We’re back with another podcast review today. Most D&D or RPG podcasts you listen will often consist of adults playing their games with adult language and sometimes adult themes. Very rarely you will find content that is readily available that is kid-friendly, but let’s step it up; have you ever heard of a podcast where the child was the Dungeon Master? Well, look no further than the My Son the Dungeon Master Podcast. The podcast stars Parker (the Dungeon Master) and his father (Shannon) along with Mike joining in to form this merry band of adventurers. The podcast initially started in May of 2016 and currently has 27 episodes under their belt at the time this article is written. Episode releases are not under any particular schedule, so fans are encouraged to use relevant RSS feeds or download the podcast through traditional aggregators such as Google Play or iTunes for example.

The Premise

My Son the Dungeon Master has a simple premise, Shannon’s son, Parker is the Dungeon Master and sends Shannon and his friends on adventures. The games possess some level of gore and violence but overall maintains no profanity which is excellent for listeners of all ages.

The Adventures So Far…

Warning: This podcast contains dad jokes (both good & bad). You have been warned.

When I first delved into the podcasts, I had no idea what to expect especially since I knew very little about the participants other than the fact that it was a father and son duo (for the first few episodes). The first campaign arc dealt with acquiring seven magical banjos that had extraordinary powers and could possibly doom the world. Shannon roles up a Chaotic Evil Elf Rogue (that is not magical) named Derf Longbottom (just Derf). Along the way, Derf finds a magical wooden donkey miniature named Stanely (it’s magical) and bumps into his old clown college rival, Stinky. There are some traditional tropes such as dungeon crawls through an elaborate maze, and a golden musical instrument (in this case, a golden banjo) and plenty of iconic D&D monsters such as orcs and werewolves. The Magic Banjo arc consisted of 12 episodes, and afterward, the party is bequeathed with a quest from a god.

The second arc had a much more polished story and even includes a Christmas episode and ends conveniently at the 20th episode, which is my general cutoff to sampling podcasts for reviews. I will admit that Mike (also referred to as the Professor) helped elevate the chaos within the podcast extensively but in a good way. The overall dynamics of the podcast has grown much more cohesive from the early episodes but don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of fart jokes in this part of the show.

Let’s talk about the Christmas episode, it was fun filled and tons of energy. Plus, the cast finished a contest to add a new member to their ranks as well, but I really got to hand it to the new intro jingle that just made me laugh immensely. There’s plenty of angry elves with the intermittent singing of Christmas carols, what more could you ask for? We get to meet Santa, who’s apparently an oppressive slave driver. Go figure. Man, this Christmas episode took a dark turn within the first 30 minutes. By far, my favorite episode.

Final Impressions

Like many early podcasts, there are always some rough spots from audio quality to group dynamics being ironed out. Definitely worth a listen, especially for younger listeners and inspiring children to take up the mantle of being a Dungeon Master. I’m almost a proponent for kids to play D&D and other RPGs but this podcast has reminded me of the splendor of the imagination of a child once again. You can never go wrong with that kind of fluidity and flexibility. There are a few other podcasts and series that have children playing in D&D games, and it’s entirely phenomenal that so many of these shows exist and that we, as a community, have the pleasure of witnessing the growth of these fantastic Dungeon Master to come.

Definitely, take a listen and check out their Facebook page.

Website: https://mysonthedungeonmaster.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mysonthedungeonmaster/

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