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

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:I Made a CR 100 MonsterI made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Get The Swampberry Moonshine Jamboree For FreeTake a trip down to the bayou in The Swampberry Moonshine Jamboree. We teamed up with Studio Fantasms to bring you a raucous one-shot adventure full of gatorfolk, catfishing, and a whole lotta moonshine. We wrote the adventure, they designed the minis—it’s a sweet little bundle, and it’s totally free for the month of May. Just head to https://session0studios.com/fantasms and sign up to grab it. Don’t wait—May’s free, and once it’s gone, it’s gone.

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: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.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 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.Why Listen to Ads?Ugh, another ad break. Let’s be real—ads are the worst. If you’re anything like my wife, you’d rather quit a show entirely than sit through another ad. So why suffer? Just skip them. Join our Patreon at patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and enjoy ad-free episodes with exclusive patron-only content—all for just $5 a month. Look at you, all fancy with your uninterrupted listening experience. So stop wasting time on ads (like this one). Go to patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and upgrade your listening today!PatreonJoin 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.

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: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.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 Studios

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.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!Why Listen to Ads?Ugh, another ad break. Let’s be real—ads are the worst. If you’re anything like my wife, you’d rather quit a show entirely than sit through another ad. So why suffer? Just skip them. Join our Patreon at patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and enjoy ad-free episodes with exclusive patron-only content—all for just $5 a month. Look at you, all fancy with your uninterrupted listening experience. So stop wasting time on ads (like this one). Go to patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster and upgrade your listening today!Patreon

 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: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.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.

“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.

Reach out to This Dungeon is Occupied at https://linktr.ee/thisdungeonisoccupiedpodWarmup: Justin to This Dungeon is OccupiedPrompt: Think of the last group you DM’d for. Now describe  the character that you would like to have played in that group if you could add a new character for yourself.Intro:Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m Justin Lewis, and together with my cohost Tanner Weyland, we help you craft better stories for yourselves and your players as you DM sessions of D&D 5d regardless of how much time or money you have.Today we are joined by some awesome guests, the voices behind the This Dungeon is Occupied Podcast. We have Illideen, Thorn and Bone Daddy. I’ll let them share their real names with you if they want in a second, but first, let’s go through a couple of housekeeping items. First of all, remember that we have the next one-shot coming up in September. Tanner is that game's Dungeon Master, and we have all the spots filled. If you’re interested in watching that one-shot as a spectator you can go to https://betterdungeonmaster.com/audience at the time of the one-shot and enjoy an excellent show for a few hours.If you’re interested in signing up for the next one shot, it will be in October and will actually be hosted by one of our guests here, Bone Daddy. He is a big fan of the horror genre so we thought it was appropriate to have him host a horror-themed Halloween one-shot. You can go to betterdungeonmaster.com/one-shot to sign up for that.Lastly, we just want to thank you for all your support. We really appreciate everything you do for us. With every episode we strive to give you even better content, so please tell us if we do something wrong or right.Now, let’s get into today’s show.So let’s get into our discussion topics. Feel free and introduce yourselves amidst our questions, but don’t feel that you have to.Main Topic: Preparing for SessionsWhat’s your main process for session prep?What tools do you use for session prep?How do you balance the main plot line and Individual Backstory plot lines?Break: Continuation of Warmup PromptPrompt: Now describe the moment when the character you described at the beginning of today’s show betrays the other characters in the party.Main Topic Continued: Preparing for Sessions Cont.How do you know you’ve prepared enough?Do you go back and revise any preparation (like editing a paper?)How much do you write out word for word versus simple prompts?Close:linktr.ee/thisdungeonisoccupiedpodMentioned in this episode: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 GuideAdd 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.