Podcast appearances and mentions of Justin Lewis

What does it really mean to be a strong Dungeon Master? Is it about rules mastery, epic voices, or maybe... sonic attacks and diamond scales?In this episode of How to Be a Better DM, returning guest Jay Foster from Swole Initiative joins Justin Lewis for a monster of a conversation—literally. First, Jay becomes the first victim of our brand-new segment, “What's Your Monster?” powered by our friends at WorldSmith. (Spoiler: It's epic.)Then we dig deep into the power of theme in D&D campaigns—what it is, how to discover it, and how to use it to elevate your game. Jay breaks down how theme connects your villains and player characters and why letting go of rigid story control actually leads to better storytelling.If you've ever felt overwhelmed trying to wrangle plotlines, player choices, and big ideas, this episode is your antidote.

In this special episode of How to Be a Better DM, Justin Lewis shares key takeaways from the GMing 101 panel at Dragon Steel Nexus 2024. Learn how to manage player expectations, improve group communication, and create more engaging game sessions. Whether you're a new DM or a seasoned pro, these tips will help you level up your game!Special thanks to :Benj Weyland for our Graphic DesignTJ Max, TechSenpai and Juka for being our Discord Moderators Foxy Beard for being a Patron.Mentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you're listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you've ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We're building an army. That's right, we're building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Why Listen to Ads?Ugh, another ad break. Let's be real—ads are the worst. If you're anything like my wife, you'd rather quit a show entirely than sit through another ad. So why suffer? Just skip them. Join our Patreon at patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and enjoy ad-free episodes with exclusive patron-only content—all for just $5 a month. Look at you, all fancy with your uninterrupted listening experience. So stop wasting time on ads (like this one). Go to patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and upgrade your listening today!Patreon

There's one mistake I've made over and over as a DM, and every time, it has sucked the life out of my campaigns. The worst part? I didn't even realize I was doing it. But fixing it? That took just one simple change. Today, I'm sharing that tip with you—along with 12 others—to make sure your early campaign isn't just fun but keeps your players hooked all the way to the endgame.IntroWelcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the show that helps you craft unforgettable D&D sessions. I'm Justin Lewis, and for over three years, my cohosts and I have explored every dungeon master challenge under the sun. Today, we're tackling a crucial question: How do you make your campaign's opening strong enough to keep players coming back for more? Whether you're a new DM or a veteran, these 13 tips will help you sidestep common pitfalls and build a campaign that players can't wait to continue.The first few sessions of your campaign determine whether your players stay invested—or quietly start looking for another game. If you get this wrong, you might find yourself scrambling to keep their attention, dealing with last-minute cancellations, or, worst of all, facing a total campaign collapse. But if you get it right? Your players will be hooked, excited, and fully immersed in your world. Let's make sure that happens.Starting their first campaign is exciting yet nerve-racking for many people. You want to make sure you've gotten it all right! Most often, though, we feel we are falling short of where we want to be. That's all right, though. Almost nothing is more instructive than doing things wrong and learning from them.Your campaign's early stages can be a pivotal period for your party and yourself as a DM. Everyone is still learning how to play together and the early stages of any campaign are when it is most fragile. It's not that difficult to stop playing because the emotional investment hasn't yet been made.So to help you safeguard your early campaign and help you overcome the fragility, here is a simple list of Do's and Don'ts for your early campaign.And there's one tip near the end of this list that completely transformed my campaigns. It's something I overlooked for years, but once I figured it out, my players became way more engaged. I'll share that one toward the end—so stick with me.Before I get deeper into this particular rabbit hole, let me just say that every DM has their own way of doing things—these are just my lessons. Take what works for you and leave the rest.Ok here are my do's and don'ts for the Early Campaign.Do Plan out the Story ArcsBecause the early campaign is so fragile, one way to strengthen it is by planning out your story arcs. That's why you should apply the CASE method. For those of you that don't know that that is, check out episode 157, but in brief, the CASE method stands for Campaign, Story Arc, Session, Encounter.You use the case method to plan each portion of a campaign by building that portion with its smaller constituent parts, encounters build sessions, sessions build story arcs and story arcs build campaigns.Have you ever felt lost 2 sessions into your campaign? That's why the CASE Method exists.In this case, that means that you storyboard and timeline the general story arcs you think are going to happen. You want to do this so that at the very minimum, you have a general idea of the flow of the campaign. Your Story Arc plan is not going to be what happens. Player choice and the natural flow of the game is going to dictate which story arcs get played and which simply fade into irrelevance. It's important to have a general idea of the direction of the campaign so that you can tease certain things that are coming down the pipe (more on that when we get to number 13).For example in one of

Join hosts Michael and Jeralynn as we interview special guests Enoch Pewtress and Justin Lewis to discuss end times, prophecy, and the current condition of America, while providing insights into quantum technology, Freemasonry, and the importance of discernment and prayer. Discover unique perspectives on preparing for upcoming challenges, the significance of repentance, and the role of faith in navigating the turbulent times ahead. Don't miss this thought-provoking conversation aimed at broadening your horizons and unveiling the spiritual significance behind today's events.  crossfiles.org

Tim Worthington has a new book out called The Golden Age Of Children's TV - all about the best, worst and most just plain baffling shows you grew up with in the sixties, seventies and eighties - and the lines are open now for an hour of fun, facts, laughs and thrills. School's out but Emma Burnell is here to take the register for another term at Grange Hill. Mark Thompson will be dropping by to explain why they keep talking about 'bins' in Running Scared. Send in your puns for Al Kennedy, who'll be giving out prizes to any that could work as a Count Duckula episode title. Justin Lewis will be joining us for a live link-up with Emu's Broadcasting Company, and Genevieve Jenner will be going behind the scenes for a look at how they make Faerie Tale Theatre. So if you want to join in the fun - or just swap a copy of You Know The Teacher (What A Smash-Head) for a copy of Count Duckula 2 Featuring Tremendous Terence - ring the show now!You can get The Golden Age Of Children's TV in all good bookshops, and from Amazon here, Waterstones here or directly from Black And White Publishing here - and if you want to know more about what you can find in it, head for timworthington.org!

Join hosts Michael and Jeralynn on the Cross Files Podcast as we interview special guests Enoch Pewtress and Justin Lewis discuss end times, prophecy, and the current condition of America while providing insights into quantum technology, Freemasonry, and the importance of discernment and prayer. Discover unique perspectives on preparing for upcoming challenges, the significance of repentance, and the role of faith in navigating the turbulent times ahead. Don't miss this thought-provoking conversation aimed at broadening your horizons and unveiling the spiritual significance behind today's events.  crossfiles.org

Rene Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher once said, “I think, therefore I am.” In today's context, it may be more like, I buy therefore I am. Orchestrated wants driven by sophisticated advertising techniques have created a culture of consumption. Appetites for the latest hot things are manufactured. Media campaigns sell cool and sexy. Data are collected. People are profiled, and then targeted. Take cell phones. You have to get the latest one with all the new features. We can't be left behind. The capitalist economic system is predicated on making money and barely considers the environmental effects down the road. That's somebody else's problem. In the U.S., consumerism is connected to ideology. Freedom is equated with the ability to buy things. But the pattern of endless consumer capitalism is not sustainable. Recorded at Smith College.

Chan catches up with J after 2 years and 2 degrees later

In any publicly traded company, shareholders who own a portion of the company can expect a year-end review and a prospectus of what the new year will bring. This is to give some accountability of those running the company to those who've invested their time and money into it.Well, seeing as how you've decided to invest at least your time into this podcast, I think it only fair that we give you some sort of report so that we can be somewhat accountable to you for what this show is doing and what it will do in the future.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.I'm Justin Lewis and for over 3 years now, you and I have been figuring out better ways to help you improve your DMing craft without having to devote extra time, money or stress. You might be new to the show, in which case, thanks for giving us a chance and letting us invade your earspace, or you might have been with us from the beginning, in which place, please make yourself known to us because we actually have no idea who has been listening to us since the beginning. Whoever you are, we're happy your here.Let me let you in on how I view things.I view you listening to us as an investment. Of course, we are doing everything we can to make sure you get tremendous value everytime you pop us in your earbuds and go for a run, or do the dishes, but frankly, we know what we are. We know we aren't the most professionally produced show. You can probably tell simply by hearing my baby boy in the background. We also know that we don't do this full-time and honestly, are still growing as dungeon masters ourselves.But…Many of you choose to listen to us anyway. In fact, many of you are grateful to us and have binged our show! Somehow, despite our weaknesses, you've still managed to find some good and enjoy it. To me, that shows that you are putting an investment into us. You're devoting some of your precious time to listen to us and to us that investment of yours requires us to do the very best we can to make the show better.So for this episode, don't consider yourself a dungeon master only, but also consider yourself an investor in our show and consider me the CEO giving you a report of how things went this year. Now I know this analogy only goes so far, but I hope you get the idea.Let me first start off by giving a brief summary of what we did this year:Monsters.Rent: When we first started 2024, we had just closed up shop on our previous business model of Monsters.Rent. Obviously, for us to be able to keep doing this podcast, we needed to figure out some way to use it to get resources so we could make it better. Previously, we tried creating a D&D mini subscription rental service. Unfortunately, we just couldn't figure out how to make the logistics of it work. We had a nice run, but over time we just realized we couldn't make it work. Session 0 Studios: So instead, we pivoted to Session 0 Studios. We brought on Cayden and Jake and created Session 0 Studios and started our new show The Pact and Boon. For those of you that don't know, The Pact and Boon is our sister show which is an actual play show following the stories of 3 unlikely adventurers who start their journey in the pits of Hell. Full transparency, over this last year, we had quite a few road bumps with that particular show and have honestly had a pretty hard time aligning ourselves on how to keep it going. If you follow that show, you've probably noticed that we've been on hiatus for a second. First off, we're very sorry about that. Because The Pact and Boon is so new, we got excited and bit off more than we could chew. So coming in the new year, we're going to restart up the show and settle on a more consistent posting schedule even if we don't post as much. We'll also have a new element added in where each of us will switch off being the Dungeon Master! Starting in January of 2025 we'll have Tanner running the show

All things must end. But endings always bring new beginnings. As the year 2024 comes to a close, many of us become thoughtful and introspective. In my case, the introspection has allowed to think on the many changes I've personally made throughout this year and the dungeon master I'm morphing into. So today, I'd like to share some of the most important lessons I've learned over this last year and hopefully some of these lessons can help you too.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. If you're listening to this show, you've tried not being the dungeon master. You've stopped DMing and have just tried to be a player for a while, but for whatever reason, you just can't not be the DM. Other people stop showing up, you feel the urge to write and run the story or it's just in your blood. And because of that, we made this show to help you with your affliction! I'm your host Justin Lewis and I'm very happy to be chatting with you today of all days because tomorrow on December 6th, I will be guesting on 2 panels at Dragonsteel Nexus in Salt Lake City. Dragonsteel Nexus is the convention put on by Brandon Sanderson's company Dragonsteel and I'm lucky enough to be able to participate. If you're in the area, you should grab a ticket and come and hang out with me in real life. I'll be joining a panel on TTRPGs for Authors and Writers and another on GMing 101. It should be a fun experience and frankly, I am a little nervous so any positive vibes are appreciated.This year was the first year where any of us here at Session 0 Studios and How to Be a DM were able to guest on panels. The first happened earlier this year at Dead Wars in Provo Utah and frankly, we've all evolved a lot since then.But before I get to the lessons learned, I must tell you guys something; I'm going to be a little vulnerable here. I'm a sham.I'm not saying this for sympathy or anything, I'm just trying to be real and vulnerable. On most days, I feel like a big fat phony. It's mostly because I honestly consider myself to be a pretty mediocre Dungeon Master. Looking back over my DMing career, I see a huge gap between where I am and where I want to be. It's humbling really. I've gotten so much better over this last year, but that improvement has really only made me more aware of how much farther there still is to go.When I first started How to Be a Better DM, I started it for a few reasons. First of all, I love podcasts and I love podcasting. Back in 2016 and 2017, I'm pretty sure I told people that podcasts were among the things I did for fun. I love the medium and I love being able to say something. I think we all have something to say, and maybe podcasting is my way of saying something.Secondly, and this is something most of you are probably not aware of, I had a previous podcast and that turned out to be less than successful, as least in my eyes. I want to do this full-time and the previous podcast wasn't really going anywhere. It was a personal development podcast about doing hard things to make your life better. I called it The Hard Thing Podcast. Yeah… I know… Not the greatest name. Towards the end, I actually ended up rebranding it to Becoming the Hero which is actually still live to this day. I stopped doing that podcast because I'd tried putting together a summit of previous guests which included a couple navy seals, army rangers and a CIA spy. It was an online summit and even with a small advertising budget, I didn't get any signups even when I dropped the price to free. I felt like I didn't have any authority in that space and I eventually stopped putting out episodes because I felt the target market was too broad and that I couldn't compete. When I stopped putting out episodes and nobody reached out asking where I'd gone, I knew it was the right decision.In contrast, I saw Dungeons and Dragons as a great market to get into. I love the game and I...

Guest Star Links:How To Be a Better DMPact and Boon WE HAVE MERCH HERE: Merch Link Support the show on Patreon!Patreon Link Here: Patreon LinkHit us up on Instagram! @afterlifepodCheck out our TikTok! @afterlifepod This episode may contain profanity, violence, and references to drug/alcohol/tobacco use.

In today's report, Rita talks with Justin Lewis for more details on the opportunities for farmers in the livestock industry in Illinois.

In today's report, Rita talks with Justin Lewis Business Developer for the Illinois Livestock Development Group for an update on new or expanding livestock farms in the state this year.  

Inside Nebraska's Tim Verghese discusses the latest in Nebraska football recruiting with the Huskers getting a second chance at Millard South 4-star tight end and Florida State commit Chase Loftin, as well as a run down of a loaded UCLA game visitor list.   00:00 - Intro 01:29 - Kasen Thomas & Draeden Punt 04:21 - Committed visitors for UCLA 05:59 - Chase Loftin 08:24 - Ka'Mori Moore 09:25 - Vance Spafford 10:23 - Xavier McDonald 11:05 - Boobie Feaster 12:43 - Chance McPike 13:44 - Justin Lewis 14:34 - Oklahoma recruits 16:34 - Outro

Looks Unfamiliar is a podcast in which writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington talks to a guest about some of the things that they remember that nobody else ever seems to.This is a collection of highlights from Looks Unfamiliar featuring Suzy Robinson on Crown Court, Danny Kodicek on Fox Tales, Bob Fischer and Georgy Jamieson on Why Don't You...?, Paul Abbott on Disneytime Rotadraw, Genevieve Jenner on Fruitopia, Adam S. Leslie on I Heard Your Name by Martin Rev and Justin Lewis on I Hate J.R. by The Wurzels. Along the way we'll be revealing when BBC Test Card F might actually be your less terrifying viewing option, listening to a 1970s heroin-y version of They Might Be Giants, arguing over whether the best Catatonia album was the first one or the first one, assessing the best way to draw TV's Simon And Simon, remaking the Bitter Sweet Symphony video with the bloke out of The Wurzels, speculating on the efficacy of Kiss-Me-Quick-Hats sported by popular television puppets, revisiting Jamiroquai's duet with some puppet caterpillars, soliciting The Jesus And Mary Chain's theories on Who Shot J.R.?, organising a day trip to the exact spot where Roland Rat pushed Kevin The Gerbil down a hill, shuddering at the thought of The Jim Rose Circus Sideshow's most repulsive exhibit and and revealing why the hippy trail is strewn with striking dustbins, cough medicine and Crown Court. Plus there's tips on how Blanco from Porridge can help your party go with a swing! Also there's extracts from Tim talking about Billy Liar on Goon Pod Film Club, Now - The Summer Album on Back To Now and George Martin's By George! on The Big Beatles Sort Out, and an extra bit of Bob and Georgy questioning Will Smith's approach to summertime scheduling...You can find more editions of Looks Unfamiliar at timworthington.org.If you enjoy Looks Unfamiliar, you can help to support the show by buying us a coffee here. It's doubtful WIll Smith would have enough time for one though. Unless he drank it very, very quickly.

Broadcasting from Pinehurst Park in Laurel for this weekend's annual Loblolly Festival, former Southern Miss basketball player and current Jones Colles head basketball coach, Newton Mealer, Caroline Burks, Executive Director of Laurel Main Street and David Edwards, GM of Loblolly Festival presenting sponsor, Cannon Motors of Laurel and Justin Lewis with Sunbelt FCU.

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DMThis is another RAW episode, which means more personality and less polish.I'm your host today, Justin Lewis.Today we talk about what I would spend $50 on to improve my D&D hobby.This is my list:A dungeon master screenA new SourcebookA large tablecloth and some pipe cleanerA lot of Foam and some paintA set pieceSome LED lightsA simple sound systemMinis I guessMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We're building an army. That's right, we're building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you're listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you've ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That's why we've teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument Studios

You've probably wondered if you could do or give more. Specifically with your roleplaying, you may have finished a session and thought that you could do better. I've been there too. I've had many sessions where I've wished that I was a much better roleplayer.Luckily today, we're going to share 7 tips to help you give more to your roleplaying.Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.This is the show that helps you speed up the learning curve of being a DM without spending extra time, and extra hassle.I'm Justin Lewis, and I've been helping dungeon masters now for over 150 episodes. I've spoken with Voice Actors, writers and even real life experts, all to help you be a Better DM.Why Give more to your Roleplaying:We've all had those experiences after a really good roleplay where there's almost this stunned silencePart of why we got into D&D was to reach that full immersionYour players want you to give everything you haveHow to Give more to your Roleplaying:Be vulnerableTry things that may not work outThink about your players altruisticallyForget yourselfTry some real life Improv ClassesPractice your Acting/Public SpeakingUse the White Space of DMingMentioned in this episode:Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn't it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can't dungeon masters? We're happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It's a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we'll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideListen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you've learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn't it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

To get live links to the music we play and resources we offer, visit www.WOSPodcast.comThis show includes the following songs:Katie Burke (writers Vicki Johson & Justin Lewis) - Louisiana Man FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYKARINA - Reconstruction FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYLittleFox - Vesuvius FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYkerry barnes - Strangers No More FOLLOW ON BANDCAMPHaley & The Comet - How Ya Sleepin' FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYDanielle Schroeder - Dying Light FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYShannon Dooley - Gold FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYCarlene Thissen - Back There Again FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYManuela Sanchez Goubert - Mama FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYDI MARTINELLI - Just Vibe FOLLOW ON SPOTIFYFor Music Biz Resources Visit www.FEMusician.com and www.ProfitableMusician.comVisit our Sponsor Bandzoogle at: http://www.bandzoogle.comVisit our Sponsor Sarah Lucie at sarahlucie.comVisit our Sponsor ROYO at profitablemusician.com/royoVisit www.wosradio.com for more details and to submit music to our review board for consideration.Visit our resources for Indie Artists: https://www.wosradio.com/resources

Looks Unfamiliar is a podcast in which writer and occasional broadcaster Tim Worthington talks to a guest about some of the things that they remember that nobody else ever seems to.Joining Tim this time is writer Justin Lewis, who's hanging a sign on the back of his car to confirm that he remembers I Hate J.R. by The Wurzels, The Uncyclopedia Of Rock, Friends by The Police, Philip Glass' Sesame Street composition Geometry Of Circles, Walk Right Through by Raissa, Nicholas And The Gang by Rene Goscinny and Jean-Jacques Sempé and Very Hard Questions. Along the way we'll be celebrating Michael Nyman's Pac-Man High Score, debunking the Great Andy Summers Video Nasty Hoax, remaking the Bitter Sweet Symphony video with the bloke out of The Wurzels, soliciting The Jesus And Mary Chain's theories on Who Shot J.R.? and finally revealing just how many biscuits Elon Musk is actually entitled to.You can find more editions of Looks Unfamiliar at http://timworthington.org/. You can also find Justin on Looks Unfamiliar talking about Neither Fish Nor Flesh by Terence Trent D'Arby, In One Ear, The London Symphony Orchestra version of Tommy, Orbit, Pop Score and the Welsh Language dubbed version of Trumpton here and the original Only Fools And Horses theme tune, Anglo American by Golden, The Rock Year Book, Joy by Isaac Hayes, Thomas, Stand In Line by Impelliteri, Selwyn and the Glamorgan Tiles advert here.If you enjoy Looks Unfamiliar, why not buy us a coffee here? We are unclear on whether Andy Summers likes to drinks it.

“You creep slowly through the cobwebbed dark of the crypt, your breath coming out in puffs of steam that you're trying your hardest to cover. You reach the corner and peer around down the hall. You see the source of the thumping sound. It's a creature the size of an ogre, with the same proportions. The only difference is that where an ogre would have 1 head, this creature has 6, along with 3 extra arms and a 3rd leg that it drags behind it. Oh… and the entire body seems sewn together in the most grotesque way….It's some night in the future. That's the sound of you pulling off the perfect one-shot. You've gathered a full party of friends and now you're playing a once in a lifetime game.But how do you create the once-in-a-lifetime One-Shot?One-shots are fun, but getting them right is a skill that needs to be developed. Luckily for you, I'm going to share some tips that will help improve every single one-shot you ever play. The more often you play, the more likely it is that you create the Once-In-a-Lifetime One-shot.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. This is the show that helps you, the Dungeon Master, craft better stories in less time and with less stress. We've been helping dungeon masters new and old for over 150 episodes now. I'm Justin Lewis and I'll be your guide for today.I love one-shots!You probably know that if you've listened to the show for any amount of time.If you want to go back and listen to the other episodes I've done about one-shots you can listen to:Episode 1Episode 12Episode 24Episode 38Episode 82And Episode 101.The Most important would be Episode 82 which is 10 Reasons to Do One-Shots as a Dungeon Master.So I'm not going to talk about why you should do one-shots, but just know that you absolutely should. Instead, today I want to talk about some more tips to help you push the limits of your abilities. I want you to make your next one-shot the best the world has ever seen.Tip #1: Go All OutGoing all out for a campaign could be daunting and possibly exhausting depending on a lot of factors and circumstances. Going all out for a one-shot is much easier in comparison. So with this next one-shot you do, give it everything you got.It's a simple fact of dungeon master, and most things in life actually, but what you put into something is what you'll get out of it.With your next one-shot, go all out!Obviously I say that hoping you'll exercise some degree of temperance. I don't expect you to rent out a suit of armor and act out every single part. Use your judgment.But if you are thinking critically, then you've probably thought of at least some sort of 1% type action that you could do that you don't normally do. Maybe you don't do music and you could add it to your game. Maybe getting some real candles could spice up the atmosphere. Try to push yourself just that little bit and go the extra mile. Your players will appreciate the...

Hello Academaniacs! For this special 100th Detention LIVE episode Chris and I are joined by Justin Lewis from Session Zero Studio and the How to be a Better DM Podcast. Streamed Live on 06 26 2024

Hello Academaniacs! For this special 100th Detention LIVE episode Chris and I are joined by Justin Lewis from Session Zero Studio and the How to be a Better DM Podcast. Streamed Live on 06 26 2024

Abridged Show NotesFeeling overwhelmed by D&D campaign planning? Struggle to connect your grand ideas into a single, captivating story? This episode unveils the CASE Framework, a simple yet powerful system that will transform your planning sessions. Learn how to craft unforgettable campaigns, memorable story arcs, and engaging encounters that will leave your players begging for more. Listen in and unleash the true potential of your D&D world!Planning Your D&D Campaign with the CASE FrameworkThis episode dives into the CASE Framework, a system for planning D&D campaigns of any size.The CASE Framework stands for:Campaign: The overall plot of your entire campaign.Arc: Story Arcs within the campaign, like modules you might run from a book.Session: Individual sessions that make up your story arcs.Encounter: Specific challenges or interactions within a session (combat, puzzles, social encounters, etc.)The framework helps you brainstorm and organize your ideas, ensuring everything ties together into a cohesive story.FULL SHOW NOTESWhy is planning sometimes the hardest part of being a dungeon master? Wouldn't it be nice to have some sort of guide to help you through your planning, no matter what you are planning for? On today's episode, I'm going to introduce you to the CASE framework. Through it, you can take any aspect of the entire campaign and work on it without having to worry about writer's block. This framework will help new Dungeon Masters the most, though old DMs will likely benefit from using it as well.The CASE Framework is incredibly simple, but often, it's the simple things in life that save us time, energy and money. This is How to Be a Better DM, brought to you by Session 0 Studios, and I'm your host Justin Lewis. Our show has been helping dungeon masters new and old for over 150 episodes now and today we are going to help you tell better stories for yourself and your friends as you play D&D. Want to start out the show today with a few words of gratitude. Over the last couple of months, the show has grown, we've launched our new Actual Play show, we've done a panel at our first live event, and we've just been blown away by the support you've given us.Now enough sappiness. Let's talk about the CASE Framework.Why the CASE FrameworkThe CASE Framework will help you break down each individual part into smaller constituent parts. It will also help you make sense of the smaller parts by fitting them into the larger framework.One of the most important parts of the story is the throughline. It's not a story unless all of the events are connected. If they weren't, they're just random events, not necessarily one story. Having the same character throughout each event isn't enough. They need to tie together somehow. You can have “side quests” but the campaign should feel like a campaign.The nice thing about the CASE Framework is that you can really start your planning with any part of the framework. It helps to remember the framework as a whole so that as you do plan the S for example, you keep in mind the A and the E and to a lesser extent the C.Let me also explain that this framework doesn't touch improv during your game. This is all about the prep so any improv you do will have to use some of our other tips.One last thing that is nice about this framework is that it can help you plan the timing of your game. Despite how much we may not want them to, all things come to an end. That's a good thing, because the longer something goes on, the higher the chance there is that it spoils. Every story has a climax

It was the wise prophet and occasional flower impersonator Peter Gabriel that said, ‘I don't remember, I don't recall,I have no memory of anything at all.'Do you remember 2008?Yes, it's only (!) 16 years ago, so I've no doubt you still have packets in the kitchen cupboard that are older, but do you also remember how the pop landscape of 2008 was mapping out? Indeed, what on earth was going on in your life eight years into the 21st century?You see, this writer (it's, me IAIN!) has quite a glitchy view back of his shoulder to this year. Life had thrown a few curveballs (listen in, it's kinda revealed) meaning that pop memory has become patchy. Perhaps for you, dear listeners, 2008 is similarly harder to initially grasp hold of. Fear not! The world's finest compilation series (as always) is on hand to jog memories, restart downloads an piece together for us what was selling, streaming, rising and falling up and down the hit parade that we call “The Charts'. It's NOW, That's What I Call Music 69!And crikey, what a mix we had!Torchsongs, soul songs, Neo-soul songs, Soul-dance songs, Northern soul songs! Songs that weren't soul soul songs but would like to be!Big pop statements from Britney, Robyn, Girls Aloud!Slightly smaller pop statements from Shane Ward and Leon Jackson!We also had some huge ghosts of pop pasts resurfacing thanks to the likes of Rihanna, Duffy, Kylie and others. And some iconic artists that would stay with us through some era defining tracks. Because sometimes pop is the only thing that helps us when things aren't OK (but will be OK). Our special guest for this episode is author of the frankly wonderful Don't Stop the Music - A Year of Pop History, One Day at a Time, and lifetime pop fan Justin Lewis.AND, if all of this wasn't enough (and don't forget Basshunter is in there too), find out where Joe Fagin fits in, who the Kajagoogoo of NOW69 is, which group may (or may not) have their own day time quiz show, how Justin grew up with Tom and Annie on Radio One and grew back in love with music in 2008 through some of these songs, and also which tracks deserve 10 out of 10. And of course, why pop is still so important for making sense of the world around us, in any decade!All of this, and I've managed not to say anything negative about Scouting for Girls!Oh no, wait… Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why are prepping sessions so hard? Why can't it be as easy as remembering a simple phrase, maybe something strange like PUT A CLUE? Why can't I save time by learning this phrase PUT A CLUE and then using it to prepare my sessions so much faster?Friend, you're in luck. Today's episode is for you.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the show to help dungeon masters new and old learn how to take their DMing skills to the next level. I'm Justin Lewis and I've been helping Dungeon Masters solve simple and complex problems with my cohosts for over 150 episodes now. We've talked with professional voice actors, writers, podcasters, and even real life blacksmiths, all to help you fix your DMing mistakes, and truly become the World's Greatest DM.As I mentioned today's show is about helping you do Session Prep in a way that takes less time, far less mental stress, and helps you structure yourself to get finished faster and in a more complete way.To do that, I give you the PUT A CLUE framework. Simply fulfill each of the aspects of this framework and your Session Prep is done.The PUT A CLUE framework breaks down as follows:Purpose: Understand the general goal and purpose of the sessionUnfinished business: Wrap up and recap what happened in the last sessionTimeline: Write down a general chronological plan of what you want to have happenActs and Arcs: Separate that timeline into a few acts (or scenes)Characters: Prepare characters and their actions that are needed for the sessionLocations: Prepare the setting and maps needed for the sessionUnexpected: Prepare a twist or something unexpected for the sessionEncounters: Flesh out the mechanics and final details of each encounterMaybe it's simplifying session prep, but in that case, GOOOD!There's no reason session prep has to drain your soul.Try out the framework and see how it works for you.Thanks for listening to today's show.This podcast is a part of the Session 0 Studios Network.Mentioned in this episode:Join Our PatreonYou may be asking yourself, “How do I get more out of How to Be a Better DM?” You probably want even more tips, more entertainment, or perhaps access to a secret society that rules the world… Well, we don't rule the world yet, but it sounds like what you need is to join our Patreon. You'll get access to our private Discord which will give you direct access to all the hosts of this show as well as other dungeon masters who are just like you. You'll also be able to make fan requests for How to Be a Better DM. Lastly, you help support the show so we can give you even better content. Go to https://session0studios.com/startadventure and join our Patreon today!

Special Guest Justin Lewis, the host of How to Be a Better DM podcast, joins us this week! Visit: https://session0studios.com/better-dm-show/ to learn more! We had a great conversation with Justin on how to get more players at your DnD table.  Next Session Help:  Subject_Quail_31 asks “What might the consequences of elemental moons be on the lore of lycanthropes?” Ask a GM:  Kirst_Kitty wants to know our take on what Magical Honey might do.  Use That Spell: Lonstrider Thanks for listening! As always, you can ask us a question at www.nextsessionpodcast.com Instagram: @nextsessionpodcast Facebook: @thenextsession

In this episode of the Brawn Body Health and Fitness Podcast, Dan is joined by Dr. Justin Lewis and Dr. Jon Harned to discuss ankle sprains, including examination, diagnosis, and treatment considerations. Dr. Lewis is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and an expert on complex surgical reconstruction. He also takes special interest in the field of orthobiologics, lecturing to physicians nationally on therapies to include stem cell, amnion and PRP injections. He completed a rigorous 3 year surgical residency in foot and ankle reconstruction at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, FL.  Dr. Lewis is the creator of the RapidFix Bunion Correction™ procedure.  With a minimal incision, minimal hardware, and immediate walking, patients are experiencing great success over traditional bunion correction surgeries.  For more on Dr. Lewis, be sure to check out https://www.mdfootandankle.com/dr-justin-lewis and @justinlewis_footsurgery on Instagram. Jonathan Harned's journey into the field of physical therapy was significantly influenced by his active involvement in various sports during high school, including football, baseball, and indoor track. His experiences with sports injuries and subsequent rehabilitation were pivotal in sparking his curiosity and interest in physical therapy. This personal connection to sports rehab played a crucial role in shaping his career path. Jonathan further pursued his athletic and academic ambitions at Lebanon Valley College, where he played baseball and completed his Doctorate of Physical Therapy. His passion for sports rehab and helping athletes return to high-level performance stems from his own injuries and firsthand experiences. For more on Harned, you can find him on Instagram @diamond_dr14 *SEASON 5 of the Brawn Body Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, please check out isophit.com and @isophit - BE SURE to use coupon code brawnbody10 at checkout to save 10% on your Isophit order! Episode Sponsors: MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout! AliRx: DBraunRx = 20% off at checkout! https://alirx.health/ MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription! CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off! PurMotion: "brawn" = 10% off!! GOT ROM: https://www.gotrom.com/a/3083/5X9xTi8k Red Light Therapy through Hooga Health: hoogahealth.com coupon code "brawn" = 12% off Ice shaker affiliate link: https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=1520881.zOJLysQzKe Training Mask: "BRAWN" = 20% off at checkout https://www.trainingmask.com?sca_ref=2486863.iestbx9x1n Make sure you SHARE this episode with a friend who could benefit from the information we shared! Check out everything Dan is up to, including blog posts, fitness programs, and more by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/brawnbodytraining Liked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-braun/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-braun/support

Our guest today is a pioneering reggae MC whose unique style not only changed the UK reggae scene but helped lay the foundations of British lyricism across the board. Anthony Henry aka Tippa Irie was a forerunner of the new Black British sound of reggae that went from domestic basements in South London to Top of the Pops and world recognition. Tippa's 'fast chat' style not only brought speed and eloquence of delivery to the fore but also crucially gave credibility to the sound of British MCs speaking in their own accents, referencing their own experiences and creating their own unique styles of music. What started in the reggae dancehalls opened up opportunities for the new generations of authentic Black British voices that went on to develop new genres such and Lovers Rock, Jungle and Grime. Over the last 40 years Tippa Irie has built a lasting legacy through his solo work and collaborations with the likes of Black Eyed Peas, Alexander O Neal, The Far East Band and Congo Natty aka The Rebel MC. Now at the age of 58 Tippa remains at the top of his game and has published a new book titled 'Stick to my roots' about his incredible journey through life and the music business, we are delighted to welcome a bona fide reggae legend to the show.Before that however we talk to Justin Lewis about Pop trivia and Deb talks to Eamon about the endless FOMO a DJ feels when they move. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ian is joined by author Justin Lewis to take a journey through a year of pop music. From Johnny Cash to So Solid Crew, Lulu to Rappers Delight its a diverse and whirlwind ride through the past 70 years.With entries for every day of the year, ranging from mini-essays to pithy and engaging sentences, Don't Stop the Music is a novel musical companion – a way of charting your year through the major events and tiny incidents in the lives and careers of pop stars and recording artists.Whether it be when pop became newsworthy; when future stars attended notable gigs; when that K-Pop act issued their first single; or when Elvis Presley found himself on TV singing ‘Hound Dog' to a basset hound, there are surprising and enlightening events from the history of popular music for every single day of the year. And esteemed music writer Justin Lewis has compiled them all for you, informatively and divertingly.

How to Write a DND Heist One ShotWelcome back to How to Be a Better DM, I'm your mastermind for today, Justin Lewis, and you're here with me to learn how to tell better stories for yourself and your friends as you DM sessions of Dungeons and Dragons 5e. aHow to Be a Better DM is presented to you by Session 0 Studios, D&D podcasts and shows to sate your ever deepening hunger.I'm excited for today's show because it's actually something that I've been working to improve personally. I'll explain a little later in today's show, but I'm really excited to get into today's show. Before we do, I don't know who needs to hear this, it's probably you, the DM listener that I'm currently pointing at, but you need to hear this.You're doing wonderfully. You may think you aren't a great DM or you may have had a session recently that was less than encouraging, but know that you are doing well. First of all, most players could never do as well as you are as a DM. Second, being a DM is hard and it is a skill that requires practice. You're doing splendidly so don't give up.Now, I hope that wasn't too sappy for you because today we are going to talk about doing a DND Heist One Shot!Why Do One Shots at AllBefore we talk about heists, I want to take a moment and talk about why you would even consider doing a one shot. Back on episode 82, https://session0studios/captivate-podcast/reserve-1/, we talked about 10 reasons why you should one shots. Let me just summarize one of the points and also explain why this particular topic appeals to me. You see, with one shots you can try new mechanics, and new scenarios that might be intimidating to pull off in your actual campaign. Doing one shots challenges you.Why Do a Heist One ShotNow the next question is why you should do a heist one shot?Well the first answer is that, it's fun. Think about all of the heist movies you've seen. There's the Italian Job. Oceans 11, 12, 13 and so on, Army of Theives (which if you've seen, then in our upcoming live play Show, Calignos, the character played by Tanner Weyland, my cohost on this podcast, resembles the main character of Army of Thieves so much it's delightful).The list of fun movies is endless.The second reason is that I think a heist, more than other types of one shots, is somewhat more technically challenging. Let me explain. In order to make any particular one shot as good as it can be, there requires a certain level of believability. You must also strike a balance of difficulty. If the crown jewel of Tethrezrembot is only moderately difficult to steal, then your party will likely think the one shot was more a joke than an actual challenge.To that end, the thing that the party is trying to heist has a perceived value proportional to the difficulty of stealing that object. That means if the party is to believe the value of the target, then the defenses need to be difficult and believable. Also the party will want a sense of accomplishment.Original Characters or New Characters?So the first question you need to ask when doing any one shot is whether or not it will be canon in your campaign or not, and whether or not your players will create new characters. These are generally two separate questions.For example, in my current campaign, I am planning an extra special one shot for my players. This is a spoiler so if any of my players are listening please stop listening. In my campaign the BBEG is named Dreamtaker, and he was a very powerful Fey Creature who was split into pieces in order to be stopped previously. The pieces of Dreamtaker are all items. In my current campaign the party has fought against Dreamtaker a little here and there, and one of the characters has actually been possessed by Dreamtaker essentially and works for...

In this episode of the Brawn Body Health and Fitness Podcast, Dan is joined by Dr. Justin Lewis from Maryland Foot & Ankle Specialists to discuss his approach to patient management and how advancements in technology have impacted his patient care and approach to rehab. Dr. Lewis is a board-certified foot and ankle surgeon and an expert on complex surgical reconstruction. He also takes special interest in the field of orthobiologics, lecturing to physicians nationally on therapies to include stem cell, amnion and PRP injections. He completed a rigorous 3 year surgical residency in foot and ankle reconstruction at Westside Regional Medical Center in Plantation, FL.  Dr. Lewis is the creator of the RapidFix Bunion Correction™ procedure.  With a minimal incision, minimal hardware, and immediate walking, patients are experiencing great success over traditional bunion correction surgeries.  For more on Dr. Lewis, be sure to check out https://www.mdfootandankle.com/dr-justin-lewis and @justinlewis_footsurgery on Instagram. *SEASON 5 of the Brawn Body Podcast is brought to you by Isophit. For more on Isophit, please check out isophit.com and @isophit Episode Sponsors: MoboBoard: BRAWNBODY10 saves 10% at checkout! AliRx: DBraunRx = 20% off at checkout! https://alirx.health/ MedBridge: https://www.medbridgeeducation.com/brawn-body-training or Coupon Code "BRAWN" for 40% off your annual subscription! CTM Band: https://ctm.band/collections/ctm-band coupon code "BRAWN10" = 10% off! PurMotion: "brawn" = 10% off!! GOT ROM: https://www.gotrom.com/a/3083/5X9xTi8k Red Light Therapy through Hooga Health: hoogahealth.com coupon code "brawn" = 12% off Ice shaker affiliate link: https://www.iceshaker.com?sca_ref=1520881.zOJLysQzKe Training Mask: "BRAWN" = 20% off at checkout https://www.trainingmask.com?sca_ref=2486863.iestbx9x1n Make sure you SHARE this episode with a friend who could benefit from the information we shared! Check out everything Dan is up to, including blog posts, fitness programs, and more by clicking here: https://linktr.ee/brawnbodytraining Liked this episode? Leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast platform! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-braun/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/daniel-braun/support

Welcome back to How To Be a Better DM, the Official podcast of Monsters.Rent.I'm your Tour Guide today, Justin Lewis, and we have another special tour lined up today.First, before we get into today's tour, we need to talk about our sponsors: you. Without you, we wouldn't have this tour, so thank from the bottom of our hearts.2nd, we do have a gift shop. You can visit it at the end of the tour, just go to monsters.rent/shop and there you can pick up all the knick knacks and things that you'll never use that you only pick up on vacation. There will be also your classic “I went to the Feywild and All I got was this T Shirt” T shirt, but you don't really want that because let's be honest, Vacation gimmick shirts never ever look cool.3rd thing, in the show notes of today's tour, there are some links that may be affiliate in nature, meaning that if you purchase something from the link, part of that will go towards supporting Better Dungeon Master Tours. Be aware of that fact.Ok, with the boring stuff out of the way, let's get ready. First, everyone, make sure you are wearing your protective yellow vests. Do these vests have special protective charms? No. Are they reflective and very bright so they are easy to see? Yes. Will Better Dungeon Master Tours charge you a fee for losing your vest? Yes. So please do not lose them.I see we have some familiar faces here today. I recognize a few of you from our Tour through the Shadowfell. It's great to also have some first timers here with us a Better DM Tours. As I said, I am Justin Lewis, and I'll be your tour guide today. If you love the tour or have comments about my Tour Guide style, feel free to leave a rating or a review. If I get a good rating and a review, my bosses might give me a raise (although let's be honest, my boss is a real hard case and would never give me a raise). Anyways, who's ready to have some fun!!!Mirror PlanesOk, follow me, the tour has officially begun. As most of you know, there is a multiverse of dimensions and planes. Most of you know this because most of you came from different realms.Within each Universe, there are also different planes of existence depending on the model that the Universe follows. The Dungeon Master's Guide actually makes pretty good mention of this. It talks about different Universe models that connects different planes. It ranges all the way from the Soap Bubble model where each plane is sort of like a soap bubble, randomly bouncing off or intersecting with other planes, all the way to the One world model, where all of the planes are just places on the same world.In many models, the Feywild is a distinctly different place than the material plane. In many of those models, the Feywild is also considered a mirror plane. In fact, in this universe, that is exactly what is the case. The planes are separate places, but the Feywild is a mirror plane of the Material Plane.Ok, follow me everyone. So pay attention to your surroundings right now. As you'll notice we are in a forest, you can see that in this part of the forest, it is fall. The leaves are losing their color, you can see that we've been walking through piles of leaves and there is a slight nip in the air. Remember that. Oh and yes, Mr. and Mrs. Craig, please don't wander off, I know those bunnies are cute, but I really wouldn't. Bunnies can often lead you into places that are rather difficult to escape from.Anyways, let me give you a brief refresher on mirror planes. Mirror planes are planes that closely resemble another plane. Often, landmarks like cities, forests, oceans are in the same location and the same general shape. Each plane does have its own effect on the landmark though so you may notice some changes. Yes, I see a couple of...

Tanner Weyland (00:01.046)Hello and welcome to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of, wait, I should probably not say that anymore, shouldn't I?Justin Lewis (00:09.162)So as of this recording, you should still say, well.See, that's part of the logistics that I wanted to talk about tomorrow, but I'd say just say it until we decide on anything specific tomorrow with Kayden.Tanner Weyland (00:27.446)Okay, cool. Sorry, you'll have to cut this all out. Okay. Hello and welcome. Oh, sorry. You're good.Justin Lewis (00:33.352)No, it's fine.Justin Lewis (00:37.354).Tanner Weyland (00:40.534)Hello and welcome to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters .Rent. My name is Tanner Weyland and I'm here with Justin. Say hi, Justin.Justin Lewis (00:52.042)Hey, how's it going?Tanner Weyland (00:54.644)Oh man, so good. So good. How are you?Justin Lewis (00:58.79)I am recovering from moving, which is the worst. So I'm actually doing pretty good, though. What about you?Tanner Weyland (01:09.366)Good, yeah, you know, it's, my wife and I are trying to get back to the gym, which of course is its own bag of stuff. You know, you go, you're like, oh, there's so many people. I feel so self -conscious, but it's been good. So we got back from that today, but yeah, excited for that, because we used to be really into it, and then we moved last year, and we just haven't been, you know, for a whole year.Uh, but yeah, we're doing better now with that. So excited about that. And I'm more excited to talk about our topic today, which is conditions. Now, specifically, I'm thinking like, uh, conditions that affect the status of the player, like exhausted, petrification, prone, poisoned, things like that. Uh, Justin, tell me, uh, what has your experience been either as a DM or a player in regards to conditions? Like, have they been a positive, a negative oror something not even worth mentioning for you.Justin Lewis (02:12.554)I think they've been sort of both. Naturally, when you're a player, if a condition is foisted upon you, it's generally a bad thing, right? There are few good conditions. As a DM, my experience with conditions has really mostly been in combat. So I'm really excited today to talk about possibly ways that conditions can be.Tanner Weyland (02:31.358)Mm -hmm.Justin Lewis (02:42.458)expanded upon in combat and possibly outside of combat.Tanner Weyland (02:49.414)Agreed because I think that's a real issue, right? Where, uh, when a condition is done for the DM, it's just another, you know, plate to spin. And for the players, it's usually like against them because frankly, I think we can agree on this. A lot of time players have seen that it's not worth specking in, in the ability to cause conditions. That's not always true, but I do find that a lot of players are like, Oh,If it's an enemy we can kill pretty quickly, it's not worth, you know, blinding them or something. And if it's a big boss, chances are their resistances are too high or something. You know what I mean?Justin Lewis (03:31.176)Absolutely, you definitely, this is really going into the mechanics of gameplay and this is probably, I would say as DMs, you're probably either good with the story aspect or the mechanical aspect.Justin Lewis (03:52.042)Or if you're a lucky DM, sorry, I just had to yawn there for a second. Or if you're a lucky DM, you're good with both. And this is definitely more commonly used with the mechanical aspects of D &D where you have to, you know, I saw on a TikTok the other day where you look at your...

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM!Today, we're talking about how to invite silliness and funny business to your table, and why it can help your group enjoy the entire experience.Here is the episode transcript for anyone interested:Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. I'm Justin Lewis here with my friend Tanner Weyland. Hi. Yeah, that's all I got, sorry. Yeah, good to see you all. Great to be here. Tanner and I are in rare form today. We just recorded another episode, which, which went a little bit long.So we're going to kind of do this fast mode. We're going to do a speed run, uh, but which probably means we'll just go the normal length because I'm a little bit. That's how it always goes is we're like, Oh, let's be fast. Okay. 20 minutes later. Exactly. Uh, without further ado though, let's jump in actually first a quick mention, follow us on Instagram at how to be better DM and at monsters.rent. Now let's jump in today. We're going to talk about the flip side of one of our episodes last month, which was how to add tragedy to your game. So they were talking about how to, how to add comedy to your game and in the Shakespearean. Uh, definition of the word comedy just means a happy ending, right?Everyone, like Tanner said, last time, everyone gets married. Essentially in this episode, we're going to talk specifically about making people smile, laugh, or giggle kind of that sort of comedy, the comedy that we're, we're more familiar with today. Not necessarily just a happy ending because obviously everyone wants a happy ending, but more of how to add comical moments or silly moments, or, you know, he has and gaffaws and laughs to your game. Yeah, and it's so important because I think, you know, being a DM and playing D& D is so much of it is about fun, and it's hard to separate fun from funny, right? In terms of just Practicality, right? Cause you're having more fun if you think things are funny and in, and if you're able to joke with each other and riff, and that's, you know, sometimes there's not always a place for that in every part of the game, right?Because like we mentioned last time, if you don't have tragic moments or more serious moments, then the game kind of loses some of its weight. But, but honestly, I would argue that, uh, that if you have five times the amount of comedy to tragedy. Then you're in a pretty good place because people are, are happy to come.They feel like they're in a very friendly environment and you know, but, but there's also some issues, right? Like sometimes people don't feel like, you know, maybe things are too straightforward or you feel like there's not enough room for, for growth, you know, or not growth room for like silliness. Where people are like, Oh, everyone wants to just get through the encounter.They don't want to hear me make a joke about like, Oh, I hit this guy in the knee, you know, or, you know, or trip him up because everyone wants to know if the mechanics are right for that and everything like that. Right? The people who get over serious is my main point. And I think that you can get around that by just, you know, as the DM putting your, uh, best, you know, silly foot forward and being like, Hey, not everything needs to be super serious, you know? Absolutely. Uh, you definitely need to know the tenor of the table, and maybe that's the wrong phrase. Understand What people want and when, uh, and if you listen to your characters, you'll get a good sense of when they're willing to be silly or when they're willing to be serious. My, my rule of thumb is when it's a specific, uh, plot point, it's probably going to be serious. And when I say specific plot point, I mean, like, if something happens one way or the other, the campaign has major consequences, right? The different differences in trajectory, but if it's not so, uh, serious, obviously in...

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. Thank you for joining me, I'm Justin Lewis, and today, I will be your guide through the Shadowfell. We have a lot to cover, including me talking with a very special guest later in the show.Real quick if I can, I would like to say thank you to all of you who have joined The Guild. It's been amazing seeing the collaboration between everyone in the Discord server and getting to know people from across the world. It's also been cool to see some of the homebrew creations you have made. It's fun being a part of it and seeing you guys make it really cool so just wanted to say thank you guys.Now, let's take a tour of the Shadowfell.In today's podcast episode, you will come with me as we enter into the Shadowfell, look for some of its inhabitants, talk about some of its dangers, and hopefully make it back out alive. The Shadowfell is a very dangerous place. Please, stay with the rest of the group, we don't need any Wandering Wanda's or Misbehavin Mavens.We have a big group in the tour with us today so if you get lost look for this big yellow flag I am holding up.Alright, so as you all know, right now we are standing in Faerun, one of the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons. Traveling here was no easy feat for many of you, but this tour is going to be worth the cost. Also, I can see many of you looking around warily. I know we are walking into a crypt. It's ok, I've used a turn undead spell, so most of the undead in this general area should be turned right now… hopefully. I'll explain why we are here in this crypt a little later.What is the ShadowfellBefore we get to the Shadowfell, there are a couple things that you should probably know, like what the heck is it in the first place?Well, because the multiverse is so vast and complex, the Shadowfell can be anything you want it to be, but for the most part it has some similarities multiverse to multiverse. I will also say, that because the Shadowfell changes D&D game to D&D game and sourcebook to novel, I might miss some things in this edition of a tour of the Shadowfell, so if I miss anything, please let me know. Send a message to @howtobeabetterdm or @monsters.rent on Instagram. The first thing you need to know is that the Shadowfell is always a separate plane unto itself, a demi-plane, or a region, depending on where in Reality you find yourself. Generally, traveling to the Shadowfell is a bit more involved than just going there, but we'll get to that in a second.On this tour, we'll be visiting the Shadowfell as a completely separate plane than our own. We'll explain a little more of what the Shadowfell is once we get there, but for now, know that it is a plane of shadow, darkness, despair and danger. So should be a fun place to visit right.Traveling to the ShadowfellOk, then, when it comes to travelling to the Shadowfell, there are a few options.Of course you can use the Plane Shift spell to get there, but aside from needing to be able to cast a 7th level spell, that means you must also have a tuning fork tuned to the Shadowfell, or know the specific sigil sequence of a teleportation circle within the Shadowfell. The tuning fork is a littler easier to come by, but the spellcasting ability, not so much. With the tuning fork, it needs to already have been attuned to the frequencies of the plane, meaning it was on the plane and it was struck on something. Alternatively, you can simply find a place where the planes converge. These places are naturally called, convergences. For any planes that share a convergence, these Gates can be virtually anywhere, but they usually are where magical energies pool. For example, you might find a dark wood where the shadows of 7 trees overlap, or you...

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today, Tanner and Justin talk about the joys of 2023 and what to look forward to in 2024. The transcript is below.We also mention today's sponsor, Magic Mind.Get 1 month free off of a 3 month subscription by going to https://www.magicmind.com/JANbetterdm and using the code BETTERDM20 at checkout!Justin (00:03.449)Welcome back to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. I'm your host today, Justin Lewis, here with Tanner Wayland, my brother in arms, my compadre, my colega. How's it going?Tanner Weyland (00:18.222)Such a good man. I'm so many things. I'm excited.Justin (00:22.386)Well, you are everything, but you're also Tanner. And that's exactly what we need. I'm being a little nostalgic today because today is the last podcast episode of 2023. Now I never thought we would get to 2023, right? Because you never see yourself moving forward in time. But I think today it would be ad propo, whatever that means, to take a look back.Tanner Weyland (00:28.891)HahahaJustin (00:50.253)at 2023 and also take a look forward into 2024, maybe do some divination magic and see what the future holds for us. What do you think, Tanner?Tanner Weyland (01:00.042)I'm down for that. Yeah, let's, oh, go ahead, sorry.Justin (01:01.773)Excellent. Well, I was gonna say, let's start with 2023. And Tanner, if you want to kick us off.Tanner Weyland (01:07.463)Ciao.Tanner Weyland (01:10.826)I mean, yeah, just to on a personal note, it's been, it's been a busy year. One things have gotten busier with the podcast as we'll talk about, but also, uh, I mean, just personally got a dog. We got a house, uh, a house at the start of the year, dog halfway through the year, good old banjo. He's a, he's a cutie. He probably just heard me bless his heart. Um, but yeah, it's been a great Christmas season. Uh, Kirstie and I are doing well. Uh, otherwise, you know, just.Things are busy, but we're keeping up over here. How about you, Justin?Justin (01:42.841)Yes, things are also busy for us. We had a baby. That's probably the biggest thing that happened to us personally this year, back in August, my wife and I had a baby. Funny story, for nine months, we thought the baby was gonna be a girl. The ultrasounds told us it was gonna be a girl. And then the baby came out as a boy. So check your ultrasounds, people. You don't wanna surprise like that. But having a baby has been very rewarding, very tiring.both those things.Tanner Weyland (02:13.962)Yeah. And I mean, I believe that that's, that's the thing about kids. You get a lot from them, but, uh, they request everything from you.Justin (02:22.277)Absolutely, absolutely. Well, specifically talking about the podcast, we've had actually a really good year. It's been fun seeing the podcast grow. And one of my favorite things this year has been just in November, we had our highest download month. We had 5,000 downloads in the month, over 5,000 downloads, which is not a small thing, right? I think...Most podcasts never get past 10 episodes, right? Just that's how it is statistically. And you're in the top 50% of podcasts if you get more than 100 listens on any episode within the first seven days, and we get around 200. So we're probably in the top 70% of podcasts maybe. Obviously it is kind of an exponential curve, but it's really cool to see the growth we're having. And more than that, I think isyou know, having people reach out and being like, yeah, you guys are helping us, you know, DM better or helping me. I just like listening to you guys. And it's just, it's fun to think, you know, we did...

What to Do When a Player Misses a SessionWelcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the Official Podcast of Monsters.Rent, the only rental subscription service for D&D minis.I'm your host today, Justin Lewis, and today, you and I will talk about a topic that affects every gaming group at least once in their campaign. To be honest, it's somewhat a thorn in my side as I personally hate when this happens. It can interupt the flow of the game and cause some confusion as far as the story goes as well. It's a plague, and today we will find the cure…But before we get to that, I just want to let you know that we want to hear from you, literally. We want to start featuring some listener questions or tips on the show, so go to Instagram, then go to @monsters.rent and send us a message, either audio, video or text, of a question you want answered, or a tip you have found helpful in your DMing experience. We'll mention it on the show and also give you a quick shoutout. We realized that you have a wealth of experience that should be shared as well. So why not share it. Again, go to @monsters.rent on Instagram and send us a message and we'll get it up on show.So, the plague that I was talking about earlier? It's when a player misses a session or can't make a particular session.Let's take a scenario. This is a text thread between you and your group.DM: D&D tonight at 6. Does that work for everyone?Alex: Yup, I can't wait.Sean: Of course bruh, I'll bring the soda.Maddy: I'll bring snacks. Does everyone like Japanese Algae candy.Alex: No way, that stuff's gross.Maddy: Alex, I saw you eat like 10 handfuls of the stuff last week.Jerry: I'm really sorry guys, I can't make it tonight…The rest of the thread: stunned silence for the next 3 hours.This is a very common situation. The reason why there is stunned silence in the text thread for the next 3 hours is because every wants to play D&D that night. Jerry is the only one not able to make it. Everyone else is wondering, “What do we do?”That is, in part what I want to talk about today. What do you do?First off, let's talk about what you can do and then let's talk about why and when you should or shouldn't do any particular thing.I also want to make it very clear. Don't feel guilty for wanting to play D&D without one of your players there. It happens. Also, don't feel guilty for rescheduling for a later time. I've said this before, but D&D is a hobby and other things take precedence sometimes. That said, let's talk about your options.Here are, as I see them your only options:Reschedule the Session for a Different TimePlay AnywayKidnap the delinquent player, duck-tape them to a chair, wax their eyebrows off for the impertenence of missing a session, and play anywaysThat's everything you can do. That last one might be somewhat…. Hmmm I think the word is illegal… but you get what I mean.So now that we know what can be done, let's talk about what should be done….Reschedule the SessionProbably the least the desirable option is to reschedule the session. This is likely the least desirable because it's assumed that everyone in the group wants to play D&D. This is essentially making everyone suffer. I'm not bitter, I'm just stating the facts.Sometimes though, it is the right choice.The most common reason for a rescheduling is that multiple people in the group can't make it. You'll have to come up with your own hard and fast rules, but in my group, if 3 people can't make it, then for sure we are rescheduling. If 2 people can't make it, then it's like 85% sure that we are...

Tanner Weyland (00:04.783)Hello and welcome to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. I'm here with Justin Lewis. Say hi, Justin. Hi, Justin. We are here today to talk about a fun little topic, basically, Dungeons and Villages, when and how to use either. So I mean, this topic, I've always find it interesting, like the composition of a campaign, you know?Justin (00:13.631)Hi Justin.Tanner Weyland (00:33.535)If you treat it like a like a sandwich, it's like, okay, what you know, it's a nice BLT. Do you put the tomatoes on first? Do you put you know, are you a maniac and you just put a bunch of bacon and just like a leaf of lettuce? You know, what do you do? And how do you kind of balance it? That's kind of what a lot of DMS have to do when it comes to being like, Hey, I want a really cool dungeon. But I also want to have some of the more role playing heavyVillages and kind of switch it up. Have you ever thought about this kind of balance that you have Justin?Justin (01:09.986)I haven't necessarily thought of the balance, but I certainly have fallen into the blunders that we're going to talk about with each of these. And when you do, it's pretty annoying because you kind of kick yourself and be like, dang, that dungeon could have been so fun or that village could have been so fun. I will say, I definitely think one might be a little bit easier because, well, we'll getI'll reveal all as we talk.Tanner Weyland (01:42.847)Exactly. So for the purpose of this discussion, just to give a little roadmap, we'll kind of dive into dungeons and villages or cities, you know, we're saying villages, but we mean any kind of settlement where it's going to be, you know, more NPC centric built. So that's kind of what we're thinking about when we think of village. And it could be any size could be a little, you know, three shacks by the side of the road, or it could be an entire city.Surrounded by huge walls with giant palaces within it, right? And it just kind of the that's we're bundling that as one experience done on the other side dungeons now It's not always a dungeon per se but it's kind of like a curated Experience where you know, the adventuring party is going into one specific place and exploring, you knowAnd it's not somewhere they're just traveling through. It's like, no, it's, it's a specific kind of, uh, self-enclosed experience. Uh, so kind of getting into it, let's, let's talk about dungeons and what kind of makes a dungeon special.Justin (02:50.622)Yeah. And one other thing I'd like to also add, just sort of a caveat. These are traditional dungeons and villages. You could theoretically take whatever we're talking about, like the aspects, and apply them to the other one, right? For example, by nature, dungeons will be, or seem more railroad-y, right?Justin (03:19.85)Choices have been made and now choices are restricted, right? Like once Aragorn follows the path of the dead and he goes into the mountain, the ghosts know he's there, right? He can't just, well, he could just turn around and walk out, but those are his only two choices. Proceed, stay where he is. I guess three choices or go backward. But, but theoretically you could make a village more railroad-y, but we're going to talk in general terms. So that's really the first.point of a dungeon and kind of what it is once you're in it, it's either stay where you are, which is kind of not really a choice, go forward or go back.Tanner Weyland (03:58.467)Exactly and once you're at the dungeon you can kind of expect You know, I think it's gonna be reskinned and you're going to as a DM, you know We talked about this before you want to give a variety of experiences, you know, don't have every

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. I'm your host today, Justin Lewis, and together we are going to talk about how to improve your gameplay both from a mechanical and storytelling point of view.Today, I'm excited to talk about an aspect of the game that for me holds a lot of interest and for a lot of people can be a rich source of story elements and intrigue. At the same time, for other people it can be completely boring, and possibly offputting. I'm talking about Gods, faith and religion.Before I get into the rest of today's episode, I want to take a moment to talk about The Guild. For those of you who don't know, the Guild is our unique membership for dungeon masters. It allows you to connect with other DMs like yourself and get access to a library of video courses and downloadable resources for your gameplay. Oh and it's 100% free. I hope you'll join us there, so go to monsters.rent/get-started and scroll all the way to the bottom.Table ComfortNow, the very first thing you need to do is assess your table's comfort level with the topics of God, Religion, and Faith. In some cases, you'll have a natural understanding. In my case, a few members of my table are also members of my faith, so I knew that they would be ok having some of those topics in the game. In other circumstances, it would be a smart idea to ask if the table is alright with those themes and topics being in the game. In most D&D settings, having a mystical god or gods is all part and parcel to the game, but depending on how your players feel about it, then you might want to tread lightly. Some games might be focused on the path of divinity, others might have gods as simply an afterthought. No matter what you do, you want to avoid these two mistakes.Avoid Pushing ReligionSaying this as a religious person, you absolutely do not want to turn your D&D sessions into sermons. I know you're probably thinking that that would kind of be funny, and it might, but honestly, you don't want to force players into roleplaying something they don't want to roleplay. A person's faith is a very personal thing, and if someone is not a person of faith, religion or Diety, then they don't have to be even in a make-believe world.Avoid Making A Farce of ReligionOn the other side of the coin, you definitely don't want to make fun of religion and make it appear as something that is farcical. Even though your players may be ok with it, it's best not to form bad habits because there will come a time when you sit down to play at a table with someone who cares, and then you'll make the slip up of a lifetime. Best to avoid those big mistakes. Extend the same consideration and courtesy you would to any other sort of way of life.Now, with your players on board for having Gods be an active part of the game, let's talk about some other questions you need to ask. These questions apply to both homebrew settings and settings that are prewritten, but the questions will apply a little differently to each. How Involved Will Your Gods BeThe first question that you need to ask is how involved will Godhood (god or gods) be in your setting or game. This is important because if they won't even matter, then you likely don't need anything else in this episode. I'd still recommend listening to the end because you never know when a player might ask you a question or make a choice that will make the gods much more involved.In different settings, Gods behave differently. In some games, Gods are active members of the universe, granting divine boons with ease. In other settings, Gods are basically hidden from sight, deigning not to intervene with their followers' lives. It's important that you know which type of setting yours is and how the Gods will interact with players...

The CHGO Bulls crew are LIVE from Stadium Swim at Circa Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, breaking down the Bulls loss to the Grizzlies in Game 2 of Summer League. Dalen Terry led the Bulls in minutes again, and again struggled to find his offensive rhythm. He did make 3 three-pointers, but finished just 5-21 from the field. On the plus side, he didn't turn the ball over. Justin Lewis played just 6 minutes before leaving the game with a sprained ankle, a frustrating setback after finally making his return from an ACL injury. Julian Phillips made his Summer League debut, and his lack of experience showed. Javon Freeman-Liberty continued his strong play from Game 1, leading the Bulls with 24 points. Will JFL soon get his chance on an NBA roster? Matt, Big Dave and Will break down all the action from Day Two in Las Vegas! Plus, Gerald from PHNX Suns joins the guys to offer his takes on the Bulls free agent additions of Torrey Craig and Jevon Carter. Score the best seats in the house at Gametime: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1441553/10874 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @will_gottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code CHGO, make ANY $5 bet this week and get $200 in BONUS BETS win or lose! Sunnyside Cannabis Dispensary: Head to sunnyside.shop and use code CHGO25 at checkout for 25% off your total order, 1 use per customer. Pick up everything you need to elevate your Summer! Must be 21+ or an Illinois med card holder.  Shady Rays: Go to shadyrays.com and use code CHGO for 50% OFF 2+ pairs of polarized sunglasses. Goose Island: Chicago's beer since 1988. Grab a beer from their Innovation tanks at the Goose Island Taproom or get a smash burger and a fresh beer of the week at the Clybourn Brewhouse. For reservations and pick up, go to gooseisland.com/locations. Athletic Greens: Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://athleticgreens.com/CHGOBulls FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. ComEd: Get started saving money and energy today! For energy saving tips and to schedule your free Facility Assessment, go to ComEd.com/PoweringBiz. Pins & Aces: Pins & Aces is the official golf apparel partner of CHGO. Check out PinsAndAces.com and use promo code “CHGO” to receive 15% off your first order and get free shipping. Manscaped: Trim your bat and balls with MANSCAPED™ to get into the MVP discussion this season… Most Valuable Player of course with the code CHGO for 20% off + free shipping at manscaped.com. Lewis University: Discover how a degree from Lewis can help you build a better world. Learn more at lewisu.edu/youcandothis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CHGO Bulls crew are LIVE from Summer League in Las Vegas! The Bulls kicked off their desert mini-season with a 83-74 win over the Toronto Raptors. Dalen Terry led the team in minutes, scoring 10 points and dishing 4 assists. But his ballhandling is still a work in progress. Meanwhile, second round draft pick Julian Phillips did not play because his contract is still not signed. Should Bulls fans be worried? Nate Darling and Yago Dos Santos showed some outside shooting ability, while Justin Lewis looked rusty coming back from his ACL injury. Matt, Big Dave and Will break down everything from Game 1 of Summer League from Victory Burger at Circa Resort & Casino! Score the best seats in the house at Gametime: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1441553/10874 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @will_gottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code CHGO, make ANY $5 bet this week and get $200 in BONUS BETS win or lose! Sunnyside Cannabis Dispensary: Head to sunnyside.shop and use code CHGO25 at checkout for 25% off your total order, 1 use per customer. Pick up everything you need to elevate your Summer! Must be 21+ or an Illinois med card holder.  Shady Rays: Go to shadyrays.com and use code CHGO for 50% OFF 2+ pairs of polarized sunglasses. Goose Island: Chicago's beer since 1988. Grab a beer from their Innovation tanks at the Goose Island Taproom or get a smash burger and a fresh beer of the week at the Clybourn Brewhouse. For reservations and pick up, go to gooseisland.com/locations. Athletic Greens: Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://athleticgreens.com/CHGOBulls FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. ComEd: Get started saving money and energy today! For energy saving tips and to schedule your free Facility Assessment, go to ComEd.com/PoweringBiz. Pins & Aces: Pins & Aces is the official golf apparel partner of CHGO. Check out PinsAndAces.com and use promo code “CHGO” to receive 15% off your first order and get free shipping. Manscaped: Trim your bat and balls with MANSCAPED™ to get into the MVP discussion this season… Most Valuable Player of course with the code CHGO for 20% off + free shipping at manscaped.com. Lewis University: Discover how a degree from Lewis can help you build a better world. Learn more at lewisu.edu/youcandothis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The CHGO Bulls crew preview the Bulls roster for NBA Summer League, which begins in Las Vegas on Friday. What should Bulls fans be looking for from some of the biggest names on the team, like Dalen Terry, Justin Lewis and newly drafted Julian Phillips? How will Lewis look after recovering from ACL surgery? Has Terry's shot improved? And can Phillips show signs of being a legitimate two-way player at the NBA level? Matt and Big Dave get Bulls fans ready for Summer League action! Plus, the guys discuss the idea of the Bulls targeting recently waived big man Bol Bol in free agency. Score the best seats in the house at Gametime: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1441553/10874 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @will_gottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code CHGO, make ANY $5 bet this week and get $200 in BONUS BETS win or lose! Sunnyside Cannabis Dispensary: Head to sunnyside.shop and use code CHGO25 at checkout for 25% off your total order, 1 use per customer. Pick up everything you need to elevate your Summer! Must be 21+ or an Illinois med card holder.  Shady Rays: Go to shadyrays.com and use code CHGO for 50% OFF 2+ pairs of polarized sunglasses. Goose Island: Chicago's beer since 1988. Grab a beer from their Innovation tanks at the Goose Island Taproom or get a smash burger and a fresh beer of the week at the Clybourn Brewhouse. For reservations and pick up, go to gooseisland.com/locations. Athletic Greens: Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://athleticgreens.com/CHGOBulls FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. ComEd: Get started saving money and energy today! For energy saving tips and to schedule your free Facility Assessment, go to ComEd.com/PoweringBiz. Pins & Aces: Pins & Aces is the official golf apparel partner of CHGO. Check out PinsAndAces.com and use promo code “CHGO” to receive 15% off your first order and get free shipping. Manscaped: Trim your bat and balls with MANSCAPED™ to get into the MVP discussion this season… Most Valuable Player of course with the code CHGO for 20% off + free shipping at manscaped.com. Lewis University: Discover how a degree from Lewis can help you build a better world. Learn more at lewisu.edu/youcandothis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lynette Sonne and Jennifer from The Groves on 41 were Up & Adam to talk about Open Farm Days July 14-17. Kicks off Fri DT City Park Paso with a makers market, and more. Sat and Sun, some 20 central coast farms swing their gates open to the public for one of a kind experiences that promises to make for a great weekend. Sat night 7/15 Chef Rachel and Chef Justin Lewis pair for a Shepard to Chef event at a new dairy and fromagerie called Reves de Moutons! For more info, listen to the chat, and visit https://farmsteaded.com/pages/ofd2023 for tickets and more info!

The CHGO Bulls crew discuss whether the 2022-23 season has been a success or failure for Bulls forward Patrick Williams. Are we seeing enough development - or any development - from the former #4 overall pick? What will it take to get more out of Pat next season and beyond? Matt and Big Dave look at the numbers, and what factors are holding Williams back. Plus, Nikola Vucevic offered some very somber facts about the Bulls' current situation with 17 games left to play. But did he sound like someone who's given up? And the Bulls made a minor roster move, welcoming back Marquette product Justin Lewis on a two-way contract. Score the best seats in the house at Gametime: https://gametime.hnyj8s.net/c/3442941/1441553/10874 SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/CHGOSports WEBSITE: http://allCHGO.com/ BUY MERCH: http://CHGOLocker.com FOLLOW ON SOCIAL: Twitter: @CHGO_Bulls / @Bulls_Peck / @BawlSports / @wontgottlieb Instagram: @CHGO_Sports GET OUR FREE NEWSLETTER: http://www.allchgo.com/newsletter Support us by supporting our sponsors! | Offers from our sponsors: DraftKings: Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app now, use promo code “CHGO”, make ANY $5 bet this week and get $200 in FREE BETS win or lose! Athletic Greens: Athletic Greens is going to give you a FREE 1 year supply of immune-supporting Vitamin D AND 5 FREE travel packs with your first purchase. Just visit https://athleticgreens.com/CHGOBulls Greenridge Farms: Greenridge Farm. Simply Natural Meat. When you order any 3 meat products at GreenridgeFarm.com and include a pack of meat sticks in your cart, those meat sticks will be FREE when you use promo code “CHGO” at check-out. Pins & Aces: Pins & Aces is the official golf apparel partner of CHGO. Check out PinsAndAces.com and use promo code “CHGO” to receive 15% off your first order and get free shipping. FOCO: CHGO has teamed up with FOCO to secure your access to the best sports collectibles and gear around! Get 10% off your order at FOCO.com with promo code “CHGO”. ComEd: Get started saving money and energy today! For energy saving tips and to schedule your free Facility Assessment, go to ComEd.com/PoweringBiz. Shady Rays: Use promo code “CHGO” for 50% off two or more pairs of sunglasses at ShadyRays.com. Buy One, Get One Free. You can get two pairs for as low as $54. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices