How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

Hello, and Welcome to How To Be A Better D, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. My name is Tanner Weyland, and together we will learn about how to prepare the best adventures and environments for our players to enjoy. Today my dear friends, we are going to talk about how you can help your players advocate for themselves.Also, this episode was sponsored by Magic Mind. Go to this website: magicmind.com/JANbetterdm and use our code, BETTERDM20 to get up to 40% off your subscription.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. Discord

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM!Today, we're talking about how to invite silliness and funny business to your table, and why it can help your group enjoy the entire experience.Here is the episode transcript for anyone interested:Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. I'm Justin Lewis here with my friend Tanner Weyland. Hi. Yeah, that's all I got, sorry. Yeah, good to see you all. Great to be here. Tanner and I are in rare form today. We just recorded another episode, which, which went a little bit long.So we're going to kind of do this fast mode. We're going to do a speed run, uh, but which probably means we'll just go the normal length because I'm a little bit. That's how it always goes is we're like, Oh, let's be fast. Okay. 20 minutes later. Exactly. Uh, without further ado though, let's jump in actually first a quick mention, follow us on Instagram at how to be better DM and at monsters.rent. Now let's jump in today. We're going to talk about the flip side of one of our episodes last month, which was how to add tragedy to your game. So they were talking about how to, how to add comedy to your game and in the Shakespearean. Uh, definition of the word comedy just means a happy ending, right?Everyone, like Tanner said, last time, everyone gets married. Essentially in this episode, we're going to talk specifically about making people smile, laugh, or giggle kind of that sort of comedy, the comedy that we're, we're more familiar with today. Not necessarily just a happy ending because obviously everyone wants a happy ending, but more of how to add comical moments or silly moments, or, you know, he has and gaffaws and laughs to your game. Yeah, and it's so important because I think, you know, being a DM and playing D& D is so much of it is about fun, and it's hard to separate fun from funny, right? In terms of just Practicality, right? Cause you're having more fun if you think things are funny and in, and if you're able to joke with each other and riff, and that's, you know, sometimes there's not always a place for that in every part of the game, right?Because like we mentioned last time, if you don't have tragic moments or more serious moments, then the game kind of loses some of its weight. But, but honestly, I would argue that, uh, that if you have five times the amount of comedy to tragedy. Then you're in a pretty good place because people are, are happy to come.They feel like they're in a very friendly environment and you know, but, but there's also some issues, right? Like sometimes people don't feel like, you know, maybe things are too straightforward or you feel like there's not enough room for, for growth, you know, or not growth room for like silliness. Where people are like, Oh, everyone wants to just get through the encounter.They don't want to hear me make a joke about like, Oh, I hit this guy in the knee, you know, or, you know, or trip him up because everyone wants to know if the mechanics are right for that and everything like that. Right? The people who get over serious is my main point. And I think that you can get around that by just, you know, as the DM putting your, uh, best, you know, silly foot forward and being like, Hey, not everything needs to be super serious, you know? Absolutely. Uh, you definitely need to know the tenor of the table, and maybe that's the wrong phrase. Understand What people want and when, uh, and if you listen to your characters, you'll get a good sense of when they're willing to be silly or when they're willing to be serious. My, my rule of thumb is when it's a specific, uh, plot point, it's probably going to be serious. And when I say specific plot point, I mean, like, if something happens one way or the other, the campaign has major consequences, right? The different differences in trajectory, but if it's not so, uh, serious, obviously in terms of consequences, definitely feel free and add in some, some comical elements. Uh, also if it is serious, there's no.Nothing wrong with sort of taking breaks in between the seriousness, right? So if they're in, you know, a starship and they have to find their way off before everyone knows they're there, uh, you know, you can take a small moment to be like, yeah, you open up a door and you find us a storm trooper sitting on the toilet.Right? Uh, you obviously close that and then you get back to work. Right? There's nothing wrong with that. But when you get to the final boss scene and you're fighting the dark Lord in his capital ship. You may or may not want comical elements unless your party trades in comical elements on a day to day basis, right?If they fight that way, then that's how you need to play. So, so definitely listen to your party. Yeah. And, and speaking about party, I think. Uh, as a DM, you can certainly build in moments that you think will be kind of funny, like challenges specifically, if you throw in like a puzzle or a skill check, that's just kind of silly in general, right?you know, Like people trying to work through, uh, like sneakily through a factory filled with a bunch of breakable statues and then, you know, something falls over, then it's like, you kind of like, there are ways that you can turn like a skill check or something else. Kind of into a potentially comedic situation, right?But, but I think the best way that you can actually add it into your campaign is just paying really close attention to what your players want to do. So sometimes players want to want to do something that, you know, in, in real life, you just couldn't do. And I'm not talking magic. I'm saying like, no, it just doesn't make sense.And you know, there's a couple options. You could go with that. You could be the DM who's like, no, that doesn't make sense. Try again. Or you actually do it, but it goes how it should go, which is terribly. And that's hilarious. You know, where essentially you don't always have to shut down your players. If they're just doing something stupid or something that wasn't that well thought out.It's like, no, let, let them do it and then play it up. Don't like, don't turn their mistake into something that's just like, Oh, take 10 steps back, but instead be like, Oh man. You let's accentuate how funny this is and how terribly it goes, and you can do that a lot with your tone and how you act and you're like, okay, roll that diet, you know, and then explain and be like, so you wanted to do this.This is what actually happens that I think that you really want to just. Embrace what your players are kind of the, the, the opportunities they give you, right? Both in terms of their mistakes, but also sometimes they're, they're being a little bit silly in a conversation and they, and you can tell that instead of like letting your characters over seriousness. Pull them back to being serious, you know, give into that like more often than not and like kind of let the conversation Tend in a sillier direction a lot of it is just adding silliness to the game isn't so much You being super funny, but it's more about Not shutting down the natural funniness and the silliness that comes with just playing with a bunch of people, right? That's probably the best tip that we can give is that if you want comedy in your game Realize that you don't have to be the comical person, right? You can just let your players be the funny ones, right? They'll do funny things. They'll do things like Tanner said, that are nonsensical. And every so often you can do things that are somewhat similar, or you think that would make them laugh, but you don't actually have to be the comical one.Just let your players be the funny ones. Everyone will laugh and you know, uh, life will go on. Yeah, and kind of going along with that, if you make a mistake and let's say you're like, Oh, this is going to be so difficult. And then the player comes up with a really overly simplistic solution that totally works, then laugh at yourself, you know, be like, okay, so I plan on this.Well, well, I guess this is done. Okay. What now? You know, they're like, that's, that's also a funny situation. And if you open up and kind of let yourself be a little bit vulnerable there, it can be hilarious for your players too. You know, uh, I think in terms of adding silliness, lightheartedness is the key to it.All right, don't, don't try and ridicule players to an extreme extent. You can kind of poke fun at like what they chose to do, but you know, don't just like, if you can tell it's bothering them, move on. You know, uh, or, you know, make, make it so that you're more laughing at the situation rather than them. Um, because you don't want to start making fun of people that way in a way that they get really hurt by.Um, but, but I think that, that you can absolutely add it to every session. That you do, and it's only going to make it so that players are excited to come back week after week and going off of something. I heard from writing excuses, which is Brandon Sanderson's writing podcast, or at least it was. I don't know if he still does it, but they say for comedy, you take something normal.And add something unexpected. So example, you know, my storm trooper pooping on the toilet, right? The party is running, trying to find a place to hide. They open the door. Storm troopers basically in full armor sitting on the toilet, right? That's Normal, because that's what people do, but it's also unexpected because you're like, this is a star destroyer.Why is it, you know, they're not supposed to have bathrooms in the galactic empire, you know, of the seven. Another example. Yesterday, my wife and I were kind of joking around, like, what if you don't tip the door dasher? Like who's bringing you your food. And I was like, yeah, he just brings out like a giant bean, like a bean, like the size of a bowling ball and just gives it to you.That's what he gives it to you. And it's, it's, it's normal. Cause it's food, but it's also like, it's just a big bean, you know, like it's weird. So, so kind of stuff like that. She, she got a kick out of it, but, uh, stuff like that, where you take something slightly normal. And you make it unexpected in some way that sort of breaks people's state and makes them put their head up and pay attention.But also when they think about it, they're like, that's Why? Like what? Uh, it's easier said than done, obviously, but that's sort of a small framework that you can work off of. Yeah. And a lot of times funniness, uh, and silliness is just a bad contrast. Like you were saying, right. It's like, Oh, that's just, that's odd.Right. Like it's finding something that like, Oh, maybe works, but it's a little bit off kilter, like, Oh, there's, you know, there's three pigs that you could win at the fair. Uh, two of them are like pork chop and then another one's bacon. Then third one's like Guillermo, right? It's like, it's just, it's about that incongruity and, and you can play with that a whole lot of ways where it's like, okay, maybe they're in a serious conversation with an NPC.Who's all business. And then suddenly they mentioned the weather and he gets really weirdly specific, right? He's like, uh, no, but please, the nine day forecast says this, how dare, you know, like, it's just adding a little bit of weirdness within like a bunch of normalness. And sometimes that's the most funny situation that there is.Right. Uh, but yeah, I would say that, you know, something to avoid though, when trying to be funny is trying too hard. Um, because I, I've, I've been guilty of this in my life. Uh, I've, you know, I've had multiple people being like, man, you're really funny when you're not trying. Uh, thanks. And, and through my tears, I'm like, thank you.Uh, and. I think that that's kind of the key where it's like, Hey, you know, if a joke doesn't land or something that you thought was going to be silly, no one really paid attention. That's okay. Don't let it, uh, you know, trip you up at all. Just keep going. Uh, and you know, once again, don't take it too personally.If something you plan to be funny wasn't, uh, More be excited when you're able to accentuate the funniness that a player is trying to get going, right? Or just create it out of what they're doing. That's oftentimes a lot more funny and You're gonna enjoy yourself a lot more that way because you have less expectations built up. Definitely don't try to be funny Just do things that you think would be funny And if you can make yourself laugh, then that's a win. And it's very likely that other people will laugh. Sometimes they won't, but that's probably the third tip that I would give. Do things that would make you laugh. Not do things to be funny, but do things that you think are funny, right?And there's a very fine line there. One is, you're trying way too hard. The other is, haha, this is great. Do you understand the difference? Yeah, exactly. And so I think, you know, we said we keep it short and we will because frankly, it's a simple topic. But, you know, I guess my main, my last thought before I pass back to Justin is, you know, don't fight the funny, uh, if you don't have to, right?If it's a really serious moment, then it's okay to do it then. But for most of the campaign, don't let mechanics or you thinking that something's ridiculous, like become like a negative, right? Let them accentuate things and actually make it funnier. Kind of like, uh, you know, it's like letting the stream flow, you know, remove the blockages rather than try to redirect it. If that makes sense. I love that. That honestly, we should make that into a t shirt Tanner. Don't fight the funny. Uh, cause that is, I love that saying so much. So here's my last, um, my last thought. Why are impatient people always so skinny? I don't know why. It's because they can't stand the weight. Uh, that, that was a small joke for you, but yeah, see, so, uh, don't overthink it.Just do things that have fun. And if you do need to, you can go look up jokes online, right? Uh, if that's what you really need to do, but I wouldn't resort to that. Uh, just my top three tips. Let your players do the funny, uh, don't fight the funny as Tanner said, add normal to unexpected. And then lastly, do things that make you laugh and you should be just fine. Uh, this has been how to be a better DM. We're so very grateful for you listening to us again in this new year, and we wish you the best roles for you an

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. Thank you for joining me, I’m Justin Lewis, and today, I will be your guide through the Shadowfell. We have a lot to cover, including me talking with a very special guest later in the show.Real quick if I can, I would like to say thank you to all of you who have joined The Guild. It’s been amazing seeing the collaboration between everyone in the Discord server and getting to know people from across the world. It’s also been cool to see some of the homebrew creations you have made. It’s fun being a part of it and seeing you guys make it really cool so just wanted to say thank you guys.Now, let’s take a tour of the Shadowfell.In today’s podcast episode, you will come with me as we enter into the Shadowfell, look for some of its inhabitants, talk about some of its dangers, and hopefully make it back out alive. The Shadowfell is a very dangerous place. Please, stay with the rest of the group, we don’t need any Wandering Wanda’s or Misbehavin Mavens.We have a big group in the tour with us today so if you get lost look for this big yellow flag I am holding up.Alright, so as you all know, right now we are standing in Faerun, one of the worlds of Dungeons and Dragons. Traveling here was no easy feat for many of you, but this tour is going to be worth the cost. Also, I can see many of you looking around warily. I know we are walking into a crypt. It’s ok, I’ve used a turn undead spell, so most of the undead in this general area should be turned right now… hopefully. I’ll explain why we are here in this crypt a little later.What is the ShadowfellBefore we get to the Shadowfell, there are a couple things that you should probably know, like what the heck is it in the first place?Well, because the multiverse is so vast and complex, the Shadowfell can be anything you want it to be, but for the most part it has some similarities multiverse to multiverse. I will also say, that because the Shadowfell changes D&D game to D&D game and sourcebook to novel, I might miss some things in this edition of a tour of the Shadowfell, so if I miss anything, please let me know. Send a message to @howtobeabetterdm or @monsters.rent on Instagram. The first thing you need to know is that the Shadowfell is always a separate plane unto itself, a demi-plane, or a region, depending on where in Reality you find yourself. Generally, traveling to the Shadowfell is a bit more involved than just going there, but we’ll get to that in a second.On this tour, we’ll be visiting the Shadowfell as a completely separate plane than our own. We’ll explain a little more of what the Shadowfell is once we get there, but for now, know that it is a plane of shadow, darkness, despair and danger. So should be a fun place to visit right.Traveling to the ShadowfellOk, then, when it comes to travelling to the Shadowfell, there are a few options.Of course you can use the Plane Shift spell to get there, but aside from needing to be able to cast a 7th level spell, that means you must also have a tuning fork tuned to the Shadowfell, or know the specific sigil sequence of a teleportation circle within the Shadowfell. The tuning fork is a littler easier to come by, but the spellcasting ability, not so much. With the tuning fork, it needs to already have been attuned to the frequencies of the plane, meaning it was on the plane and it was struck on something. Alternatively, you can simply find a place where the planes converge. These places are naturally called, convergences. For any planes that share a convergence, these Gates can be virtually anywhere, but they usually are where magical energies pool. For example, you might find a dark wood where the shadows of 7 trees overlap, or you might find that a pipe in a sewer leads straight to the Shadowfell, or you might find a crypt with a corner of a mausoleum that is just a bit too creepy. In fact, that last example is the one we are going to.Alright everybody, step this way. Mr. Johnson, please don’t frolick with the resident undead, yes thank you, I’m aware they want to eat you and bite you. Please stay with the group. Ok, everyone, we are now in one of the mausoleums of the Crypt and if you look in that corner, no light penetrates it at all. Over there, right now, is a gate to the Shadowfell. Now, in a moment we are going to walk through there. But first, let me warn you, intraplanar travel is sometimes unpleasant. If you feel sick, put your head between your legs. Please don’t throw up on the nice vests we gave you, as you will have to return those at the end of the tour.Ok, here we go… Lets step through the portal……And voila, we are in the Shadowfell (sound of people throwing up in the background).General ConditionsYes Miss Collins, very good question. How do we know that we are in the Shadowfell indeed?Well, you see, the Shadowfell is what is called a Mirror plane or dimension. It mirror what is on the Material Plane, or our plane. It is similar to the Fey Wild and any other mirror planes that exists.This means that many things you would find on the Material Plane, also exist in the Shadowfell, with some changes however. First of all, have you all noticed the chill? Are any of you feeling depressed? Those are effects of the Shadowfell. Now, I also want you to look around at the Mausoleum. Do you notice any changes?That’s right, this mausoleum looks much more run down, dirty, and frankly in disrepair. The walls are crumbling and some black ichor seems to be oozing in the corners. The Shadowfell isn’t a perfect mirror, instead, it is a shadowy representation, a darkened simulacrum.Follow me everyone, we are going to exit the Crypt. Please don’t wander from the tour group, I have a special protective charm here that can protect you, but only if you stay within 30 feet of me. In my last group, a young couple snuck off, and let’s just say, they didn’t get their complimentary Shadowfell Tours Baseball Caps.Again, notice how similar our surroundings look to the material plane. Yet notice how the gravestones we are walking past are much more decayed and run-down. Also, look up in the sky. Though it feels like nighttime, there are no stars, and no moon. Even look at my torch. Where this burning light provided about 30 feet of light in the material plane at night, it only provides about 10 feet of light, which is why I provided each of you with a torch as well.Now, one last thing you should all know before we continue the tour is that even though the Shadowfell is a mirror plane of the Material Plane, it still shifts. That is partly why it is so dangerous. Places may shift location from time to time and even disappear or be replaced with new places entirely. No please, everyone steps into the Tour vehicles. These vehicles have also been warded, but please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicles at all times.Possible Enemies You can Encounter in the ShadowfellRight now, we are traveling to a Domain of Dread called Barovia, and I’ll explain that and much more as we continue, but first let me tell you some of the creatures you might find in the Shadowfell.First of all, notice the trees we are passing. See how the trees are desiccated and craggly. You won’t find greenery in the Shadowfell, unless it is by some foul magic, in which case, I would run far and fast if I were you. Basically everything here wants to kill you, well not everything. There are the Vistani.The Vistani are wanderers who wander the Mists of the Shadowfell without being affected by it. They wear bright colors and are known for their musical talent as well as various other trades including entertaining, silversmithing, cooking, and horse-trading to name a few. An adventurer traveling through the Shadowfell might come upon one of their Caravans if they needed to trade for some goods or just some sort of respite from the despair of the Shadowfell. But the Vistani are not ones to cross, they have the “Evil Eye”, an ability that lets them curse anyone they look at. Still, they won’t kill you on sight. In fact, we are coming upon a Vistani caravan right now. Notice the bright colors. Ho there! How are the roads!Vistani: “Terrible. Would you like to buy anything?”Actually, I would love to buy something. What have you got by way of magical potions?Vistani: “We have a potion of Engorgement, a Potion of Haste, and a Magic Mind.Oh yes, a Magic Mind! That would be perfect, they are actually the Sponsor of Today’s Tour through the Shadowfell. Would you mind explaining to my tourists what the Magic Mind is and does.Vistani: “Of course! In the Shadowfell, we are covered with a misma of despair. If you stay here too long, you might be overcome with this despair. You might find yourself waking up, dreading the day, feeling sluggish and like your mind is filled with cement. Magic Mind is designed to help stave off the effects of the Shadowfell despair. It has wonderful ingredients including Ashwaganda, Lionsmane Mushrooms and many more vitamins. It’s the perfect thing for adventurers in the Shadowfell.”That’s right, and because it is the sponsor of today’s tour, you can purchase one in the gift shop at the end of the tour, or visit any local Sprouts Food Markets, or you can go to https://www.magicmind.com/JANbetterdm and use the code BETTERDM20 at checkout. That gives you 1 month free with a 3 month subscription, but it is only for the month of January.Oo, Oo, look over there!If you look out over that forest that is just down in the valley from us, see that very tall figure. Yes, I’m talking about that enormous creature that seems made of shadow and has large horns. That is a Nightwalker. That is one of the creatures that adventurers might find in the Shadowfell. It is definitely one of the more challenging creatures, with a Challenge Rating of 20. The Nightwalker is a sentient creature of undeath and darkness. It takes pleasure in suffering  and the corruption of other creatures. The nightwalker generally stands about 20 feet tall and has a natural weakness to sunlight. The nightwalker also has a strange ability to turn its victims into Bodaks, which is another creature adventurers might find in the Shadowfell.In fact, if you look at the Nightwalker’s feet, you can see a bodak now. See those humanoid looking creatures that have rough clothing on, black skin and a face that looks hollow with a mouth that is too long for the face? That’s a bodak. Bodaks are similar to Nightwalkers in that they are sensitive to sunlight and they are equally malicious. While a Bodak’s Challenge rating is only a 6, it has a lot of damage resistances that make it a very challenging foe. Add to that the fact that the Bodak has an aura that when activated can cause necrotic damage to most around it within 30 feet. It’s definitely a foe to beware of.Wait… Listen… do you hear that mournful howl? Yes, here, let’s take a quick detour… Drive the vehicles this way… And yes there it is.Over there, sitting on that boulder is a Lonely Sorrowsworn. See its pale body and it’s black tears. Also notice how it is reeling in its long harpoon-like appendage. It has one on both arms.Sorrowsworn are very interesting creatures. The Shadowfell is a melancholy place, and sometimes that pervasive despair can cause the creation of a Sorrowsworn. There are different sorrowsworn types, and each embody a particular type of despair. The Lonely Sorrowsworn we have here embodies the deep desire for companionship. Because of this, the Lonely Sorrowsworn shoots out its appendages and pulls its victims closer to it. The Angry Sorrowsworn can be distinguised by two bickering heads. The Angry also uses violence to sustain itself, making its attacks grow stronger when its opponents fight back. The flip side to that is also true, meaning that if adventurers want to avoid bad encounters with this beast, stop fighting it and its attacks will weaken and it will become confused.The Hungry Sorrowsworn can be spotted by their gaunt and emaciated frames. They have no fat on their bodies which leads them to constantly seek anything to fill their bellies. They will eat adventurers alive if necessary.The Lost Sorrowsworn have multiple limbs and grasp at anyone they see in a desperate and fearful attempt to overcome the anxiety of being completely lost. These Sorrowsworn are created by people visiting the Shadowfell who become lost and wander in the mists. The smallest Sorrowsworn are the Wretched Sorrowsworn. These small creatures are called The Wretched Sorrowsworn. They run in packs, ranging the Shadowfell, devouring anything they come upon. If you adventure in the Shadowfell, beware the massive numbers of these creatures.There are many creatures that one might find in the Shadowfell. Basically any undead creature or any creature of shadow can be found here. We won’t spend too much time on the creatures because we have an appointment in Barovia.Domains of DreadBefore we get to Barovia, let me tell you about the Domains of Dread. The Domains of Dread are what you might consider a Demiplane, located within the Shadowfell, somewhat separated by everything else  by thick mist. Now this might change universe to universe.The mists surrounding the domains prevent its inhabitants from leaving through simple means, which means that these Domains of Dread are in some way, sort of prisons as well as terrifying places to visit. In fact these Demiplanes of Dread were created by the Dark Powers, unknown beings of, well, dark power, that then sort of subjugated the lords they installed over each section of the Demiplanes of Dread.Look here, here are those mists that I was talking about. Everyone please stay inside the vehicles as we pass through.There are multiple sections within the Domains of Dread, but the oldest and most well known is rules by the vampire, Count Strahd Von Zarovich. In fact, The Curse of Strahd Module, ta

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today, Tanner and Justin talk about the joys of 2023 and what to look forward to in 2024. The transcript is below.We also mention today's sponsor, Magic Mind.Get 1 month free off of a 3 month subscription by going to https://www.magicmind.com/JANbetterdm and using the code BETTERDM20 at checkout!Justin (00:03.449)Welcome back to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. I'm your host today, Justin Lewis, here with Tanner Wayland, my brother in arms, my compadre, my colega. How's it going?Tanner Weyland (00:18.222)Such a good man. I'm so many things. I'm excited.Justin (00:22.386)Well, you are everything, but you're also Tanner. And that's exactly what we need. I'm being a little nostalgic today because today is the last podcast episode of 2023. Now I never thought we would get to 2023, right? Because you never see yourself moving forward in time. But I think today it would be ad propo, whatever that means, to take a look back.Tanner Weyland (00:28.891)HahahaJustin (00:50.253)at 2023 and also take a look forward into 2024, maybe do some divination magic and see what the future holds for us. What do you think, Tanner?Tanner Weyland (01:00.042)I'm down for that. Yeah, let's, oh, go ahead, sorry.Justin (01:01.773)Excellent. Well, I was gonna say, let's start with 2023. And Tanner, if you want to kick us off.Tanner Weyland (01:07.463)Ciao.Tanner Weyland (01:10.826)I mean, yeah, just to on a personal note, it's been, it's been a busy year. One things have gotten busier with the podcast as we'll talk about, but also, uh, I mean, just personally got a dog. We got a house, uh, a house at the start of the year, dog halfway through the year, good old banjo. He's a, he's a cutie. He probably just heard me bless his heart. Um, but yeah, it's been a great Christmas season. Uh, Kirstie and I are doing well. Uh, otherwise, you know, just.Things are busy, but we're keeping up over here. How about you, Justin?Justin (01:42.841)Yes, things are also busy for us. We had a baby. That's probably the biggest thing that happened to us personally this year, back in August, my wife and I had a baby. Funny story, for nine months, we thought the baby was gonna be a girl. The ultrasounds told us it was gonna be a girl. And then the baby came out as a boy. So check your ultrasounds, people. You don't wanna surprise like that. But having a baby has been very rewarding, very tiring.both those things.Tanner Weyland (02:13.962)Yeah. And I mean, I believe that that's, that's the thing about kids. You get a lot from them, but, uh, they request everything from you.Justin (02:22.277)Absolutely, absolutely. Well, specifically talking about the podcast, we've had actually a really good year. It's been fun seeing the podcast grow. And one of my favorite things this year has been just in November, we had our highest download month. We had 5,000 downloads in the month, over 5,000 downloads, which is not a small thing, right? I think...Most podcasts never get past 10 episodes, right? Just that's how it is statistically. And you're in the top 50% of podcasts if you get more than 100 listens on any episode within the first seven days, and we get around 200. So we're probably in the top 70% of podcasts maybe. Obviously it is kind of an exponential curve, but it's really cool to see the growth we're having. And more than that, I think isyou know, having people reach out and being like, yeah, you guys are helping us, you know, DM better or helping me. I just like listening to you guys. And it's just, it's fun to think, you know, we did something that people like, which in this day and age is pretty, pretty rare.Tanner Weyland (03:40.914)Yeah, you know, I think that it's a great thing just seeing that, you know, I don't think of us as any kind of exceptional people. Like, obviously, we have a lot of advice on being DMs, but it's nice to know that it's like, hey, if we and, you know, the guests we bring on, just share some of our thoughts, you know, think a little deeper about the individual parts of being a DM, then you can do really good work. It's kind of like a journaling in your personal life where it's like, yeah.If you just spend a little bit more thought deconstruct things a little bit, uh, regurgitate it in a good way, then essentially you, you learn, there's a lot to learn from just a simple review of things. Right. And so that's, that's been kind of an interesting thing. And I've loved knowing that we're, we're helping people that way.Justin (04:30.853)Absolutely. I mean, even though we talk a lot about DMing, I would in no way, shape or form claim us to be the world's best DMs. Well, I can't speak for Tanner, but myself, I DMed just last night, and afterwards I was like, man, I need to get way better. But I'm sure that that's how a lot of people feel. And honestly, that's why how to be a better DM exists, because we want you to not feel that way instead. Finish the session being like, wow, that was so great. I'm just so happy.Tanner Weyland (05:01.65)Yeah, exactly. And you know, we try and change it up with the with the topics if you know, in the future, if you guys ever are like, hey, we want specific topics or types of content, like, we've considered, you know, reviewingother people's games, you know, as they DM we considered a lot of different types of things. We always try and get on guests who we think would be valuable. But if any of you have any ideas, we of course welcome that.Justin (05:32.785)Yeah, actually, you can go on Instagram, look up at howtobetterdm or at monsters.rent, send us a message, suggestions, or even content that we missed in an episode. You know, if you think that a particular episode needs to be fleshed out a little bit more, definitely let us know. Or if, like Tanner said, you want us to basically, you know, commentate on your session, you just have to record your session and send it to us. But...Really over this last year, like Tanner mentioned, we had some pretty great guests. I think one of my favorites was Victor Bovine. And that's mostly just because, you know, I kind of cut my teeth on the Forgotten Realms by listening to the Drizzt o'Urden series by R.A. Salvatore. And Victor Bovine was the voice actor, right? And so, you know, his voice for me is Drizzt o'Urden. And it was really cool to, you know, to listen to him. It was also fun, you know, hanging out with Andy from WeGeek together. And,having like that live podcast feel, which is kind of rare for us just because our guests are mostly not in the same locale. Though I do think, you know, moving into the next year, I think it would be cool to have more and more in-person guests if we can get them.Tanner Weyland (06:47.254)Yeah, agreed. Like Andrew, he was great. Cause I mean, you should have seen all the technical issues we had going into that. Cause we, we weren't onsite, you know, we, we didn't do it at either of our places or at a studio, we went to we geek together, you know, his store set up there, just so many technical issues getting it set up. And then once it was finally done, it was just cool to actually have a chill conversation and we even thought that we had lost like the, the recording and we found it. And so like that one.I think I'm nostalgic for it from like a trauma standpoint because it was like both you had the bitter and the sweet you know but that one was memorable for meJustin (07:26.663)Yeah.Justin (07:29.817)Agreed, agreed. Also, we want to say thank you to everyone who participated with us in the one-shots of last year. We know that they weren't as periodic. They didn't happen every month. But we were grateful to you for joining us and having fun with us, even amidst the technical difficulties of the one-shots. I know the last one that I did, very technically difficult.And hopefully in the next year we can have more one-shots and more people join. Even if there are opportunities for live one-shots in person, if there's a group of listeners here in the Utah region, we can get together and do a one-shot that way. That would be fun, I think. But again, just wanted to say thank you for everyone who participated and also for all the guest DMs we've had over the last couple of years.Tanner Weyland (08:24.298)Yeah, absolutely. It's always fun seeing you guys, meeting you guys, and also just playing. We learn a lot every time that we do, because it's one thing playing with a party that you've played with consistently. Playing with a new one always is such a learning experience. So thank you for being, I mean, our friends and our guinea pigs to some extent. So thank you.Justin (08:48.895)YeahAbsolutely. Another great thing that we did this year was the guild. And the guild is sort of a kind of collaboration between the podcast and Monsters.Rent. And really it's all the same thing, but just for your information, the guild is basically a free community that the goal is to connect people.who are like-minded in the same space, but also give them resources and things like that, right? We have the beginning of a Dungeon Mastering course, and we have some downloadable resources available online through the guild, again, all free. And for me, the coolest thing of the guild has been, one, seeing people slowly kind of come in, right? And every new person that enters the guild adds so much to everyone who's already there, and...hopefully to themselves, but also seeing the collaboration between the people within the guild, seeing people talk about homebrew monsters that they're working on or puzzles that they found. It's just really cool to sort of sit back and see you guys, because if we could bottle up all of your knowledge and experience, I think that would be way more informational and helpful than what we can say.And it's frankly just kind of a treat just to be kind of on the receiving end of that.Tanner Weyland (10:18.93)Yeah, absolutely. That one's been just fun seeing like it's growing slowly because we haven't been doing it that long. But but every time it does then you feel you know, like, like you each new person is like a measurable help to everyone else. And I love that.Justin (10:35.013)Yeah, yeah. It's also growing slowly, I'd say, because I don't know about you, Tanner, but I have no idea how to do Discord, right? Like, I don't know technically very well. But also, I'm not like a people person, per se, so it's kind of a stretch for me being like, yeah, welcome, let's talk about these things. So it's definitely a new experience.Tanner Weyland (10:58.962)Yeah, absolutely. So thank you for your patience with us, if you are a part of that. And if you're not, come join, you know? Add to the milieu, as the French say, of the voices and everything. For us, I mean, probably the thing that's made me busiest this year is, I mean, aside from the podcast in general, it's Monsters.Rent. You guys have heard us talk about that, you know, for a hot second now. But...Yeah, it's just been kind of an eye opening experience where it's like, yeah, there's a lot more to a, uh, miniature rental business than you'd think. Uh, but it's, it's had a lot of, uh, a lot of ups, some downs, but, um, you know, I think for me, like, uh, a big up was just, you know, at the start, there's always a question when you're starting kind of like a side venture, a side project.of like, okay, how much do we throw ourselves into it at the start? And do we do it slowly? Do we just jump in and, you know, see if we can swim? And I think we got a good experience with that with the dead wars that we geeked together through, through back in, was it May?Justin (12:14.773)I think it was May, April, around there.Tanner Weyland (12:17.25)May, April. Yeah. Because you know, we, we made and painted like, what it was like 200 minis for that. And then beyond that, we, like we went to the show, we had a booth, you know, we got a sign printed, you know, we kind of put our best foot forward. And that was kind of a an interesting experience. I really like that.Justin (12:26.345)200. Yep.Justin (12:43.293)Yeah, I think it was fun for us because it helps solidify kind of the real business aspect. When you start a business, it's sort of like in your head until it goes out in public, right? Once you start getting people signed up and people buying things from you, then you're like, wow, this is like a real business. And for me, that was just really fun. It was also sort of...kind of validation, talking to a lot of people saying, yeah, this is like a really great idea. Now, obviously, people saying that and people buying whatever you have to sell, two very different things, but it was a big event for us. And I think it did move us forward, at least in maturity, business-wise, right? But another kind of highlight was when we sort of upgraded our boxes, and we're still sort of working on this process actually,Tanner Weyland (13:33.303)Yeah.Justin (13:41.001)the inside of the boxes, but we started using these wooden boxes that were kind of custom designed. They have the Monsters.Rent logo and everything on them. Actually, if you go to our website on mobile, you can see there's like a cover image of a video that actually displays the box really well on the homepage. But those boxes are pretty sweet. And honestly, just the box itself is like cool enough that...someone should like want to buy it, but I mean, who knows?Tanner Weyland (14:13.798)Yeah, exactly. That was, it's kind of nice having a little bit more individuality, uh, to our products, cause that's what we hope to do. The priority obviously is just like, Hey, we want to make easily accessible and rentable minis, you know, that are affordable so that people don't have to, you know, buy a bunch that just sit around cause they don't want to reuse same minis all the time, but it's also nice to, you know, make a little bit more of a

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM! And Merry Christmas!Today, we are going to try and make our hearts grow three sizes by sharing our gifts as DMs! And we'll be having the ghosts of Christmas help us!This episode was sponsored by Magic Mind! Find out more info here: https://www.magicmind.com/betterdmUse our code, BETTERDM20 to get up to 50% off of a subscription!Mentioned in this episode:Do You Want to Earn some Money?🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold? We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm 2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation. 3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener. 4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them. 5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking. 6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse. 7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌 We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign. 💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night? Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

Welcome back to today's show. Today we talk about tragedy.Here are some of the questions we talked about today on the show:Writing Tragedy into your GameWhat is tragedy in D&D and what are some examples?Why use tragedy?Environmental TragedyPersonal TragedyWhat makes tragedy earned?What are some wrong ways to go about adding tragedy to a D&D campaign?Mentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Do You Want to Earn some Money?🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold? We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm 2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation. 3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener. 4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them. 5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking. 6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse. 7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌 We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign. 💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night? Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!Save time with Roll and Play PressSave yourself some precious time with Roll and Play Press. Go to https://session0studios.com/rollandplay and use code BETTERDM10 at checkout.Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

What to Do When a Player Misses a SessionWelcome back to How to Be a Better DM, the Official Podcast of Monsters.Rent, the only rental subscription service for D&D minis.I’m your host today, Justin Lewis, and today, you and I will talk about a topic that affects every gaming group at least once in their campaign. To be honest, it’s somewhat a thorn in my side as I personally hate when this happens. It can interupt the flow of the game and cause some confusion as far as the story goes as well. It’s a plague, and today we will find the cure…But before we get to that, I just want to let you know that we want to hear from you, literally. We want to start featuring some listener questions or tips on the show, so go to Instagram, then go to @monsters.rent and send us a message, either audio, video or text, of a question you want answered, or a tip you have found helpful in your DMing experience. We’ll mention it on the show and also give you a quick shoutout.  We realized that you have a wealth of experience that should be shared as well. So why not share it. Again, go to @monsters.rent on Instagram and send us a message and we’ll get it up on show.So, the plague that I was talking about earlier? It’s when a player misses a session or can’t make a particular session.Let’s take a scenario. This is a text thread between you and your group.DM: D&D tonight at 6. Does that work for everyone?Alex: Yup, I can’t wait.Sean: Of course bruh, I’ll bring the soda.Maddy: I’ll bring snacks. Does everyone like Japanese Algae candy.Alex: No way, that stuff’s gross.Maddy: Alex, I saw you eat like 10 handfuls of the stuff last week.Jerry: I’m really sorry guys, I can’t make it tonight…The rest of the thread: stunned silence for the next 3 hours.This is a very common situation. The reason why there is stunned silence in the text thread for the next 3 hours is because every wants to play D&D that night. Jerry is the only one not able to make it. Everyone else is wondering, “What do we do?”That is, in part what I want to talk about today. What do you do?First off, let’s talk about what you can do and then let’s talk about why and when you should or shouldn’t do any particular thing.I also want to make it very clear. Don’t feel guilty for wanting to play D&D without one of your players there. It happens. Also, don’t feel guilty for rescheduling for a later time. I’ve said this before, but D&D is a hobby and other things take precedence sometimes. That said, let’s talk about your options.Here are, as I see them your only options:Reschedule the Session for a Different TimePlay AnywayKidnap the delinquent player, duck-tape them to a chair, wax their eyebrows off for the impertenence of missing a session, and play anywaysThat’s everything you can do. That last one might be somewhat…. Hmmm I think the word is illegal… but you get what I mean.So now that we know what can be done, let’s talk about what should be done….Reschedule the SessionProbably the least the desirable option is to reschedule the session. This is likely the least desirable because it’s assumed that everyone in the group wants to play D&D. This is essentially making everyone suffer. I’m not bitter, I’m just stating the facts.Sometimes though, it is the right choice.The most common reason for a rescheduling is that multiple people in the group can’t make it. You’ll have to come up with your own hard and fast rules, but in my group, if 3 people can’t make it, then for sure we are rescheduling. If 2 people can’t make it, then it’s like 85% sure that we are rescheduling. If 1 person can’t make it, it’s 60% sure that we are rescheduling.I would say that rescheduling, regardless of the right choice, is likely the easiest option for the DM. Everything else is somewhat more involved. Now, I will say, just because you reschedule DND doesn’t mean that you have to reschedule games. You could still meet up with the members of the group who can make it and play a different game or even play a one-shot. There’s nothing wrong with that. For that reason alone, rescheduling is a very powerful option when it comes to a player missing a session.It’s also a good option because you don’t really have to make any other considerations.So with that, let’s transition away from this option that is really the simplest and easier, and let’s make things a bit m ore complicated.Present but Non-ParticipatingSo, for the next few options, we are assuming that only one player is absent and that the DM and the rest of the group have decided to proceed forward regardless of their absence.Now, you have to make a choice as the DM as to what happens to the character who, for the time being, is without a puppet-master.The next obvious and next easiest method here is to simply have that character present, but not doing anything. Whenever roleplaying situations happen, that character doesn’t interact and just is a walking potato. This method might work, but more often than not, it will be comical to the other players who will ask, “What does Gregarious do in this situation” to which you’ll have to respond as the DM, “Gregarious seems zoned out and doesn’t really respond to the rest of you.”While funny, this method sort of breaks the 4th wall, remind you and your players that this a game and decreasing the overall immersion. If your players are wonderful and considerate players, they may not mess around with the C (it’s just a character since the P or Player is missing).I don’t prefer this method because it’s far too easy to just transition to one of the other methods anyways. I feel like doing it this way with the Character being present but Not-participating is just a non-decision, as if the DM couldn’t decide what to do.Besides we all know that as soon as combat happens, it will be as if the character isn’t there or someone will take control over the, so let’s talk about the other methods because those are much more likely.Present and SubbedOne method you can employ is the Present-And-Subbed method. In this method, you let someone else at the table take control of the character. For all intents and purposes the missing player is being “subbed” or substituted by another player at the table.If you do go with this method, I would put a couple of stipulations on the gameplay.First of all, I would recommend that the subbing player does not do any roleplaying for missing player. I recommend this because no one wants words put in their mouths so if you have someone playing for you there is a chance that things would be said that the original player would never say or things would not be said that the original player would say. It just gets really confusing really fast. I would just avoid it.Next, and this actually has to apply whether you or another are controlling the missing PC, but can they die. In my games, if you are not present, your character can’t die. That’s just because I don’t trust myself or my rolls enough to keep characters alive, so if you were going to die and bleed out, you don’t because you are “on loan” and that’s just not fair. In your games, are characters whose players are gone able to die?If they can, make sure the missing player knows that. In fact, that should be a table rule set up at the beginning of the campaign before any players are ever missing.You also need to decide if the missing player has the right to Retcon anything when they return. In my opinion, I would opt against this except for various roleplaying aspects. When it comes to the major choices, the player shouldn’t get to choose what happens when they are gone. That said, the players controlling them shouldn’t be able to make any big decisions with them either. When a character is being subbed they should really almost just be an NPC that gets to help the party in combat. Simple.Present and Under Control of the DMThat last option that allows the character to still remain present is controlling them yourself as the DM. In my opinion, this can be pretty simple to do, but it can also get annoying. For example, if your players use digital character sheets that you the DM can see then it gets a little easier to play the character. If they don’t then you’ll have to keep track of a sheaf of papers.Also, the more obvious consideration is that as the DM you are controlling scores of baddies. Do you really want to be in charge of another character during combat? My general opinion is to give a player control over the character during combat at the very least depending on how many adversaries there are. If there is just one, then I’m find doing itSo if keeping a character around is so energy and focus consuming, why would anyone choose to keep the character present instead of just having them leave?There are a few reasons. The first reason is that, depending on your party and table rules, the character has to be present to gain XP. That’s how it works in video games, but that may or may not be how it works at your table, for example, I prefer to just have everyone in my party level up at the same time based on story points. That’s because I don’t like math. Also, I don’t have players who leave for extended periods of time.The second reason a DM might choose to have a character stick around while their player is not present is because they are integral to the current story at hand. This might be the same reason that you choose to reschedule the session if a player is not around, because they need to be present to make certain decisions. Having the character participate without the player is not an ideal situation but it does allow the story to move on and it makes it so the entire party isn’t just waiting on the one person.The third reason is that it doesn’t make sense for the character to just disappear. There are different ways to make the character disappear which we’ll talk about next, but if you are in the middle of a dungeon or stuck on a speeding train, having the character just say, “Gotta go” doesn’t make sense and breaks the immersion.Not PresentSo now that we’ve talk about keeping the character present, let’s talk about having the character be absent in addition to their player.There are in my opinion 3 ways to make this happen.You can have the character stay behind.You can have the character actively choose to leave.Or you can have something else pull the character away.When you have the character stay behind, this is simply that the party decides to go somewhere and the character decides to remain where they are waiting for the rest of the party to return. I saw a great example of this in High Rollers, the group from the UK when one of the players was not there they had her character, Nova, just stay at the inn. Obviously this worked because the party was staying at an inn in a city. If there were in the middle of a desert without food or water, having the character stay behind would be nonsense.When you have your character leave, the character decides that another path is more important than traveling with the party, even for a short time. In the 2nd campaign of Critical Role, Yasha did this multiple times because the player had other commitments.When you choose this method, you have to have the player or yourself come up with a logical reason as to why the character left. If the reason is, “Because I wanted to find mushrooms in the forest,” that either fits with your campaign or your character or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, the other players will not find that a rewarding answer. More than anything, when a character leave the party and comes back, that should be an excellent opportunity to develop the story arc of that character, providing great roleplaying for the party when the character returns. So don’t waste it. Use it as an opportunity to have something cool happen.How to explain why they come back?Speaking of the character coming back, when a character leaves, you will have to decide if they will come back or not. If the character was just a temporary thing, or the player wants to have a new character then having them leave is not a bad thing. In most cases though, the character will come back, and that means that you and the player who was missing need to figure out a plausible reason not only for why the character leave but more importantly, why they came back and how they came back.In some instances, it’s easy.Nicholas Tracagious left to go commune with his deity in the forest. He came back because he was done. The only reason that specific scenario could work is because in this case, the party remained in the same city, able to move freely. If the party had been embroiled in a dungeon, then having Nick Tracagious show up would be somewhat weird, unless, his deity in the forest had shown him a specific place in the dungeons where he could special psychedelic mushrooms and the place where those mushrooms are found just so happen to coincide with where the party is. Honestly, even that scenario would seem a little too coincidental.A quick sidenote though.D&D is your story. That means that even though some things might seem coincidental, it isn’t because you are the weaver, tying all the threads together, weaving a great and beautiful tapestry. Was it a coincidence that Han Solo and Chewbaca were in the Mos Eisley cantina when Ben Kenobi went looking for a way off planet? Or was it the force? Was it just coincidence that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were all present at the Council of Rivendel or were they destined to be there. It doesn’t matter, because they were there. Sometimes I analyze things too much and fall into the trap of thinking, “What a funny coincidence that those two characters are there,” and then decide not to make that part of the story happen. In movies and stories, “coincidences” happen all the time, and honestly that might be why the stories or the movies even have a

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today, I sit down with Andre Clayton, founder of Foundry VTT to chat about VTTS, virtual D&D sessions, and AI.Thanks for listening.Mentioned in this episode:Do You Want to Earn some Money?🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold? We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm 2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation. 3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener. 4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them. 5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking. 6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse. 7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌 We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign. 💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night? Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

In this week's episode, Tanner discusses the need to focus on the positive aspects of being a DM, as the negativity can lead to burnout.Happy Thanksgiving to all of our listeners!Mentioned in this episode:Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Signup for Our Email NewsletterDo you love the show but can't always listen to it? Do you prefer written content? Go to session0studios.com/newsletter/ and sign up to get weekly tips and tricks sent to your inbox so you can become the greatest DM the world has ever seen.Level Up Guide

Tanner Weyland (00:04.783)Hello and welcome to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters.Rent. I'm here with Justin Lewis. Say hi, Justin. Hi, Justin. We are here today to talk about a fun little topic, basically, Dungeons and Villages, when and how to use either. So I mean, this topic, I've always find it interesting, like the composition of a campaign, you know?Justin (00:13.631)Hi Justin.Tanner Weyland (00:33.535)If you treat it like a like a sandwich, it's like, okay, what you know, it's a nice BLT. Do you put the tomatoes on first? Do you put you know, are you a maniac and you just put a bunch of bacon and just like a leaf of lettuce? You know, what do you do? And how do you kind of balance it? That's kind of what a lot of DMS have to do when it comes to being like, Hey, I want a really cool dungeon. But I also want to have some of the more role playing heavyVillages and kind of switch it up. Have you ever thought about this kind of balance that you have Justin?Justin (01:09.986)I haven't necessarily thought of the balance, but I certainly have fallen into the blunders that we're going to talk about with each of these. And when you do, it's pretty annoying because you kind of kick yourself and be like, dang, that dungeon could have been so fun or that village could have been so fun. I will say, I definitely think one might be a little bit easier because, well, we'll getI'll reveal all as we talk.Tanner Weyland (01:42.847)Exactly. So for the purpose of this discussion, just to give a little roadmap, we'll kind of dive into dungeons and villages or cities, you know, we're saying villages, but we mean any kind of settlement where it's going to be, you know, more NPC centric built. So that's kind of what we're thinking about when we think of village. And it could be any size could be a little, you know, three shacks by the side of the road, or it could be an entire city.Surrounded by huge walls with giant palaces within it, right? And it just kind of the that's we're bundling that as one experience done on the other side dungeons now It's not always a dungeon per se but it's kind of like a curated Experience where you know, the adventuring party is going into one specific place and exploring, you knowAnd it's not somewhere they're just traveling through. It's like, no, it's, it's a specific kind of, uh, self-enclosed experience. Uh, so kind of getting into it, let's, let's talk about dungeons and what kind of makes a dungeon special.Justin (02:50.622)Yeah. And one other thing I'd like to also add, just sort of a caveat. These are traditional dungeons and villages. You could theoretically take whatever we're talking about, like the aspects, and apply them to the other one, right? For example, by nature, dungeons will be, or seem more railroad-y, right?Justin (03:19.85)Choices have been made and now choices are restricted, right? Like once Aragorn follows the path of the dead and he goes into the mountain, the ghosts know he's there, right? He can't just, well, he could just turn around and walk out, but those are his only two choices. Proceed, stay where he is. I guess three choices or go backward. But, but theoretically you could make a village more railroad-y, but we're going to talk in general terms. So that's really the first.point of a dungeon and kind of what it is once you're in it, it's either stay where you are, which is kind of not really a choice, go forward or go back.Tanner Weyland (03:58.467)Exactly and once you're at the dungeon you can kind of expect You know, I think it's gonna be reskinned and you're going to as a DM, you know We talked about this before you want to give a variety of experiences, you know, don't have every combat be the same Have interesting mechanics and include traps here and there and make sure they're not all the same either But that's kind of what you're expecting in the dungeon. You're gonna expect a lot of combats with various creaturesA lot of traps that or just you know obstacles and skill checks that the party is gonna have to deal with and of course loot. I think that that's Another big difference between villages and dungeons is a dungeon So long as you beat the enemy or the challenge or whatever it is The treasure is just sitting there. You don't have to barter. You don't have to pay anything you paid with your time And and your characters, you knowbodies essentially, right? And I think that's kind of you, that's what you expect. And yeah, it might be within a druids ancient enclave or something or it could be in a crypt, you know far below the city, you know, or whatever it is. The skin is going to look different and the types of monsters is going to be specific to the environment, but it's still kind of those elements, you know.Justin (05:22.494)Absolutely. Kind of to that point, you know, a traditional way of making dungeons is coming up with either the map first or kind of the end goal first, right? So if they're going into this crypt to destroy a lich, you know, you know that they're going to fight the lich at some point, unless they leave the crypt, right? That's just how it is. And then you sort of fill everything inchallenges to make it more difficult and things like that. So with all that said, compared to a village, a dungeon is a lot more obvious in terms of goals, right? People don't necessarily go into a dungeon and then halfway through be like, wait, like when we get to the end, what are we gonna do? It's like, no, we're gonna kill the baddie and take the loot, right? Like that's the dungeons part of Dungeons and Dragons.Tanner Weyland (06:19.511)Exactly. And so I find that dungeons are, they're nice in one way and they're difficult in another. First, they're really nice in the way that it's simple. You know, the players, like I was running a campaign and I had a dungeon.You know, this was one of those campaigns that kind of sputtered out pretty early on because school happened and all this other stuff, right? But we had gone through it opened up with essentially a dungeon crawl, you know, kind of like a smaller to medium sized one took a few sessions and And then it was like a couple villages in a row and they the players like afterwards. They were like, Oh, I really like that initial dungeon.And I think that the reason why is because like, Hey, when you're just opening up to adventure, uh, especially if your party isn't amazing at role play, you don't scratch that. Even if they are amazing at role play role playing, I think that you have, there's a lot of difficulty in launching right into role playing. If you haven't had kind of those more like grindy dungeons that you have to go through, right? You kind of need experiences.in order to really enjoy a village. And I think dungeons are a perfect place for that.Justin (07:40.778)I couldn't agree more and I actually think based on what you said, it sparked kind of this thought in my mind that I often talk about galvanizing experiences at the beginning of campaigns or with one shots that force the party to be a party, right? And those galvanizing experiences can be, you know, shared trauma or they could literally be we've all been hired to do the same thing. AndTanner Weyland (08:08.98)Yeah.Justin (08:10.134)To your point, Tanner, I think doing dungeons at the beginning of a campaign is very important because it does allow the party to sort of form those bonds. And even thinking, you can do dungeons in sort of a very non-dungeony way. So the example I'm thinking of is the Erois campaign of high rollers. They're a group out of the UK, and I've been listening to themlately and spoiler alert if you haven't listened to it but their campaign starts with session one they're on an airship and they're being attacked right and basically chapter one of this campaign the airship crashes in the lowlands which is a wild and inhospitable place right and there's like five or six survivors fibers including the partyActually, there might be more because I think there were NPCs. But in a larger sense, that is a dungeon because their options are we have to find civilization or we're going to starve, be attacked by wild elves, things like that, right? And I might be kind of expanding the definition a little bit, but you can do things like that.And I do think that starting campaigns with a dungeon is a very good idea. Because again, it does give everyone that clear reason of why are we traveling together? Why are we cooperating? Because everyone always likes to pick those characters that are mysterious and don't trust anyone, you know.Tanner Weyland (09:53.531)Yeah. And, and, you know, I think for all the strengths of a dungeon, because like you mentioned, it's, it's right in the name. As much as people love dragons, dungeons comes first. Uh, and, but I think that the issue is that sometimes they can be fatiguing, especially for a DM, but also for players, right? Where it's like, if, if it's big enough, well, I mean, caveat, if your players come in being like, Hey, I want to do a huge dungeon, you know.Uh, just like multi-level and that's basically the entire campaign's one big dungeon that that's, that's the exception. If you're just including a dungeon as part of the campaign, if you do too long of a dungeon, then it's just, it's a lot of combats. It's a lot of the party being essentially on edge the entire time, right. Being like, Oh, you know, stealth into the next room for like 10 sessions in a row. You know,And it just becomes so fatiguing. And so it's like, Hey, you know, pick your battles, uh, specifically by, you know, making it so that not every dungeon is super long, uh, occasionally, I think it's totally worth it to do a longer dungeon, especially if you've got really big consequences and if you build it up, then the players are like, Oh, okay. Prepare well. Cause you know, there's no coming back or not for a while, at least then, you know, a longer campaign can be fine.It'll still be fatiguing, but it's kind of like the hard days work type of fatigue. Otherwise you don't want to do that consistently in my opinion.Justin (11:24.138)Yeah. I would actually add two examples of my current campaign. Um, so I had my group in the underdark and my thought process was, well, in the underdark, you don't really, you guys don't know where you're going. So you're, you're literally wandering around. Uh, and I was making the map as I went, basically rolling on random tables to see what rooms were, were next. And they weren't keeping a map, right?And suffice it to say it went on far too long. And I did that because I was like, yeah, I want them to feel the frustration of being in the underdark, right? Being lost. But I think it failed because you don't want your players to feel that you want the characters to feel that. So exactly right, Tanner. You don't want to do too big of a dungeon, but you said something very important. If you prepare them for the scope of it and the scale.I think that's the secret sauce.Tanner Weyland (12:26.203)Exactly, you know, because any type of here's the great thing. We talk about Dungeons and Dragons being about storytelling and it's absolutely right and stories come in all kinds of shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, you know, if you're not really building a dungeon up, then maybe make it small to medium length, you know, and then for longer ones, you want to give that kind of a gravitas to it beforehand.Um, but, but enough about dungeons, let's talk about villages and cities. Um, I think it's no surprise that first and foremost, they're just much more role playing focused, right? You don't go into a dungeon expecting to talk with every mimic who's pretending to be a chest, right? You go into a dungeon to just, you know, hack and slash and find stuff. Villages. It's like, no, that's, that's the key difference is like people. NPCs and you're going to be talking a lot.and how you kind of utilize those role-playing opportunities can be the difference between a very boring city or village and a very exciting one, you know?Justin (13:33.482)Yeah, absolutely. Kind of what I was saying before, you know, Aragorn goes into the path of the dead. He's in the dungeon per se. It's not exactly the same thing, but his choices are stay put, move forward or go backwards in a, in a city, a village, a settlement. Your decisions are, uh, go forward, stay put, go backward, go right, go left, go up, go down, go inside, go outside that, you know, there's a lot more choices. And.To this point, as I said with a dungeon, the game mechanics were a lot more obvious with a dungeon, right? There are traps that cause things. In a settlement, you have more choice, right? And because of that, you're...The game mechanics aren't as obvious. You might gain favor in the eyes of a baron because you did something for them, which isn't a direct game mechanic, but it's something that your dungeon master or you might be factoring in because you slaughtered this orc that was holding this person hostage or something like that.It's sort of a subtle game mechanic that's not so obvious, but it still has impact. That's another aspect of villages and cities that is very different than traditional dungeons.Tanner Weyland (15:04.323)Exactly. And I think, I think if you look at it the right way, then Villages provides you a lot more creativity, especially where, you know, like you were saying, the mechanics aren't obvious. So make your own mechanics, and specifically, make it in a way that provides both direction and development for characters. Because I think that's where Villages really shine, where it's likeif you look at a dungeon in terms of like, oh, that's a place where they get kind of galvanized together as a party, the place where they grow as individuals is in a city, you know, in a village, that's where the characters can be like, hey, I'm gonna go pray at the nearest, you know, temple of the God that they worship, right? Or they're going to go look for a specific type of equipment that they're looking for. Or maybe they're, they're like, hey, I want to go find