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

Hello, and Welcome to How To Be A Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. Little 'ol Tanner is flying solo today with a great topic. We are going to talk about something that is important to every D&D interaction that we have with players: “Yes And” This improv ability isn't just for comedy, and it isn't something that takes an improv class to implement in your D&D campaign. It...

Hello, and Welcome to How To Be A Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent! 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, we just have one big announcement about Justin: he had his baby! Congratulations, Justin! For today's topic, we are going back to the basics: Saving throws. Do you just s...

Here's the transcript of today's episode: Tanner Weyland: to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. This is Tanner Weyland, and I'm here with Justin Lewis. Say hi! Justin: Bye. Tanner Weyland: Hi. Perfect. We're glad to be here with you guys. And today we're going to have a little, you know, just a little question episode, just a little episode where we're answering one que...

D&D and Death: How to Handle the Death of a Character in D&D Suddenly, time seems to slow down. The arrows rain down like slow pebbles skipping across a lake rather than the hail of death they’d been seconds before. Lightning crawls across the sky, achingly slow, reaching for that next empty space. These demonlings rush about, and all the while, your eyes remain fixed on Eloin. You see her...

Tanner Weyland: Hello, this is Tanner Weyland. Welcome back to How to be a Better DM, the official podcast of Monsters. Rent. I'm here with Justin Lewis. Say hi, Justin. Justin: Justin. Tanner Weyland: Hey, hey, no, don't do that. Just kidding, I'm joking. Justin: I'm sorry. Tanner Weyland: It's great to have you. Ha ha ha. Justin: Thank you. It's great to be here. Tanner Weyland: Perfect. So if a...

Why We Create Expectations about Ourselves This episode is about D&D and it’s about life in some small way. Playing dungeons and dragons is something we do just like everything else we do, and because of that, we can often create expectations around the way we do things.  I think it stems from our ability to think about how we think about things. Maybe subconsciously, we need some sort of...

justin: Welcome back to How to be a Better DM. I'm your co-host today, Justin Lewis, here with Tanner Wayland and Rob Van Auken. Go ahead and say hello, guys. tanner_weyland: Hey. rob: Good evening, everyone. justin: And you are joining How to be a Better DM in our mini-series on collaborating for homebrewing a adventure one-shot. And today, we wanted this to be raw and unfiltered, really, just to...

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, we are going to jump right into the announcements! If you would like to sign up for future one-shot podcasts, sign up at this link: https://how-to-be-a-better-dm.captivate.fm/one-shot . We always love playing w...

justin_lewis: Welcome back to How to be a Better DM. I'm Justin Lewis and I'm here with Rob Van Auchen. I said that right, right? rob: Yes, you did. justin_lewis: Awesome. And today we are continuing our mini series on a specific homebrew project that we are making with Rob. And today's gonna be a little bit different kind of an episode. For those of you who are new to the show, this is the show w...

Tanner Weyland: Hello and welcome to How to be a Better DM. My name is Tanner Wayland and together we're all gonna learn how to make wonderful adventures for our players. I'm here with Justin Lewis. Justin, how you doing? Justin: A little sick, but I'm alive and well, so that's good. Tanner Weyland: I know, I know. Justin and I were gonna have a barbecue with some friends and that's right around t...

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, I am talking about how to make D&D one-shots impactful for our players (hint: it's not about doing just combat). If you would like to sign up for future one-shot podcasts, sign up at this link: https://how-to-be-a-bet...

Justin: Welcome back to How to be a Better DM. I am Justin Lewis here with Tanner Wayland. Go ahead and say hello, Tanner. Tanner Weyland: Hey Justin, hey everybody. Justin: And today we are celebrating our 100th episode. It is mind-boggling to think that we've been doing this for 100 episodes and thinking you know one episode a week that's almost that's a little over no that's just under two year...

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. I’m your Host today, Justin Lewis and today, I want to talk about an aspect of D&D that is one-part storytelling prompt, one-part game mechanic, and overall an interesting facet of the game, namely alignment. We’ve all heard the famous phrase of, “It’s what my character would do.” Naturally, when someone says that, they are usually trying to justify somet...

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM! Tanner talks about how you can take immersion to the next level through the snacks that you prepare as well as the food you introduce to your players' characters. Also, if you'd like to sign up for one of our One-shots, do so here: https://how-to-be-a-better-dm.captivate.fm/one-shot Mentioned in this episode: Brought to you by Session 0 Studios Visit session0studi...

Justin: Welcome back to How to be a Better DM. Today, I am Justin Lewis. I actually am always Justin Lewis, but today I'm joined with Tanner Whelan. Go ahead and say hi, Tanner. Tanner Weyland: Hey guys. Justin: And we have today with us a very special guest, Victor Baveen. And for me, he's kind of, he has a special place in my heart because I first got introduced to really anything to do with Dun...

justin_lewis: Welcome back to How to be a Better DM. I'm one of your hosts today, Justin Lewis, and I'm here with Rob and Tanner Wayland. And I'll let Rob introduce himself in a second, but let me first tell you, the listener, about today's episode. So if you're new here, we are here to help you craft better stories for yourself and your players as you DM sessions of Dungeons and Dragons. And toda...

Justin: Ulf woke up. He was in a cave, but he saw a face above his. It was Herlia. Ulf, we thought you were dead. Ulf sat up and saw Hepom sitting not too far off now, sporting a few more days' growth of beard. Ulf looked around. He could see the exit from the cave a few yards away. It was snowing outside. About a week. We still don't know what happened, Ulf, but we are sure glad to see you up and...

Justin: Hi there listener, this is Justin Lewis and I have here Tanner Wayland with me today. Say hi, Tanner. Tanner Weyland: Hi. Justin: And today on how to be a better DM we are going to talk about Sort of a niche topic One that I think a lot of people struggle with without knowing they struggle with so let me paint a picture for you It's session zero right and you've finally gotten all your PCs...

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, we are going to jump right into the announcements! Other than that, Justin and I are going to be at an event this Saturday, the 22nd of April! In Provo Utah, in the Provo Towne Center Mall, there is a D&D w...

Tanner Weyland: Hello, my name is Tanner Wayland and I, along with my co-host Justin Lewis, are here on How to be a Better DM. How you doing, Justin? Justin: I am good. I'm good. How are you, Tenor? Tanner Weyland: Oh, doing well, doing well. It's a lovely day outside, you Justin: It Tanner Weyland: know? Justin: is. Tanner Weyland: It's great. Here in Utah, it's been winter for 20 years, it feels...

Ulv’s Story continued “Mother?” Ulv whispered as he moved towards the visage of his long-dead mother. “It is I little snowhare,” Ulv’s mother said, using Ulv’s childhood pet name. When he was younger, his hair was so blonde it was almost white. His mother had taken to calling him snowhare when he was a baby. Even though he’d hated the nickname as a teenager, she’d still used it. Now, hearing that...

This episode of How to Be a Better DM is a special one! Justin and Tanner talk with Rob Wells (New York Times best selling author and avid wargame enthusiast) about how to write compelling characters as a DM, and how to help players develop their characters to the fullest. To read more about Rob's books, visit here: https://robisonwells.com/ Or, if you want to see his amazing wargame blog, visit h...

Questions What causes DM boredom? Doing the Same thing Over and Over Again Not Trying Anything New Players stop trying DM’s “know everything” D&D just isn't a priority in their life right now. Why Do DM’s Stop Trying New Things? Afraid of Failure Not Sure of the Rules Feel stuck in a campaign They Get Comfortable Why Would Your Players Stop Trying? How Do You Get Your Players to Give More Effo...

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's topic: Borrowing story ideas for your D&D campaigns. Mentioned in this episode: I Made a CR 100 Monster I made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes us...

Intro Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM, I’m Justin Lewis, here with my compatriot Tanner Weyland, and together we’re here to help you learn how to craft better stories while you DM sessions of Dungeons and Dragons. Burnout: Main Topics Brief description of cause: the causes of DM burnout (doing too much, to frequently, with not change) Get help: Ask others to DM Stop writing your own content,...