9 Dungeon Master Tips From Professional Dungeons And Dragons DMs

Whether you're just starting your Dungeon Master journey in Dungeons and Dragons or have been running a campaign for years, these Dungeon Master tips will help you take your game to the next level! Zoe Delahunty-Light and Aoife Wilson travelled to Lucca Comics and Games festival and chatted with professional Dungeon Masters including Joe Manganiello, Mark "Sherlock" Hulmes, Bill Benham, Richard Whitters and more to get some insider tips on how to run one hell of a campaign. Whether you're looking for Dungeons and Dragons tips to take your campaign to the next level or need some pointers for your first campaign, these tricks are sure to help.
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[@eurogamer]

Do you have any top DMing tips you'd give to someone just starting out? Share them here!

[@AlexanderArts]

I haven't DMed myself, but I listened to one campaign where the DM wrote out a timeline of what the big NPCs were doing and what they would accomplish if the players didn't interfere. It was cool because if the players were completing one objective, there were two other objectives that progressed to the next stage and the players would find out later that they missed out those events, but now there was a new situation there that they had to deal with.

[@marhawkman303]

Making it possible to figure out a mystery ahead of time is great. Making it boringly obvious is not so great. Making characters interesting is more important than giving them a fully thought out backstory.

[@sleepytime999998]

Determine on week one who is going to be in charge of food each session. Seriously. Arguments about snacks can shatter a campaign group.

[@bearhustler]

Have the game break out of your imaginations, there are many creative ways you can blur the lines between the game and the real world, especially if the story has a horror element. Learn from film directors and game designers.

[@corneredbadger]

>Remember its not you vs the players. This is SO important to remember and ive been on both sides of this with an anti fun DM and a pair of adversarial players and either way SUCKS and ruins it for everyone. >Bullet point your characters back story, you dont need a detailed page long explanation of how you went from an orphan to a member of the thieves guild. just say you were an orphan who got good at stealing and a member took notice and invited you to join. This also gives the GM room to work as maybe that character that invited you comes back to ask a favor or someone threatens them. >Remember railroading is not always a bad thing if you do it right. Having the characters receive orders from a fellow guild member who outranks them, a town leader like the mayor or guard captain or even from their deity if theyre a devout class are good in character ways to get players moving in the direction you want, but they dont HAVE to. Its when you remove player autonomy that you get into bad railroading. unless youre using mind magics, like illithids or Vampires, and then things get weird. >Have fun. They said in the video several times but if DMing starts to feel like a chore you arent going to be delivering the game you want or the players want. and if you need to take a break tell the group, hey i just dont have the time to put into prep with school projects/work deadlines/sick kids/alien invasion" most of the time theyll be fine with it since they dont want to play a sub par game either. so break out a prebuilt or a board game for a bit and come back when youre ready

[@petemarshall3512]

The best advice I could give to a starting DM is to always remember that it's not you vs the players. If you're rooting for the players when you've put them in a bit of a pickle, you're doing it right.

[@jonathannelson103]

My daughter and her friends decided they wanted to play D&D. So here I am, dusting off my old 1st edition books and DMing for the first time in 25 years. I'm really psyched. Thanks for the tips.

[@shyguyguyx3886]

How did it go?

[@jonathannelson103]

@@shyguyguyx3886 great, I did what I like to call a "Scooby-Doo module". Basically they have an adventure in a haunted castle and they have to figure out what's going on. They fought some giant rats, couple of zombies, and faced a lich that was really just a skeleton, dressed up in fine clothes and with a magic mouth spell on it. At the end they caught the bad guy. It was a gnome illusionist trying to scare people away while he searched for al treasure map that was hidden in the castle. Might sound cheesy but the entire adventure got them to 3rd level and taught them the basics of the game without them dying. Plus it organically introduced the treasure map as a hook for the next adventure.

[@RandyTenvoorde]

My favorite tip (of the ones not presented here) is to weave the things characters do into your story. Keep notes on remarkable things they do and bring that back later. This shows a few things. One, that you're listening and paying attention to the players and they feel valued in what they do. Two, it helps some people who might be in the shy side to be less guarded and interact more as they see their involvement as affecting the storyline. Three, people want to see if things they do will come back in some way, enticing them to continue the game and not get so bored.

[@LordofSyn]

Spot on tips too. These tips serve you well, regardless of the system you are running. Keep calm you're all telling a story together.

[@mattball8622]

My big tip is before you start anything, make sure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to tone. If you have end up with a party of three hyper-serious grizzled warriors and one whimsical gnome, someone is probably going to have a bad time. Variation is great, but if someone's expectations are wildly different to the rest of the table it'll just make it drag. On that note, I always ask my players for some backstory. Nothing major, just a brief description of where they're from, who their parents are and what made them become an adventurer. Prose, bullet points, whatever. Not only does it help players get a clearer idea of who their character is, it gives you the opportunity to build some of what they come up with into your world. In my experience, nothing makes a player happier than knowing they are as much of a shaper of the world as the DM is.

[@josemhernandez1974]

My tip and I am far from a pro, still a student of DMing even though I have been doing it since high school in 1991. Now the tip, is have fun. As long as you and your players are having fun that is all that matters.

[@davidstepanek6107]

"A bunch of big wasps with swords!" OKAY, I'm writing that down...

[@MaisieSqueak]

Swasps! A freebie from me

[@robertthomas-km8db]

The waspabi..... A race of wasplike humanoids that live in a gargantuan sized hive.... And the party stumbled upon their first line of defense perimeter guards.... Roll for initiative

[@CrimsonFox36]

"God"? Foolish mortal. Gods are but mere NPCs. DMs are something much, much more powerful.

[@bruced648]

good to see someone else caught that!

[@beckstheimpatient4135]

My best (and only completed) DnD campaign was an almost entirely custom thing. It ran almost every weekend for about 8 hours a day, and we spent one of those days EXCLUSIVELY RP-ing. We just got so INTO it that the DM just ignored what he had planned and rolled with it, interacted as NPCs with us and helped us build our backstories, motivations, build bonds between the party members. It was INSANE. I then later spent like 300 years in a second in hell, and had PTSD by the time I got out... DM was GOOD

[@an8strengthkobold360]

"The races are pretty balanced" Cries in kobold

[@whatsupdate]

CrashTestRocket N *grovel*

[@KoryLunaa]

mfw Volo orcs

[@whitevii1533]

This is a joke, right? Kobolds are one of the best races in the game... Pack Tactics is broken AF

[@spaceknight793]

Find ways to say "yes" to players as much as possible. And then hammer them with (reasonable) consequences!

[@nightcatarts]

Well, now that people can't complain about CR not being in the video, I'll mourn the lack of The (now sadly defunct) Aristocrits and (not at all defunct) Roll Over & Die. They're two of the funniest D&D plays I've found on YT, aside from Oxventure of course. I'd also add that you can, as a GM, encourage your players to ignore the rules as much as possible in order to make things more immersive & organic. Pushing them to inhabit their character & forget they're playing within a ruleset has a few advantages. If a player wants to get up onto a rooftop, ask them to describe how their character will go about that, then use that info to determine what kind of roll it should require. If they're climbing a rope, strength, if they're jumping from one window to another, acrobatics, etc. This also takes some weight off the GM since you won't have to try to visualise it; you can let the players do that bit for you & it'll form part of the vision you had for the scene before it began. That way it's not the GM & the players, it's one cohesive group that's building the story & world together. It also lets you be creative in terms of getting the players to do what you want without directly railroading them, since you can think about what they say & alter the situation to add something they originally missed which may change the roll they'd have to make. In the example above, if they're a high strength character & want to use a rope, but you don't really want them up on the roof, you can make something creak as though it isn't as sturdy as they'd planned on. Perhaps the rope begins to give way & they have to make a dex save to succeed at something that would otherwise be too easy for them. If you're subtle with it, it can prevent players from feeling like they're overpowered & add some little realistic touches to the environment at the same time.

[@nerdherder9340]

Night Cat on your topic of....shall we say....bending the rules, some of the best examples ive seen are from acquisitions incorporated (and of course the c team) wherein they regularly ignore or change rules for the topic of story

[@nightcatarts]

@@nerdherder9340 Yea, The Aristocrits did that well too since they often had first timers on. They'd strip away many of the rules entirely & simplify others just to get people invested in the world & their characters. Really smooth way of introducing people to the game & allowing them to flex their creativity without feeling like they had to constantly ask for help.

[@beastoonline1991]

What broadcast is 2:30?

[@nightcatarts]

@@beastoonline1991 That's the Oxventure from Outside Xbox & Outside Xtra, with GMing by Johnny from Dicebreaker.

[@daveshif2514]

yes! and you should never really include rolls that your players cant pass. it isnt fun, and it isnt a "game" its a railroad. if they cant feasbly do something, you can just tell them, dont make them roll for it just to watch them fail. but is ok to include things that the players cant fail, you can just let them pass, not everything needs a roll. if youre trying to move the story from a to c but you make them roll to climb a rope at point b and they keep failing due to rolling 1s... you just derailed the game.

[@sleepytime999998]

Always remember that the most important thing about the game isn't the rules or the characters or the story; the most important thing about any tabletop is hanging out with your current friends and making new friends. Your players, not their characters and not the game, are what make a party out of a campaign.

[@bearhustler]

Have a book of ready to go NPC, no stats just personalities and descriptions (or photos of actors) then when you need someone in any situation the players create you'll have a library of interesting people ready to go at a moments notice.

[@carolinelabbott2451]

And a handy list of names. 👍🙂

[@MonikaLockpick]

I said before on the players tips video (because I didn’t think Eurogamer could bring out another even more awesome video like this so fast) Don’t be afraid of trying! Yes, you will be nervous and probably think you will just not so a good job as dm, but, try! It’s an unbelievable feeling once you get past of the starting nervousness

[@kevino8155]

My advice (especially for players/DMs that had bad experiences playing d&d)is to watch high rollers d&d. Mark Hulmes you beautiful man thing, is a maestro at building worlds, plot twists, and setting up his players have amazing character moments. Really inspired me not only as a DM, but as a storyteller. Thanks Sherlock #rollonsunday

[@wiredkamikaze5831]

Always ensure some level of conflict and make that conflict resolvable in some way, up to and including death.

[@bruced648]

1. story, story, story 2. prep your world 3. understand the rules, but don't "use" the rules. 4. remember that this is a role-playing game and not a tactical/strategy game. 5. the GM doesn't "win" 6. it's a GAME, have fun!

[@MaisieSqueak]

This is a really nice video. Great putting some table top and DnD in the mix. Edit : It's also given me some extra confidence as I try learning pathfinder for my friends so thank you ❤️

[@christophergordon4606]

Dm's do not play God, gods are just NPC's. By this logic, a DM is above God.

[@raymondlugo9960]

Muhahaha

[@Ixnatifual]

Feels good.

[@theodorepinnock1517]

I am very pleased to see the amount of Oxventure in this.

[@Wolfphototech]

*Mix of good and okay advice .* *But some advice is also short cuts to a shorter road ( Advice that does help in short term , but if relied on to much . it results in stunting ones abilities and leaving one in a state of not being able to go to the next level of skill . ) .* *[ Bold text is for ease of reading . ]*

[@mohamedadam5215]

Awesome Video 👍👌👏

[@HighFiveTheHorizon]

"You paint whatever you want them to be over the stats but just have done the maths ahead of time" Maths?!?! WITCHCRAFT!

[@FedericoDecara]

2 house rules: 1) LOL-points: if the player makes the table laugh, she gets a single use point that can be used to give a +4 bonus on a single roll. 2) The Rule of Awesome: if the players wants to try something that goes beyond what is possible, making it an awesome, cinematic, “visual” action, with the player describing it vividly and engagingly, takes it from impossible/natural 20 range to a greater than 50% chance of success roll (or no roll). It drives memorable action and player engagement, at the cost of “realism. Also: avoid excessive “realism”, always favor driving a story line you would like to perhaps binge watch on Netflix.

[@RashidMBey]

I would totally include the caveat: agree on the kind of game everyone wants. Some people enjoy/prefer over-the-top fantasy, and that's okay. Some people enjoy/prefer realism and internal consistency, and that's okay, too.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Remember to have fun and help the players to have fun too

[@mikeytom2991]

Wasps...With Swords.. I died.... lmao!

[@lestervinghail5654]

One tip, you're going to screw it up. That's ok. Don't be angry with the players or yourself. Reflect, it takes practice.

[@bluelionsage99]

Plan events, not places. If you want the players to follow a trail of clues from different adventures to the big baddy's HQ, don't place the HQ or really the adventures with the clues until just before you need them If your players wander "off course" for a time because something else caught their attention you can still run your main story line by having them "blunder" into the minions of the Big Baddy in the new location.

[@Belzughast]

Different question, how many people would like to play an excruciatingly hard campaign but still possible to beat?

[@thesparrow1116]

I cant help but need to ask ... is this Wizards 101 music playing in the backgroun?

[@idehnkovash1017]

Starts at 1:40

[@fizbinsfire]

How does one become a professional DM? Is there a dm schooler college? Can you get a 4yr degree in dungeon mastering? Or is it based upon a unbelievable long time being a super nerd? In that case I'm a pro.

[@bruced648]

I worked promotions for several companies over a 14 year span. I was paid to run events, teach games and to play the games. alot of fun, but also exhausting. 'pro' : person financially compensated for performing a task or job

[@bruced648]

I think your classification would be either expert or master! which is also highly regarded! your advice would be invaluable.

[@thatonesailor9122]

I'm currently new to dming people love those stories I write and the encounters in the world I've built but I'm having trouble the party is very large and there is always five or six players at the table at the time I'm having trouble running encounters that last long any tips from anyone would be greatly appreciated I love the game wanted to be a player but of course you all know the trope

[@AlexanderArts]

I'd like to know what some of the D&D shows featured in the video are so I can check them out, maybe links in the description?

[@mattball8622]

The ones I recognised were High Rollers, Oxventure (Outside Xbox/Xtra), Critical Role, The Adventure Zone and Dragon Friends (think I saw those last two, not sure). Can't remember the name of his stream, but Guy Sclanders is one of the GMs from the clips too, and his GM tips KZbin channel is called How To Be A Good GM.

[@AlexanderArts]

@@mattball8622 Cool, thanks.

[@pbtenchi]

It’s really hard to find good advice aimed at more advanced DMs aiming to be better.

[@TheBinklemNetwork]

I had an issue with the narrator saying the dms effectively play God. No. I do not. I play the weak, the strong. I give the advice and deception. I am the dragon and the goblin. I am the imaginary foundation which my players use to live their adventurers lives.

[@andrewtomlinson5237]

As soon as humanly possible make it very clear that you are NOT running a live-stream for the entertainment of KZbin viewers. Keep the expectations firmly grounded in whatever level of peripheral props, technology and handouts you have at your disposal. This isn't a dig at professional games played online for the entertainment of viewers. It's like the distinction between going to see a local amateur community theatre production of "Camelot" and the Richard Rogers Theatre version of Hamilton... of course, BOTH can be entertaining, but for the amateur version the majority of fun is being had by those actually participating in the production. Of course, if you ARE running a live stream, make DAMNED sure the players are very aware of it, and are OK with it... Oh, and it had better be shit-hot!

[@jeffbateman1216]

What is the best way to handle players that either refuse or consistently want to play/respond out of turn, without just dropping an anvil on them?

[@bruced648]

put them to task. if the character is busy trying to accomplish something, then it's simply a matter of reminding the player that the character is busy. during combat, use less than lethal attacks (unconscious) or immobilizing actions (web, petrification, sleep). don't single out the over-excited player, but these actions shift focus to other characters. it can also make a simple antagonist into a recurring problem by using delay and retreat tactics. it also allows for great villain monologs! these ideas are to keep everyone involved without directly singling out a particular player.

[@DeathAdrift]

should have shown some Hero's And Halfwit's

[@dodrade]

What was the point of setting up Dicebreaker if you are going to start covering tabletop games on Eurogamer as well?

[@eurogamer]

Because there's plenty of room for everyone.

[@nightcatarts]

@@eurogamer Spaaaaace!

[@goodtimetraveler8261]

Low level hero's, and high level wimps; that pretty much explains it. The best advice comes from 50+ dm's or players; folks who started with only _Chainmail_ and _Blackmoor_ ...

[@TimothyWhiteowl]

'pros' - if you have been running games for 2 or more people for 40 years, you might be a pro. I think the word you were looking for is celebrities.

[@nitsugadot5972]

I think they mean they get paid for it

[@ChaosMan]

Eurogamer D&D when

[@eurogamer]

Soooooon...

[@ChaosMan]

@@eurogamer :O

[@MonikaLockpick]

@Eurogamer Oooooooohhh is that the project we definitely never saw coming?

[@reiley8840]

@@eurogamer Oh my word-!

[@ChaosMan]

@@eurogamer Can't wait for Ian the barbarian to charge his way into battle and snuffle all the loot

[@Elvitralendir]

Give storytelling power to players when they act their character, intervene just if it's against your plot. Don't plan too much in advance, cause players actions will make the plot erratic, but note everything to make something of it. Give bonuses to description and players that make the game fun. Include everyone, try to make each player feel as the main character . Only kill player to make a point, not for bad luck (but make them lise limb or mind when they cheat death cause of dm)

[@nickwilliams8302]

Best tip for new GMs: read the Angry GM's "How To F$&%ing GM" series of articles. What actually happens during a game. How to narrate so your players know what's going on. How to adjudicate actions consistently and fairly. What a roleplaying game even _is._ So much of the advice given in the video is only useful to someone who already understands how to run a game. It's like a professional BMX rider explaining how to pull off a superman seat grab. Sure, they're going to have great advice. It's just that it will be utterly useless to someone who can't already ride a bike. theangrygm.com/how-to-fing-gm/

[@Banesupper]

I really wish people would stop equating "role-playing game" with "Dungeons & Dragons". D&D is the vanilla RPG. It's fine, but there's so many great flavours out there, why not talk about some of them once in a while? D&D doesn't need the publicity. Imagine a world where no one recognises the existence of other flavours of ice cream but vanilla. "I had some delicious chocolate ice cream last night." "I don't know what that is, does it taste of vanilla?" That's how I feel as a veteran RPG'er.

[@nightcatarts]

I think the nice thing about D&D is that, because it's so ubiquitous, it's easy to look things up & find answers to ruleset problems that might not be so obvious in other games. The rolls make sense too, primarily a single die where high numbers are better. Some games use vast quantities of different dice rolled at the same time, make low numbers better (which I don't think makes sense), count successes based on how far rolls are from a particular number & then use that number of successes to determine how successful something was, etc. All that stuff can be overwhelming for a new pen & paper player, so D&D is an excellent place to begin. That's not to say there's anything wrong with the other games, but, aside from the one-page things, they're often more complex & harder to understand for beginners.

[@Banesupper]

I would contend that D&D is not actually a great game for beginners. It's of middle complexity, and puts a lot of emphasis on class mechanics, which requires a player to learn the particular abilities of their class, which does not necessarily follow similar rules to those of the other players. There are games that reduce pretty much anything a character can do to resolving a skill check, which is easy to get the hang of. As far as dice pool systems are concerned, they are often among the easiest to work out, because resolving a roll becomes mechanical rather than mathematical. Rolling a bunch of dice and counting the ones with the right face is something even a small child can do, whereas there are adults who find simple addition a challenge - yes, even a double digit number plus a single digit one. And rolling for ones makes as much sense as anything, I'd say. It's generally good to be in first place, or number one.

[@nightcatarts]

@@Banesupper Yea it's medium, but that's balanced out by everything being Googlable. I don't think those ones where every action plays the same way are anywhere near as immersive, & if you're playing in that kind of way then you don't really need a ruleset at all; just make it up as you go long. As an intro to P&P RPGs, it needs structure but not complexity so a new player gets their mind around what it's like but can then choose to go for something more rules-heavy or more freeform later. When it comes to dice, I think those particular face for success & another for failure systems are just fine & certainly easier to understand, but the ones I meant were those where your success has to be within a certain range (like, dozens here) of a number which changes depending on your character's level & what attributes would apply for that skill check & you get more than ten dice if you were the last to.. see a cat, that kind of thing. I suppose it just feels like an established thing that higher numbers are better when it comes to dice specifically; practically every board game does it that way, & those are most often the first intro to dice, so why invert it? There's no need.

[@QuestionQuestionMark]

Night Cat I agree. All I’m gonna say is that. D&D is as popular as it is for a reason.

[@nightcatarts]

@@QuestionQuestionMark The marketing clout certainly doesn't hurt in that respect, but yea it is more forgiving of fudging the rules than others seem to be.

[@bamboozledgreatcrowd8982]

No such thing as a professional DM, that's pure fantasy.

[@QuestionQuestionMark]

It feels like fantasy at times but when you use D&D to pay your bills, it certainly is not. It’s like commissioning an artist to do work for you, everyone has different tastes as to what they like in an artist. You pay someone to give you a narrative experience every week, I use D&D as my primary source of income as a “Pro” Dm. Being a professional in something is marked when you make the leap from amateur to pro, that leap in itself is self sustainability. You know having it be your source of income, but I also think the dichotomy between DM’ing and “Pro” DM’ing is something relatively new but there is a reason professional is put in front of it. That’s effectively to moniker the point that said person gets paid to play D&D in which ever way. I think of it no different than that of a graphic designer, you pay someone for a service and they provide said service. Done.

[@raymondlugo9960]

@@QuestionQuestionMark do you provide food? Are you in a big city?

[@QuestionQuestionMark]

@@raymondlugo9960 I'm entirely based online, and work from home playing D&D for a living.

[@raymondlugo9960]

@@QuestionQuestionMark you use Skype?

[@raymondlugo9960]

@@QuestionQuestionMark you use Skype?

[@MakCurrel]

I hate modules

[@buckveazey3369]

I think it's BS that a DM any DM no matter how good is group is says that they're a pro. It doesn't matter how good you are it's how well your players react to you. Pro really?

[@eurogamer]

They’re pro as in they are literally paid to DM professionally or work for Dungeons & Dragons.

[@buckveazey3369]

@@eurogamer so game designers and creators Maybe?

[@buckveazey3369]

@@eurogamer I love you guys but it's like calling yourselves Pro Mario players

[@JazzyBassy]

​@@buckveazey3369 It's not Euro. The people interviewed run their games in streams for many people. They are either hired to do so or work independently to make their income. In that sense they technically are professional DMs, as they make money doing it.

[@buckveazey3369]

@@JazzyBassy so dnd is like foot ball now?