Aaron and Josh
270 episodes listed below
Practical GM talk from the table outward.
Level Up Your Gaming turns GM craft into a relaxed back-and-forth between Aaron, Josh, and occasional guests. Episodes work through concrete table problems like city history, red herrings, excessive detail, borrowed rules, and keeping more than one GM active in a group.
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Level Up Your Gaming is a tabletop RPG advice show with the feel of two people thinking through GM craft in real time. Aaron and Josh keep the pace relaxed. They tend to begin with ordinary conversation, bad transitions, or quick jokes, then slide into a specific design problem a game master might recognize. The useful part is how grounded the advice stays. An episode on excessive detail does not stay abstract; it builds a blacksmith shop, adds the smell of cinnamon in the fire, notices the repaired tools, and uses those choices to show how environment can reveal character before dialogue begins. That pattern shows up often. A city-planning discussion becomes a way to connect trade, crime, local history, and player plot hooks. A red-herring episode separates playful misdirection from empty distraction, arguing that a diversion should still lead somewhere worthwhile. The show likes practical contrasts. It compares uses of detail, explains when player inspiration should give way to character insight, and weighs how rules from other RPGs can refresh an existing game. It also talks about the social machinery around the table. Multiple GMs, shared preparation, convention time slots, living campaigns, and unfinished third acts all become part of the same larger question: how does a group keep a game moving and meaningful? Guests are used as working collaborators rather than polished interview subjects. Justin Lewis and Tanner Whalen bring outside perspective on borrowing rules, while DJ brings a campaign problem that needs a tighter climax. The tone is friendly, casual, and occasionally dry. It is not a slick masterclass. It is more like listening to a long table conversation where the loose repetitions and side roads eventually land on something useful. That makes it a good fit for GMs who learn by examples, players curious about how sessions are built, and groups that want better tools without turning the hobby into homework. The show’s best moments come when it turns a familiar table headache into a simple, playable takeaway.
Made for: For tabletop GMs, DMs, and players who want concrete ways to improve scenes, mysteries, cities, NPCs, and group play. It especially suits listeners who enjoy advice developed through examples and conversation.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its example-first style: a specific shop, clue, city, rule, or campaign problem gets talked through until the broader lesson becomes clear. It feels less like a lesson plan and more like useful prep talk between hobbyists.
The Level Up Your Gaming Podcast is a tabletop RPG podcast. Assisting GM's DM's and Players, the Level Up Your Gaming Podcast is here to help you take your games to the next level. Each Wednesday your hosts, Aaron and Josh, talk about a new topic to help you improve your tabletop role playing games. You can email us your questions, comments, and episode suggestions at [email protected] Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LevelUpYourGamingAlso leave us a review on apple podcasts or your favorite podcast site here. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/level-up-your-gaming-tabletop-rpg-podcast/id1494186757
A spotless blacksmith shop becomes your shortcut to building an NPC before they even speak.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A blacksmith's shop shows how chosen details can turn scenery into character.
A blacksmith shop turns into a compact lesson in immersion. Aaron and Josh trace how a spotless workspace, neglected armor, a broken sword, cinnamon tossed into a fire, and soot in a man's hair can imply a difficult past before anyone explains it aloud.
A practical review of how player curiosity can become a red herring that still rewards the table.
Red Herrings looks at a familiar tabletop habit: once a GM hints at treasure, a secret, or a mystery, players may decide that is where the real game lives.
A loose but practical conversation about how another listener can catch samey NPCs and unclear clues.
Writing partners get a useful, grounded example of how collaboration can make a tabletop story bigger without making the advice feel abstract.
A city earns its place at the table when its history gives player-driven plot somewhere solid to land.
City planning gets treated as active play material here, not just backdrop. Aaron and Josh work through how trade, crime, ownership, and the arrival of outsiders can make a city feel as if it existed before the party walked in.
Hosts Aaron and Josh create a tabletop RPG one-shot centered on grave peril, starting with a hook where players are buried alive, and discuss design tips for GMs and players.
The hosts discuss personal new year's resolutions and gaming-related goals, including making better backstories with plot hooks.
The hosts introduce the podcast and discuss holiday plans involving family, friends, and playing board and card games together.
The hosts discuss how unexpected challenges from children at home mirror the difficulty adjustments in gaming, highlighting stress and unpreparedness.
The hosts discuss their mixed feelings about the holiday season, including time off, shopping stress, and family dynamics.
The hosts discuss missing the Aurora Borealis due to light pollution and share experiences of others seeing the beautiful, magical sky display.
The podcast discusses helping a GM named DJ with his game's missing third act and climax in a living campaign setting for conventions.
The hosts discuss the challenges of busy schedules and the value of having multiple GMs in a gaming group to share preparation and idea generation.
The hosts discuss the transition to fall weather in Chicago and Halloween preparations, including one host's wife decorating their home for the spooky season.
The hosts discuss creating a mystery-themed one-shot RPG adventure titled 'Curtains Fall, Secrets Rise' on their gaming podcast.
The hosts discuss the importance of having pre-prepared stories for impromptu gaming sessions, inspired by a recent experience with Roll20 being down, leading into their 'Let's Make a One-Shot' series.
The hosts discuss how killing players in games can improve gameplay and GM skills, drawing a humorous parallel to parenting frustrations.
The hosts discuss their recent meals and social gatherings, reflecting on how food affects conversation and the value of in-person meetings.
The hosts discuss homebrewing in gaming, focusing on creating custom items and monsters, with a mention of Daggerheart and personal anecdotes.
Aaron and Josh discuss how to write effective character arcs for tabletop RPGs, using desert transformation as a metaphor, and mention a new RPG book from publisher Homie and the Dude.
Level Up Your Gaming: Tabletop RPG Podcast's "City Planning" explains how Aaron and Josh build believable game cities through scale, distinct neighborhoods, shared culture, and layered history.
Hosts Aaron and Josh introduce a creative session to design a tabletop RPG one-shot titled 'Dungeons and Dine,' discussing its inspiration and regional elements like supper clubs while sharing personal anecdotes to engage listeners.
The hosts Aaron and Josh discuss returning to their 'Let's Make a One Shot' segment, inspired by Josh's new job sparking creativity, after a series of structured episodes.
Aaron and Josh of Level Up Your Gaming: Tabletop RPG Podcast explain why game masters benefit from a writing partner who can expose repetitive plots, weak clues, and blind spots.
Aaron and Josh define tabletop RPG red herrings as clues or story elements that lead to dead ends, then examine how to make those diversions rewarding.
Level Up Your Gaming: Tabletop RPG Podcast examines how excessive sensory and environmental detail can improve immersion in tabletop games.
The hosts discuss adding rules from other RPGs to enhance your tabletop game, with guests from the How to Be a Better DM podcast.
Hosts Aaron and Josh discuss the difference between player inspiration and character insight in tabletop RPGs, offering advice on pacing and knowledge sharing.