How to Make D&D More Fun

You slash down the last of orcs that had ambushed you. This group had appeared out of nowhere apparently. You look around the shadowy thicket where you’d been attacked. Suddenly, Amris, falls down, a silvery dagger embedded in her chest. You’d only just met her in the town but she’d been more than helpful to you and your companions. You all rush over to help her. Blood slowly leaks from her mouth. Already dead. You inspect the dagger. Not orcish at all. It was sleek and silvery, definitely not orcish. You get up and look around but see no other figure aside from you and your companions. 

So who killed Amris ?

What would you like to do?

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your dungeon master today and together you and I will learn how to weave better stories for you and your players as you play D&D 5e.

First thing I gotta say today is a big thank you to those who played the one-shot with me last week. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Having your support as players and listeners of the show even makes doing this so much more worthwhile. I can’t begin to say thank you.

If you want to sign up for the next one shot, that will be happening in September. So get ready :)

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Now, everyone has been in a D&D session that seemed to just be boring. As a DM, this is heartbreaking because all you want is for your players to have fun! We’ll, here are 8 ideas to make you D&D game more fun! 

1. More Flavors

Why do we like going to ice cream parlors? It’s because we have a seemingly infinite array of flavors. It’s the same reason buffets are so popular. You get to taste a large variety of savors or sweets and even allow yourself to try something new. If your D&D game has become boring, it’s possible that you have allowed yourself to become complacent in the flavors you are presenting to your players. Now, the flavor is a metaphor for game themes, genres, and so forth. So if your game is a hack and slash adventure, then maybe look for a way to do something different. Maybe a puzzling conundrum instead. Perhaps you should add a flavor of romance? The trick won’t be with adding in the flavors. The trick is presenting tastes of the flavors, gauging your players’ interest, and then incorporating flavors that they liked.

1. More Realistic Characters

I have become severely jaded with movies these days. Movies and shows in fact. I hate the fact that movies and shows employ flashy effects and cheap nostalgia to pull in viewers without crafting interesting and realistic characters. That’s a travesty because interesting stories are moved by interesting characters, not interesting effects. Therefore, if you want to make your D&D game more fun and interesting, you should work on the characters in your story. I’ve been working on this more and more in my campaign. I have an NPC who is a halfling cleric who the group makes fun of more or less, but slowly they are starting to see that he’s not just a loveable little halfling and instead he has conflicting desires and flaws and weaknesses. If you ask my opinion, those are a few things you can do to really flesh out characters. Look at their weaknesses and strengths and investigate their inner conflicts.

1. More preparation

Dungeons and Dragons are just a game. You aren’t preparing a Master’s Level Thesis or a PHD defense. However, this is a pick-up game of basketball either. Tabletop roleplaying games might be one of the few hobbies where you actually have to do a little bit of homework for it to function. I’ve found that if I want to have more fun playing D&D then I need to prepare more as a DM. I’m not even saying you need to double the time you spend on preparing for your campaign. What I am saying is that giving even a little bit more thought to your game will help you and your group have more fun playing D&D. Maybe you think of a fun twist to add or maybe you think of a small prop you can make or maybe you think about the voice of an NPC. All of it helps.

1. Devil’s in the Details

Speaking of small props or twists, it’s the small details that really delight your players. You can’t neglect the foundational parts of your story or gameplay, but adding in small details will help you and your players have much more fun while playing D&D. I used this tactic just yesterday as my group and I spent one entire session on just one combat encounter. It felt like it was dragging on at times so I started embellishing some spells a little bit. One character who worships a sun-deity cast spirit guardians which manifested as a Solar system with planets and solar flares reaching out to strike the opponents. It’s not a big detail, however, it underscores the idea that this character worships a sun-deity.

1. Ask your players

You should use this tactic even when not focused on making D&D more fun. Asking your players what they thought about the previous session or even specific encounters in the session is the absolute best way to make D&D more fun. When they talk about things they didn’t like, note to do less of that in the future. When they talk about what they liked, do more of that in the future. It’s all about catering to your players.

1. More challenge (not necessarily combat)

One of my failings as a somewhat novice DM is gravitating toward combat encounters. It’s easy for me to plan sessions around combat encounters, which doesn’t necessarily mean more fun in the game. Honestly, sometimes I think I use combat as a crutch and I’m trying to wean myself off of it and actually give my players more chances to use their brains rather than just throwing them into combat. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for combat, but the time is not always and the place is not everywhere.

1. Slow Down

A secret hack I’ve discovered recently is more of a mental hack than anything, but it’s to slow down. So often, I find myself in a somewhat manic state trying to give a story and do everything at once and that does not make for a very fun game. Instead, I’ve found when I slow down it allows me to really  focus and give a better D&D experience.

1. Add more theatrics

We go to the theatre for the theatrics. We want the special effects in addition to the story. So when you have a good story nailed down, then it’s time to add in the the special effects and the wow factor. I recently added some LED lights to our gaming area that helps to make the mood what I want it to be.

Thanks for listening to today’s show! As always, you are the best. I look forward to hearing about your successes. We’ll see you next time. Until then, let’s roll initiative.

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