One Shot Sign up “Hipam, can’t you do anything? Herlia asks with an exasperated tone.“Well, Miss Herlia, I’m not exactly suited for..”“What about you you dumb bear?” Herlia yells at the large brown bear at the back of the cave. You’d all found this cave a few weeks ago while looking for shelter. “Herlia. I’m not exactly sure something can be done. He’s just lost his uncle. That’s not exactly something you get over in a matter of minutes. Have a little heart.”Herlia walks up to Hipam who’s sat propped up against the large brown bear. She crouches down in front of him.“Let me tell you something little halfling. I’ve had my fair share of losses. After all of it, I found my way into the city guard where I could at least do some good. I was able to stop beatings and prevent murder. Now, I’ve been pulled away from that to do what? This?” Herlia gestures to the front of the cave where Ulv sits motionless as snow covers his face. Herlia gets up and walks over to Ulv and spins him around and cries, “Your uncle died but Cojari is still alive and he needs our help. The entire kingdom needs our help. You haven’t said a word in weeks. What are you waiting for?”No response from Ulv. So Herlia punches him in the mouth.Suddenly, Ulv finds himself on a warm rug. Surprised by the change of scenery, he sits up. He’s in a large teepee made of animal skins. What would you like to do?IntroChristmas is coming the goose is getting fat! And we’re getting ready for it with this list of Dungeon Master Gift Ideas. Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host, Justin Lewis and I’m here to help you craft better stories for yourself and your players as you DM sessions of D&D.The first announcement today is who won the giveaway! The winner is …… twisted.toga !!!!! I’ll reach out to you today to get you your download key!We’ll also have some more announcements at the end of today’s show so stick around for that.Main TopicWith the holiday season fast approaching, I thought it would be a good idea to create a sort of Christmas wishlist for gifts to give to the aspiring Dungeon Master. This list can serve as ideas for you to give a gift to someone else, or you can hand this list over to your significant other to help them with their shopping for you. I’ll be honest, this list is pretty long, but that is because there are many things that you can buy for a Dungeon Master. Let me also just say that almost all of these things are “luxury” items. That means you don’t actually need them to play D&D, they’re just really nice to have. I also need to mention that I have no stake in mentioning any of these products. I have not been paid or compensated in any way. I just like them. That said, let’s get into the list and see what I have in my Santa Sleigh of holding….Player’s HandbookNumber one on the list is really the only thing that you should get for your DM if they don’t already have it. It has the rules of how to play the game as well as the rules on how to create characters. To be honest, though, Wizards of the Coast is releasing Unearthed arcana in parts for free, meaning if you wait long enough, you’ll probably have enough to use to play the game for free anyways. If you want to know about unearthed arcana go back and listen to Episode 68 and Episode 66. But there are two options for buying the player’s handbook. You can get the digital copy (which is being sold on DNDBeyond for $29.99 as of me writing this episode) and the physical copy (which is being sold on Amazon for $22.95 at the time of me writing this episode, though it does look like that is a sale, and usually it sells for $49.95). Obviously there are pros and cons to both having the book digitally or physically. I would pay attention to what your Dungeon Master uses normally and then get them that. You can always get them the other one next year.Dungeon Master’s GuideNext to the Player’s Handbook the Dungeon Master’s Guide makes the perfect gift for the DM or aspiring DM who does not have it. This one is nice to have both online and in person, so gift-givers, feel free to give either one because they both have their benefits. Right now the Dungeon Master’s Guide is selling for $27.95 on Amazon (though that seems to be a sales price with the original price being $49.95) and the digital copy is being sold for $29.99 on DnDBeyond. This gift is a nice-to-have gift as it is more focused on being a Dungeon Master while having less content that you actually need. Naturally, there are case by case situations where you might need one thing within the DMG but overall, I’d say this book is a luxury.Monster ManualLast of all, there is the Monster Manual. This book is exactly what it claims to be, a manual of monsters. Compared to the DMG I would say this is a little bit more of a need for dungeon masters simply because every story needs conflic, and there are a lot of conflicts that happen between two living entities. This manual inspires you with those entities. It makes it really easy to fill up your games with baddies. Right now you can buy the physical copy on Amazon for $26.90 though the original price is $49.95 and you can get the digital copy for $29.99 on DnDBeyond. Now if you want to get the Monster Manual, Dungeon Master’s Guide and Player’s Handbook, you can get a bundle which might save some money. Right now the physical bundle is available on amazon for $85.99 and comes with a DM screen and the lost mines of Phandelver adventure. A Resin 3D PrinterUsually, I stick with the cheaper things when giving tips on this podcast however, I know there is someone out there looking to give their dungeon master a high ticket gift so these next two are more expensive. Number 4 on the list is a resin 3d printer. A resin printer would allo your DM to print their own minis and even tabletop terrain in extremely high detail. A quick nitro resin printing. Your DM will need to have a computer so if they don’t have that this might not be the best gift. Also, the resin can be toxic so your DM will need a space where the resin printer can be kept away from children and pets. Also extreme hot or cold does not produce great prints so an insulated place is very important too. So let’s look at some prices. Now, this episode is not looking at which printer to buy. Instead these prices are just to set your expectations. Right now on Amazon I found a Creality Official Halot One for $199. Your DM will likely need a washing and curing machine as well in order to make sure the prints actually cure correctly. If you’re looking to do that I found a full bundle with all three from Elegoo for $378.99. Remember you’ll also need to buy that actual resin which I found for about $19.99. I would also recommend having paper towels and rubber gloves and a mask on hand too.A TabletAgain, among the expensive items of this list is a tablet. It would allow the DM of your life to access DnDBeyond without having to lug around their laptop. It’s simply a much more convenient tool than a computer. It can also be used in conjunction with computers. So there are lots of tablets out there but I found an Apple IPad mini on Amazon for $468 to set your expectations.A Dice TrayHaving a dice tray is just really nice. It so allows you to set your style as a DM and I think it helps your players get in the mood too. There are millions of dice tray creators out there. Find one you like and get it! I love what @sterlingmakes does on Instagram. These are beautiful dice trays made out of wood, often with resin details added. They are quite beautiful to look at. Dice trays come in all shapes and sizes and therefore, all price ranges so find one that fits your DM and get it for them.A Subscription to DNDBeyondDnDBeyond offers Dungeon Masters the ability to craft encounters and campaigns with characters uploaded online so you can play anywhere. Their free account allows you a select number of these encounters and characters. For Christmas, gift your DM a yearlong subscription to DnDBeyond so they can have unlimited encounters and characters. The Hero Subscrition is about $40 for the year and the Master Subscription is about $70 for the year. The Master just allows you to share downloaded content with your players which is nice for DM’s who heavily use DNDBeyond for their character creation process.A DM ScreenI particularly love the Dungeon Master Screen because it hides what you’re doing, and it gives you some authority and credibility at the table. It also has some really nice references as far as conditions and other things go. Here you can also find a screen as expensive as you want. From a quick Google Search I saw a range of screens going from $40 to $240 so you can really find one that fits you and your table. The nice thing about buying special or custom screens is that they are taller which is nice because the screen that comes in the normal D&D kit is somewhat short. It’s the one that I use though so don’t let the shortness of it stop you.A Nice but Simple Sound SystemAmbience can be a great tool for the burgeoning dungeon master. Giving them the opportunity to add ambience in full surround sound is a great gift! Some things to note here. Before getting the DM surround sound you might want to check with them about hooking things up to walls or what their plans are in this area. Usually people hook up Surround sound on walls and such. You don’t want to get them a gift they are unwilling to use. Next, often, surround sound systems require cabling. Make sure you get that as well. It’s annoying to get a gift that you can’t use. That said, surround sound systems are not as expensive as you might think. Just looking on amazon I found one that is $49.97 and it comes with one large subwoofer with 5 smaller speakers and it is Bluetooth capable. You can then get speaker cable for $12.99 and you have a passable speaker system in your D&D room.A MicrophoneThis gift is for the online DM or the intrepid streamer, or the prospective podcaster. Microphones are pivotal for excellent gameplay over the airwaves. Here you want to think of a few things. There are two types of mics. There is a dynamic microphone which is designed to pick up everything. This sort of mic is best used in a very controlled environment like a recording booth. It will give great audio but may need some engineering on the backend. The other type of microphone is a compressed microphone which is designed only to pick up the voice of the speaker. You can use this microphone in a lot more of a noisy location (though you still want to get your audio as clean as you can as you record). For most people, I would recommend a compressed mic because it’s just easier. Bar-none I recommend the Samsun Q2U Microphone (you can get the recording and Podcasting pack for $70 on Amazon). It has excellent sound quality and USB and XLR connection and you can hook up your headphones to the mic to hear how you sound as you use it. It is the best in plug and play mics.A Very Fancy NotebookDepending on your DM, a fancy notebook might be just the thing for them. You’ll definitely want to pay attention to them to make sure that it’s something they would use though. I have an amazing notebook made from listener of the podcast, Anna. I use it everyday to record thoughts and insights. There are some really cool options on Amazon right now that are around $25 and would make a perfect gift.A Fancy Medieval MugIt’s a small touch, but supplying interesting mugs for players can help them to immerse themselves into the game. It can do the same thing for your DM. As you DM you are talking a lot so you naturally want to drink to keep your throat moiste. What can be cooler than drinking from your very own D&D styled mug. There are a lot of options on Amazon. You can even get a Viking horn mug for around $50. There are endless options.A Gift Card to Hero ForgeIf you haven’t heard of Hero Forge, it is an online site that allows you to create custom miniatures to match the character you are playing right now. They have a lot of options and you can buy the mini, buy the STL file to print the mini or buy the mini and have them paint it. You can also create a character and then import them into software like Dungeon Alchemist to play online in a 3D fashion, pretty cool. Naturally a gift card is the best choice because you don’t know what your DM would like to use it for. For example, last year, my older brother got me a $25 gift card to hero forge and just recently, I used some of it to create a mini that looks like me and then buy the STL. I printed it out and now I’m using it to make reels on Instagram.Dungeon AlchemistIf you’ve been paying attention to the podcast these last couple weeks you’d know that I am a huge fan of Dungeon Alchemist. They are a software you can download on Steam that allows you to quickly make maps of dungeons. You can simply select the type of room you want, draw the shape and click the check mark and the software will design the room complete with furniture and treasure in a 3d Fashion. You can export the map to use on online platforms like Foundry or Roll20. It’s incredible and like I just mentioned, you can import minis from Hero Forge and use them as 3D avatars for your players. If you want to know more about Dungeon Alchemist go to betterdungeonmaster.com/dungeon-alchemist. And here again I have to say that I am not being paid to say that, however I do have that link so then I can hopefully go to Dungeon Alchemist and show them that our listeners love their product so then they will sponsor us. Just being transparent. Anyways, I really love their software and I use it all the time. A Subscription to World AnvilWorld Anvil is a tool that anyone can use to world build their homebrew project or even just use it for their current campaign. You can create Dungeon Master specific pages or let everyone see everything. You can even keep notes on your current campaign as you run it. There is a free account that allows you to get started, but that doesn’t offer nearly any of the really cool features like Secrets or Word Count Goals. The Cheapest account is for $54 a year and may well be worth it for that Dungeon Master itching to create their very own world….Tabletop TerrainWe’ve all seen excellent examples of tabletop terrain on Shows like Critical role or High Rollers, so why not get your DM something similar. I’ve preferred my own tabletop terrain that I’ve spliced together from things I’ve found online and my own design that I 3D print. It’s cheaper, but it takes more time to get everything together. I also have to paint it which I’m not very good at. If your DM doesn’t like anything that I’ve just mentioned then you can opt for sites like Dwarven Forge. They have awesome options for Tabletop Terrain sets that are fully fleshed out and painted. Or if your DM loves to craft and make things themselves, maybe look at getting them XPS foam and super glue and paint. Either way, make sure it’s what the DM wants and will use. Naturally there are infinite combinations for gifts you can get the Dungeon Master in Your life. Simply pick one and get it for them. The sad truth about gifts is that we rarely get it right. Getting someone a great gift is really hard. That’s why I’d like to challenge you to really think about your Dungeon Master and think about what they would like. The more you think about them, the close you will get to a perfect gift. Now let’s get to today’s announcements.AnnouncementsThank you to everyone who participated in our giveaway! We had an amazing turnout and I can’t tell you how grateful I am to you for supporting the podcast and helping us reach new listeners. We want to give you ever better content. That’s why we want to ask you for feedback. Lend your hand in shaping the show and helping us help you to be a better DM. Go to betterdungeonmaster.com/feedback and answer a couple questions on what we can do to improve the show. Your opinion would be incredibly valuable.I’d also like to extend another invite to join our One-Shot for this November. It will be on November 19th and we still have spots open. If you’d like a chance to play D&D with guest host Rob from Dungeons, Dragons and Psychology, sign up for free! Even if you’ve played before, the spots are first come first serve. Go to betterdungeonmaster.com/one-shot.ConclusionAs always, I want to say thank you for all the support you give us on a weekly basis. We’ll keep doing what we do and come back next week with another great episode. Until then, let’s go ahead and roll initiative.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Listen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today. Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/

One Shot Sign up Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM! I’m Your host, Justin Lewis here with my cohort Tanner Weyland and together we’ll learn how to craft better stories for you and your players as you DM sessions of D&D.We all know that OneD&D is getting ever closer and the newest installment of Unearthed Arcana material has been released by Wizards of the Coast for us to playtest, so today we are going to give you the facts of what was released and then some of our opinions about those facts.Before we dive in, let me mention to you to stick around because at the end of today’s show we’re going to tell you how to enter the Giveaway that just started today! You won’t want to miss it, so stick around.Main TopicWhat is on the Unearthed Arcana:Some sneak peeks in what’s to come:New tips for creating a home base for your charactersClass GroupsExperts, Mages, Priests and WarriorsBardic ClassBardic Inspiration has changed a lot.You now can use it to affect a D20 roll as a reaction and you can also use it to heal as a reaction. This is huge because Bards can now literally be the only thing standing between a character and death.Prepared Healing SpellsBards now have levels of healing spells that they always have. It seems that WOC wants Bards to be more supportive and healing.Magical SecretsAt various levels, Bards get to expand their list of spells from just Arcane to Divine or Primal.First Subclass: College of LoreCutting words, you can use your bardic inspiration to impact negatively the roll of adversaries.Ranger ClassRangers no longer have to concentrate on Hunter’s MarkRangers also can cast cure woundsRogue ClassThe Thief Subclass Sounds a little bit more like Indiana Jones (but only a little)AnnouncementsBefore we close up today’s episode, we have an awesome announcement. As I said at the beginning of today’s show, we are doing a giveaway and the giveaway starts today! We’ve been lucky enough to join with Dungeon Alchemist in this giveaway to give away a free download key to their map making software on Steam. I use it for my campaigns and one-shots and it makes dungeon map making really easy and fun. We have one download key and one winner. The giveaway will go until next Podcast episode where we will announce the winner!So here are the rules of the giveaway. There are multiple ways to enter.Follow HowtobeabetterDMPodcast on Instagram for one entry (yes if you already follow that counts too)For two entries into the giveaway Subscribe to the podcast and DM us a screenshot showing that you are subscribed.For 5 entries into the giveaway Subscribe to Dungeon Alchemist on Youtube and DM us a screenshot showing that you are subscribed.For one entry tag a friend on any of our Giveaway related Instagram posts this week (You can tag multiple friends and get multiple entries)Let me repeat all of that.I’d highly encourage all of you to check out Dungeon Alchemist because they are really awesome so go to betterdungeonmaster.com/dungeon-alchemist and see what they’re all about.We’re super happy to be able to do this giveaway and it never would have happened without your support. So we just want to say thanks for joining the podcast, our one-shots and everything else. You are the magic of How to Be a Better DM.We’ll be back next week with another awesome show and the winner of the giveaway, but until then, let’s go ahead and roll Initiative.ConclusionMentioned in this episode:Hire Us as Your Dungeon MasterDid you know that you can have one of our hosts here at How to Be a Better DM be your dungeon master? That’s right. All of our podcast hosts are professional dungeon masters that you can hire for your private or corporate dungeons and dragons game. We can do one-shots or long-term campaigns. If you want to schedule your first session with us, go to https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ and get started. Dungeon Master for HireBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/

Hello, and Welcome to How To Be A Better DM. 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 will be a bit of a shorter episode, so buckle in! We will be talking about soundboards!A couple quick announcements: First, we are doing a giveaway on our Instagram starting soon! Follow us @howtobeabetterdmpodcast on Instagram for more info. Here’s a hint: it has to do with map creation.Also, we have a couple one-shots coming up in the final quarter of this year: Robbie, or Bone Daddy, as he is affectionately known on the podcast “This Dungeon is Occupied,” will be running a horror-themed adventure in October for some of our listeners. If you’d like to hang out with us once a month, you can. We are filling up rapidly for that one-shot, but all you gotta do is sign up. It’s first come first serve so sign up quick. I will be running the one-shot the following month. The sign up link is: https://how-to-be-a-better-dm.captivate.fm/one-shotNext, make sure to sign up for our monthly newsletter. You’ll get even more content, behind-the-scenes looks, homebrew creations made by us and more. It’s free and it comes out once a month so it won’t be a bother to you. Sign up at: https://how-to-be-a-better-dm.captivate.fm/subscribeMentioned in this episode:Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.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

One Shot Sign up Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host, Tanner Weyland, here with my cohort Justin Lewis. We’re here to help you tell better stories as you DM sessions of D&D. As you might have heard, Wizards of the Coast has announced that they will be releasing the next non-edition edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Rather than being a specific edition, this will instead be a constantly changing iteration of D&D called One D&D. We’ve talked about this on Episode 61 of the show if you want more in depth-information and opinion on the release. As part of OneD&D, Wizards of the Coast has decided that they will release bits and pieces of the new system from time to time, allowing us all to playtest and give feedback on the material. Well, a month or so ago they released the first grouping of this new content and today, we’re going to talk about it.Main Topic: Unearthed Arcana: Character OriginsSo today we’re going to talk about the first installment of OneD&D Playtest materials. You can get this by going to DNDBeyond. You’ll have to login and enable OneD&D playtest material but that’s free so no worries there. We’re going to mention certain points and then give our opinions about them after each point. Choose Class FirstChoose Your OriginOrigin is broken down into your race, background.Racial Traits:SizeSpeedCreature TypeLife Span Special TraitsBackground Traits:Ability Score BonusSkill ProficienciesTool ProficienciesLanguageFeatEquipmentConsidered Starting RacesHumanArdlingDragonbornDwarfElfGnomeHalflingOrcTieflingNew Racial Legacy TraitApplies currently to Tieflings and ArdlingsRules for Creating a Background“Background Features Ability Scores. When you determine your character’s ability scores, choose two of them, and increase one by 2 and the other one by 1. Alternatively, choose three ability scores, and increase each of them by 1.Skill Proficiencies. Choose two Skills. Your character gains Proficiency in them. Tool Proficiency. Choose one tool. Your character gains Tool Proficiency* with it. Language. Choose one language from the Standard Languages and Rare Languages tables (these appear later in the document). Your character knows that language. Feat. Choose one 1st-level Feat. Your character gains that Feat. Equipment. Your character gains 50 GP to spend on starting equipment. The character keeps any unspent GP as spare coin.Current Sample Backgrounds:AcolyteArtisanCharlatanCriminalCultistEntertainerFarmer*GladiatorGuard*Guide*HermitLaborer*NoblePilgrim*SageSailorSoldierUrchinFeats Feats have levels, prerequisites and repeatable tags on their descriptionsConclusionAnnouncements:To finish today’s show off, we just want to share a few housekeeping items.First is that if you want to watch the upcoming October One-shot being hosted by none other than Bone Daddy Rob from This Dungeon is Occupied, then make sure to get on our email list. We’re going to send out a calendar invite with the date and time for that. I’ve gotten a glimpse of the storyline and let me tell you that Bone Daddy knows his stuff. Sign up for our email list by going to https://betterdungeonmaster.com/email and input your email and Name.Next thing is that we are looking for feedback on the show. You can help us get you even more resources for creating amazing stories by going to https://betterdungeonmaster.com/feedback and telling us what you think. It’s completely anonymous and you can answer as many or as few questions as you like. betterdungeonmaster.com/discordThanks for listening to today’s show. We are deeply grateful for your support and for the opportunity to support your love of Dungeons and Dragons. If the small sample of those of you who’ve joined our one-shots is a good indicator of the type of people you are, we are the luckiest podcasters in the world because you are awesome and fun. We look forward to building an even deeper relationship with you.We’ll be back next thursday with another episode of How to Be a Better DM.Thanks for joining us in the tavern today. Until next time, let’s go ahead and roll initiative.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.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 StudiosJoin 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

The podcast discusses tips to improve writing skills, including practicing writing regularly, seeking feedback from others, and reading extensively. The hosts also share exciting news about their sister company and promote a free D&D session.

The podcast discusses how to engage unengaged D&D players, including strategies like using an empathetic NPC and giving players creative control. They emphasize the importance of a reality check and tailoring the game to players' interests. The chapter also explores the significance of secrets in the game and concludes with an upcoming giveaway.

One Shot Sign up Warmup: From Tanner to Gaming BrewIntroWelcome back to How to be a Better DM. I’m your host Justin Lewis here with my cohort Tanner Weyland to bring you the best resources for you to become the world’s best DM. We want to help you craft better stories for yourself and your players as you DM sessions of D&D. Today we have an awesome guest with us today but before we get into that let’s talk about a few announcements.The first announcement is that we had to move the September one-shot to October first at 4:00 PM Mountain time. If you want to watch that, head over to betterdungeonmaster.com/watch. Due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, we had to move it.Next, we will be doing a giveaway soon on our Instagram so head over to at how to be a better dm on Instagram and make sure to follow us. If you’ve ever heard of the software Dungeon Alchemist, they’ve given us a download key to giveaway and all that will happen over on our Instagram :). We also still have one slot open as of this recording for the October one-shot so if you want it to come and claim it. After that fills up, we’ll start prepping for November’s one-shot so come and bask in the glory!I think that is enough announcements for today. So let’s get into today’s main topic: homebrewing. Today I have a veteran of homebrewing here with us and he can introduce himself as he so chooses but let’s dive in with the first question.Main Topic: Homebrew ContentHow did you first think up the “Erenel Fiction Universe,” and what is its premise?How do you make a homebrew classHow do you make a Homebrew RaceHow do you make a homebrew monsterHow much time does it take to make a Homebrew project.Do you make homebrew items for campaigns specifically or do you make things and then find campaigns to fit them in?What are the biggest mistakes you’ve made when making your homebrew projects?What tools have you used in making Erenel?What type of non-D&D research (politics, military tactics, economics) have you done for Erenel?Would you describe your playtest methods?How much have you revised in Erenel and changed?What is your favorite homebrew creation and why?What was the hardest homebrew creation for you?How do you determine time periods (does your World contain different eras with different technological advances)?IntermissionMain Topic ContinuedDo you think DMs are daunted by the idea of homebrew? Why or why not?Is home brewing hard, in your opinion?How should beginners approach their first project?How to Reach out to GamingBrew:Twitch: Gaming BrewGamingbrew.comConclusionMentioned in this episode:We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play Press

Hello, and Welcome to How To Be A Better DM. My name is Tanner Weyland, and together we will learn about how to prepare the best adventures and environments for our players to enjoy.This week, we were supposed to have a one-shot run by me, but my wife’s Grandma died this past week. The funeral was overlapping, so Justin offered to take over this month–stay tuned, as we are still rescheduling that. Otherwise, if you’d like to sign up for future one-shots, we have a couple coming up in the final quarter of this year: Robbie, or Bone Daddy, as he is affectionately known on the podcast “This Dungeon is Occupied,” will be running a horror-themed adventure in October for some of our listeners. If you’d like to hang out with us once a month, you can. We are filling up rapidly for that one-shot, but all you gotta do is sign up. It’s first come first serve so sign up quick. I will be running the one-shot the following month. With no further ado, let’s dive into today’s topic: D&D Etiquette.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonAdd 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 Studios

One Shot Sign up  Warmup: Tanner to JustinIntroDungeons and Dragons is evolving. Wizards of the Coast has come out with some major announcements in the last few weeks and today, we’re going to talk about them.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host, Tanner Weyland, here with my cohort Justin Lewis. Together, we are going to learn how to craft better stories for you and your players as you DM sessions of D&D 5e and soon-to-be OneD&D (more on that later). Before we get to the meat of our conversation, let’s go through some housekeeping items.First of all, our next one-shot is coming up on September 17th at 2:00 Mountain Time. All the spots are taken up, but you can still watch by going to betterdungeonmaster.com/watch to enjoy a good game of D&D.Our next one-shot will be on October 22nd, and we are still nailing down the exact time for the one-shot, and we’ll let you know when we know. The important bit of information is that there is, at the time of this recording, only one open slot left in that one-shot. After that, we’ll be opening up our November singup. If you want to explore “The Web of Waking Dreams”, an original horror one-shot created by friend of the show and guest host Bone Daddy Rob from This Dungeon Is Occupied, go to betterdungeonmaster.com/one-shot and sign up today.Last thing I want to mention is that we need your help, desperately. Justin and I are committed to giving you amazing content, but sometimes we’re a little too close to the work. We need outside eyes and ears to tell us what is actually helping you become the very best dungeon masters possible. So to do that, go to betterdungeonmaster.com/feedback and fill as much or as little of that survey as you want. All of it is useful to us to make better content that tears down your barriers to ultimate DMhood. Main Content: Wizards of the Coast Presents - The FactsWizards will be releasing OneD&D in 2024.OneD&D will be created on the foundation of 5e but with input from the playersOneD&D will have a virtual engine created from the Unreal Engine to help facilitate online playOneD&D Playtest material will be available periodically on DnDBeyond. Now and beyond will be releasing digital/physical bundlesRaces changed to “backgrounds,” and the feats differentiate them.New race added, kind of the opposite of teaflings.Spelljammer is now released which are sourcebook for D&D in space.New resources for DragonLance will be released including a new companion board game that can be used to play through war scenarios.Initial Rule changes:Nat 20 automatically succeeds.No Monster/DM crit attacks.Magic attacks don’t crit, but physical attacks do.Intermission: Warmup Cont.Main Content Cont: Wizards of the Coast Presents - The OpinionsJustin:Tanner:Questions for discussionIs the Virtual TableTop a good thing?Price concernsConstraint on creativityPush the envelopeWhat is the purpose of Crits?ConclusionMentioned in this episode:We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Listen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today.

“This is it?” Ulv asked in a hushed whisper.“You wanted rebels. These are the only ones I know of. They’ve come here to talk to you, now say something.” Herlia responds tersely.You sigh and step forward. You look around the basement of the tavern. Only a few candles hang around giving the room a gloomy cast. You meet the eyes of each of the 5 people sitting on barrels in this dank cellar.“Thank you for meeting me. My companion here told me that you’ve had certain misgivings about the current regime?” Ulv pauses to let the listeners absorb his words.“Ay, and we’ve come here to see that justice is done upon his cursed head. Are you gonna’ lead us to march against the king? Are we goin ta fight?” says one burly woman loudly. The others nod their heads and crack their knuckles.“Your courage is to be admired, but we’re here just to observe and strategize. We don’t want to take any undue risks. Now, who is your leader?” Ulv asks.“Oh, you mean Burto? He’s a tactical genius he is.”“Great, where is this Burto?” Ulv asks.“Oh, he’s in prison.”What would you like to do?[caption id="attachment_2380" align="aligncenter" width="800"] Photo by Stephen Hardy on Pexels.com[/caption]Every dungeons and dragons game starts with character creation and if you don’t help your characters flesh our a good backstory, your players will have a stale character they won’t much like. Today, let’s fix that.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m Justin Lewis and I’ll be your host and DM today as you and I learn how to craft better stories for yourself and your players as you DM sessions of Dungeons and Dragons.Today we will be talking about writing backstories, but first some housekeeping items.As I said before, we have our one-shot in September coming up on September 17th. All the slots for that are already filled but if you want to watch that show you can go to https://betterdungeonmaster.com/watch to watch the whole One-Shot at the time of the game. Otherwise sign up for October’s one-shot with guest host Bone Daddy from This Dungeon is Occupied.Now, let’s talk about writing backstories.As we’ve said before, having your players flesh out their character at the beginning can help set them up for an incredible time playing D&D with you as their Dungeon Master. One big part of fleshing out their character is writing their back story. If there’s one thing that any Dungeon Master is aware of it’s that their players rarely write their backstories and if they do, they don’t do it to the level we need. Well, no longer. You see, you, as their DM, will be able to ask them these questions and help them generate the back story they need. If you want, you can even write what they say down. Just make sure to form it in these terms. One last thing that I’d like to add before we get started. Help your players write backstories that are equal to their level. A level 1 character has only ever done level 1 things and lower. That doesn’t mean that they can’t have an interesting backstory. Instead, what it does mean is that the impact of what they’ve done is generally very small and localized, affecting mostly themselves and their family. They’ve never saved the world. In most cases, they may never have slain anything. For many level 1 characters, causing death is something they learn to do after they start adventuring. If a character is the exception then that should be a huge part of their backstory. What they’ve done is small but the emotional impact is huge.  ParentsOne of the best ways to start your backstory is by asking “What were my character’s parents like before the character was born?” See, this question will inform your character's story and help flesh out some of the later questions I’ll have you ask. Many of our lives as people are determined by who our parents were before we were born. Where they decided to settle down if they did.Were your parent's warriors? Were they scoundrels? Were they simple farmers?Why did they have a child? How do they regard you? When they found out they were having a child, what changes did they make? Did they shift their life away from what they were previously doing? Are they still doing what they were doing? If not, why did they stop?Let’s do an example:My character's parents used to run a library in a very small town. They were seen as the knowledge center of the town because the population was so small. They also did some secret jobs for various adventurers that came into town such as acquiring special spell components or herbs. One a few occasions they put their lives at risk for these components but mostly it was mundane items. When they found out they became pregnant, they reasoned a small town could not pay them enough money to allow a family of three to subsist. They then decided to move their library and book store to a much bigger city. This caused a tremendous culture shock for the parents and eventually pushed them to seeking out powerful friends who could help offer protection, for a price.You see how this simple question has led to a pretty awesome backstory and we don’t even know who my character is yet? ChildhoodNow you need to delve into your character’s childhood. There has long been a debate in the world of psychology of whether it is your nature (innate genes from your parents) or your nurture (what affected you after you were born) that determines how you develop. They are now attributing your development on both. We’ve already discussed your nature  (some of your parents’ heritage) so talking about your childhood is moving into your nurture aspect.You need to ask questions like: What was their childhood demeanor? Did they have siblings? Who were their best friends? How did they treat authority figures and why? What did they think about their parents? What did they think about their environment? When (if at all) was their innocence taken from them? When did they learn about death? Did they have a favorite pet?These questions will actually set the stage for the rest of your backstory. The backstory is really just a compendium of all the coolest stories of your character’s life. In reality, we all have interesting back stories in real life. We just need to dig deeper and think about those interesting stories that might not be really long but would instead be useful for instructing the player on how to actually play the character they create.Let’s continue with my previous character. For simplicity, let’s call this character John.John’s parents always provided for him and his younger brother, though there were times when John’s parents would hide things from their children. John would be inside and his parents would tell him to take his brother out to play outside and not come back until sundown. John remembers a specific time when he came home because his little brother got a scrape and he walked into his house and saw a group of people with Strange white masks. John’s parents immediately got very angry and yelled at him to leave. From that time on, John did everything he could to discover what his parents were up to. He was convinced that it was because his parents were struggling financially, so he also started looking for ways to make some extra money. Because of that, he took jobs very early on and seemed to lose a lot of his innocence and childhood. Meanwhile, John’s little brother became somewhat neglected because John focused more on discovering secrets and making money. As they grew, the two brothers developed a challenging relationship. John loved his little brother but his little brother seemed to fall in with the wrong crowd. Not knowing what else to do, John started inventing in hopes of creating an invention that he could sell that would allow him to spend more time at home with his brother and parents. All the while it seemed his family life fell apart somewhat. Why’d They Leave HomeLet’s think back to Joseph Campbell's hero’s journey. In every mythic hero’s journey tale, the hero is forced to leave their place of comfort. They are invited, or forced out into a world beyond their comprehension and shown things they do not understand. They also start to explore and adventure more and see the world for what it is. This is when their innocence truly leaves them because they have to leave their old self behind and really forge themselves anew.Here you’ll be answering questions like: How’d they gain their abilities (We’ll actually answer that next) Did they have a mentor, and if so who? What forced them out into the wide world? Why haven’t they returned home yet? What discomforts were the most difficult for them to come to terms with? What are they afraid of now? Who or what did they leave behind and how if at all do they keep that relationship strong? What are they running from or running to? How do they feel about their home? What questions do they have that need answering?You see with all these questions, you’re really starting to fill out your character and help yourself understand their decisions and how in the world they’ve landed where they are currently (session 0 or session 1). To be honest, a good DM will help you write these and also give an opportunity to actually play through them a little.The biggest point of this section of questions is to start to explain why the adventurer’s life started changing from “normal” to a life of adventuring.Let’s go back to my example with John.During his adolescent years, John spent lots of time creating inventions. Then he started noticing that some of his inventions began disappearing. One day, he came home from a short walk to find his parents and the people in the strange white masks taking his inventions. He tried to stop them and amidst the struggle, one of his inventions exploded. The blast nearly killed John but set the rest of the house ablaze. John searched the wreckage for his parents and found his mother, dead among the rubble. He also found three of the strange people with the white masks dead as well. Feeling intense grief and shame for the death of his mother, John decided he could not face his brother or father. He decided to flee.John disappeared into the city and did what he could to survive. He begged for food and even petitioned local machinists for some work. He finally found a Gnome Ironworker from the Kula Uwea Confederacy who took John in because he saw the prowess of the young inventor. John learned various skills there and even got a glimpse of his mentor’s process for smithing Deep Iron. But unfortunately, his past caught up to him. One night, the workshop where John stayed was assaulted by people in mysterious white masks. John’s Gnome mentor was killed, but not before giving John time to escape. Now John runs from the mysterious society with the white masks. Though John has spent years trying to understand who they are, he has found little evidence.Unbeknownst to John, his brother has joined the White Masked society and now seeks revenge upon John for the death of their mother.  Intermission:“I never thought I’d miss Rue,” Ulv whispers to Hipam.“Yeah, I supposed she was good for something…” Hipam whispers back in a very unconvincing tone.“It’s lucky Judir has such a high tolerance for alcohol,” Ulv mutters.“I think he actually cast protection from poison before starting this drinking game,” Herlia whispers.The group sits at a table in one of the seediest taverns in the city. Across the room sits Judir, bellowing loudly and drinking with another man. That man is one of the captains of the city’s prison. He is one of the captains with a key to the city’s prison. Judir’s job is to get the man blind drunk and then to have one of the group steal his key. None of the group were particularly suited to thieving, not like Rue was. You’ll just have to make do.“Either way, just keep an eye out for anything suspicious. We don’t need to…” Ulv whispers and then cut off as he notices the captain of the city Prison throw a right hook right into Judir’s jaw. Immediately that table erupts into a brawl.“Guess we’ll have to do this the not sneaky way,” Cojari sighs as he gets up from the table and joins the fight.   Gaining AbilitiesOne of the more important singular questions in writing a backstory is “How did they start to gain their abilities or discover their abilities?”Each adventurer in Dungeons and Dragons is on the path to becoming something special. Even level 1 heroes have started something amazing. The question to answer is how did they begin? Let’s look into this for each class.Barbarians: You need to explain where and how your character started learning to fight. You also need to explain the source from which they draw their rage.Bard: You need to explain how they started to learn how to use music to access magic.Cleric: You need to explain how your character is connected with divinity.Artificer: You need to explain how your character started to learn to tinker.Sorcerer: You need to explain how your character discovered their latent magical abilities.Wizard: You need to explain how your character first interacted with magic and what drove them to learn it.Warlock: You need to explain how your character first connected with their patron.Rogue: You need to explain how your character fell into the underworld of crime.Ranger: You need to explain how your character learned the arts of survival and how you learned certain aspects of magic.Monk: You need to describe how your character started practicing the art of ki and self-discipline.Paladin: You need to explain how your character both learned the art of weaponry and how they connected with divinity.Druid: You need to explain how your character first connected with the magic of nature and why that impacted your character. Obviously these aren’t all the questions you need to answer about your character’s abilities but they will get you started. Let’s go back to our example with John.John met his gnome inventor mentor while walking the streets trying to sell knick knacks here and there The gnome saw that John had created various trinkets and thought to teach the boy something new. John became intensely interested in the gnome’s teachings and the gnome found a willing pupil. He brought John into his home and made him his apprentice. A year went by, during which John learned the beginning’s of artificing. He witnessed various miracles wrought by his gnome master’s mechanical skills. Over the year, the two became great friends and the gnome finally gave John his own tinker’s tools as a gift. Unfortunately, the apprenticeship came to an end when the mysterious group with the white masks attacked the gnome’s home and killed his mentor. John escaped with his life, the tools given to him from his mentor, and his mentor’s journal of schematics.  Current QuestYou can’t finish your backstory writing session without figuring out what your character cares about right now. As you start playing with your character, you have to pull all of their emotional baggage and past into the present by having it have residual effects on what they do right now. So answer the following questions: What is your character’s goal right now? What are they trying to accomplish? Why do they care about that thing? What are the main obstacles stopping them from doing that? What resources do they need to accomplish that goal? What will they do once they achieve their accomplishment?This is crucial information. So stepping back into the Justin role where I’m talking to you the DM instead of being the DM talking to the player. You need your players to fill out this particular question. This informs on some of the character’s main motivation right now and it can help you align their desires with some of the other members of the party to hopefully gel the group together. That is, of course, assuming that you are starting with the characters not knowing each other. Let’s go back to our example with John the Artificer.John has now left the town where he grew up. He spent a year or so on the road just trying to survive. He realized that his mentor’s journal was an arcane creation and each page was sealed by an arcane cipher. On each page, he had to solve a certain riddle in order to access that schematic. John also realized that the strange society was still following him. He’s been moving from town to town trying to evade him but they always seem to find him. He assumes that his brother still wants revenge on him for the death of their parents. Unknown to John, the society actually wants the journal for a very specific schematic they’d actually hired the gnome to create. The gnome created the schematic but then realized that the specific invention was too dangerous. John’s brother volunteered for the mission, not for revenge, but to convince John to join the mysterious society.John’s goals now are to unlock the journal and learn about the white-masked society and avoid his brother and the society. As always, this episode...