Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM!Today is a special episode with our guest, author, and professional Dungeon Master Dan Wells!Check out information about Dan Wells here: https://www.thedanwells.com/Dan is partnered with Dungeon Master Direct which has some great events coming up: https://dungeonmasterdirect.com/On today's show, we talk about:Professional Dungeon MasteringHow it's ok to use pre-written modules for professional dungeon master campaignsAs a dungeon master, you need to figure out your strengths and your weaknesses and lean heavily into those.You also need to lean into the collaborative nature of RPGsThis episode was facilitated and recorded in the space at We Geek Together in Provo. You can shop at their store in Provo or online at https://www.wegeektogether.com/Mentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideListen 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. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

You’ve probably wondered if you could do or give more. Specifically with your roleplaying, you may have finished a session and thought that you could do better. I’ve been there too. I’ve had many sessions where I’ve wished that I was a much better roleplayer.Luckily today, we’re going to share 7 tips to help you give more to your roleplaying.Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.This is the show that helps you speed up the learning curve of being a DM without spending extra time, and extra hassle.I’m Justin Lewis, and I’ve been helping dungeon masters now for over 150 episodes. I’ve spoken with Voice Actors, writers and even real life experts, all to help you be a Better DM.Why Give more to your Roleplaying:We’ve all had those experiences after a really good roleplay where there’s almost this stunned silencePart of why we got into D&D was to reach that full immersionYour players want you to give everything you haveHow to Give more to your Roleplaying:Be vulnerableTry things that may not work outThink about your players altruisticallyForget yourselfTry some real life Improv ClassesPractice your Acting/Public SpeakingUse the White Space of DMingMentioned in this episode:Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideGive 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.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. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today we talk about how to bounce back after a bad session. Today is also a very special episode as it is our first published Dungeon Master Coaching episode.If you want to sign up for some dungeon master coaching, go to https://session0studios.com/coaching/If you let us record the first session, the first session is free.Mentioned in this episode:Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideSign Up For Dungeon Master CoachingWouldn’t it be nice to have someone in your corner as a DM? Maybe having someone who can help you find solutions to your DMing problems and help you improve every aspect of your game. Well, here at How to Be a Better DM we are trying an experiment. We are offering 5 free coaching sessions to listeners of the show. During these coaching sessions, we’ll work with you through your strengths and weaknesses as a DM and help you generate a game plan to make both better. You can either send in a recording of one of your games, or we’ll attend it live if able. If all else fails, we can still chat about your struggle and talk through any prep you’ve done for your upcoming games. Just go to session0studios.com/coaching and sign up.Dungeon Master CoachingGive 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.

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today, we talk with Ethan Myers from Lyres for Hire. you can check him out at https://www.instagram.com/lyresforhire/?hl=enWe talk about some linguistic tactics to use to make characters sound more real.The 3 recommended in today's show are:Phonotactics: keeping the general rules for sounds and sound pairs consistent within a regionIdioms: Creating sayings or turns-of-phrase to communicate complicated ideasJargon: Specific vocabulary related to niche areasThanks for listening and we'll see you next time.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideListen 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. 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.

On today's episode, we have Tyler & Noah, the musical masterminds behind Monument Studios. As some of you know, Monument Studios has been a sponsor of How To Be a Better DM, and our Live-play D&D show The Pact & Boon for the better part of the past year. Their app Fantasy + is a must have for any dungeon master! Tune in to hear about their upcoming Kickstarter launching on August 20th, and how you can get some of the most amazing rewards ever offered on the platform! Check out Monument Studios here: https://www.monumentstudios.net/Check out their music app Fantasy + here: https://www.fantasy-plus.com/Enjoy 10% off your first month with the code BETTERDM. Support us and support these amazing artists, while also giving your players the best experience possible. Don't forget to check out their Kickstarter as well:Join the CampaignMentioned 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 StudiosFollow 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/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.

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.Today is a special episode.In it, you'll hear the first 30 minutes of one of our professional dungeon mastering sessions.Some of the players are new to D&D and have very little experience.If you're interested in this episode, and want to hear the rest of the session, reach out to us on our Discord. If enough people reach out, we'll put all of the rest of the session up on the podcast.If you're interested in having us be your professional dungeon master, go to session0studios.com/dm4hireMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.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 HireFollow 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/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.

When you are planning a combat encounter, do you know how to get it into the "Goldilocks" zone in terms of length? You don't want it so short that no one got anything out of it, but you also don't want it so long that all the players are secretly praying that it will be over after the next turn.To help you plan the length of your encounter, whether beforehand or on the fly, here are 3 questions:Question #1: Has each player had a chance to feel either useful, powerful, or seriously threatened?Question #2: Has this combat encounter had at least one “story-worthy” moment?Question #3: Does the length of this combat match its importance?Learn how these questions can help you execute an appropriately-lengthy combat in today's episode!Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Play D&D with UsDid 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 HireGive 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.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/

Things Every Dungeon Master Should RememberAs a Dungeon Master you have so much to remember, it’s a wonder you can even remember your own name. Yet, what if, by remembering a few more things, you were able to not only make your game better, but feel better yourself, and make everything you do as a Dungeon Master better?I know what it’s like to deal with all the disappointment of a dungeon master. You deal with so much and rarely get thanked for it. Yet that’s ok, because you didn’t get into this game to be thanked. You got into the game to be the best Dungeon Mater you could ever be.To become the best, here are 11 things that you need to remember.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. This is the show for the Dungeon Master who has other things going on in their life and doesn’t have any extra time to work on their craft. We’ve been crafting episodes just for you for the last 3 years or so, and today are bringing you another personally crafted episode to help you amplify your dungeon master skills.This will be part 2 of this episode with part 1 having come out yesterday.Today I'm going to continue on a topic that hearkens back to episode 2!Here are 11 things every dungeon master should remember.It’s Not Your Sole Responsibility to Make the Game AmazingYou Get What You GiveIt’s All a SkillYou Are Not Matt Mercer or Brenden Lee MulliganYou Don’t Have to Be Completely OriginalShow Don’t TellMake It Corny Until It’s NotIt’s Just a GameBe In the MomentYour Best Is Yet to ComeIt’s Not the Accent but the ActorMentioned 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 HireGive 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.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/Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

Things Every Dungeon Master Should RememberAs a Dungeon Master you have so much to remember, it’s a wonder you can even remember your own name. Yet, what if, by remembering a few more things, you were able to not only make your game better, but feel better yourself, and make everything you do as a Dungeon Master better?I know what it’s like to deal with all the disappointment of a dungeon master. You deal with so much and rarely get thanked for it. Yet that’s ok, because you didn’t get into this game to be thanked. You got into the game to be the best Dungeon Mater you could ever be.To become the best, here are 11 things that you need to remember.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. This is the show for the Dungeon Master who has other things going on in their life and doesn’t have any extra time to work on their craft. We’ve been crafting episodes just for you for the last 3 years or so, and today are bringing you another personally crafted episode to help you amplify your dungeon master skills.This will be part 1 of this episode with part 2 coming out tomorrow.Today I'm going to continue on a topic that hearkens back to episode 2!Here are 11 things every dungeon master should remember.It’s Not Your Sole Responsibility to Make the Game AmazingYou Get What You GiveIt’s All a SkillYou Are Not Matt Mercer or Brenden Lee MulliganYou Don’t Have to Be Completely OriginalShow Don’t TellMake It Corny Until It’s NotIt’s Just a GameBe In the MomentYour Best Is Yet to ComeIt’s Not the Accent but the ActorMentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Play D&D with UsDid 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 HireJoin 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. DiscordBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

Have you ever seen amazing terrainscapes worthy of legend and have looked on with envy?Do you want to learn how to start getting into terrainscaping so you can have amazing battlemaps like all of the famous actual play shows?Well, this is the episode for you.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today Justin and Tanner are joined by Jay from Jay's Tabletop Terrain on Instagram. You can learn more about Jay and what he does by going to: https://www.instagram.com/jays_tabletop/In today's episode we talk about questions like these:How does one start into crafting or assembling terrain for their D&D games?Which is cheaper in the longer run, buying/3d printing or crafting terrain?What handful of pieces are staples and should be first in the list to start with?How do you measure distance for tactics in combat if there isn't a grid?How do you use terrain to improve the gameplay rather than taking away from it?And more.Let us know how you like this episode, but thanks for giving it a try.We'll be back next time with another great episode.Until then, let's roll initiative.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Play D&D with UsDid 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 HireJoin 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