Prep Your Next D&D Game in Only 30 Minutes

[@theDMLair]

🔥 THE SECRET ART OF GAME MASTERY | Get 250 pages of game master advice, knowledge, and wisdom to elevate your role-playing game! thedmlair.com/collections/the-secret-art-of-game-mastery on Audible: www.audible.com/pd/The-Secret-Art-of-Game-Mastery-Audiobook/B0D73ZN1D2?action_code=ASSGB149080119000H&share_location=pdp

[@jonbar]

"a spouse, kid and a nasty gaming habit" is the perfect description of me and my issues of being a DM 😅

[@Noobkage_]

@@jonbar mine too 😭 just replace the video games w 12 hour work days

[@mikeb.1705]

That's no joke! "Well, I COULD get the gang back together for some D&D... OR I could just log onto Warcrack and get a quick fix..."

[@ralphwoodruff]

Preach

[@darioustyler677]

I’ve been called out with this one

[@anthonysmith1494]

@@jonbar 👍👍👍👍👍👍🤗

[@hanno4095]

Add a strong start, make it 10 secrets (and clues), and you implement the Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Method by Sly Flourish :D. Good video!

[@Ironcaster]

Dont forget to listen to the players. If they start trying to search the bottom of a chest for a false bottom, consider letting them find what they were looking for, even if you didnt plan it.

[@cherry_buzzsaw]

@@Ironcaster reminds me one joke dm: you see werehouse player: is that like werewolf, but it turns into house instead of wolf dm: now it is. roll for initiative!

[@cueball6969]

I had a player cast detect magic once as they were sailing a boat towards the last known location of a ship. So I had a potion of healing float past them ~20ft underwater (which he detected) that they were able to grab with a net. Unexpected things like that can be fun.

[@RayCase]

I have found that the 3-5 discoveries/secrets is the absolute gold of running a low prep game. Do it to set up the next session and see what the party is interested in. NPCs pop in, factions cause trouble around a facet of the plot, they find a clue that points at another. Bravo, Luke

[@ralphwoodruff]

You don’t suck. I would even go so far to say your videos are helpful!

[@ralphwoodruff]

Lol love the “sleazy plug” label for the final point in the video map.

[@alexandrosioannidis]

Great advise! I have been desinging adventures this way for years and if I need to document them to share with my team, I just instantiate and describe what is happening on each room. And of course this can work vice-versa. You can get a dungeon and reverse engineer it to it's components and redesign the whole thing!

[@adwenger0066]

One of the better recent videos. I struggle with perfection (normally 4-12 hours of prep to run an adventure that lasts 2-5 seasons), but I can see how this system would work. More prep is probably better to first learn how to run a game, but this would be great for anyone who's run about 10 sessions.

[@rmt3589]

You don't suck. Love your content. Thinking of running my own campaign sometimes soon. Gonna use a module as a base, but then go off from there.

[@brick_skitsOFFICIAL]

Thanks Luke, this helped me, i’m gonna run my session two of my first honebrew campaign tomorrow and i havent even began prepping bcs i have had a lot of school-homework, this came in a very good time!

[@kjcoates123]

Great video Luke! This got me inspired to run my own homebrew!

[@joel3921]

After listening to your channel on-and-off for years, this video 📹 got me to subscribed 😘. Looking forward to future episodes and maybe purchasing a product or two 🤑

[@toadsage7194]

Love this. As a new DM I struggle to create dungeons and what's inside of them. I have random encounters tables and random item tables but they're usually unrelated to what I'm doing. Having smaller lists and more specific to the area will help alot.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Good tips I prep a lot at work, throwing ideas in my phone

[@anthonysmith1494]

Just watched your vid on 10 tips for a new DM…. And after being involved in the game for the last 45 years of my life, DM in the same group for the last 13 years. I have to agree with everything you said. Great video. Oh and PS I just subscribed your channel.

[@syrupchugger421]

I love this. I saved this. I'm using this. Thank you so much. Oh, and as requested: you don't suck

[@scotteagles4864]

Awesome concepts. Simple to prep and allows for some sweet flexibility.

[@sbncaptain8209]

Luke always gives the best advice. I have 6 kids with my wife, and 4 of them play D&D. I used his "leave off on a cliffhanger" idea, and man lol the kids won't stop bugging me about it. Unless I missed it which I doubt it's there any way you could do a video on doing a game with the younglings?

[@garrickstangle5996]

You wouldn't have any kids WITHOUT your wife unless something funny is going on...

[@littlesun2023]

This is really helpful. Thanks a lot. Will prep my game this way today. Playing dnd 5e with my kids and friends

[@Turtlpwr]

I love running and hate game prep. This absolutely is me.

[@BedLeonZeD]

thanks for taking time and making this great video!! cheers helped me a lot thank you!

[@kostasmanousakis1081]

Keep up the good work man!!!

[@littlesun2023]

This is really useful. I DM since 1985 and this is really a good concept

[@israelmorales4249]

great video! thx for the good advices i already have your book, is great thx a lot!

[@rangleme]

💯 - excellent GM adventure prep advice. Super useful.

[@cherry_buzzsaw]

This instructions is also good advice to new DMs. This shows how easy could be running games. Of course you will make a better games, if you have appropriate skills. But you never get them if you never start to run games as DM. Be brave, spent 30 minutes, grab a couple of friends and make tonight more interesting!👍

[@Ricky_DM]

Thank for reminding me how I loved to DM games. Building the big line and improvising the rest. Because player will mess your plans anyway. It make it more fun because you have to big picture and player messing up a part of it has less impacts. Also seing other way to realize the same story is really trilling.

[@emessar]

Great video. I'm wondering if I couldn't make a series of index cards to help distribute and randomize things at the table. I could see there being a mix of keyed and non-keyed encounters, discoveries, and treasure. While a roper can move, I think of it as picking a location and waiting for someone to wander through. A treasure room is probably going to have a treasure in it. You might see a statue on a map and think it would make a good lore discovery. The map might already have a secret door on the map. I know that it might increase the time a bit, but I'd be happy with a 1 hour prep time.

[@JW_the_DM]

Great advice!

[@PizzaMineKing]

4:34 You don't suck. Had to be done.

[@CalebWillden]

This is so slick! I loathe prep. I tried the Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master but it still felt like too much for me. This seems like that streamlined even more.

[@MrTorbern75]

You don’t suck. Great advice for me I ALWAYS get stuck in PERFECT. But now it will change

[@jorgepedrofernandes]

Luke, you definitely do not suck. Great video on a useful topic

[@princesskanuta3870]

Thank you for the video, very good tips!! I love bacon!!!!!!

[@rsmathers8]

@theDMLair - Do you have an example that you are willing to share from your streaming campaigns where you use this method? I'd like to see how you weave things in to the narrative.

[@duck_entertainment]

Thanks I have a game in 15 minutes, now I’ll watch at 2x speed and be ready!

[@lore_shards]

I sense some sly flourish tips in this one =)

[@andrewdonadio1485]

Love the channel,

[@GeraldKatz]

Barbarian crying in the corner, that would be something.

[@KaineVillante]

I appreciate you luke!!

[@theDMLair]

Thank you!!! :D

[@nagredmoonstriker252]

I do enjoy the imrpov part of being the DM... Hey, wait! Spell Check doesn't like the way I spelled that word. In your face, Spell Check! I know I'm right because that's how LUKE spelled the word in his "assumptions" caption per the subject. So there!

[@peterterry7918]

Luke, you don't suck! You do the opposite of suck! No...wait you don't blow either...you...hold your breath! Wait, that sounds stupid. You talk good with normal respiration. ARRGG! Just keep doing what you are doing.

[@zerknight7090]

Im thinking of trying a pathfinder game. Never played or gm before. Makes it feel a little less daunting

[@anthonysmith1494]

U have All ur Books on Audible?? Ya should do a video on “catchy campaign starts.” I found after 45 years of playing it's kind of important to hook your players in the first night….

[@PantherBRolex]

Thank you ⚡️

[@hawkes83]

You don't suck!

[@atomicnectar]

love u mate hope u do another contract job soon

[@ililit-z5s]

oooooooooommmmmmmgggggggg this is so much help thank you

[@scrapperlock9437]

This is cool... it's kind of like "Schrodinger's Adventure." You know encounters will happen, but not where or when... loot will be found, but not where or when... discoveries will be made, but not where or when... And you only find out when the players "open the box" (walk into the room). The only drawback is if certain discoveries make the most sense in certain rooms. However, I do urge caution here. The "No Prep GM Guide" (or whatever it's called) recommended an extreme version of this such as, if you have an encounter with a troll guarding a bridge, and you want it to come first, then that encounter is in whatever room the players enter first. But if you do that, then you end up with a railroad.

[@guyman1570]

That's not necessarily a railroad. What would've been railroading to an extent is more like if you had an encounter AND there's YOUR ONE SOLUTION that the party must use to get past it. That's the real railroading issue. Not whether if you have a specific room in a corridor or not.

[@mrmadness2699]

It seems obvious after Luke said it. Don’t key encounters to areas! 😮

[@kadmii]

appreciate the "sleazy plug" chapter title

[@MemphiStig]

The key point here seems to be that sweet sweet loot. It's the carrot which justifies your use of the stick. The bacon which allows them to overlook how much you suck. (Well, you don't, obviously, neither do I, but I mean in a general kind of GM way.)

[@NuttySquirrel_8]

You don't suck, Luke!

[@johnnnysaint01]

5 am upload!!

[@matthewmillar3804]

You don't suck! 🙂👍

[@Gabes-xe9dg]

I find this information useful and you don't suck 😎 also yes bacon is delicious

[@Encaris]

Anyone else wondering where they got that shirt??

[@knaz7468]

Haha I'm running CoS and have NEVER spent so much time preparing ... like all day every day for weeks. It's all encompassing. I enjoy it, and have the time, but man ... the idea of a "canned" module is total nonsense. Especially for CoS where there are decades worth of improvements to read, re-read, study, ponder, re-ponder, and implement with massive rewrites. Especially if you (like me) have players with massively detailed complex backgrounds that need to be integrated into the campaign.

[@Gasganos_dentist]

new dm. kinda sucky. how do i prepare plot in a sandbox style game?

[@MietoK]

Prepare something, give them a hook. If they do not take it then throw a random battle or two. That takes few hours and prepare for the next session what they actually want to do. Also never prepare more content that what you can consume in two sessions. I would try to murder PCs in first session and I would be surprised if the do not want to have a revenge. That will keep em busy for probably next 5 sessions 😂 Sanbox is more or less illusion anyways

[@0rangeSpaceMonkey]

You don't suck, Luke. Not as good as bacon, but, honestly, who is?

[@erlendnilssen]

You dont suck. 😀

[@Frederic_S]

Luke does not suck.

[@soldierbreed]

Debatable

[@Frederic_S]

@@soldierbreed lies! Despicable lies!

[@sinmaan7568]

How to prep a first game session...hehehe

[@VeraduxLP]

You don't suck.

[@cmexrayu]

Or, follow the steps in the Lazy Dungeon Master book ..

[@mikeb.1705]

Feeling a little called out there... "Wife / spouse, kids ... and a nasty video game habit" >.

[@OmriShamgar]

5 encounters?? My group usually has only one or maybe two combats in a session

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

I presume the intent isn't to use all the encounters, but be able to best slot in what fits the situation.

[@soldierbreed]

Encounters does not mean combat, combat is a type of encounter, so is social so is exploration

[@parttimed.m.1111]

I use bullet points. Also keep an area open for active play wants and future hooks created while at the table game.

[@davidstorch7099]

Sounds a lot like the 8 steps of the lazy dm....... not a bad thing, im just sayin. Well done

[@ArtoMSaari]

You don't suck

[@Nothinghereeither]

it needs more bacon

[@SirPogsalotCreates]

hey man, just wanted to let you know--you don't suck also... like. does your hair ever grow

[@LadyKjell]

You don't suck! Thanks for the GM advice.