Timm Woods Might Be The Most Cultured Dungeon Master In All The Lands | Drop A Pin Ep. 99

Drop A Pin

In this episode of Drop A Pin, host Timm Woods joins the team at Camp Barstool to share his adventures in travel, teaching abroad, and immer

Key takeaways

• Timm Woods uses fantasy role-playing games to create meaningful annual traditions, such as tracking hobbit adventures during Yule celebrations.

Main topics

• Travel experiences in Vang Vieng and remote regions
• Teaching abroad and cultural exchange

Notable quotes

"The spirit of Yule has always been kind of like you are going into the almost belly of the whale, like you're into the tomb to be reborn again in the new year."

Conclusion

Timm Woods shares how travel, fantasy, and personal rituals shape his

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Hey, Barstool listeners, you can find every episode of this show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Speaker 1 (0:08) At Boar's Head, we've been going back to school for over 115 years. And this year, every school lunch is reason to celebrate with the flavors your kids love and the exceptional quality you expect. Helping you make school lunch fresh, easy, and delicious. Ring the bell. The deli is open. Boar's Head, committed to craft since 1905. Speaker 5 (0:38) On today's Drop a Pen, we're at Camp Barstool, and we're talking to Dungeon Master Tim Woods. If Speaker 4 (0:43) you could go teach abroad in any fantasy book, in that setting, where would you go? Speaker 3 (0:51) Oh my God. Wow. If I could teach in a fantasy world. I've never even thought about that, and that's such a cool thought. Speaker 5 (1:02) Okay, chaps, today for our top five, we're doing the top five countries with the lowest homicide rates. But be warned, there's a tie for number one. There's a four-way tie. Actually, there's a six-way. What are you doing? There's a five-way tie for number one. Speaker 4 (1:20) Okay. And do Speaker 5 (1:21) they Speaker 4 (1:21) all have zero? Yeah. They all have zero. Okay. I'm ready. I think I got it. And Speaker 5 (1:26) it's really weird. There's actually a six-way tie, but one of these is not a country. It says Isle of Man. That is not a country. Speaker 4 (1:32) No, it's not a country. I think people do classify it as a country, though. Speaker 5 (1:36) There are some people that do? Yeah, because it has Speaker 4 (1:37) its own government, has its own parliament and stuff like that. Speaker 5 (1:42) Okay. Speaker 4 (1:42) But it is. Shout out, Eddie. He likes it a lot, too. He says it a lot around the office. But I'm going to start. So you can go a couple ways. You can either go authoritarian, unreported, like in North Korea. Speaker 5 (1:55) Yeah. They probably Speaker 4 (1:56) say that they don't have any homicides. But I'm going to go with... The Vatican. Vatican, yep. They've got zero. San Marino. San Marino, zero. Let's go with Monaco. Monaco, zero. Let's go. Let's see. Speaker 4 (2:14) Andorra? Speaker 5 (2:15) Not Andorra. There is the next two are both islands. Okay. Speaker 4 (2:22) In Speaker 5 (2:22) completely different parts of the world. Speaker 4 (2:24) Fiji? Speaker 5 (2:26) No, small islands. Super Speaker 4 (2:28) small? Oh, so like Kiribati? Speaker 5 (2:33) You're on the right track. You're on the right track. Speaker 4 (2:36) Vanuatu? You're on the right track, but no. Tuvalu? Tuvalu. Okay. Speaker 5 (2:41) Tuvalu. And then the other one, it's not in the same part of the world, and it's kind of like one of the lesser known countries. Like, I know nothing about this country. Brunei. Nope. It is. Yeah, Speaker 4 (2:52) Tamor Leste. Speaker 5 (2:53) No, this one's in the Caribbean, I believe. Speaker 4 (2:55) Oh. One of the lesser known Caribbean countries. St. Crits and what? No. Dominica? Speaker 5 (3:05) No, you're on the right track. Speaker 4 (3:06) Antigua and Barbuda? Begins with an M. Begins with an M. Speaker 5 (3:13) I think this is in the Caribbean. Should I just, I'll give it to you for the sake Speaker 4 (3:17) of speed. Okay. Montserrat. Montserrat? That's not an independent nation. I think it is. No, that's a French, that's French. Speaker 5 (3:26) Montserrat? I'm Speaker 4 (3:27) pretty sure it's French. Speaker 5 (3:29) Oh, it's considered a British overseas, part of the lesser, yeah, it's a British overseas territory. Sounds Speaker 4 (3:38) French. Yeah. Speaker 5 (3:39) Okay. All right. Well, then let's move on to ones that actually have somewhat of a murder rate, although it's insanely low. Oh, I guess there's a two-way tie for second place here. Turkmenistan? No. These are two – they're definitely still small countries. They're both in Asia, but very different parts of Asia. I have been to both of them. Speaker 4 (4:02) Kuwait? No. I've never been to Kuwait. Bahrain? Speaker 5 (4:08) Bahrain would be, so I guess we're kind of doing the top 11 because there was a five-way tie. This is preposterous. Bahrain is like number 10 on this, but they're including six as zero. Speaker 4 (4:24) All right, let's just get into the pot. Speaker 5 (4:27) Wait, no, I got to actually. What Speaker 4 (4:29) is it? All right, Speaker 5 (4:30) I'm just going to list it all. So the first six, zero. Number seven and number eight. Tied with .07 homicides per 100,000 people. I don't even know what that means. So that is Singapore and Qatar. Number nine, it would be Oman with .14 murders per 100,000 people. Number 10, Bahrain with .2 murders per 100,000 people. And then number 11, Japan with .23 murders per 100 Speaker 4 (5:00) ,000 Speaker 5 (5:00) people. Speaker 4 (5:00) I mean, for as big as Japan is, that's damn impressive. Speaker 5 (5:04) Yeah, I think Japan is like... by hands down the most impressive one on this whole list. Speaker 4 (5:09) All Speaker 5 (5:09) right. That was complicated. Now we can finally get into the part. Speaker 4 (5:15) All right, we're back here at Camp Barstool. It's been a good week so far. You've been doing your Ranger Dawn duties. Yeah, that's Speaker 5 (5:22) always a fun. It's great to get everybody at the company in the same spot, outside of an office environment, just living life, having a good time. You secured a band this year, which at the time that we're recording this, they have not performed yet, but we're very excited. They're performing around the campfire tonight. Speaker 4 (5:40) Yeah, we're doing campfire band. texting me and seeing if anybody wanted to sing any karaoke so if you have any they said that they can learn songs really quickly they're all really talented they're one of my favorite bands uh period and i've like got to know them over the last couple years here in chicago i've seen them probably seven or eight times since i've lived here they're just a really good live show so i'm looking forward to everybody just having some mountain dues and relaxing tonight i think that'll be a good time i think there's like a fireworks display fireworks display there's a whole thing there's a competition with Barstool After Dark. There's a bunch of stuff. But we are out here. You're doing, you have some big nature videos coming out soon as well. Speaker 5 (6:21) Oh yeah. We finally have a release date for Pekin, which we filmed on the Havasupai reservation in Arizona, where we went to Havasu Falls, Mooney Falls, and Beaver Falls. And that will be dropping September 8th. And maybe we'll get Biz back on the pod for the week after that comes out. We always like catching up with him. We can maybe have him on just to talk Arizona in general and to recap Speaker 4 (6:44) our hike. MTV Spring Break used to go to Lake Havasu, and it was actually the first time I saw Undertit, which was pretty sick. Now, there's a big difference between Havasu Falls Speaker 5 (6:54) and Lake Havasu. Oh, is there? Yeah, Speaker 3 (6:57) a huge difference. Speaker 5 (6:58) But Lake Havasu is like the fun, like sporting lake in Arizona. It's where everybody goes. It's beautiful. Yeah, people probably go out on pontoons there. They do water skiing. Then there's Havasu Falls, which you got to hike like 10 miles into this reservation. And it's very hard to get a hiking permit. They cost like $425 a person, which I think makes it like the most expensive hike in America. But I will say it's definitely worth the price of admission. Yeah, Speaker 4 (7:24) I would love to get out there. There's a lot of, like speaking of hiking, one thing I wanted to talk about. I've seen on TikTok recently. A big trend of people doing these crazy endurance hikes or just walks like across different countries. Like some have gone from South Korea to South America or South Africa. I mean, one, I just saw a lady start. She, I think she's already in Kyrgyzstan and she started in Scotland and she's walking all the way to Hong Kong. She Speaker 5 (7:53) doesn't even have a bike or she's just walking. She's Speaker 4 (7:56) just hoofing it. She's Speaker 5 (7:57) Scotland. She's got like Speaker 4 (7:58) a 30 liter backpack. That's like a regular size backpack that she's going. And she said, she said that she plans on it taking her about a year and a half or two years to complete that walk. Speaker 5 (8:09) That like, doesn't seem too bad for walking that far. No, Speaker 4 (8:13) but I, she, she did this thing. I was going to play it on it, but I don't know if we get hit for a copyright. Cause she explains why, like she's on this walk and why she decided to do it. And she said, I figured out that it would take me about a year and a half, two years. And if I have trouble getting into certain countries and having to wait around for a visa to be able to walk through it and spend that long there, it could end up taking me as much as three years. And she was like, but I'm 28 right now. And if I live for the average life expectancy of somebody in Scotland, which is 78 years old, she was like, I have 50 more years ahead of me. So realistically, I'll only be doing this for about 3 % of my whole life. Like 3 % to 5 % of my whole life maximum is how much I would be spending doing this type of thing. And she said, I'll have the stories and I will have the ability to look back at my life and know that things aren't that bad right now. I could be walking in the middle of this shitty situation that I've been in so far. And I thought it was just a really cool perspective on life that she's. Almost using that as a life savings account of experiences that she can draw back on in the future. Speaker 5 (9:25) Yeah. The memories last forever. I've heard some people, they claim the reason, this is a very micro version of that, but they'll always work out every morning to the point of being in severe pain. Not a pleasant workout, but then they're like, the rest of the day, whatever happens to me, I can easily brush off. It's like, I've already had the hardest experience of my day. If I have a little like inconvenience at work, it's not a big deal. Is that Joe Rogan? Speaker 3 (9:52) Um, Speaker 5 (9:52) yeah, maybe that was Joe Rogan. I Speaker 3 (9:55) don't know, but he's not, he's not the only one. Speaker 5 (9:57) Yeah. But just like, yeah, that, that's why like, well, that is where we had Tyler on the pod, uh, way back in the day. And he did one of those like ultra marathons in the Sahara where like you're doing multiple marathons, just running every day. And I think that was some part of his reasoning too. Yeah. and then also climbed Mount Everest is that after Speaker 3 (10:17) doing, and he also rode across the Arctic. I think, Speaker 5 (10:20) I think that's what he said on the pod too. He's like, after doing something like that, everything else in life seems easy in comparison and you don't sweat the small stuff as often. A Speaker 4 (10:28) hundred percent. And you have those experiences that it's so bad that it makes you appreciate and put things into perspective. Like my, it's worn off some now because it's been so long, but after I got shot, I felt that way. Like the, an inconvenience was fucking nothing like Speaker 3 (10:44) it Speaker 4 (10:44) was it like going even after i got shot and i was in like the hospital and had like a huge cast on was shitting in like 125 degree porter johns and losing 35 pounds in two months yeah just from being sick after that like my flight got delayed for like 10 hours on my way back to tokyo and i was like who cares yeah that's fucking nothing i'm not in like yeah right like the perspective that you gain from difficulty and hardship and different experiences like that is definitely incredibly valuable which is why i think that going a place um like tim does and he's going to talk about it in our pod like going teaching abroad and putting yourself out there you learn that you could do hard things because going abroad is objectively a hard thing like and yeah Speaker 5 (11:32) hard just like very scary like yeah like the the lead up to it, you can really psych yourself out. And some people do. They're like, I was going to do this solo trip. But if you're just like just thinking about it so much, you might eventually be like, you know what? Nah, it's not worth the uncomfortableness I might experience. But if you just don't think about it too much, just go do it. Yeah, parts of it might be uncomfortable, but it's going to be so rewarding in the long run. Speaker 4 (11:59) And one thing that I'm excited for people to listen to on the pod, I'd never really talked to Tim. much one one-on-one just a few passing conversations but you could tell that's a guy who loves life like just like his enthusiasm for anything that he talks about is infectious yeah and hopefully you'll get some of that from this interview that you're about to listen to Speaker 4 (12:22) Today's episode of Drop a Pin is brought to you by our friends at DraftKings. This summer, whatever you're watching, if it's baseball, golf, soccer, racing, DraftKings has you covered every single moment of it. The DraftKings Sports app is now available in all 50 states, bringing the game straight to your fingertips wherever you are. From Florida to Texas to California, you're in on the excitement at the speed of sports. Follow every buzzer beater, every walk-off, every photo finish. Sweat the moments that matter in real time with seamless experience built for the biggest season of the year. No matter where you're watching, you're always connected and in the game with one app. New DraftKings customers, sign up with the code DROP, spend $5 to get $150 in rewards within 14 days. Includes all markets. That's the code DROP, D-R-O-P. Speaker 2 (13:10) In partnership with DraftKings, the crown is yours. Speaker 2 (13:41) Drop Speaker 5 (13:42) a pin is also brought to you by Shady Rays. Quick question. How are my Shady Rays basically the same quality as the $200 sunglasses I used to buy? And I'm not exaggerating. They feel every bit as premium as the expensive brands I've owned in the past. Meanwhile, you can wear Shady Rays to the lake, on the boat. at the game, on the job site, or to Camp Barstool. Because if you drop them, they replace them. Knock them off the dock, they replace them. Sit on them day one, they replace them. So I've seen some people lose their Shady Rays out tubing today on the lake. Don't go tubing with your shades. There's a good chance they'll fall off. But with Shady Rays, that's not a problem because they will just replace them. free of charge. And the crazy part is that they're actually premium polarized lenses that cut glare hard with super clear optics. And we've teamed up with Shady Rays to bring you an exclusive offer. If you head to ShadyRays.com and use code PIN, you get 50 % off two or more polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated five stars by over 300,000 people. Speaker 5 (14:51) Hey, how are you? Welcome back to Drop a Pin, a special Camp Barstool edition with none other than the Dungeon Master, Tim Woods. Speaker 3 (14:59) It's an honor to be here. Thanks, Don. I appreciate it. I'm so Speaker 5 (15:02) pumped to have you on this pod. I didn't know you were so into travel. I Speaker 3 (15:05) love travel 100%. I kind of got hooked because I'm an English PhD and what I did English as ESL in other countries that became like an addiction of mine. I really like going to places and teaching and just staying there for long periods of time. Speaker 5 (15:20) And I wouldn't have known that if it wasn't for us going tubing this morning. Yes. Because I invited you tubing and you assumed it was going to be kind of like lazy river tubing. Yep. Speaker 3 (15:30) Yeah. The only context I had was drifting down a river at a nice, lazy pace, drinking hand. And I, when we got in the boat and I'm like, we're strapping the tubes to what now? What's going on? Wait, what? And I was like, still like. catching up in real time like oh this is a thing people do i had never even seen it before oh really that was electric to me discovering that i've seen water skiing and stuff but never tubing no where are you from uh long island originally i this is not a i'm sure lots of people i know growing up probably know what tubing is missed me somehow Speaker 5 (16:06) The only tubing you knew about was in Vang Vien Laos. Correct. Speaker 3 (16:09) Absolutely. I was very excited that we had that in common. And Speaker 5 (16:12) I was just shocked to hear that. Like, not many people have been there, but it is like probably one of the coolest places to go tubing. But very dangerous, too. Yeah, it is like a river, but they have all these makeshift water slides and rope swings and trampolines along the river. And equally Speaker 3 (16:30) dangerous are all the bars along the river that you can stop off at, have several drinks, and then just keep going down the river and stop at the next bar if you really want to. And Speaker 5 (16:40) I think the story was is that there was one day where three Australians died on the same day. Yes. And the government had to come in and shut it down for a while. That happened after Speaker 3 (16:49) I was there. I bet it was not as much fun anymore. Yeah. I'm sure. The Speaker 5 (16:54) government really tried to shut it down. I think it's been coming back to life in more recent years. I was there before the Australians died as well. And that's where I accidentally tried crystal meth. Wouldn't wouldn't recommend wouldn't recommend. I think I've shared that story on this pod before, but it was such a fun time. You were even saying that you had an experience there where you did some bad shrooms. Yeah, well, Speaker 3 (17:18) I can't say it was a bad shrooms. I just probably quantity. I had a bad trip and I like to say I have had a lot of trips that. are not bad. That was not one of the good ones. I'll say that much. No, that was intense. I think, I think anytime you're going to be like, Oh, I'll do this in a country that I've only been in for a few days and that'll go fine. I always think you're rolling the dice in a big way on that. So I brought it upon myself. No one was to blame, but, but don't blame Speaker 5 (17:42) the shrooms. Yeah, Speaker 3 (17:43) exactly. Do not blame the shrooms. A bad trip is often a good trip in disguise. I'm a big believer in that. I just was going through it that particular time. We had to throw on some nice movies, action movies, just veg out on that. And it was an easy come down after that. That Speaker 5 (17:59) is a cool thing they have in Vang Vien. They'll have these bars and then all these VHS tapes. And then there's these nice like pillows and little cozy areas to curl up. And then you just choose a VHS, throw it in. I watched Batman Forever in one of those bars. Speaker 3 (18:15) That takes me way back because I had forgotten all about the bars. When I was there, it was, I don't know that you could put on your own like VHS if you wanted to, but no one was really doing that. So all they had was friends playing Speaker 4 (18:27) on every Speaker 3 (18:28) bar. It was just different episodes of friends. And when you're kind of tripping on shrooms, good or bad trip, and you're sitting there just being like. It's like Speaker 4 (18:37) a God that they worship. Speaker 3 (18:39) Like Chandler is a sort of deity. And it's like, no, that's not what's fucking happening. I'm just tripping out right now. But like when you go from one bar to Speaker 4 (18:47) another, to another, and it's just more Chandler. And I'm just like, what the, where am I? I feel like if they're going to worship any friends character, it's gotta be Phoebe. Speaker 3 (18:54) Got it. I Speaker 4 (18:54) have to agree with that 100%. She's a little more whimsical. I didn't think it was Speaker 3 (18:59) Joey, but I would agree that Phoebe is the number one candidate I would vote for, for a deity among the friends. I mean, she could pull out the guitar, playing some songs. She Speaker 5 (19:08) gives off sorceress vibes. Yes, I would Speaker 3 (19:11) agree with that. But a green witch. Yeah. Speaker 4 (19:13) Oh, a druid, maybe. Speaker 3 (19:15) 100%. I like that. Absolutely. Speaker 4 (19:17) I'm glad we're going to get into some fantasy stuff a little bit later, and I'm excited when somebody else comes on the show that really likes fantasy books, too. I was telling them. You guys Speaker 5 (19:26) both know your stuff, for sure. Yeah. Now, the reason you had been to Vang Vien is because you were teaching in Thailand. Yes, Speaker