GMs: Skip the boring stuff (or make it fun)

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Jul 18, 2025

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Getting bogged down in details while running D&D? Is boring stuff sucking up all your RPG session time?

These things happen occasionally in Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop role-playing games. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are strategies game masters and dungeon masters can use to skip the boring stuff—or make it fun.

If Something Is Boring, Skip It

In a role-playing game, we don’t need to narrate every moment of the characters’ day. Of course, all DMs and GMs know this when it comes to things like long meal breaks or bathroom stops.

However, sometimes we get pulled into a spiral of narrating a walk through corridors with no description, conflict, or contribution to the story. Suddenly, we’re counting the steps between each booth in a marketplace. Or a character wakes up, and the GM asks, “What do you want to do?” The player thinks, “Well… Gormquil the Slayer of Worlds would wash his face and fry up some bacon…”

Don’t do it. It’s boring. Skip it and get to the good stuff. But how?

The Cut

We’ve all seen movies and TV shows use the most common editing technique: the cut. Filmmakers can take us from one room to another city—or even a different planet—just by cutting the scene.

Use the cut while running D&D.

If the player characters are at the apothecary and realize they need to visit the blacksmith, don’t roleplay the walk unless something happens during it. Just cut and drop them at the blacksmith shop. Walking there is boring unless they’re attacked or uncover a clue on the way.

If You or Your Players Don’t Like Something, Skip It

Don’t like scenes of sex or extreme violence? Torture? Tedious travel? Hunting for food? If you or your players don’t enjoy it, skip it. It’s your game.

Fade to Black

Another filmmaking technique: fade to black. When your session reaches a point you don’t want to play out, just fade to black. Don’t describe the scene—let the players’ imaginations fill it in while you move the game forward.

This has two major benefits:

You avoid something boring or uncomfortable.
Your players will likely imagine the scene in more detail than you would have described it.

Make the Boring Stuff Fun

That said, another valid strategy is to make the boring stuff fun. It’s more challenging than skipping it—but when it works, it’s often memorable.

Turn Boring into Fun

Continuing from the earlier example: the party leaves the apothecary to go to the blacksmith. Walking there is boring—so spice it up. Maybe someone is following them. An orphan tries to pickpocket one of the characters. An NPC warns them not to go to that blacksmith shop.

These simple additions turn a dull scene into an interesting one.

Turn a Shopping Trip into a Riot

Shopping is notoriously boring—so skip it. Or turn it into something wild.

Maybe the shopkeepers are quirky, funny, or rude. Maybe the players need to do a small favor to get what they want. Maybe there's a rival shopper bidding against them.

Or... turn it into an actual riot.

The Goldsmith Guild is protesting a new wave of silversmiths. A demonstration erupts into a fistfight. Or maybe the King’s guards arrest a beloved shopkeeper and the crowd turns violent—just as the players are trying to buy rope. Swords are drawn. Chaos.

Long Journeys and Endless Walks

A long journey could be run like a dungeon. A long stairway could collapse behind them, forcing hard choices. A single step could trigger a magical shift. Don’t let the pacing drag—use the journey to heighten the stakes.

Your Imagination Is the Limit

Dungeon masters and game masters are only limited by imagination. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking your session needs to be full of dull moments. You can always skip them—or make them fun.

Want more GMing tips and tricks? Check out my book: The No-Prep Gamemaster: Train Your Brain to Run Tabletop Roleplaying Games