The 2024 DND Players Handbook is the best selling Dungeons & Dragons supplement... EVER?!?  Really?  We dig into the numbers that are available and have some questions and commentary.  This week we also welcome the Lost Lore Scholar, Jack into his seat as the newest host of Nerdcognito!  After the news, all four of your friends, Ryan David, Bert, Jack, and Kyle discuss how #GatekeepingIsGood and why the mechanics of a system can actually vet your players.

The show picks up where we left off last week -- talking about comedy TTRPGs.  Can funny have legs?  Is a long-term comedy campaign sustainable?  Then, we get buried in the news this week starting with a deep discussion on 2024 DND's new "time out" cleric spell; the one that allows you to short rest during a combat.  Plus, woke warriors are forming yet another sensitivity reader company to give game designers a big progressive thumbs up.  SweetBaby for tabletop?
 

The gang pivots from talking about WotC, woke, or faux warrior drama this week and puts on their player character hats.  What mindset, procedure, and thought process go behind the making of a character for D&D or any other TTRPG?  Three very different perspectives and practices that offer insight into their game -- and hopefully yours!  Plus, an extended trip through the news means we have to bump talk about comedy games until a future show!
 

The Hero's Feast artwork from OneDND is the most Wizards of the Coast thing WotC has done... this week.  We pick it apart, talk about "why?", and have a general good time because YouTube sensation The Dungeon Delver, Mr. Bill Silvey is guest hosting this week!  This, plus one or two abysmal Reddit takes and the news makes for a great conversation about the hobby with lots of laughs!
 

Continuing the path of destruction and erasure of the OG creators of D&D, Wizards of the Coast has announced that the new DND 5.5/OneDND starter set will include a new version of B2: Keep on the Borderlands, but "updated for modern audiences."  Why are they intentionally scrubbing or rewriting classic content that has no need for revision?  Then, after the news which includes even MORE reimaginings, the gang talks about how you can build layers of intrigue, mystery, and engagement as a Dungeon Master for the players at your table!
 

Well, Wizards of the Coast (with lots of Hasbro fingerprints) has stuck it to fans again -- this time, their 5e base.  WotC has chosen to force the shift to OneDND and will auto convert all materials in D&D Beyond to the new platform, once again breaking their word about backwards compatibility.  The SparkleTroll crowd is NOT happy.  Can we utilize this move to save one or more 5e darlings and bolster our corner of the hobby?  A detailed discussion between Ryan, Bert, and Kyle; and the stances the three take about saving (or not saving) the mainstream will surprise you!
 

In the debut episode of the Elven Maid Inn's short-form show, she talks about Fudging and it's implications and impact on games and the hobby.
 
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Continuing the 2-part show from last week, Grim Jim joins RD and Bert to talk about the discussion in the mainstream TTRPG/DnD hobby for the "need" for game designers to insert and address political themes, social justice, and "wrongs" of society in their games.  Why is this a "need?"  Answer: It is not.  Plus, we begin the show laughing at some insanity in the pop media with the news and a trip to our favorite inmates-running-the-asylum online cesspool, Reddit.