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

Warmup: JustinI want you to pick the bond, flaw, personality trait, and ideal for a Tiefling artificer named Troaxiaus.Intro:Main Topic: Character Creation Explained Simply + Useful ToolsIn explaining the character creation we aren’t just reiterating the process as defined in the player’s handbook, though we are doing that to some degree. In doing this, we are attempting to help you think of simple ways to explain the process to novice players. You see this episode is about you dear listener-adventurer. Oh no… it’s about your players. We will work through this process to help you work through it with the noobiest of noobs to D&D. So let’s begin. We will first describe the different processes simply and then maybe give some tips or tools for helping players. As you’ll notice, the order we describe these is the same order described in DNDBeyond though we might recommend different ways of doing things.Let me stress something as well. Making the character creation easy and fun is important because if your players never get past this part they will never play.Race - TannerRace can be a complicated or simple factor in your campaign, and you should plan out your stance (and your NPCs stances) before you recommend anything to your players. Will you have racist NPCs, or will stereotypes be accepted from the get go (Tolkien-esque /typical fantasy)?If you are making your own world and campaign, are you reframing the races, and should that affect your player’s decision? Like, if orcs in your world are typically nerds, should you discourage your player who wants to be a warrior from playing them?In terms of stats, let them do whatever they find interesting. But, then encourage their racial choice to actually affect aspects of their role playingBut, once again, people are not just walking stereotypes—don’t make your player be a copy and paste version. Also, encourage them during character creation to branch out (if they aren’t), or to consider their race’s environment.Class - JustinAside from choosing your race, your class may have the most impact on your character. It will help you define how your character interacts in combat and in non-combat situations as well as how others will interact with you. That said, choosing a class can be very confusing. As a DM, I like to ask my players questions like:How do you like to fight enemies?What do you want your character to be good at in and out of combat?Do you want to use magic?If so, how complex do you want your magic to be?Are you ok with only getting one opportunity to attack during a combat round?What video games do you like to play if any?How does your character regard deity?I have found that certain questions actually are a waste of time. These questions make it harder such as:What do you want your character to be able to do?What contributions do you see your character making?What weapon do you want to use?In general, the more specific the question, the better. I would even go so far as to ask binary questions to force one answer or another.Obviously, this is somewhat superfluous for a player who’s had the opportunity to play D&D for a second.Abilities - JustinThe abilities portion is determining your natural abilities as well as how your race and class choices affect those. This is part of assessing your genetics and upbringing and how they affect your character. Simply put, if everything you do were split into 6 categories how good would your character be in those 6 categories. Consequently, that’s exactly how it works in D&D. So there are 6 categories: Strength, Dexterity, Charisma, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Constitution. You’re going to help your players determine the scores for those categories. There are 3 methods: point-buy system, manual roll, or standard array. Each has its pros and cons depending on the type of game you want to play. Most people end up picking the roll method so that’s what I’ll detail here.You get 4d6 and then roll them. Take the highest 3 numbers and add them together, write that down. Then repeat that 6 times. Lastly, you can assign those scores to the individual categories. Then you’ll adjust those scores based on advantages given to the character from their background, class, or race. You then take your score and calculate your modifier which is just a number that actually gets added to your rolls. Now personally, I prefer to do this before choosing a class or race. I like it because I want to be able to strategize my choices with my race and my class. It really only matters if your race allows you to choose specific bonuses to abilities. Otherwise, do it the normal way.I find that having a lot of paper nearby is really handy for this portion. You will be writing a lot if you aren’t using DNDBeyond.BreakI want you to describe a situation in which the ideal of the character created in the very beginning is challenged by their flaw, bond, or personality trait.Description - JustinMore than any other step in the character creation process of D&D, choosing your description informs your narrative storytelling more than anything else. I would highly encourage your players to really flesh out this section as much as possible.Here again, the need for specific questions arises. Don’t just ask what your face looks like.Ask questions like:What color are your eyes?How much do you smile?How big is your nose?How thick are your eyebrows?Do you have wrinkles in your face or smooth skin?Do you have any piercings of scars?Any facial hair?How severe are your cheekbones?Describe the shape of your jaw.You could honestly go on and on. It can get fairly tedious, so pick the most prominent features. Imagine you are describing your character to a suspect sketch artist from the police. You need to be able to identify them from a crowd.Apart from the simple physical description, you want to describe their nature and their history.You’re going to help your player describe their character's ideals, bonds, flaws, and personality traits. This is how I would describe each to a player:Personality Trait: If you were to hang out with your character for a week, what one thing would you say would stick out to you while just hanging out and chilling in your house with them?Flaw: If you were your character’s roommate, what would annoy you the very most about them?Ideal: If you had to summarize this character, what basic life guiding principle would you ascribe to them?Bond: If this character were wanting to settle down anywhere, what force would pull them or stop them from doing that?Those questions aren’t perfect but they help you narrow down to get in the right ballpark. Having those are incredibly important. More than anything, I would say the bond and ideal are the most important to have down in a concrete way. Why? Because I am definitely going to have their bond come knocking on the door and their ideal will definitely be challenged in a very specific way. Honestly, their bond might be the thing challenging their ideal, or it might be their flaw or their personality trait.Here you can also help your player pick any allies they want to have. I don’t usually do that because I want that part to be in the story we write together but to each their own.Equipment - Tannerdon’t let them be overpowered. Nuff said. They will want to, but then everything afterward will come off lame.Now, if it is a one-shot, then you can give them more freedom.You will probably need to help your players choose their equipment based on their specialties.Question:Conclusion:Mentioned in this episode: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.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.

This is "How To Be A Better DM." Thanks for listening to today’s show! This is Tanner, and I am excited to talk about how we can all prepare to be the best DMs we possible. Today, I am discussing how to plan D&D campaigns.We really appreciate all the support you guys give us. If you’d like to hang out with us once a month, you can. All you gotta do is sign up for our quarterly one-shot D&D sessions which are DM’d by one of us. Our next one-shot session. It’s first come first serve so sign up quick. 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: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!PatreonGet 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.Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

Warmup:Tanner: What would be the simple premise of a one-hour session you would plan for friends who hadn’t played D&D?Intro:Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host Tanner Weyland, here with my counterpart Justin Lewis. Together we are going to learn how to weave better stories for you and your players while you dungeon master sections of D&D 5e. We will walk you through the steps from someone who’s never played D&D to High-Level Dungeon Master. Before we get to today’s main topic, we have a couple of housekeeping items to go over.First of all we want to send a huge thank you out into the digital waves of the internet to Anna Craven. Anna has played in our one-shots a couple of times and she has also sent Justin and myself an amazing gift! She’s hand-crafted notebook covers with the design of a dungeon on the front and back and created a very awesome Dungeon Journal. So far, Justin and I love these notebooks and want to say thank you so very very much! We’ll be posting a picture of them on our Instagram at how to be a better DM so you can see the fine craftsmanship. Thanks again Anna, we really appreciate it!Next, another reminder that we are moving to a once-a-quarter schedule for our One-shots. The next one-shot will be held in September by myself. If you want to get in on it, sign up now. So far we have 2 slots with a tentative yes that will be confirmed soon. It’s first come first serve so make sure you come first.Main Topic: Dungeon Master EssentialsJustinWaterSitting at the DM table can get very tiring especially if you aren’t properly hydrated. You spend the entire session talking so naturally, you’ll need some water. I’ve found that water is the best choice. While other beverages can have better taste, water allows you to keep your head and not get too antsy.The DM Screen When I first started playing D&D, I saw the screens of the dungeon master and thought that it was unnecessary. Indeed, when I started DMing, I didn’t use a DM screen. Then I started and I found that it made a huge difference. I saw two primary differences:My players regarded me more as the DM. I had more authority. Whether this was perceived or not, it doesn’t matter. I like to think of the DM Screen as almost a part of the uniform of the Dungeon Master.I didn’t have to worry about hiding my notes from my players. When you sit next to your wife while you play as I do, you have to guard the secrets you put on paper. A DM screen takes the temptation away from her. MusicNow, I’m generally not a heavy-handed person. Having music is a nice way to both set the mood and also remind your players that it’s Dungeons and Dragons time. It’s really nice to be able to turn the music up when players get distracted or start having side conversations. Rather than cutting the immersion when you ask your players to stop, you simply amplify the music volume and they get the hint. It’s also great for just setting the mood in general. A must-have.Tabletop MinisI like D&D because it transitions from hyper-regulated combat to very fluid roleplaying. Having minis takes a lot of the guesswork out of combat and can make it a lot more visual. That said, it can be used as a crutch and should be used judiciously. You should also explore options for trying it in other ways.TannerA Great Seat/Proper Height Table: You will be at the table for a while. You will want to enjoy the whole time. Nothing can ruin your experience like a bad seat that does not have a back, or one that does not encourage proper posture. Further, if you like to stand up and walk around the table, you don’t want a table that is so low that you are bending below the waste to reach it (picture coffee table).Dice, and Extra DiceYou are supposed to be the fastest of all the people there. While dice rolling software is nice, you need one that is either user-friendly (read: tablet) or you need a lot of actual dice that are organized and close at hand.Bonus:Close:Thanks again for being with us on this awesome journey. Justin and I have learned so much and we are continually learning. We’re going to put out ever better content and help you tell the greatest stories the world has ever known. We’ll be back next week to help you do just that, but until then, let’s go ahead and roll the initiative.Mentioned in this episode: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.Save time with Roll and Play PressSave yourself some precious time with Roll and Play Press. Go to https://session0studios.com/rollandplay and use code BETTERDM10 at checkout.Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

You slash down the last of orcs that had ambushed you. This group had appeared out of nowhere apparently. You look around the shadowy thicket where you’d been attacked. Suddenly, Amris, falls down, a silvery dagger embedded in her chest. You’d only just met her in the town but she’d been more than helpful to you and your companions. You all rush over to help her. Blood slowly leaks from her mouth. Already dead. You inspect the dagger. Not orcish at all. It was sleek and silvery, definitely not orcish. You get up and look around but see no other figure aside from you and your companions. So who killed Amris ?What would you like to do?Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your dungeon master today and together you and I will learn how to weave better stories for you and your players as you play D&D 5e.First thing I gotta say today is a big thank you to those who played the one-shot with me last week. It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Having your support as players and listeners of the show even makes doing this so much more worthwhile. I can’t begin to say thank you.If you want to sign up for the next one shot, that will be happening in September. So get ready :)Next, make sure you follow the show wherever good podcasts are heard. We’re going to come up with some goals so that if we hit a certain number of followers, we’ll do a giveaway so follow us and make that happen!Now, everyone has been in a D&D session that seemed to just be boring. As a DM, this is heartbreaking because all you want is for your players to have fun! We’ll, here are 8 ideas to make you D&D game more fun! More FlavorsWhy do we like going to ice cream parlors? It’s because we have a seemingly infinite array of flavors. It’s the same reason buffets are so popular. You get to taste a large variety of savors or sweets and even allow yourself to try something new. If your D&D game has become boring, it’s possible that you have allowed yourself to become complacent in the flavors you are presenting to your players. Now, the flavor is a metaphor for game themes, genres, and so forth. So if your game is a hack and slash adventure, then maybe look for a way to do something different. Maybe a puzzling conundrum instead. Perhaps you should add a flavor of romance? The trick won’t be with adding in the flavors. The trick is presenting tastes of the flavors, gauging your players’ interest, and then incorporating flavors that they liked.More Realistic CharactersI have become severely jaded with movies these days. Movies and shows in fact. I hate the fact that movies and shows employ flashy effects and cheap nostalgia to pull in viewers without crafting interesting and realistic characters. That’s a travesty because interesting stories are moved by interesting characters, not interesting effects. Therefore, if you want to make your D&D game more fun and interesting, you should work on the characters in your story. I’ve been working on this more and more in my campaign. I have an NPC who is a halfling cleric who the group makes fun of more or less, but slowly they are starting to see that he’s not just a loveable little halfling and instead he has conflicting desires and flaws and weaknesses. If you ask my opinion, those are a few things you can do to really flesh out characters. Look at their weaknesses and strengths and investigate their inner conflicts.More preparationDungeons and Dragons are just a game. You aren’t preparing a Master’s Level Thesis or a PHD defense. However, this is a pick-up game of basketball either. Tabletop roleplaying games might be one of the few hobbies where you actually have to do a little bit of homework for it to function. I’ve found that if I want to have more fun playing D&D then I need to prepare more as a DM. I’m not even saying you need to double the time you spend on preparing for your campaign. What I am saying is that giving even a little bit more thought to your game will help you and your group have more fun playing D&D. Maybe you think of a fun twist to add or maybe you think of a small prop you can make or maybe you think about the voice of an NPC. All of it helps.Devil’s in the DetailsSpeaking of small props or twists, it’s the small details that really delight your players. You can’t neglect the foundational parts of your story or gameplay, but adding in small details will help you and your players have much more fun while playing D&D. I used this tactic just yesterday as my group and I spent one entire session on just one combat encounter. It felt like it was dragging on at times so I started embellishing some spells a little bit. One character who worships a sun-deity cast spirit guardians which manifested as a Solar system with planets and solar flares reaching out to strike the opponents. It’s not a big detail, however, it underscores the idea that this character worships a sun-deity.Ask your playersYou should use this tactic even when not focused on making D&D more fun. Asking your players what they thought about the previous session or even specific encounters in the session is the absolute best way to make D&D more fun. When they talk about things they didn’t like, note to do less of that in the future. When they talk about what they liked, do more of that in the future. It’s all about catering to your players.More challenge (not necessarily combat)One of my failings as a somewhat novice DM is gravitating toward combat encounters. It’s easy for me to plan sessions around combat encounters, which doesn’t necessarily mean more fun in the game. Honestly, sometimes I think I use combat as a crutch and I’m trying to wean myself off of it and actually give my players more chances to use their brains rather than just throwing them into combat. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a time and a place for combat, but the time is not always and the place is not everywhere.Slow DownA secret hack I’ve discovered recently is more of a mental hack than anything, but it’s to slow down. So often, I find myself in a somewhat manic state trying to give a story and do everything at once and that does not make for a very fun game. Instead, I’ve found when I slow down it allows me to really  focus and give a better D&D experience.Add more theatricsWe go to the theatre for the theatrics. We want the special effects in addition to the story. So when you have a good story nailed down, then it’s time to add in the the special effects and the wow factor. I recently added some LED lights to our gaming area that helps to make the mood what I want it to be.Thanks for listening to today’s show! As always, you are the best. I look forward to hearing about your successes. We’ll see you next time. Until then, let’s roll initiative.Mentioned in this episode: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.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.

Common annoying d&d players and how to deal with themWarmupIntroUpcoming One-shot on the 25thMeatJustin The Player DM:This is me when I play.Deal with this player by sitting them down and saying that they are a really great DM. Stress that you are the DM and that you’d like to challenge them to be an even better player which means good give and take with the other players.The Distracted DistractionI hate these. These are the players that enjoy the game but they also seem to get distracted a lot and either end up sharing videos with other players during the game and or have side conversations. So annoying. I think the best thing to do with these players is to help everyone understand the rules of the table.The WafflerThese are the players that say, “I walk through the door,” and then you say, “Right as you do,” they interrupt and say I don’t walk through the door. They might be afraid of the consequences and might not feel ready. With this player, I think you have to be firm and say that you said you walked through the door so you do. If they argue then you might need to have another conversation with them outside of normal playing hours.*** All of these can be prevented by establishing the rules of the relationship before you start playing. After playing, I believe that having a conversation with the individual in question can help improve. If it doesn’t, steps might have to be taken to make sure the group is having fun.TannerThe ProtagonistThey think their character is a two-dimensional hero who should always make the main decisions. They are the serious character, while everyone else is a joke who should follow along.To deal with them, try to encourage team play. Encourage them to be the hero who helps them. Also, make a campaign or one-shot with a distinctly silly setting and premise. They need to be taught that it is okay to be silly from time to time.The TryhardThey aren’t here to fail rolls, or to lose at all. They are rules lawyers when it benefits them, and rule slobs when it doesn’t. They mostly care about succeeding and being awesome and getting their way through any means necessary.Hold them accountable for rules. Also, when they do fail a roll, have the outcome being humorous, or not distinctly negative. Teach them that losing is not a bad thing.Mentioned in this episode:Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.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

Robert from Dungeons, Dragons & Psychology discusses the necessity of lifelike NPC's and what makes a good villain and ally. They also delve into the challenges of writing a murder mystery adventure and share tips for creating memorable NPCs in tabletop role-playing games.

Here are today's sponsors:Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcastRoll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplayStudio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasmsOur Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonThis is "How To Be A Better DM." Thanks for listening to today’s show! This is Tanner, and I am excited to talk about how we can all prepare to be the best DMs we possible. Today, I am discussing homemade props and how to use them, as well as which props are worth making.Next, 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/subscribeSpecial thanks to:Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderatorsKyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.Mentioned in this episode:Do You Want to Earn some Money?🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold? We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm 2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation. 3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener. 4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them. 5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking. 6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse. 7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌 We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign. 💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night? Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.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

Here are today's sponsors:Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcastRoll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplayStudio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasmsOur Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonWarmupDescribe the coolest water fight you can think of.IntroWelcome back to How to Be a Better DMJustin's Favorite SectionsApparently endless magic itemsDaerns Instant Fortress is a cool item I’ve read about recently.I also like the Bag of TricksCreating settlements, castles, cities, etc.Learning about the different planesDifferent Governments for example Plutocracy - Governed by the wealthy who buy ruling seatsBonus: The Hand and Eye of VecnaTanner's Favorite SectionsBoring Rules… Jk, super important:Don’t check during a session, if you can help it. Prep, and then come back after the session to check up on rules you may have gotten wrong.Chapters 8 and 9 (have all sorts of weird rules to check)Background noise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCSJwAHKV4QSpecial thanks to:Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderatorsKyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.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 StudiosDo 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!Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Here are today's sponsors:Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcastRoll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplayStudio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasmsOur Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonYou sit down at the fire. You’ve traveled a long distance to reach these particular nomads. You’ve heard tell that these nomads have mystical powers and can guide you on finding unknowable secrets. You look around. Their long arms show a fierce exterior, but they’ve let you sit in their circle. They’ve shared their meat with you. Their hair hides their faces though you can see pinpricks of light reflect off of their eyes and hidden behind their hair. They seem to look at you expectantly.“Um… what am I…”It’s at that moment that one of their numbers starts beating a drum produced from somewhere within the folds of their outer garments. More drums are produced and the rhythm continues and amplifies. Soon the sound of beating drums is all you hear. It echoes the beating of a heart. Not your heart but the communal heart of this tribe.You let yourself fall into the rhythm. After a moment, you notice an elder stand up and walk towards the central fire. He chants some things and then throws some dust into the fire. There’s a puff of green smoke and you smell a distinct earthy smell. Soon, your senses become slurred and you seem to drift from reality.Your eyes open and instead of at a ritual fire, you’re standing waist-deep in the ocean. You look over and see another tribal member standing with you. You both wield spears and look for fish. You throw your spear. Flash.Instead of being near a ritual fire, you’re crouching low in a snowy copse of trees. You peer out from behind some bushes and see an auroch munching on greenery. The rest of your hunting party has snuck around to flank the beast. You hear the double hoot of an owl. That’s the signal. You jump up and charge to attack the beast.Flash.Instead of at a ritual fire, you’re in a grotto. You see a large stone monolith. Inscribed on the giant stone are ancient runes. They glow softly blue in the dim light. At the base of the monolith is a pool of water that seems pure and as you approach it starts to glow light blue. This is what you’ve come for.So what would you like to do?Welcome back to another episode of How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host Justin Lewis and together you and I will learn how to tell better stories as we DM sessions of Dungeons and Dragons 5e. First of all, I’ve got to say thank you so much. Since we started the show, we’ve seen amazing growth that I never could have predicted. It’s all because of you guys. You guys have allowed us to create cool content and spread it to some awesome people.Next don’t forget to listen to the end of today’s episode to hear how you can support the show.Today, let’s talk about immersion. Now, I’m not going to be talking about Virtual Reality, though we can all expect that within our lifetimes we’ll see all sorts of leaps in bounds in that area.No, I’m talking about learning to help your players feel like they are in your world. You have to help your players slip the bonds of our time and space and instead drift through the planes to the material plane on which you play D&D.Better descriptionsNo amount of cool voice-changing software or LED lights will cover up bad storytelling. Storytelling is character, plot, voice, and conflict. It’s also scene. You need to be able to paint pictures with your words. Work on your descriptions of all points of your gameplay. There’s a fine balancing act here though. You can’t take forever describing something but you also shouldn’t do it in just one word. You need to be concise and evocative. It’s helpful to describe things using your senses. Don’t forget that sixth sense we all get. You know like when there’s tension in the air and no one is saying anything but you can feel that something is wrong.One thing I’d recommend steering away from that is somewhat a crutch is using analogies from our world. I struggle with this because it’s so helpful and easy but I think it pulls your players out of the world you’re describing when you compare something to a thing that exists in the real world. Know the LoreI know you thought you were done studying after you graduated high school or college but it makes things feel real when your player asks an NPC a question and the NPC can respond almost immediately. There’s something magical when you as the dungeon master know the names and major players in the plot and you don’t have to immediately reference the guidebook to remember that the villain's henchman’s name is Botheg and that Botheg loves to eat silver spotted mushrooms that allow him to have very special dreams at night. If you’re an advanced dungeon master, you can do better than that.Seamless ExperiencesKnow what you’re going to do every session. I completely understand having to take a minute to make up an entire encounter that you didn’t plan on. We’ve all been there. But you can at least put in the effort to make sure the encounters you did plan on are seamless. Part of it is making sure you’ve understood the sequence of events. Another part is making sure you have the NPCs lined up. A final part is going through all of this in your head so you aren’t constantly checking notes and stammering, “One second.” It takes practice of course, but this is the standard you want to set for yourself.Voice ChangingWhile being one of the most common things most of us do while driving to work in the morning… No… just me? Anyways, changing your voice to fit your NPCs can go a long way to helping your players immerse themselves into the game. A quick Youtube search will give you many results for tips and tutorials on how to actually make your voice change in a convincing way. Another option is acting lessons. Most of us wrote off acting when we were younger. Now we spend a lot of time watching professional actors on TV and think, “maybe it wasn’t good to brush that off.”Better RoleplayingI know that most of us feel awkward roleplaying. We grew up playing make-believe and then for some reason we stepped away from it. It felt childish to pretend to be someone we’re not. So we stopped. We hid it. We found that we do funny voices and accents while we’re alone in our car driving to or from work, but we never do that in front of someone else. Or if we do, it’s never in a structured way, it’s just fun.  Let me tell you, roleplaying can make or break the immersion. There have been times when I’ve paused and said, “What would they say?” because I didn’t know what a particular NPC would say. The momentum halted and the mood broke. There have been other times when I’ve thrown caution to the wind and said something somewhat ridiculous but I committed and I felt that the table enjoyed the risk. So when you sit at your table, try and step into the role of the character you are playing. Try being an actor for a second. It’s ok. You won’t be perfect and no one will judge you. If they do, just add 10 hitpoints to their next encounter.Mood LightingThis one is admittedly low on the list of things you should do to make your game more immersive. Mood lighting can be an awesome way to, well, get your players in the mood. It also can become a distraction if you make it really complicated. I would say keep it simple stupid and set something up and leave it for a while to see how it works before changing it over and over and over.Remove DistractionsThis is a tough one specifically for those of us who like to use our phones for managing our character. You need to make a rule at the table that everyone’s main focus will be on the game. There are always extenuating circumstances but for the most part, removing distractions is an easy and in my opinion necessary step to achieving the nirvana of a gameplay experience. It gets very old looking up from my DM screen and seeing certain players scrolling on their phones rather than engaging in the game. I also do appreciate the fact that my wife uses a paper character sheet. She says she prefers it, but I think it has something to do with her knowing that being on her phone would be distracting.The Occasional Real LIfe PropWhile a most costly method of immersion, popping out the occasional prop can help your players transcend their natural bonds and reach an elevated space of gameplay. When your characters buy a map it can drastically change the way they play when you hand them a real-life map to be sure. Again, this is more costly in terms of time and money, but it could be just the juice you need to spice things up. PracticeNothing beats practice. Period. No amount of cool props or amazing voices will cover for the fact that your story is garbage. If you can’t tell a story, you can’t make up for it. At least not in the long run. So first things first are if nothing else, start playing D&D. You need to at least get in the habit of role-playing. The next step after that is to start DMing. Find a group where you can experiment and try things out. What you are looking for is iteration and repetition rather than one-and-done experiences.True Mastery of Plot CraftingAlmost nothing can cover up a bad plot. Your players will never enjoy a bad or boring story, no matter how many cool doodads you have. So spend time working on the main tenets of a plot. Improve the conflicts, twists and tension, and resolution. You can’t expect your players to enjoy or immerse themselves in a story that you truly aren’t immersed in or crazy about.There you have it, 10 ways to make your DND Campaign more immersive. Thanks for listening to today’s episode. Make sure to stick around after to hear some announcements but until next time, Let’s roll initiative.Music from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCBCLYvWGwISpecial thanks to:Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderatorsKyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.Mentioned in this episode:Do You Want to Earn some Money?🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold? We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works: 1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm 2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation. 3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener. 4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them. 5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking. 6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse. 7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌 We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign. 💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night? Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.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

Game developer Garrett from two25games.com discusses how to make a story and campaign dynamic. Topics include introducing instruments based on different cultural flavors, perception and character development, balancing player dynamics in a DnD campaign, and the importance of variety and investment in dynamic campaigns.