What are the most important things every dungeon master (or game master) needs to know? In the 100th episode of 3 Wise DMs, Thorin, Tony and Dave run down the biggest things they’ve learned about running RPGs from Dungeons and Dragons to Marvel to Call of Cthulhu over two years of intensive gaming and discussion on this podcast.
The world you set your campaign in has just as much impact on the tone, story and overall fun of your game as the players you choose to play in it. But which campaign worlds are the best, most fun, and most inspiring? On that, the 3 Wise DMs each have their own ideas. So this article breaks down our 6 favorite campaign worlds, 2 per DM, and why we love them. It’s a lot of Dungeons and Dragons material, but not all of it.
There are a lot of pros and cons for using boxed settings and creating your own settings, and the 3 Wise DMs dabble in both in their own ways. Here’s what Thorin, Tony and Dave think of using pre-made settings, what makes a good setting, how they make them their own and how they pull elements of existing settings into their homebrew settings, too.
About a year ago, we released a list of magical items that had been homebrewed for our Storm King’s Thunder campaign. Since then, we have been busy crafting new, over-the top-items that are intended to allow players to go above and beyond the norm without tossing the game into a dumpster and setting it on fire. With that said, we just created a new magical item that is a little more than just extra. In fact, it is easily the most complex magical item any of us have created. So, without further ado, we present to you the Wand of Wondrous Chaos – a super-charged version of one of the game’s already most audacious magical items: the Wand of Wonder.
Ending a long-running Dungeons & Dragons campaign (or any TTRPG) can be one of the most intimidating moments for a DM. You’ve managed to carry the momentum, tension, and player interest for dozens of sessions over perhaps years. How do you wrap all that up into a few final sessions that leave you and your players feeling like it all paid off?
We’ve talked about DMPCs before, but now Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything has added a new way for DMs to have an avatar in the game to help PCs out, cover any weak spots, or just have a view across the table: The sidekick. In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave break down how they handle party companions in their games, what they think of the sidekick mechanic, and how to run a sidekick or DMPC who doesn’t overshadow the party.
Whether you’re running a campaign or playing in one, it can be a huge commitment in terms of real-life time. Case in point, nearly all the games we are currently running have been going anywhere from a year and a half to three years. Over that time, it’s not hard to imagine how playing a character or even the world itself might start to feel a bit stale. However, not all, or even most, of the members of the campaign may feel that way. They could still be having a great time. This is why we’ve composed a list of tips to help both DMs and players overcome the fatigue of their current games until it’s time to bring down the curtain.
DM prep: It can be the most important thing to putting on a good game or the biggest obstacle keeping you from getting back behind the screen. Some DMs say the thing to remember is to not over-prepare, but YouTube DM guru Ginny Di recently called this The Worst advice new DMs hear, and that it actually hurt her development as a young DM. Is “don’t over-prepare” bad DMing advice? In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave take a close look at Ginny Di’s take, the different ways they approach prep, the pros and cons of trying to DM without over-preparing, and how new DMs can find the right level of prep for them.
They say a hero is only as good as their weapon, which may not be true but if you’re Thor, She-Ra, Drizzt Do’urden, or Trevor Belmont, but it gives them one hell of an edge. Not to say that their amazing magic weapons or objects of badassery define them as characters, but they definitely add to their personas. The same concept can apply to D&D characters.
Rich, vivid descriptions bring your fantasy world to life. Unfortunately, they can also lead your players to think that the intricately carved and decorated elven bridge they’re crossing has to be an important clue or secret! If it weren’t, why would the DM have given it such a cool description? This is the curse of the red herring: When you’re casually monologuing details to give the world depth, and the players lock onto something that you meant to be insignificant. Next thing you know, they’re spending 3 hours trying to investigate a mystery that isn’t there. d Dave talk about red herrings they’ve seen get out of control and what they do in their games to try to back to the story … if they can.
