So You Wanna Be A DM?

Welcome to the world of Dungeon Mastery. Whether you’re new to the game or have been playing for years there is always something new to explore and create when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons.

To may people taking on the role of Dungeon Master is a daunting task. Many players go into D&D with dreams of epic quests and memorable adventures. As the DM you are in control the entire games and it can feel like you have a lot to live up to.

Even the official 300+ page Dungeon Master’s Guide itself can be intimidating and you may find yourself wondering where to start. This is a more concise DM guidebook. It is not a complete substitute for the official guide, there’s a reason it’s over 300 pages after all, but it will give you a better foothold to go off of.

What Is a DM?

The first thing you should know is what exactly is a DM and what do they do?

A Dungeon Master, or DM, is the driving force when playing Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D. The DM is the one who creates and describes the world in which the other players can explore and go on adventures. These adventures, also known as campaigns, can be any length from a single game session to one that is played out over months or even years. Campaigns typically go on until the players characters accomplish some greater quest but can continue for as long as you see fit.

Types of DM

Every DM is different. Each one can bring a new perspective to the game, and the overall tone and structure can vary greatly. Before you begin DMing yourself, try to think about what kind of DM you could be. Consider the following exaggerated types of DMs to see which one you relate to.

The Strategist

The Strategist is a game play orientated DM. They’re gung ho and eager to get to the action. You can expect intense battles that require the players to strategize and think of their next course of action. They may also pay closer attention and be stricter to the rules, which will then force players to think outside the box with these harder limitations.

Most of the campaign from a Strategist DM will be spend in a dungeon, fighting of enemies, looking for treasure, and solving puzzles. Their games are often to the point with very little focus on roleplaying and character arcs.

The Storyteller

Contrary to the Strategist DM, the Storyteller is very focused on the story telling aspects of the game. These are the types who spend hours developing campaign settings complete with detailed maps, economic systems, political power structures, and an in depth world history.

The Storytellers will put thought into making memorable and likeable characters and story arcs. It is their ultimate goal to make the story satisfying and fulfilling for everyone involved. Often times this DM will overlook the rules for meaningful story purposes.

The Wildcard

For a Wildcard DM, you never know what to expect. Their campaigns won’t focus on either combat or storytelling more than the other. There could be a healthy mixture of both, or neither or them at all.

The Wildcard doesn’t take their campaigns too seriously, and instead prefer to keep the game light and entertaining. They also tend to have the most blatant disregard for the rules out of the three types of DMs, but you are sure to have a fun time with many hilarious moments.

Playstyle

At the end of the day there is no wrong way to play D&D. The nature of the game itself is to allow the players free reign to make what they will of this fantasy world. From those who view the handbook as law, to those who see it as merely a guideline. What’s important is finding what works for you.

Take a moment to think about what your playstyle is. What do you look for in a campaign? What kind of story do you want to create? Ask yourself these and look over what type of DM you could be and which play style would work best for you and your players.

Know Your Players

As the DM you are responsible for the enjoyment of everyone involved. This means that it is up to you to provide a good experience for the players as well as yourself. When asking yourself what you are looking for in a campaign, consider what your players are looking for as well. The best way to find out what kind of campaign will make everyone happy is to get to know your players beforehand.

Communication is Key

Communication is key. Before the start of any campaign, reach out and talk to your players. Just as you would ask yourself what you hope to from the campaign, ask them what their expectations are as well.

Playstyles are very important to know beforehand. You may plan to have a roleplay focused game, while your players may be looking for action and combat. This could lead to a conflict of interests among the table and will leave everyone a bit disappointed. Compare what it is that you and your players are looking for and find a way to include it into the story.

Another important thing to consider asking about is personal boundaries. Find out any phobias, themes, or sensitive subjects that could make your players uncomfortable or lessen the overall experience. It is also a good idea to do this privately as these details may get very personal and require some level of discretion.

Get Them Involved

Talk to your players about their characters. Giving characters a backstory is great to get a further understanding of them and will make it easier to role play. Encourage players to think of backstories and help to flesh out the details if needed. From there you can work those details into the campaign to give them a personal connection to the storyline. You can also work with the players to develop the setting as well. Where do they come from? Where is that in relation to where they are now? What cultural implications does their backstory give to the world around them?

The World At Your Fingertips

Being a DM is a big responsibility, but it is also a tremendous creative opportunity. D&D, along with other role playing games like it, is unique in that your limit really is your imagination. You have an opportunity to create an entirely new fantasy world, and to bring it to life in the form of role playing.

This can also be a monumental task that’s hard to keep track of, and you might not know where to begin to create a world and story of your own. Breaking it down and going step by step can help through this process.

Worldbuilding

The first step in any good campaign is to decide where it takes place. The setting of a story can have a great impact on what goes on inside of it.

The Big Picture

When creating a world like this, start small. Instead of going straight to creating a world map, figure out where your story is starting. Especially for longer campaigns, it’s good to have a central bass for the characters to come back to and get familiarized with whether it’s a town, or a house, or a secret base. From there you can start to move outwards and build the world around it.

It also helps to take inspiration from other sources. Is your fantasy world reflective of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings or maybe it has a magic school similar to Harry Potter. It is never a bad thing to use ideas from other sources. By incorporating familiar themes from other media into your campaign, it can help the players feel more comfortable while role playing when it’s with something they recognize.

Supporting Cast

Each player has their own character that they control and make decisions for. The DM has to take care of everyone else as the nonplayer characters, or NPCs. You can be a town full of people, the group’s greatest enemy, or their best friend all at once.

When handling so many characters at once, they won’t all be complex and well rounded. The NPCs you know are going to be crucial to plot elements are the ones you should focus on to give details and character depth, rather than worry about the backstory of the random farmer the players talk to once.

There will also be times where you will have to come up with new characters on the spot. This requires quick thinking and improvisational skills if you want to keep the story running smoothly. However, quick thinking isn’t your forte you can come up with a list of extra background NPCs to use in these situations.

When developing NPCs, even the ones in the background, try to give each of them a personal goal or a purpose. It can be as simple as wanting to get something to eat. Or it can be a grand quest for revenge. It doesn’t necessarily need to be related to the plot but having a purpose can help make the NPCs seem more well rounded.

Story Structure

Now that you have the where, let’s focus on the what. You have created a world and NPCs to go in it, but the story is what ties it all together and gives the players purpose.

5x5 Method

The 5x5 Method is a handy storytelling guideline for any campaign. It's easy to follow and will lead to a well rounded story. It is accredited to Dave Chalker who first detailed the method in an article on the website Critical Hits in 2009. Since then it has been well regarded by the table top rpg community and remains to be a popular story outline.

The 5x5 method encourages storytellers to pay attention to the smaller pieces of the campaign. Instead of thinking of the campaign as one complete story arc, break it down to five major quests or significant story moments. Once you have your five major quests, break them down even further into five steps needed to complete the task at hand.

Use this outline to create a clear idea of how you want the campaign to progress, but don’t make it too detailed. The goal is to describe the ‘what’ not the ‘how’. You can’t account for everything, and there is always the chance the players will do something unexpected. Present the task to the players and allow them to figure out how they should complete it.

Here is an example of the 5x5 method designed for a short campaign where the players were tasked with retrieving a cursed amulet that was stolen from an old woman.

5x5 Method

Don't Overthink It

An important thing to remember when it comes to being a DM is to don’t over think it. D&D is meant to function as an improvisational game. You can make predictions or direct the story in a certain direction, but sooner or later everything will go haywire. No matter how well prepared you may be, things don’t always go according to plan. When this happens you need to be able to remain in control and roll with whatever situation you find yourself in.

The best way to counter this is to not back yourself into a corner with over planning. If you have a concrete and detailed plot planed out it’s going to be a lot easier to get derailed along the way.

That being said, you shouldn’t walk into a game session with nothing prepared at all. It’s still a good idea to have something planned for each session in order to move the story along. It’s the comfortable middle ground between overprepared and unprepared you need to find to make the most out of your campaign.

Remember that not every campaign has to be a breathtaking adventure. A simple, low stakes adventure can be refreshing and just as rewarding as drawn out, over arching campaign. As long as everyone is having fun, that’s all that matters.

Prewritten Campaigns

If you find creating your own campaign, with a detailed story and setting to go with it, to be overwhelming don’t let that deter you from trying your hand at DMing.

If you’re not one who has the time or energy to create an entire fantasy world, use someone else’s! Wizards of the Coast, the publishers of the official Dungeons & Dragons handbooks, have released many prewritten campaign books for DMs to use as a guide complete with a story outline and world descriptions to help your game run smoothly while still giving you the freedom to make the story your own.

Many fans of the D&D have also self-published their own campaign settings online for others to use free of charge. A lot goes into making a well developed setting for your campaign, and people want to share what they create with others so they may enjoy it as well.

If you are the type who enjoys creating their own setting, remember that you don’t need to start from scratch every time. Reusing campaign settings can be a fun experience for both the DM and the players. Using a world you are already familiar with can add a new level of introspection to the characters and the world around them, as well as give you the chance to explore new areas you may have missed before.

Keep It Running

Once you have prepared everything you need, it is time to start playing. However, just because you’re finally getting started doesn’t mean you have nothing else to worry about. You got your campaign off the ground, but now you have to keep it running.

Timeing Is Everything

There is one thing that is by far the most challenging part about being a DM: time management.

A good game of D&D is great and all, but when you have 4+ people in a group with conflicting schedules it can end up being weeks or months between sessions. As the DM, and the organizer of the campaign, it may fall onto your shoulders to find the right time to get the group together.

The most helpful way to maintain regular game sessions is to set time aside specifically for D&D. Pick a day and ask everyone to block off that time in their schedules.However, this isn’t an option for everyone with life, responsibilities, and complications that can get in the way and you may need to make other arrangements.

Sometimes it’s hard to get everyone in the same place at the same time. A solution for that is to look into an online method of playing. Use websites such as Discord or Skype to arrange video chats with the other players. It can be surprising how often this solution works out. And while there are plenty of reasons to prefer to play in person, the online solution can help to maintain a regular story progression.

Marked Absent

Sometimes a player, for one reason or another, wont able to make it to a session. But that doesn’t mean you should cancel your session all together, especially if it is difficult for schedules to line up. In this situation there are a few alternatives to continue playing with an absent character.

First you should talk to the player and make sure they are ok with you playing without them. While it is better to maintain a regular schedule, it’s important to check no one will be hurt or upset by this.

An easy solution for an absent player is that they simply wondered off. Come up with a reason the character got preoccupied with and was separate from the group during that period of time. If you’re able to, you could arrange a solo session between you and the absent player at a later time to play out whatever the character was sent off doing.

A different solution is to have another player fill in and play the absent character as well as their own for the session, or take over yourself as the DM. This solution doesn’t work for everyone. It can be an extra burden to bear by taking on another player character who’s important to the campaign. However, this solution might be necessary if the character, for example, had a specific skill set the group will need during that session.

No matter what solution you go with, make sure to take notes of what happened during that session to give to the player once they return. This way they will still be caught up with the story and wouldn’t have missed out on anything.