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Category Archives: Advice
Should a Dungeon Master Invite Players to Help Create the D&D World Beyond Their Characters?
In 1970, Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson joined the Castles & Crusades Society, a group of miniature gamers formed by D&D co-creator Gary Gygax. The group imagined a Great Kingdom and parceled out territories to players to develop for … Continue reading
Event-driven D&D Adventures Aren’t About Events; They’re About Villains
The plot of every vintage James Bond movie resembles a role-playing scenario based on an investigation and events. A hook like the theft of an atomic bomb sets Bond into motion. In an investigation, he chases leads from one situation … Continue reading
Posted in Advice
Tagged adventure design, Angry DM, Courtney Kraft, Dungeon World, fronts, Justin Alexander, plot, preparation, villains
2 Comments
Dungeon Masters, Instead of Plots, Prepare Secrets, Clues, and Leads
Planning a Dungeons & Dragons game around encounters and plots leads to trouble. In my last post, I explained how preparing encounters proves less flexible than preparing situations. Situations can take dungeon masters far. Every D&D adventure published before 1982 … Continue reading
Posted in Advice
Tagged clues, hooks, Justin Alexander, leads, Mike Shea, plot, preparation, secrets
4 Comments
Dungeon Masters, Don’t Prepare Plots and Encounters—Do This Instead
Every dungeon master sometimes throws characters into a combat encounter, and then sees players do something unexpected. We never expect a peaceful dialog. Later, the characters reach a mountain outpost stocked with perfectly crafted encounters and the players show ingenuity … Continue reading
Posted in Advice
Tagged encounters, plots, preparation, situations, Tom Lommel, Tomb of Annihilation, Tomb of Horrors, villains
10 Comments
The Best Ways to Track Initiative in Dungeons & Dragons
In my last post on tracking initiative, I surveyed every tracking technique I knew, from apps to combat pads. Five years later, I feel ready for a stronger statement: If you don’t use card stock tents to track initiative, you … Continue reading
D&D Locations and Tactics that Encourage Dynamic Combat Scenes
Last summer, I played in the Dungeons & Dragons adventure Hecatomb. The multi-table event put numerous parties on a massive battlefield. Our characters scrambled to destroy arcane obelisks while fighting monsters. To start the event, the dungeon master pointed to … Continue reading
