The DM's Guide to DMing

I'm running my first Roll20 game tomorrow; it'll be the last session of Dragon Heist, which has been a face-to-face game with my kids, a friend, and his kids. Should be interesting; then I'll probably run another Monday or Tuesday with my big West Marches face-to-face game, where there's a solid 15+ regular players and at least that many more occasional ones with rotating DMs and endless one-shots in a shared world. That's been going for a solid 2.5 years and we're jumping into Roll20 pretty hardcore.

NEStolgia wrote:

I also like to make my active pages ahead of time and black out space to the side so I can have all my tokens, monsters, adversaries, etc. Preloaded and ready to go outside of their view.

Why . . . why had I not thought of this yet. This is brilliant.

Ran my first game with roll20 today. There were a few bumps due to not being completely ready (but I did at least have the first floor map complete and set up for dynamic lighting). I was impressed by how well it worked running an old-school approach to dungeon exploration. There’s something about only seeing what your character can see that really helps sell the dungeon crawl. I haven’t been making heavy use of the GM layer, but since I don’t use fog of war (just dynamic lighting), I just add the monsters off screen as they’re going to be needed.

Starting a new campaign using DnD5E sometime in the next week. We are using Fantasy Grounds as our VTT since i have invested heavily in it and it costs my players nothing to use. Most Characters were created tonight. Going to run Lost Mines since none have played it and all but one player is new.

The last DnD campaign I was in we started with Lost Mines. As a player I thought it was a pretty fun adventure.

I don't know if this had been discussed but World Anvil is a pretty good tool for world building and keeping track of things within a campaign. Not a bad effort for a 2 person team. I'm going to use it to manage my game and the meta I think.

Had my first session of Curse of Strahd, finally today. Didn't even get to barovia proper (just stopped with the party entering the gates as they slammed shut behind them) but it was a lot of fun.

Spoiler:

I've tried to give each character their own "personal quest" that's drawn them into the demiplane to try to give more of a reason for them all to be there, rather than just "'cause Strahd is bored and he wants entertaining".

The druid is an easy one - she's been dreaming of the corrupted tree monster and the evil druids, and her task will be to destroy their grip on the land. The death domain cleric - a follower of the Raven Queen - needs to destroy the beating heart at the top of castle ravenloft, it's ability to sustain Strahd's undeath is a huge affront to the goddess. The monk is another easy one as well, and to make matter more interesting he's playing a monk who had his hand cut off as a child, so i can tie that in with the horrors of Barovia's very own Dr Frankenstein over at the Abbey. And finally the Artificer is rudderless and looking for purpose, so i'm going to have him drawn to Van Richten's tower and either train with Elizabeth or Van Richten himself and be inspired to become a Vampire Hunter.

I also seeded in an "out" for if i want to add in another player, or need to swap someone out. Normally that's really difficult here since Barovia is an enclosed demi-plane, and everyone within is basically to cowed and scared of Strahd to be heroes. But my maguffin for the adventure was to have the PCs searching for the remaining missing members of the hunting party that was sent out to deal with the werewolves in the "werewolves in the mist" opening scenario idea. A handful of the hunters, and their leader - a gender-switched version of the Lords Alliance representative - were sucked into Barovia in advance of the PCs. I'll probably have Haund show up as a vampire-spawn or werewolf or something eventually, but the remaining missing hunters i'll keep in reserve so that if i need another player i can drop one of them into the role of one of these hunters - maybe tied up in the windmill to be the next sweet pie or something.

Anyhoo - this opening session was fun. Next one is in two weeks where they will have the Durst Mansion to deal with

DM thoughts on my last EuroGWJ session.
My players! Do not read this plz and thanks!

Spoiler:

Interesting. I think i had my first major personal screwup as a DM this evening. There was some really entertaining RP stuff going on involving trying to figure out a way of revealing someone to be a villain but without straight up fighting them, at least until everything goes wrong. Buuuut because i didn't trust that i had enough content to cover the session, i had set up a hasty, totally - as it turns out - unecessary side scenario which interrupted the planning and which turned into a repetitive slog that had us overrun by about an hour and a half with a boss fight that had way too much HP, and we had to quit part way through. Now i'll need to figure out how to end this current situation in a way that doesn't doubly sabotage the previous RP setup, which tbh i don't think will be possible. so I'm just going to have to run with it.

It's not the end of the world, but it was a useful learning experience that i need to trust my players can fill the time themselves without me throwing [PRE SET ENCOUNTER] at them thinking I need to be constantly throwing ADVENTURE! at them.

Hey-ho. In my defence this was the THIRD game of D&D i had to plan, like, a day in advance this week. I'm glad i get a break from it for a couple of days at least

Yep, pyxistyx, sometimes you just need to let things happen. Just think of it as giving you a chance to relax and be the audience of the action for a while

I ran our first Band of Blades game via roll20 last night. It went pretty well (after the obligatory getting everyone's sound sorted out at the start). The missions went well, they managed to complete a ritual and gain a divine blessing and we had no combat action at all (I think the first time in this very military fantasy game). They're currently in the deep mystical forest, so the focus for now will be all on weird divine stuff and quite a lot less on the general fighting undead hordes.

roll20 lessons: Great for a game like this with many, many characters. Especially as the official sheets are quite nicely coded with custom rollers and everything. Still a bit annoying in other ways (moments with everyone talking at once because less visual cues etc).

pyxistyx wrote:

DM thoughts on my last EuroGWJ session.
My players! Do not read this plz and thanks!

Spoiler:

Interesting. I think i had my first major personal screwup as a DM this evening. There was some really entertaining RP stuff going on involving trying to figure out a way of revealing someone to be a villain but without straight up fighting them, at least until everything goes wrong. Buuuut because i didn't trust that i had enough content to cover the session, i had set up a hasty, totally - as it turns out - unecessary side scenario which interrupted the planning and which turned into a repetitive slog that had us overrun by about an hour and a half with a boss fight that had way too much HP, and we had to quit part way through. Now i'll need to figure out how to end this current situation in a way that doesn't doubly sabotage the previous RP setup, which tbh i don't think will be possible. so I'm just going to have to run with it.

It's not the end of the world, but it was a useful learning experience that i need to trust my players can fill the time themselves without me throwing [PRE SET ENCOUNTER] at them thinking I need to be constantly throwing ADVENTURE! at them.

Hey-ho. In my defence this was the THIRD game of D&D i had to plan, like, a day in advance this week. I'm glad i get a break from it for a couple of days at least

I know the feeling pyx, but have usually just been like....hey let the dice see if their crazy RP plans work out.....what?.....you rolled a nat 20?.........sh*t......well OK then!

I totally identify where you are coming from, Pyxi.

Spoiler:

A few years experience as a DM helped; and a year as a player (easier said than done, I know) gave me even better perspective, but I still think I stumble this way sometimes.

I'm learning from my (very experienced) DM some of the ways to shift storytelling burden onto the players in a way that is fun for them. I went in wanting to be fed adventure, but with attachment to our characters, I'm learning that we often really enjoy just wasting an hour describing a shopping trip or dressing up for a masked ball or pursuing hobbies or celebrating our victory over evil or whatever. Players are often dying for a chance to show off the character they've lavished so much attention on; eventually I realized that not only was I not obligated to keep the adventure moving at a breakneck pace every session (though fun sometimes), but I was actually robbing players of enjoyment if I moved too quickly.

But, even my decades-of-experience DM still falls short or makes mistakes sometimes. And a big part of DMing, I'm learning, is the self-confidence to not be a perfectionist.

*nods*

I think part of the problem - for that particular game - is we really only play for 2 hours, roughly, every 2 weeks so i feel an urge to press on and keep things moving to maximise the time spent. Hopefully now that my plate is more full with other sessions that it'll help me slow down a bit (for one thing, I'm splitting my prep-time between three games!)

I run a sandbox game, so it’s effectively impossible for me to be prepared for every situation, but something that has helped me, and I think it’d be useful even if you’re not running that kind of game, is the GMing advice at the Alexandrian.

For my game last Saturday, I didn’t have time to prep the stuff that would get the PCs to the dungeon, but I knew if I dropped clues, they’d find it eventually. With that in mind, I was able to improvise the first hour or so of the session where they explored an abandoned lumber camp and learned more about the disappearances they’re investigating.

Spoiler:

In your situation, I’d talk to the players about it if you haven’t already. Sometimes things don’t work, or they put the game in a bad state, and you have to make changes. If they’re fine with it, retcon or tweak that boss fight so you’re not starting off in the middle of a slog. It’s not great, but it beats grinding through (part of) a session people might not be enjoying. I’ve even declared a whole encounter (the seugathi encounter in Curse of the Lady’s Light) as having not happened because it ended up being totally broken.

Finished my map of Athkatla for Eleima's D&D game. Kind of a mix of existing maps of the city with some Baldurs Gate 2 aesthetics thrown into it. Only the second time i've tried using watercolour for maps, and the first time i've tried it in more of an abstract method, rather than laying out each proper street, etc.

Seems to work quite well (but takes a LOT of time!)

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/03/athkatla-colour-smaller.jpg)

that looks great!

amazing!

Current thing i'm working on: I'm making a deck of playing card sized encounter maps. Map on the front, simple encounter details - just enough to run a quick encounter - on the back. Here's the front facing maps i've finished so far. 10 maps done, 41 to go! (plus a "map key" card).

This deck is probably going to be "dungeon/cave" themed and for Tier 1 (1-5) for starters.

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/card-summary.jpg)

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/map-2-theforestaltar2.jpg)

IMAGE(https://smackfolio.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/forest-altar-updated.jpg)

They are gorgeous! I would love them for Dungeon World, too.

pyxistyx wrote:

Current thing i'm working on: I'm making a deck of playing card sized encounter maps. Map on the front, simple encounter details - just enough to run a quick encounter - on the back. Here's the front facing maps i've finished so far. 10 maps done, 41 to go! (plus a "map key" card).

This deck is probably going to be "dungeon/cave" themed and for Tier 1 (1-5) for starters.

sweet dungeon images clipped for space

is this a commission for someone or is it something you plan to have for sale somewhere because:

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)

My own project - i kinda want to bring this to kickstarter once i've finished the design work on it. so i'll let you know. Will probably take me a month or so to get them all painted and written.

pyxistyx wrote:

My own project - i kinda want to bring this to kickstarter once i've finished the design work on it. so i'll let you know. Will probably take me a month or so to get them all painted and written.

I will keep an eye on this space.

Question for my fellow DMs:

So i'm starting up a whole new game this evening with a bunch of PCs who are largely unfamiliar to semi-familiar to the setting and mechanics (Shadowrun 5E).

I was planning a totally new adventure, but then I thought it'd probably be easier on them (and myself) to just take them through a published adventure, so they can learn the game easier and planning each session would go faster, but part of me wonders if I should take it on myself to give them a whole new experience. Thoughts?

Prederick wrote:

Question for my fellow DMs:

So i'm starting up a whole new game this evening with a bunch of PCs who are largely unfamiliar to semi-familiar to the setting and mechanics (Shadowrun 5E).

I was planning a totally new adventure, but then I thought it'd probably be easier on them (and myself) to just take them through a published adventure, so they can learn the game easier and planning each session would go faster, but part of me wonders if I should take it on myself to give them a whole new experience. Thoughts?

I'd say go with the option that feels easier for you. It probably won't make much difference to the rest of them if its published or original, as they'll be busy figuring out their characters and suchlike.

I like to start simple with a new game anyway - give everyone something fairly straightforward to manage as they learn how to play, then ramp up in the complexity of adventures as we play more.

Unrelated sidenote: I've been running a D&D game with PCs that know the rules so well for a while now, I forgot how mentally taxing running a game where you're basically explaining all the rules and core concepts while playing are. My brain is absolutely taxed out.

It occurs to me I probably should've tagged into this thread, since I started DM'ing back in September. There's been up's and down's, a lot of me fudging the rules and playing fast and loose, but mostly smooth sailing. I credit Pyxi for being such a lovely DM to play with and look up to. My players seem to be happy (at least, no one's openly complaining! Despite me pestering them for feedback), so I guess that's something. Helps that I've been running the Lost Mine of Phandelver which I've played through once before. I just moved the whole thing down to Amn, because I want to take them to Athkatla next. I don't have a campaign for the next step, nothing definite, just some rough idea of pitting them up against the Zhentarim, so that's going to be... interesting. I'm not sure if I should be making it easy on myself and finding some campaign I could kinda fit in, or if I'm just going to wing it, borrowing a bit from BG2 as I go. I don't know. Though I'd best figure it out soon, there's a fair chance they'll be done with LMoP by Friday evening! I've thought of a few hooks, a few encounters, but that's about it.

MikeSands wrote:

I'd say go with the option that feels easier for you. It probably won't make much difference to the rest of them if its published or original, as they'll be busy figuring out their characters and suchlike.

I like to start simple with a new game anyway - give everyone something fairly straightforward to manage as they learn how to play, then ramp up in the complexity of adventures as we play more.

All of this.

Given your comment:

Prederick wrote:

Unrelated sidenote: I've been running a D&D game with PCs that know the rules so well for a while now, I forgot how mentally taxing running a game where you're basically explaining all the rules and core concepts while playing are. My brain is absolutely taxed out.

...I suspect you already feel on some level that you should not take on more work than necessary at first. I'd say this was a Definitely Related Sidenote.

Also, Lost Mines of Phandelver is just a wonderful classic adventure and I'd hate for your players to miss that iconic experience.

Keep in mind that new players haven't encountered all the tropes of your game genre yet! So you can throw a mimic at them early on and watch their confusion as you describe their hands sticking to the treasure chest... Or whatever the Shadowrun equivalents are. Keep it easy on yourself so you can do the needed maintenance on rules and gameplay.

Eleima wrote:

I'm not sure if I should be making it easy on myself and finding some campaign I could kinda fit in, or if I'm just going to wing it, borrowing a bit from BG2 as I go. I don't know. Though I'd best figure it out soon, there's a fair chance they'll be done with LMoP by Friday evening! I've thought of a few hooks, a few encounters, but that's about it.

Nah. PC just finishing a big story arc? They are going to spend half of the session finding a place to spend all their loot and the other half deciding what to buy.

I have come to like the idea of both. A drop-in that provides the bones and add in your own pieces from there that fit the PCs/area. Something that is rapidly becoming one of my favorite sources for ideas is a module, Savage Encounters: Villains and Lairs. It is a collection of NPCs inspired and built around the art rather than the other way around. They can fit any number of roles from quest or info giver, merchant, villain. Each one has a Background, Current Motives, Long Term Motives, and Flaws. Even if you don't use them, they are great inspiration triggers. Looking at it now, it looks like they have a couple more editions I may have to check out.

Awesome, thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, I'm probably going to have a get out of the mine/celebrate/shopping session, and then I want to throw an encounter at them while they're on the road so I've got a few sessions in me before I really draw a blank.
Pyxi's gorgeous map is also going to be/has already been a wonderful source of inspiration. I just need to jot down some stuff, and not have it all swimming in my head.

Eleima wrote:

Awesome, thanks for the suggestion! Yeah, I'm probably going to have a get out of the mine/celebrate/shopping session, and then I want to throw an encounter at them while they're on the road so I've got a few sessions in me before I really draw a blank.
Pyxi's gorgeous map is also going to be/has already been a wonderful source of inspiration. I just need to jot down some stuff, and not have it all swimming in my head. :D

I know a fantastic shopkeeper drop in called Rosna's Vault.

Also, the shopping session can be a travelling merchant that could become a reoccurring character (Minotaar did this in the campaign he runs) or shopping can easily turn into some social encounters. Perhaps the shopkeep has started to hear of the party's achievements and asks for help in getting shop supplies (that magic item the party really wants gut is outside of their price range or that requires a component the crafter is missing and is dangerous to acquire) or offers a shop discount for shop branding/sponsorship (Matt Mercer's Gilmore).

Good Luck! 4th and 5th level is a fun time, as the players are starting to get their cool class abilities they all want to try out.

As a DM, I highly recommend taking a look at The Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master by Sly Flourish; I think it's $10 or so on Amazon, and it's about doing as little as possible as a DM, and basically just creating the rough framework of NPCs, locations, and encounters, and being really flexible and rolling with it. Completely changed how I prep for games, and made DMing a lot less stressful.