what it takes to play an evil character effectively and without alienating your fellow party members, as well as how to make a compelling villain and manage their evil machinations without upsetting your players.

Eric and Philip discuss one of the most dreaded and feared events that can occur at a table: Character Death.  They break down how it can happen, what to do afterwards, and how to bring them back (if that’s what you want to do).

This week Philip responds to Eric’s episode last week by revealing his points of inspiration when it comes to D&D.  Join us for another episode of The Knowledge Check.

Download Here This week on the Knowledge Check, Eric sits down to give you some insight into where he goes in pop culture for inspiration as a DM and as a player.  For example…Pro Wrestling in the first one he mentions, so that gives you as idea for how outside the bounds of Tolkien andContinue reading “Ep. 15 Point of Inspiration (Not the mechanic…like real Inspiration)”

This week on The Knowledge Check we have an exciting review of the latest book for 5th Edition D&D:  Tomb of Annihilation.  Eric breaks down the book and points out the ups and downs of the latest offering from Wizards of the Coast, and touches on how he would fix some of the more glaring issues.

Eric and Philip take a look at Philip’s current campaign, that is beginning to come to an end, and craft an epic ending to it worthy of his party.  They take a look back at the advice they’ve given in the past two episodes and use it to make something the party will remember.

Coming off of the last episode’s multi-year, highly successful campaign Eric and Philip discuss the sequel campaign: The Mark of Vengeance.  They discuss their lofty expectations for their follow-up story, and how it all fell apart before their eyes.  Come join in as Eric and Philip highlight what they did wrong and how to avoid making the same mistakes they did.

This week Eric and Philip revisit their masterpiece campaign: Unfinished Wars, and try to breakdown what went right, what could have gone better, and how you can use what they learned to craft a multi-year campaign for you group (hopefully).

This week Eric and Philip discuss what it’s like to step out from behind the DM screen and play at the table.  We discuss some of the pitfalls that we’ve seen at a table, and also how you can energize and help a game even when you aren’t behind the screen.

How does magic work?  What makes a wizard different from a sorcerer?  Eric and Philip try to answer these questions and more as they dive into the arcane classes and try to differentiate how the magic works.

This week Eric and Philip dive into gods, religion, and all things divine as they discuss classic archetypes in fantasy pantheons, interesting ways for players to interact with the divine, and some campaign ideas centered around the gods.  They also react to all of the info dropped during the Stream of Annihilation and take a look at the latest Unearthed Arcana.  Come join us for another exciting episode of The Knowledge Check.

This week Eric and Philip dive into everyone’s favorite stickler of what’s right and wrong… The Paladin.  But 5e has changed a lot of things about the Paladin class, and if you wrote if off a long time ago as a boring boy scout class… It may be time to take a second look.  All that and more on this week’s The Knowledge Check!

This week Eric and Philip dive into a concept that Eric has been using for quite some time now as a way to cut his prep time for sessions way down, and make it easier to adapt to player action during gameplay. Come join us to find out more!

This week Philip and Eric look back on their history as players and try to impart some hard-earned lessons.  They cover how to treat other players, interacting with the world, and most importantly how to have fun!  Also Eric uses a lot of movie analogies, including possibly the last film franchise you would ever expect to hear used in a D&D discussion.  Come join us for a fun filled discussion about playing D&D!

This week Eric and Philip break down the ten things they wish they knew we they first sat down behind the DM’s screen. We go through all of the pitfalls that lead us to learn these lessons: share stories of sessions gone wrong, campaigns that have fizzled out after a handful of sessions, and moments of triumph where a breakthrough occurred. We also take a look at some listener questions and comments, and breakdown the latest Unearthed Arcana articles that have been coming out! Join us for another episode of The Knowledge Check!

This week on The Knowledge Check Eric and Philip break down the Warlock class, figuring out where this class shines, what to discuss with your DM, and how to get the most mileage out of your Patron’s story.  We also look at D&D Beyond, the Mystic class, and do another build off to see how truly different the Warlock can be.  Come check it out on The Knowledge Check Podcast!

This week we have a special episode to go along with our normally scheduled episode tomorrow.  Eric has been busy all weekend diving into Tales from the Yawning Portal and now he wants to share his thoughts with all of you: what he liked, what he thought could have been better, and most importantly what this book can bring to your campaign to make it that much better.  So enjoy some extra goodness from the Knowledge Check as we look at the latest book from Dungeons & Dragons!

The adventure is coming to a close, everything the heroes have done is coming to a head, and there is one last thing to do….Take down the big bad evil guy. But how do we as Dungeon Masters craft a unique, compelling, and dynamic ending to the campaign? Listen in as Eric and Philip break everything down through the lens of a BBEG fight they created for a campaign of their own, and what they think worked along with what they wish they could do differently now. Come join us for a new edition of The Knowledge Check!

This week on The Knowledge Check Podcast, Eric and Philip dive into the Fighter Class. The often overlooked class is featured and its strengths are highlighted, and we discuss why it may actually be the one of the most versatile classes in the game. The new Unearthed Arcanas, featuring Warlocks, Wizards, and Mass Combat, are broken down into the most interesting bits, and we have ourselves a build off! Eric and Philip do their best to wow you with some very interesting fighter builds that show off how vastly far you can go beyond “I swing my sword and hit him”. All this and more on this week’s The Knowledge Check!

Welcome to The Knowledge Check, a D&D 5e Discussion podcast where we dive deep into the system to see what wonderful things we can discover and share with you. In the first episode, Eric and Philip introduce themselves and give you their backgrounds in tabletop gaming, along with an idea of how 5th edition stacks up against the other games they have played. We also discuss the new Sorcerer Origins WotC released and give our opinions on it. So saddle up, grab your Bag of Holding, and get ready for The Knowledge Check!