Round Table Episode 33-36

November 28, 2025·1 hr 3 min·4 clips

The Red Dirt D&D team explains why episodes 33-36 are longer and asks for listener feedback.

1. Red Dirt DnD hosts Johnny Payne, Kiri Hester, Connor Schnold, and DM Michael Cross record a roundtable discussion covering episodes 33 through 36 of their Oklahoma-based D&D 5E actual-play podcast. 2. Johnny Payne hosts and edits the show; Kiri Hester plays Moxie; Connor Schnold plays Sable; Michael Cross serves as Dungeon Master and voiced Sergeant Vance and Billy in earlier seasons. 3. The central question of the roundtable is how unscripted player improvisation shapes campaign narrative — specifically whether Sable's emotional attachment to Moxie has become a plot driver. 4. Johnny explains that fan feedback drove a format change for episodes 33-36, with less editing and more retained content, resulting in longer episodes, and asks listeners to respond via reddirtdnd at gmail.com or social media. 5. Connor describes re-watching The Nanny's season two to refine Moxie's accent, settling on a blend of Fran Drescher and Linda from Bob's Burgers. 6. Michael Cross details how Sable's unscripted 'do I have to?' outburst when Minthra proposed using the party as cult bait revealed genuine in-character attachment to Moxie. 7. Minthra, recognizing the slip, likely sent a tail after Sable, which led Connor to improvise the hat of disguise plan so Sable could leave the Siren Song undetected. 8. The group notes that Minthra may be connected to the cult, speculating she could be running a two-birds-one-stone strategy to let the cult and the party neutralize each other. 9. Michael Cross explains that Sable is Minthra's only 'Padawan,' making his growing loyalty to the party a direct threat to her control, giving her motive to reassert dominance. 10. The party fought a library automaton instructed by Mildred Morningstar not to be destroyed, leading to a debate about non-lethal subduing options including grappling, calling shots, and using a weapon's blunt end. 11. August rolled a Natural 20 to insert a universal key into the automaton's back panel, powering it down cleanly, which the table called the standout combat moment of the session. 12. The group contrasts the library automaton fight with the Siren Song golem encounter, where the golem landed hits on Sable and the party shifted to full damage output. 13. Michael Cross describes a Dungeon Master who ran 5E hit points entirely as exhaustion rather than physical wounds, arguing this model explains resting mechanics and why characters fight at full strength until a killing blow. 14. Connor notes that armor class in 5E represents dexterity and evasion as much as protective gear, supporting the exhaustion framing over a wound-based model. 15. Michael argues for lingering injuries using a Pierce Brosnan Bond film as an example, where a dislocated shoulder persists across the movie and a villain later targets it to signal inside knowledge. 16. The group notes a Savage Worlds campaign where a frontline fighter took a leg wound that permanently reduced his movement speed until a high-level magical healer can treat it. 17. The tone is casual and conversational, with frequent tangents about office temperature, Yelp fingerless gloves, and character nostalgia for Billy and Jaska from earlier campaigns. 18. Michael Cross uses humor and pop-culture references throughout, keeping the mechanical discussions accessible rather than rules-heavy. 19. D&D actual-play fans interested in 5E mechanical theory and unscripted character-driven storytelling will find this roundtable engaging. 20. Listeners unfamiliar with the Red Dirt DnD campaign will lack context for character names like Sable, Moxie, Minthra, and Mildred Morningstar.

As heard by us

A comfortable return to the table, with practical talk about subduing fights without simply breaking them.

Round Table settles into an easy rhythm, letting jokes, corrections, and unfinished thoughts move naturally without forcing the pace. Its strongest stretch arrives when the discussion turns to subduing something without wrecking it, and the talk of grapples, blunt damage, and…

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Why you'd press play

If you like a table arguing about how to knock something out, start here.

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