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Articles by Greg Tito
Get Lit! 2023 and More in May — Greg Tito
Hey folks! A bunch of amazing milestones occurred since the first blog of this here new website. First, I headed to Spokane, WA with Shelly Mazzanoble to be a part of my first literary festival. The Get Lit! Fest has had a storied history full of writers peddling their wares and I was honored to be invited there by Dr. Terrance MacMullen, department chair of the English AND Philosophy departments at Eastern Washington University.
Welcome to Dragon Talk
If it seems like everyone you know is playing Dungeons & Dragons, it's because they are! After nearly five decades, the iconic roleplaying game is more popular than ever. Famous Hollywood actors and directors, therapists, educators, politicians, kids, parents, and grandparents all count themselves as fans.
Dragon Talk: #386 - Ajit George and Wes Schneider, HTDM on 3d NPC’s
Greg and Shelly welcome you to the show. Later, Shelly welcomes freelance copy editor and game designer Laura Hirsbrunner for a new edition of How To DM. This week, Laura talks with Shelly about making your NPC’s more three dimensional.
Dragon Talk: #378 - Global Healthy Living Foundation, How To DM
Greg and Shelly welcome you to the show. Afterwards, Shelly welcomes back Derrick from HN2DM for another edition of How To DM. This week, Derrick gives Shelly a top 5 list on ways to engage and immerse your players. Our special interview this week is with the Global Healthy Living Foundation’s James Dybisz and Grayson Schultz! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co Dragon Talk is executively produced by Greg Tito, Shelly Mazzanoble & Wizards of The Coast.
Dragon Talk: #369 - Matthew Mercer, How To DM on The Rule of Cool
Share this Greg and Shelly welcome you to the show. Afterwards, Shelly asks our very own Greg Tito to sit in for a brand new edition of How To DM. This week, the pair discuss the rule of cool. Our special interview this week is with voice actor and DM for Critical Role, Matthew Mercer! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co. Dragon Talk is executively produced by Greg Tito, Shelly Mazzanoble & Wizards of The Coast.
Dragon Talk: #366 - Terrance MacMullan, Meet Your Monsters on Helmed Horrors
Share this After Greg and Shelly welcome you to the show, D&D Game Designer Dan Dillon joins us for another edition of Meet Your Monsters. This week, we discuss Helmed Horrors. Our special interview this week is with award winning educator and author, as well as the current professor of philosophy at Eastern Washington University, Terrance MacMullan! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co.
Dragon Talk: #364 - Aliza Pearl, How To DM on Magic Items
Share this Welcome 2022 with Greg and Shelly as they ring in the new year! Later, we welcome back freelance author and developer Teos Abadia for another edition of How To DM. This week, Teos chats with Shelly about magic items. Our special interview this week is with actress and writer Aliza Pearl! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co. Dragon Talk is executively produced by Greg Tito, Shelly Mazzanoble & Wizards of The Coast.
Dragon Talk: #363 - Benjamin Loomes, Lore You Should Know on the Biblioplex
Share this It’s our last show of 2021 and Greg and Shelly talk Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos and more in our show open! Afterwards, we welcome back Senior Designer for D&D, Amanda Hamon for another edition of Lore You Should Know. This week, Amanda talks with Greg about the Biblioplex. Our special interview this week is with musician, composer and the man behind Syrinscape, Benjamin Loomes! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co.
Dragon Talk: James Introcaso, Meet Your Monsters with Makenzie De Armas
Greg and Shelly get you all the latest information on the upcoming D&D releases in D&D news, including The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons and Critical Role: Call of the Neverdeep! Have you filled out the Dragon Talk survey yet? Make sure you give us your thoughts and help shape the future of the show! Find the link HERE and make your voice heard.
Dragon Talk: Noah Averbach-Katz, LYSK on the Courts of the Feywild
In our opening D&D news segment, Greg and Shelly talk the release of The Wild Beyond the Witchlight as well as get into all the details concerning D&D Celebration heading your way THIS WEEKEND, September 23rd! Later, Greg is joined by D&D Narrative Designer Ari Levitch, for another edition of Lore You Should Know! In this week’s discussion, Ari explains the Courts of the Feywild! Our special interview this week is with actor on Star Trek: Discovery and Dungeon Master of Disco Does DnD, Noah...
Dragon Talk: Ari Levitch, How To DM with Beth The Bard
Greg and Shelly kick off the show as always with D&D news, including The Wild Beyond the Witchlight and D&D Celebration heading your way September 23rd! Afterwards, Shelly is joined by professional Dungeon Master Beth The Bard for a new installment of How To DM.
Dragon Talk: R.A. Salvatore, Insight Check with Sydney Adams
Greg and Shelly kick things off with D&D news. The two talk D&D Celebration, the official D&D Discord Channel, The Wild Beyond the Witchlight and much, much more! Afterwards, we welcome D&D Game Designer Sydney Adams to the show for a new edition of Insight Check. Our special interview this week is with long time friend of the show, New York Times best-selling author R.A. Salvatore! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co.
Dragon Talk: Kat Kruger, HTDM with Laura Gray-Holt
In D&D news, Greg and Shelly get you all the latest and greatest including our new partnership with NERDS candy! Afterwards, illustrator and writer Laura Gray-Holt joins us for a brand new edition of How To DM. This week, Shelly and Laura discuss player bonding during downtime. Our special interview this week is with best selling freelance game designer, Kat Kruger! For general inquiries or show messages, please email dragontalk@sirensound.co.
Dragon Talk: Jessica Lynn Parsons and Katie Michels, Random Character Generator
We are all so excited for our special 300th episode of Dragon Talk this week! Greg Tito and Shelly Mazzanoble preview our celebration airing live THIS FRIDAY, June 11th at 11am PST on our Twitch channel. Join us for some incredible special guests, BIG TIME announcements and a few old friends of the show dropping by. In Random Character Generator, D&D Community Manager Brandy Camel returns as we roll up Eida Goldfound, a Lotusden Halfling Artificer.
Dragon Talk: Encounter Party, LYSK on Tasha
Greg and Shelly start things up with a fresh look at the latest D&D news! Afterwards, Jeremy Crawford joins us for a special edition of Lore You Should Know, this week focusing on the character of Tasha from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, which releases November 17th in North America and everywhere else December 1st. Later, we are joined by Ned Donovan and Brian David Judkins from the actual play D&D podcast, Encounter Party.
Dragon Talk: Jorge Gutierrez & How To DM with Wes Schneider
Greg & Shelly announce the release of Monster Madness! This new expansion for Dungeon Mayhem includes six new decks and is heading your way this Valentine's Day! Later, we welcome back D&D editor Wes Schneider for another edition of How To DM. This week we talk about how to use the players at your table as assets. Our special interview guest this week is Emmy and Golden Globe nominated director, writer, and animator Jorge Gutierrez.
Dragon Talk: John Darnielle
September is here and there is a lot coming your way this month! Greg & Shelly break it all down. In Lore You Should Know, Chris Perkins returns to talk about elemental galleons and airships, which will be very helpful for those of you gearing up for the release of Eberron: Rising from the Last War.
Dragon Talk: Chef Mike Haracz
Shelly returns from vacation just in time to discuss Eberron: Rising From The Last War with Greg Tito! In Lore You Should Know, Adam Lee stops in to talk about creatures, vehicles, and general mayhem you may encounter in Avernus.
Dragon Talk: Goldie Chan
Do you need sunscreen in Avernus? Kate Welch tackles co-hosting duties and finds herself having to answer this question for Greg, along with an impressive display of robust boating nomenclature. In Lore You Should Know, Chris Perkins drops in and takes some rapid fire questions from Twitter. Our special guest is Goldie Chan who is a writer for Forbes, digital marking expert, and keynote speaker.
Dragon Talk: Ethan & Brett Holt
It's a special bonus episode of Dragon Talk! Kate Welch handles co-hosting duties for Greg Tito, along with Bart Carroll. The three discuss "meta-gaming" along with all-time favorite sidekicks and dragon tattoos. In Lore You Should Know, Chris Perkins discusses Thay. Our special guest today is 12-year-old Ethan Holt and his dad, Brett. Ethan gave a presentation on "Why You Should Play D&D" for his 6th grade passion project, which you can view here.
Dragon Talk: Gardens of Fog
Greg and Shelly open the show introducing Gardens Of Fog, a new adventure for sale on the Dungeon Master's Guild, the brand new Acquisitions Incorporated book and more! Later, Chris Perkins stops by for another edition of Lore You Should Know all about Acquisitions Incorporated. Our interview guests are a few of the master minds behind Gardens Of Fog, Dr. B, Hannah Rose and Bill Benham.
Arnie Niekamp on Designing Improv Games
Dragon Talk hosts Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito talk about meta-gaming anxiety before they speak with Arnie Niekamp, creator and host of Hello from the Magic Tavern. The conversation with Arnie flows from game design, to improv comedy and dungeon mastering before getting into how the podcast Arnie hosts from the magical world of Foon was created. In Lore You Should Know: Chris Perkins goes into more detail on the Dead Three - Bane, Bhaal, Myrkul.
Jim Zub on Young Adventurer's Guides & D&D
Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito start this episode by laughing uncontrollably at each other's silly jokes before they bring on Jim Zub to talk about all of the awesome D&D things he is doing this year. And there is A LOT! From the Rick & Morty vs. D&D trade omnibus that's now in stores to the Young Adventurer's Guides he is writing to get young readers into the concepts behind playing D&D, plus all the unannounced things...
Michael Mallen on Mental Health and Gaming
Braving the snow and ice from Seattle's strange wintry storms, Greg and Shelly run this podcast remotely! Their guest this week: Michael Mallen, Ph.D. a licensed psychologist who has been writing about Dungeons & Dragons and other gaming topics from a psychological perspective since 2011. In Lore You Should Know: Chris Perkins treks through the snow to Shelly's house to discuss sahuagin, the devils of the deep.
Dragon Talk | Dungeons & Dragons
All Episodes Sort by: Dragon Talk: #363 - Benjamin Loomes, Lore You Should Know on the Biblioplex Dragon Talk - 12/15/2021 By Greg Tito, Shelly Mazzanoble It’s our last show of 2021 and Greg and Shelly talk Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos and more in our show open! Afterwards, we welcome back Senior Designer for D&D, Amanda Hamon for another edition of Lore You Should Know. This week, Amanda talks with Greg about the Biblioplex.
Patrick Rothfuss & Jim Zub on Rick & Morty vs D&D Comics
Who thought chocolate and peanut butter would go together so well? Authors Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind) and Jim Zub (Avengers, Legends of Baldur’s Gate comics) call in to talk about their four-issue series pitting the characters of the popular animated show against the wonders of D&D lore and mechanics. “Two Cool Hosts” Greg Tito and Shelly Mazzanoble drop a whole bunch of bombs in their semi-professional opening.
Podcasts of Waterdeep! | Dungeons & Dragons
Listen to the D&D live play podcast community telling a continuous story inspired by Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. As fans of D&D know, the live play podcast community is dedicated to producing tabletop roleplaying sessions so people all over the world can enjoy the wonders of collaborative storytelling in audio form.
Dr. Megan Connell on D&D Helping People
Feature Interview: Professional psychologist and gamer Dr. Megan Connell (@MeganPsyD) spoke to Shelly and Greg back in April about what it's like to run D&D for young people and the benefits of roleplaying games for players with social challenges. Lore You Should Know: Your hosts can barely hold it together before introducing Lore You Should Know w/ Chris Perkins on Born Again Monsters in D&D, who just keep coming back despite how much damage you deal.
Matt Baume and Hidden Lore
Feature Interview: Shelly Mazzanoble and Greg Tito talk to Matt Baume, the DM for Queens of Adventure. Matt talks about the similarities between drag culture and D&D, what it was like to perform his first DMing session live in front of 100 people, and what’s coming next for the Queens. Lore You Should Know: Chris Perkins discusses all the hidden lore in the core rulebooks for D&D fifth edition you may not have found yet.
Joe Manganiello on Arkhan & Critical Role
We begin by welcoming this week’s guest…Bob Ross? Shelly Mazzanoble (@shellymoo) and Greg Tito (@gregtito) let their imaginations soar with the possibilities of Axis & Allies & Bob Rosses! Tremble in fear at the thought of an all-out assault of legions of evil little trees upon your forces! After this flight of fancy, we come back to reality to present our actual interview with actor, director, author, and Emmy Award winning narrator Joe Manganiello (@joemanganiello).
Jeremy Crawford and Kate Irwin on Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
Shelly Mazzanoble (@shellymoo) and Greg Tito (@gregtito) sit down with Kate Irwin and Jeremy Crawford (@JeremyECrawford) to talk all about the upcoming Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes.
Inside D&D Adventurers League
Bill Benham (@BillBenham2) and Greg Marks (@Skerrit7h3green) of the Adventurers League join Shelly Mazzanoble (@shellymoo) and Greg Tito (@gregtito). After assigning classes to the cast of The Facts of Life and explaining Sausage Races, the crew jumps into the history of Adventurers League and Organized Play for D&D, how to play in and write for Adventurers League, turning our Community Manager Trevor Kidd (@The_Trevor_Kidd) into a troll, and more.
Review: Nihilumbra
There's a nugget of a solid game here in Nihilumbra. Unlike many of the PlayStation Vita's offerings, it uses the touchscreen in a novel way that doesn't feel tacked on or forced. And the puzzle-platforming is supported well by an ethereal art style, score, and sound design. You just have to wade through a jumble of pseudo-philosophy to get to it. The nature of existence certainly could be well-explored in a side-scrolling puzzle-platformer but Nihilumbra never really makes it work.
INTRODUCING… THE TOMB OF ANNIHILATION GUILD ADEPTS!
The Dungeon Masters Guild has thousands of products available from hundreds of Dungeon Masters. You might be asking yourself, “Which of these are the best?” Well I’m here to introduce you to 10 of the most exciting authors to grace the guild with their work. That’s right. These are our Tomb of Annihilation Guild Adepts, and they have some fantastic products lined up for our September 8th launch.
D&D Survey | Dungeons & Dragons
We’d like to check in with you about your Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) play and involvement in D&D-related activities. Please take a few minutes to complete our survey.
Ethan Gilsdorf on Why D&D Is Good for You
Friend of the show, Ethan Gilsdorf, drops in to chat about his recent TEDx talk that shows the good that D&D can do for kids and adults. Lore You Should Know – Matt Sernett (@sernett) and Chris Perkins (@ChrisPerkinsDnD) elaborate on a magic item with a long history in D&D, the Ring of Winter. Subscribe to the Official D&D Podcast on iTunes to get updates for new episodes.
Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo on D&D and Autism
Psychotherapist Dr. Raffael Boccamazzo visits the office to talk about using Dungeons & Dragons to help autistic kids learn social skills. Subscribe to the Official D&D Podcast on iTunes to get updates for new episodes.
Saladin Ahmed on D&D-Inspired Novels
Author Saladin Ahmed stops by to talk about how Dungeons & Dragons inspired his 2011 novel Throne of the Crescent Moon and what it's like playing with him at conventions. Subscribe to the Official D&D Podcast on iTunes to get updates for new episodes.
Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell Puts the Devil in the Details
Developed by Volition. Published by Deep Silver. Released on Jan. 20, 2015. For Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Copy provided by publisher. "Punching the Devil in the face" is every gangster's dream, isn't it? No? Well, you haven't been paying attention to the descent into madness that is the Saints Row series, have you?
| Previews | The Escapist
That's the underlying theme of Total War: Attila. The upcoming strategy game from Creative Assembly, makers of the Shogun and Rome Total War games as well as last year's Alien: Isolation, is set in a time period oft-overlooked. The crumbling of the Roman Empire around 400 A.D. is usually discussed by armchair historians as the ultimate effect of over-extension and moral decay. These don't immediately strike a gamer as fun themes to explore, especially in a strategy game.
Reader's Choice Game of the Year 2014
After a month of voting, the winner of the Reader's Choice Game of the Year for 2014 can finally be crowned. I know a lot of people out there didn't think 2014 was a very good year. Sure, it doesn't beat the banner years of 2011 or 1999, but I personally had a lot of fun playing all kinds of different games in 2014. It's easy to be cynical - it takes effort to show your love of the medium we all enjoy despite its foibles.
Saints Row Writer Supports Change for the Representation of Women in Games
Steve Jaros from Volition said he thinks Saints Row has gotten better in representing women over the course of the series. There is a lot of talk these days about how women are portrayed in video games. The video series Tropes Vs. Women in Video Games by Anita Sarkeesian has shown through many examples how patterns exist in today's games which continue the cycle of portraying women as objects to be gained or, perhaps worse, as sexy, gritty background.
Total War Arena Challenges LoL, Dota 2, and World of Tanks
Playing through a 10v10 battle in real-time with Total War style can be super-engrossing. The concept of the Total War series is the balance between moving around armies and agents on the abstract strategic map and the real-time tactical conflicts on realistic battlefields when strategic forces clash. The latter is where the real intriguing action in the game lies, and Creative Assembly decided to bank on that fun by expanding it and optimizing it for online multiplayer play.
Game of the Year 2014? Vote Now in Reader's Choice Contest
Goodbye Destiny! Sayonara Sunset Overdrive! The first round of The Escapist's Reader's Choice Game of the Year 2014 bracket is now complete. Here Begins Round Two! After a week of frantic voting, the hanging chads have settled to reveal the winners of the first round of match-ups in the bracket. Did you think that both Watch Dogs and Titanfall would be voted out in the first round? Did you think that Hearthstone had a chance against Dragon Age: Inquisition?
Preview: Tearaway Unfolded - Paper-Thin Adorable
The retelling to the PS Vita title from Media Molecule is downright adorable. I never got into origami. Folding paper into animals was hard for me, but I did always appreciate what magic others could craft from such a simple material. Tearaway Unfolded aims to do something similar by delighting gamers with its cuteness wrought from such simple pleasures. Media Molecule continues to give Nintendo a run for its money in the cute department.
Miyazaki's Bloodborne Reinvents Dark Souls
You'll need help to get through this demo of Bloodborne - thankfully they left a note. During Sony's keynote at the PlayStation Experience, I didn't catch the Japanese word for "roguelike" from Hidetaka Miyazaki's during his presentation. Whatever it is, we'll likely be hearing a lot of it from designers as they mimic the nature of an action game in which you are expected to die quite often.
Until Dawn: Horror Party Game
Horror fans can finally tell the silly female protagonist not to hide in the closet. I'll admit I don't have an exhaustive familiarity with the horror genre. I mean, I've seen enough slasher movies to know that the monster guy is probably a real jerk, and that entering a dark room is never going to end well. Until Dawn isn't a survival horror or even an action game, really.
Tim Schafer and Neil Druckman Tell Stories from Developing The Last of Us and Brutal Legend
Like a lot of creative endeavors, making games like Broken Age at Double Fine and The Last of Us at Naughty Dog is a series of happy accidents. If one thing is clear from watching five prominent game desginers talk about story is that none of them are clear as to what the term "story" really means.
Game of the Year 2014? Round One of The Escapist Readers Choice Voting Begins Now
Sixteen great games. Eight tense match-ups. Round One begins now! Go vote! Now that you've submitted your bracket predicting which games will reign supreme, it's time to test out your hypotheses. Voting has now begun for the first round of the Reader's Choice Game of the Year bracket. 16 games are pit against each other one-on-one in 8 popular votes. The game that receives the most votes advances to the next round while the loser is eliminated from your hearts and souls. You have one week to vote.
Telltale's Game of Thrones Ep. 1 - Iron from Ice
If there's one thing I've learned from reading George R. R. Martin's fantasy epic or watching the HBO adaptation of the story it's that I shouldn't be surprised when bad things happen to good people. And yet, I still am. Every time. That I am able to feel real heartbreak playing Telltale's latest episodic adventure game is a testament to the skill of the writers and designers at the studio.
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