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. One of the hosts, Tanner Weyland, shares how D&D can help prospective authors improve their storytelling. You may have noticed that the intro changed to a "what if" scenario. If you would like to weigh in on how you would respond to that situation, connect with us on our new instagram and let us know! Would you like to play D&D with us? If so, then si...

Being a dungeon master: The Best and Worst Things “Where are they?” You ask as you shepherded into this enormous cavern. “Wait. Soon, you will see.” Gavrat responds. You’ve never liked dealing with the ratlike shifter. Even though most of his features are human, the ratlike features on his face are unsettling. Particularly the teeth that stick out under his rat-like nose. He guides you through the...

You all reach the bottom of the ladder after climbing down it for an hour and a half. Halfway down, your wizard cast light to give you all the ability to see. You find yourselves in a roughcut chamber with a ladder that ascendes up towards where you came from. You also see a solitary door. After a few minutes, Herath is able to unlock the door and open it creakily. Beyond your group sees a sloping...

The party walks out into a clearing. Traveling through the jungle had taken longer than expected. You’d followed the young girl’s tracks but that didn’t make traveling through the brush any easier, especially for Medic.  In the clearing you see a clean cut wood house on stilts high above the jungle floor. It was as if a home had been built on a watch tower. Smoke rises lazily from the chimney...

You and your companions get off the boat and onto the dock of New Tuyen. You look around letting the sights and sounds greet you. You walk towards the city and allow yourself to acclimate to this new city.  You first notice all the green. The buildings and roads are all made with a green material. After talking to a local citizen, you learn that the material is actually a moss that is particu...

You all enter the doorway at the back of the chamber. This dungeon had given you and your companions many challenges. You’d almost lost McGregor in the first room and as you descended lower, each level became harder. In this last chamber, you’d expended all your magical energy just trying to put this pit fiend down. You look back at the demon, already its body is starting to turn to sludgy black i...

Hey There! Welcome back to another joint episode of How to Be a Better DM. As always you can go ahead and sign up for our newsletter :https://how-to-be-a-better-dm.captivate.fm/subscribe Mentioned in this episode: Brought to you by Session 0 Studios Visit session0studios.com for more information. Give Us a Rating and Review You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Bett...

Sorry I'm a day late uploading! Subscribe to our newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/05e568274671/subscription-page By subscribing, you'll get access to behind the scenes content, bonus content, home-brew content and more. In today's episode, we talk about how to prepare your players for a D&D session. We discuss things like useful materials for players, Rules and mechanics of gameplay, and gi...

You all finish your long-rest and you wake up to a bright, if not bitter cold winter morning. The view from the mountaintop lookout on which you slept is breathtaking, as is the chilling wind that blows. You all slept comfortably thanks to the warmth of the fire. As you all wake up you prepare for the day, memorizing your spells, stretching your sore limbs and generally preparing yourselves for wh...

Welcome back to the 28th episode of How to Be a Better DM. Today I get to introduce you to my new team member Tanner Weyland! Before we go on, I’d like to invite you to sign up for my monthly newsletter in which you’ll get access to behind the scenes content, bonus content, homebrew content and more. Sign up for this newsletter here: https://mailchi.mp/05e568274671/subscription-page Today we talk...

You face your aggressors stoically. They scoff at you and you feel the presence of one as he edges around to flank you from behind. “Leave me alone. I’ve never done anything to you guys,” you say. The older boy looks at you and then looks at his thug-like friends. “You’re a freak, an orcish freak. You always will be.” He then nods to his friends. You feel a rock hit you in your shoulder. It stings...

You look around you. You see the circle of stones surrounding you. You see Judir watching you with his arms folded surrounded by your closest friends and companions.  You take a deep breath and walk forward. “The winds whisper still,” Runic symbols appear on the stones of the circle. “The voices of the ancients.” You stand above the bowl with it’s red liquid. “And the mountains remember their...

You and your companions finally crest the hill. Judir said it wouldn’t be far and it wasn’t. He leads you all through a small copse of trees to an overlook with large stones in a circle. “Ulv, you stand in the center of the ring. The rest of you, sit down and witness.” Judir says with a tone of finality. You give each of your party members a meaningful glance and then move to the center of the rin...

You finish pouring the elf’s blood in a circle in the prescribed way. “Hey Bolgir, are you sure we’re supposed to do it this way? Doesn’t this seem uh…. Somewhat uh… hellish to you?” Your dwarven wizard pauses and looks at you and says, “Well, honestly yes, but this is what that cooky wizard, Kamere, said when we were at that council meeting. It’s even here on his shopping list he gave us.” You sm...

Can You Play D&D with 2 Players Welcome back to the 23rd episode How to Be a Better DM. I’m your host Justin Lewis and I’m here to help you craft more immersive stories for yourself and your players as you DM a session of D&D 5e. Thanks for coming back week in and week out to listen to this show. I am extremely grateful to you for your support.  I’d like to invite you to sign up for a...

“Well what do you think?” Geva asks you. You steeple your fingers and think for a moment.  “They’re all a very interesting lot aren’t they?” you ask. “Yes but who would you want be stuck on a ship with for months at a time?” responds the ever wise Geva. “Well, there is Imora. I think having a tabaxi on the ship would be useful, though we’ll have to do something about her antipathy towards tie...

“What is happening to you Gardo Yic Hama?” you ask in your steady voice. The old svirfneblin looks up at you and a single tear slides down his face. “I’m dying.” He pauses to cough a little. You hold a handkerchief to his mouth and dab a little blood that had escaped. “Soon I will be gone.” You look at his chest where a blade had impaled the deep gnome. You look at the two Drow warriors who had am...

The moon hangs high in the sky, full in its brilliance. A bank of clouds slides lazily across the sky and obscures part of the moon shining down on you as you scale the side of the building. You love how the moon illuminates the world at night. In fact, for most of your life, you’ve considered the moon your closest companion. For a job like this, you would’ve preferred a new moon and utter darknes...

You find yourself creeping through a dark hallway. You’ve left your companions outside so you could come in and do the dirty work. Your friends always let you take care of the “unsavory” elements of your work. You’re ok with that. You’ve been ok with that all your life. You creep through the dark hallway. You stop. You slink into the shadow of a large pillar. You see a guard walk-by. He continues...

d&d campaign ideas for beginners “Sir, you and your companions are the only guests who are here completely by chance. That is why you four must be in charge of the investigation. Even I myself, as a servant of the house, must be placed under suspicion. Since you showed up as the murder was supposedly taking place, it can be assumed that none of you were responsible. Add to that the fact that y...

“How many of your crops are like this?” the Constable asks. Rosdan, the local farmer who asked for this meeting, looks right into Constable Yerip’s eyes and says, “All of them sir. There’s not a single grain that isn’t tainted.” Yerip steeples his hands and sits back in his chair. He sits for a moment thinking. “What happened to the few people who ate the grain?” Rosdan paused and then said, “they...

The grand city of Tornlock boasts a population of 100,000 citizens. From the port district to the affluent Crown district, many call this city their home. In a city like this though, many find themselves in less than fortunate circumstances. You and your companions find yourselves in an Inn, sleeping when a loud knocking on your doors awakens you. It’s a member of the guard. He informs you that La...

You awake in the log cabin in which you’d taken shelter the night before. You look around at the warm crackling fire in the giant hearth. The large white bear that led you to the cabin lies at the foot of the fire. You and your companions slowly awake. You look around and notice one figure not of your company sitting at the large oak table in the corner. His feet are up and he sits smoking a slend...

You and your companions walk slowly through the town. The sky is mottled gray and a slight breeze chills your skin. You see the townsfolk walking by as if nothing had happened. You stop a young lady to ask her what happened. She looks at you with a smile too big for her face. “Nothing happened good sir. We all love living here in Teel’s Hollow.” Her response didn’t feel natural, and her eyes seeme...

You and your friends walk into the deepest catacomb of the crypt. The summons you’d received were cryptic and specific. It said to descend to the lowest portion of the crypt in order to receive a special mission. You’ve passed ancient bones and less ancient bones, and now you find yourself in a large room completely made out of stone. Bluish light seems to emanate from the corners of the room but...