DM Advice

DM Advice

Don't waste the time of your players.

You only get a few hours to actually play the game. Wasting the time of the players by making them cook breakfast, pay bills, pick up arrows, and buy rope isn’t fun or something that needs to happen on screen.

Every PC and NPC should want something, even if it is only a glass of water.

Find out what your players want, your story should engage with this want. Also DON'T hold out on them, create challenges for them to overcome, but give them what they want. Figure out what your NPC’s want, it will give them life and give you a purpose to show them on screen.

Everything you do as a GM should advance the game.

You are the pace master. Remember we aren’t wasting time. It’s valuable. The more you move the game along the more fun everyone will have. It’s pretty amazing how much you can get done in 3hours of playing if you are making sure to keep up the pace. If there is a lul at the table, make something happen or as questions.

Give your players as much information as possible as soon as possible.

Players need to have complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, and what the point of playing is.Walking around blind isn’t fun for anyone, especially if you are playing theater of the mind or something along those lines. Ask questions of the players to find out what they are interested in, but more importantly to find out what they are missing.

Your game should start at the first decision of your session.

For example, “rested for the night, your camp broken down, you now stand on the edge of the Forest of Too Many Spiders…” and then you begin describing the trail into the forest and ask for a marching order and all that shit. so the party can start adventuring. Get to a spot where the characters have to make a choice, the tougher the choice the better.

Don't take your players agency

Even if you are fast forwarding past the slow shit, don't take your players agency away. Ask them if they had anything important they wanted to do, get the input, then fast forward. Furthermore If you make bad things happen to characters and they don't have a say in how they react they are gonna get frustrated. Frustrated players are not gonna have fun, and that can put a damper on the whole session. Make the bad things happen on screen.

KISS: Keep It simple stupid.

No need to make it overly complicated. It's hard to remember all the details, even if they are written down in front of you. Make it clear, make it simple. Having 3-6 people at your table imagining a bunch of different stuff, can lead to confusion and frustration.

Be a fan of the players’ characters.

They are the stars of the show, you should encourage them to do cool and exciting things. Cheer for their victories and lament their defeats. You’re not here to push them in any particular direction, merely to participate in fiction that features them and their action. Don’t be too protective of your stuff, you can always make more. It's imaginary after all.

Make awful things happen to the PCs in order that the players may see what they are made of.

The more shit that happens to a PC the more they will figure out who that character is. You can fill out every survey but until they have overcome something tough they won't know who that character is. Fuck backstories.

Be kind to yourself.

You only get better at this by taking chances and making mistakes. Nobody--not even the most seasoned DM - is 100% infallible or breathtakingly creative all of the time. Remember, too, you are never solely responsible for the outcome of a session. This is a cooperative affair. Challenge yourself, yes--but also be gentle and kind to yourself.