Greetings, gamers from all systems, places and timelines!
Here at 3WD, it has been our mission to provide DM’s everywhere with content to help them improve both their gaming experience and the experience for all involved. One hundred episodes later, the time flew by, and a lot of ground was covered. Through all the jokes and stories shared, we hope some solid advice was given that you could take back to your groups and use.
If you haven’t listened to it yet, check our 100th podcast where we went through 22 lessons we learned while recording 3WD. That’s a lot of learnings from an hour-long episode. So, here’s a deeper dive into some of my most valuable takeaways from the past 100 episodes and the games we played during them. These dramatically improved the quality of the games I used them in. See how many of these points you may already be using, and which could be utilized to improve your ability to run and manage games effectively.
1. Provide a Recap Every Game
Many games are complex. Asking the players to agree on what happened last session can be about as easy as all of them collectively planning a group vacation. Providing a solid recap at the beginning of the session is a good way to help the players hit the ground running.
This is one of DM Dave’s trademarks: He makes a point to do a comprehensive recap at the start of every session. However, he takes it one step further by sending out a group text outlining where we left off a few days before game night. And while you could ask a player to recount the events of the previous session, it reminds me of the old saying: “No one cleans your own house like you do.”
2. It’s Better to Have 1 Memorable NPC Than 8 That Blend Together
One trap even seasoned DM’s can fall into is overpopulating their story with characters. I am a firm believer that it’s better to limit the number of NPCs you introduce into a story. That way you can focus and give them depth rather than creating a small army of characters who fight over screen time – not only with each other but with the players.
Of course, this is not to say that the party should walk into a bar and see only one patron in it. Create some throw-away characters for that with some general information you can draw from as needed.
3. Give Decent Descriptions, But Don’t Talk the Paint Off the Walls
Overly describing anything is another trap because it puts too much of a spotlight on something that may have no real importance to either the game or overall story. Despite how enjoyable it may be to listen to the intelligence-based characters discuss the cultural significance of a random painting, the rest of your party will probably be staring down at their phones.
Generally, I find that descriptions should be in the ballpark of around three lines unless you are describing something truly important or vast. Because, if you write a 2-paragraph description of every room, it will eat up the time you would have otherwise spent building the encounter or the plot.
4. Draw on the Character’s Motivations to Move the Story Forward
Some players are not shy about telling everyone what brought their character to the table, but this is not always the case. If they have shared information exploring the plot of their backstory, this is what we have often referred to as low-hanging fruit for things to work into the game. If the player hasn’t shared what motivates their character, or even if you’re just not clear on it, make a point of asking.
If the character is too new to have defined motivations yet, try to find out what the player likes to see in the game and add a splash or two of that to the secret sauce. For example, If their answer is, “I like to kill stuff” – which I have literally gotten – make sure they get a satisfying amount of wanton destruction by the end of each session.
5. Scaling Signature Magical Items: The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Players from the older school of gaming all have stories about finding random treasure and just making it work. Because when you conceptualized your elven warrior, maybe their primary weapon wasn’t some exotic polearm that’s name sounds like a dark German beer.
Instead, consider providing one or more of the characters with signature magical items that scale in power along with the characters. To do so, create a template of some potential powers the object could start with and what they will have down the road. Then, just like magic, you’ve provided the perfect in-game reward the players themselves had some agency in creating.
6. The Continuity of Your Game Must Be Maintained at all Costs
There are many ways to view the role of a DM, such as storyteller or referee of the rules. However, none of those titles imply it’s your job to save a player or players from certain doom if they looked without leaping. Saving any number of players when they should bite the dust in a way that doesn’t fit the continuity of your story will make the game tension drop faster than the price of cryptocurrencies.
So, don’t be a kill ‘em all DM, but if you let three low-level characters attack, say, an encampment of 50 ogres and live to tell the tale, then what’s next? Don’t be surprised the following session when they want to attack a stronghold of 60 hill giants.
7. There Is Nothing Wrong With a Quick Battle
Every battle in your campaign shouldn’t look like the last 30 minutes of a Marvel movie. As the characters rise in power, not every wandering group of whatever creatures they encounter should be on par with them.
Not to mention – and I’m going to say something really crazy here – not all of your players love combat. Most may, but some of them, especially the ones there for either story or character development, will be bored to absolute tears watching the bad guys call for reinforcements a second time.
So, give the party a quick win once in a while. It will give everyone the taste of battle without becoming an outright slog.
8. Session 0 Is Invaluable
Launching a campaign requires a great deal of work and time, so it only makes sense to start things on the right foot. Give the players agency in the game even before they select characters. Right up front, determine the setting, what style of game it will be and the frequency of play. This way the players can determine the type of character they want to play and customize it for your campaign.
Otherwise, one player will make a serious grim character looking to find where their dark destiny may lead them while another will make a joke character who’s about as serious as Jim Carrey in the Mask.
Amazingly, not all players are into dreary repressive environments like Ravenloft while others might find the challenge just what they’re looking for. So, it doesn’t have to be a long meeting – it could be even handled via email – but throw a few ideas out there and see what intrigues your audience.
Final Thoughts
Find out what your players and their characters want to see in games and run with it. Balance this with what you like to do and see happen in your games and meet them comfortably in the middle. Because, just like with anything, if you’re having fun, it will be your best and most inspired material.