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Being a D&D Dungeon Master Is Not as Hard as Many Make It Out to Be
It can be challenging at times, but everyone can do it. The dungeon master is an essential role in the game, and I believe every player should try it at least a few times.
Don’t worry. You don’t have to be Matt Mercer or anyone except yourself.
All You Need to Be a Dungeon Master
Here’s all a person needs to be a dungeon master:
The will
The willingness to be fair
Some familiarity with D&D
A few story situation ideas
Yes, that’s it. You don’t need to spend hours in preparation. You don’t need to be a rules master. Just know the game a bit, be fair, and have some situation ideas ready.
The Will to Be a D&D DM
First things first, before practical tips: a person should want to be the DM. If someone is forced into the role or lacks the heart to play it, then it will be extremely difficult. But if you want to be the dungeon master, more than half the job is already done.
Dungeon Masters Do Not Need to Know Many Rules
You don’t need to know the rules of D&D backward and forward. In fact, you can run sessions without knowing many rules at all.
Yes, you can. It’ll be okay. If you’ve played D&D once, you already know enough to be the DM. What if you don’t know a rule? No worries. Ask your players, look it up, or make up your own rule on the spot.
The main thing regarding rules is setting difficulty numbers. Determining fair difficulty can be tricky when you first start DMing, but it’s not hard. There’s always a balance between what’s challenging for the characters and what’s too easy.
After a couple of sessions, you’ll start getting a feel for coming up with good difficulty numbers. Just use trial and error and you’ll get it.
Making Judgment Calls as a DM
This is where fairness comes in. Dungeon Masters have to make judgment calls about rules or story situations all the time. Be fair, but be sure the game stays challenging.
Just think about what makes sense and seems plausible, and you’ll be good.
Situation Ideas for D&D Sessions
Contrary to popular belief, dungeon masters don’t need grand plots that rival The Lord of the Rings—especially not the first time you run a session.
What you need are situations you can throw at your players. They’ll react, and then you react to them. A bar fight, a kidnapping, an ambush—anything like that to get things going.
Here’s a classic your players will enjoy: tell them they’ve been hired to guard a caravan through the forest. Describe the scene, then have goblins attack the party. Once the goblins are defeated, the party searches the bodies. Throw in some odd items like an iron ring with an “M” on it or a map to a nearby ruin.
Your players will ask questions. Why did the goblins attack? Where’s their den? Those questions and a few clues will lead you into more situations. Just roll with it.
Too simple? Too cliché? Maybe. But this example will serve a first-time DM better than some published adventures.
There’s Got to Be More Than That?
There’s got to be more to being a dungeon master than that, right? Of course there is. But when you’re just starting out, these are the main things to focus on.
Understand that possibly the hardest part of being a DM is acting as the referee. You’ll need to make some tough calls, but just be fair. Then be firm. Make the call and move on.
There are always ways to make D&D sessions more engaging and exciting. Let those come with time. Cut your teeth on simple scenarios and gain experience.
D&D Dungeon Master Resources
If you want more help, random tables are a DM’s best friend. Here’s a huge list of my random table books. You can also check out my quick guide to running D&D sessions with little or no prep. It’s called The No-Prep Gamemaster.
Looking for further reading? Here’s my list of recommended D&D books.
Prime Day Ending Soon
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RPG Wishlist
*DriveThruRPG’s Summer Sale in on with titles up to 40% off.*
DMs Guild Titles
RPG Articles
RPG News from Around the Web
The Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy is the biggest story rocking the TTRPG industry. I’ve been following it and gathering articles.
Comic Publishers To File Paperwork Against Diamond Comics This Week
Dynamite Owed A Million By Diamond, Can't Make Payroll Next Week
Ad Populum Can't Yet Deal Directly with Diamond Consignment Vendors
Andrew Aiello, Tom Derby & Ben Davis Buy CGA After Diamond Bankruptcy
Wild Imaginary West RPG
Why didn’t I hear about this sooner? My kids love Boylei Hobby Time on YouTube. Frankly, I do too. He creates incredibly creative dioramas.
Now he has a tabletop role-playing game in the works based on his awesome creations. Check out the successful Kickstarter.
Here’s an example video from the setting:
The Screening Room
Game Masters can draw inspiration from movies to create better, more engaging sessions.
Long-lost Charlie Chaplin film meticulously restored after 100 years
Simon Pegg Wants The Next Star Trek Movie To Avoid This Common Sci-Fi Mistake
One Challenging Sci-Fi Epic Offers An Evil, But Honest, First Contact Story
Why Is It So Hard for Hollywood To Make a Good Red Sonja Movie?
Box Office: ‘Jurassic World Rebirth’ Hatches New Era for Dino Franchise With Huge $318M Global Bow
Netflix Says 50 Percent of Global Users Now Watch Anime, Reveals Expanded Slate
CD Projekt Red Reveals ‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners 2’ at Anime Expo
George Pal - Film Visionary
I didn’t learn about George Pal until I was taking film classes in college. Of course, I had seen some of his films without realizing it. Learn more about this imaginative creator.
Movie Extras:
More Jaws: