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D&D Court: Questionable Rests, Dubious Daggers and The Rise of Clunky (Patreon)

Published:
2026-05-01 05:39:18
Imported:
2026-05
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AD-FREE EPISODE FOR $5+ PATRONS!

Dungeon Court is back in session! Join Justices Murphy, Tanner and Axford, along with Apple Car Driver / Bailiff Jake, as they pass judgement on your trials at the table!

CREDITS:

Sound Mixing and Editing by Trevor Lyon

Dungeon Court Theme Song by Sam Weiller

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Comments

Grass

Oh hell yeah I’m literally just about to walk my dog and I needed this

Alan C

Let's goooo

RavensBinch

This is more than great, it's downright good.

Sephiroth Did Nothing Wrong

I had a dream where we were all playing D&D with Murph DMing. After we were done, I said "Man, must be rough having the fire department over all the time since Murph's writing is straight fire." You all stared at me in silence. What does it mean?

Peter Morgan

DUDE. Collecting rupees in majora’s mask when Caldwell mentions it. I love you guys so much.

Marc Bollinger

"I cast darkness and I eat ass... And I'm all out of charges for darkness."

Verdigree

I feel like the werewolf thing could be just a case of not understanding the players missed clues you thought they were 100% locked in to, because repeatedly mentioning the full moon I feel is THE important clue to give

Verdigree

With the players who love to sleep, I suspect they're not gonna be able to break those habits while playing those same characters, so instead of trying to break them of it, I see an opportunity for the campaign to revolve around it. Make them fight against or be the champions of a god of dreams, perhaps their actions reflect one of those Lovecraftian Things that cannot ever die, but slumber for aeons and the campaign ends with them falling asleep to await the distant future awakening of their eldritch foe or friend

Ebony-Rose Ellis

The wolf DM made a point of repeating that they didn't draw much attention to the moon and then was peeved their players were surprised by the werewolf transformation after SIX months

Tyler Whorff

Alternatively for the party that oversleeps/leaves to do long rests...Make the single combat per day extremely difficult and then let them take a heroic level up where hp and spell slots come back too. It might work better for their adventure flow for them to learn that it's not just sleep that heals but heroic boss battles

Nick Webster

I implore my fellow Nick W. to enlighten us on Clunky's shenanigans

Tyler Whorff

Perfect episode length I did all my dishes

Randall

Suggestion for the party that always long rests after retreating. Have a rival party come in a few times and sweep the rewards. Or this rival party saved the town from the zombie horde and are being feasted and rewarded with an ancient treasure and a quest from the Mayor. Really dig in that while you were waiting 24 hours for your spell slots, others scooped the victory and rewards and adulation.

ChappyThoughts

"That's how it works in the real world" is the "that's what my character would do" of DMing

JR Lonergan

Freddy Krueggy??? He had better come back

hobblelobble

for clunky… punish the party members. silence is violence- where have they been in all this 😪

Jameen Blizzard

I played in a Tomb of annihilation campaign, it’s a hex crawl where moving through the jungle we didn’t get a long rest unless we found a safe place to rest. A long rest was essentially a short rest. I played a paladin so I had to be judicious about using my spells but it was still fun. There were also waypoints you could find to teleport around the island eventually so later in the campaign we could fast travel and rest

Max

DMs mention all the time and it sounds like they were being sneaky about it since the DM wanted to force the random transformation and have them attack, so they were deliberately being a bad dm.

Totally Offside

Freddy Kruegy, welcome to the NADDPOD Shitiverse.

Totally Offside

After darkness dagger guy said he should have gotten to do a roll to keep the dagger, the DM should have said "but ya didn't".

dancelikeaman

For the darkness dagger, would it have been too cliché to make the dagger sentient/cursed? Like, every time the Warlock “casts Darkness” via dagger, they are actually releasing something trapped inside the dagger (e.g., Dark Power of Shadowfell) — hint of this is that the Darkness slowly begins taking on a form/face, or the player hears whispers when inside it. Eventually, this evolves into something like the Shadow escaping from the dagger, the Shadow demanding that the Warlock enter a new Pact with it, the Shadow sometimes betraying the player by ending the spell early, or whatever. In 90s Radness terms, this is this the “if you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?” DMing solution - double down on the dagger’s significance.

clerby

“sometimes people get implanted with a sac of spiders eggs and they don’t know” 😭

Mike

This is a great idea. Alternatively, they should have to play with the ‘no long rests’ DM from the other case.

Faerunner

Im in love with with Clunky they have fantastic vibes (Unless his secret Aspiration is to perform on Kill Tony, then he is dead to me.) He is always welcome at my table.

Ellie P

What’s funny is darkness can be countered in so many ways - counter, dispel, a light spell of higher level

Brian McAree Murphy

The idea of no long rests screams dm trying to win at me. And it's doubly worse considering elves trance, they really don't have a leg to stand on

Gabe Benninghoff

For the party with too many long rests, as a DM I would force them to fight till a PC dies. Sounds like they are scared of running out of spells, so show them it isn’t a big deal

Ellie P (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-05 07:00 Grizzby is out Clunky is in Rimming is in Pussy eating us out
2026-05-01 15:34 Grizzby is out Clunky is in Rimming is in Pussy eating is out

Grizzby is out Clunky is in Rimming is in Pussy eating is out

Gearbox

I have to imagine the airship dm also just didn't want the players to permanently have an airship

Nicholas hunn

The darkness spell casts magical darkness which dark vision cannot see thru. Warlock takes the Devil Sight invocation which allows them to see thru magical darkness. Now when the warlock cast darkness around themselves, enemies attack them at disadvantage where as the warlocks attacks are not affected which what I think the darkness warlock is doing.

TisDrJ

For the too many long rests, they could also trigger a trap in a dungeon that makes it impossible to go backwards and the only way out is to get through the dungeon

CommodoreBlue

An apple box is a wooden crate that actors stand on and/or cameras are placed on, to get heights and perspective right on film. According to Google AI Overview anyway

Carissa C

In defense of the werewolf DM, the player did roll a nat 1 on their save and made a comment about probably getting lycanthropy, so the fact that they're then surprised that they got lycanthropy is a bit odd to me.

picsofish

Man, as a homebrew fiend myself and a DM who showers my players with silly broken magic items, unique skill trees bonus feats, gestalt multiclassing, plenty of rests, etc... I really don't think that DM should have given the dagger back at all, ngl. They're honestly just proving to the player that they can be easily pushed around into abandoning their own DM sensibilities and nerfing their own enjoyment of the game as well. That player is just gonna become more of a nightmare after being given a free pass to be antagonistic, and the DM is the one who is going to suffer the slow, painful death of realizing they either need to seriously advocate for themselves as the Game Master, or they will spiral into resenting their own creation [and probably the player too]

Dre Martinez

Okay Jake! I hear you hitting those notes at the end during the POD song

Chief Parma John (Nate B.)

As an apple scientist I appreciate the apple dialogue in these episodes. PS Try Crimson Crisps or Ginger Golds!

Syf Sloane

Bold to post this on a full moon

A$

as somebody who worked on set for many years that applebox joke killed

BurtMcKraken

I’m on the edge of my seat for Clunky updates. Also, I feel like some DMs are afraid to absolutely shut shit down immediately. After they used the dagger like five times in a day, the next day they try to use it, it fizzles and does nothing - oops you used up all the magic in the dagger it’s disenchanted now.

BurtMcKraken

Emily playing a Harley Quinn to Murph’s edgelord Joker would be hilarious btw

AgedGouda

Emily put me on cosmic crisp apples. They’re so good

Totally Offside

I'd have given it back but this time it's a cursed item. And/Or make it so I roll every time they use the item and, on a 1-5, it casts faerie fire on that player.

AgedGouda

Apple scientist?? Like you only study apples? That’s kinda sick

xatlern

Can't believe no one said Hot Tub Air Balloon Time Machine

Fiver

I think the major issue is that it happened months later. Either do the transformation sooner or throw some hints like being drawn to the moon, or added aggression or darkvision or something. I wouldn't remember some random encounter half a year ago.

Robert

Very minor note - what Josh does is more akin to being a clerk of the court rather than a bailiff.

Aaron Frey

Am aware of apple boxes. That bit killed on my commute

Kaidan C

Listening to this podcast gets really confusing lol I swear the opening banter had me thinking I was listening to an old episode somehow with the same Applecar bit and same Applecar confusion Also Emily kept saying the airship DM gave “complete opposite/punishing advice” But no, plummeting down and floating down aren’t opposite effects, it’s the same direction And honestly I’d argue that’s incredibly lucky to look at an entire flight panel and picking out a random knob, and have it lower the descent? Miraculous

Sofa loaf

That’s sort of what they’re doing in this season of dimension 20 only she’s Robin to his Batman and they’re both vampires

BurtMcKraken

Yes I am watching and enjoying the “Batman” voice.

Kaidan C

Firstly, I like to extend a little more understanding. It’s really weird to accuse a complete stranger of “being deliberately bad”. As the saying goes, attribute not to malice what you can attribute to stupidity But also, I have to disagree, giving two warnings is not being “sneaky” (pointing out the moon at all, out of the blue no less, is not subtle)

Kaidan C

See, I agree with that on principle, but at the table I find that kind of “subtle” hinting to be glaringly obvious Of course, that’s the thing about d&d, sometimes it doesn’t even matter. Players will hone in on something small, then obliviously ignore something staring them in the face But yeah, they did a poor job communicating

Kaidan C

I know! So messed up! Emily you triggered my arachnophobia, why you gotta do me like that??

Desiree

an episode of nuanced cases

Benjamin P Parson Gomberg

For sure. Ask anyone working at something like a construction job site or in the military and they’ll likely tell you that if you are truly exhausted you can fall asleep anywhere and be ready to do it again the next day. Heck, for a more “fantasy” comparison look at something like the day to day of Roman legionaries on the march. They didn’t become the best professional force of their place and time by racking up levels of exhaustion. And those guys would sometimes be fighting, marching, and doing construction work all in the same day, in hostile territory.

Admarant

Exactly. When you finish the fight as a player you should ask to make a check to see what you know about werewolves or to recognize the symptoms. Just because we as players are familiar with werewolves doesn't mean they are common in the world and the characters know anything about lycanthropy.

Admarant

The rules that DM is using are a common alternate rule that I believe exists in the DMG

Kaidan C

And they keep for longer too

Kaidan C

I don’t know if that movie really has that much cultural impact, I forgot about it until this comment lol

Thom Scullion

Witnessing Emily's realisation that the spider egg urban legend can't be true as soon as she said it out loud was delightful. Maybe Clunky wants a Fabian Seacaster moment? But the problem is that Clunky is far too charming that everyone just wants him to succeed!

FiendishNoodles

For the sleepy siblings, hit em with some time-based poisons or curses to make a deadline

Lj Goags Films

But it is sneaky when the intent is to specifically not draw attention to it as is mentioned in the case in question. Like as a DM sometimes I'll just describe the moon to set a scene. If you're doing that as a hint and the players don't get it (which they didn't either time clearly) then it's your job as the DM to nudge them a little more not just present the same hint 6 months real months later with nothing in between as a hint. Which is where frankly I'd agree that it's deliberately bad DMing. It is a deliberate and bad thing to do as a DM to get so caught up in 'getting' your players and punishing them in ways that are only clear to the person with the most meta knowledge of the workings of the world. None of the other players were let in that the moon was being in depth tracked or that the moon was even truly relevant beyond just being spooky. Like even if it is stupidity, it's an intentional kind of bad DMing where you are abusing your job as the narrator of the world to obscure details because you are caught up on punishing bad rolls from months ago.

Zero Angel Richardson (edited)

Comment edits

2026-09-05 07:00 Usually the "signs" in werewolf stories are from the transformation that the werewolf doesnt even remenber. That is, it's so subtle being a werewolf they dont know even after they've transformed a few times and the werewolf character is equally horrified that there have been wolf attacks around a full moon or doesnt understand why theyre suddenly sleepwalking and waking up in the forest or similar.
2026-05-02 10:04

Hudson Standish

*repeating very matter-of-factly* Clunky.. Clunky deserves Freddy Kreuggy… and he could get her.

Chief Parma John (Nate B.)

Essentially yes! I study crop protection with a specialty in apples and other tree fruit

Matty B

Y'all were way too hard on the werewolf GM!

Goggalor

I have a sneaking suspicion all of the stuff Clunky is doing is so inconsequential, and would be derailing if engaged with too much, that the DM is just like "Haha hell yeah, you do that" so they can keep things moving while letting Clunky have fun.

Josh Flowers

Sorry, Caldwell, Lowly Worm wears a bow tie.

Josh Flowers

I know that book of short stories and that spider one made a huge impact on me. A nightmare that has lived in the back of my mind since 6th grade!

Connor Mukai

I like to discourage long rest if players have too many resources via monster ambushes, deadlines approaching, etc. But if they are low on spell slots and hit dice, they should be encouraged to LR (levels of exhaustion, etc). IMO the option should not be taken away from them tho.

Bryce Peterson

4:40 I think this is a really great point by Emily; balancing consequences with collaboration can be so difficult.

Bryce Peterson

That makes sense. I completely forgot about the amnesiac aspect of werewolf lore, good call.

Nathan Wilson

I did something like this with some too-powerful items I gave my players. Their weapons awakened, an old sealing spell on them finally failed, and they started getting uppity and demanding blood payments from the players. My players loved it though, because I made it part of the story. I was never trying to take them away, just introducing a new wrinkle in the story.

rob myers

I don’t understand most of the topics discussed in d&d Court because I have never actually played D&D . Are there others like me out there

Drew Faber

I mean yeah, but it’s the kind of thing that all players should be 100% on board for from session 0, and that apparently isn’t the case

Silver Lining

The funny thing to me about the no long rest thing is that one of my biggest hobbies is thru hikes. I have hiked the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail, both of which are over 2000 miles of backpacking and camping over 6 months. Trust me, sleeping outside is ok hahaha

kat kat kat kat

hearing murph say bussy so confidently made me whip my head around so fast I got whiplash

Argonautica

Once again I recommend another game. The DM that doesn't allow long rests could look at Draw Steel. Could just play that, the rest system requires you to be in a safe place. But that is balanced by you gaining victories the longer you're out doing things while your healing resources dwindle. Could try to adapt that to 5e as well, though you'd have to change healing some way.

Dr. Eggman

haven't listened to the episode yet so I'm excited to know wtf you're talking about

BWubs

I have heard Murph mention this before and each time I double take. I guess he sticks with what he knows lol

Sarah Sullivan

The werewolf DM is out of line, Emily’s point is best, irl you can feel it in your body or at least thing to check. If they go I bet I have lycanthropy rn you go “why don’t you roll insight” or something. Not YOU SHOULD HAVE KNOWN. Like you’re supposed to tell the players what their characters are sensing

cdstafne

That's awesome.

Fxd Gear Queer

This is a beautiful suggestion! Though, am I crazy to think an above-table check in would be in order there?

Randall

Oh certainly not crazy. I don't remember much of the discussion from this episode but problems with in-game behavior should be approached out-of-game first. I do think with this problem, you could do the cheeky swoop once for a bit of fun but it absolutely shouldn't be a constant stick to whack the players with to try and correct their behavior.

HP the Rat

One of my favourite naddpod mannerisms: Caldwell says something vaguely dumb —> Jake goes, so genuinely, “oh that’s interesting”

Cam Baker

As a Pilot, the process of landing a plane and crashing one is pretty similar. However you usually know something is wrong and have time to fix it before the crash occurs. Murph was definitely the most accurate with suggesting that they do multiple rolls to try to save it before crashing. As well props to the DM for that case, taking off is very naturally intuitive, but landing is not. Using insight would probably be the most accurate for taking off, but should have been a perception or intelligence for landing

Summer Tribe

Insight is for reading people's body language. Investigation is probably what we want

Summer Tribe

Case 4 the dm is in the right, totally normal house rule. It literally undoes the problem of the last case entirely. Amazed they don't immediately see that. Oh wait the feywild thing is insane, never mind

Cam Baker

You are correct, I got my words mixed up thanks

Ian Mcilwean

I Personally thinks it BS to be like this magical world has Airships but None or your made up heros know how to fly cause thats doesnt make any sense get wreaked.

Gary Marsden

Still awaiting an unceremonious "Stephen you're a werewolf now"