How to Be a Better DM

Weekly Tips and Tricks on Thursdays

Listen as we talk about how to craft amazing stories for yourselves and your players. Join hosts Justin Lewis, Tanner Weyland, and Cayden Ottley every Thursday morning.

All Episodes

August 10, 2026

Therapy: Your Last Day on Earth – C.C. S2E10

Welcome back to Creative Contraband, dear Dungeon Masters! Today Danny Barrett tells us about Your Last Day on Earth, a free contemplative

August 6, 2026

Is it Better if it’s Homebrewed?

Do you ALSO feel the crushing need to homebrew if you want to be a good DM? Well you're not alone! While

August 4, 2026

TTRPGs, Performance Art and Ephemeral Artforms – C.C. S2E9

Welcome back, Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today Danny Barrett talks about the importance of being present and focusing on our players.We

July 27, 2026

Neurocinema and the Kuleshov Effect – C.C. S2E8

Welcome back, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today Danny Barrett tells us how the order of the information influences the conclusions

July 23, 2026

Why Your D&D Group Keeps Canceling (It’s Not a Scheduling Problem)

Scheduling conflicts aren’t really about calendars — they’re about priorities. Justin shares the story of nearly losing three close friendships (and Session

July 20, 2026

Pocahontas, Cars, Invincible, Avatar and Reskinning – C.C. S2E7

Welcome, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today Danny Barrett shows us how reskinning can optimize effort and enhance success at the

July 16, 2026

Magic Item Shops: Guardians, Pricing, and the Players Who Want to Rob You

Your party just walked into a magic item shop — and at least one of them is already casing the room for

July 14, 2026

Lord of the Rings as DnD – C.C. S2E6

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today we talk about how the Lord of the Rings trilogy can be

July 9, 2026

Railroading: Everything You Know About It Is Wrong

Railroading has a bad reputation in the TTRPG world — but is it actually the villain DMs think it is? In this

July 6, 2026

Suspense vs. Surprise – C.C. S2E5

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today we talk about suspense and surprise from Alfred Hitchcock's movies and Game

July 2, 2026

Looking Beneath the Surface: the Hidden Wishes of D&D Players

Players (and DMs) have many unchecked assumptions for what they want out of a D&D adventure: they want "powerful loot," easy NPC

June 30, 2026

Sacred Art of Gaming Shares Wisdom about Solo TTRPGs – C.C. S2E4

In our second interview episode, we sit down with Sacred, and talk about Solo TTRPGs, intention, immersion and getting to know yourself.Sit