How to Move a Stalled RPG Campaign Forward
At some point, every DM sees their campaign get lost in the weeds. How do you get the PCs back on track and involved with the big, bad plotline?
All-Star Games: A Time-Honored TTRPG Tradition
While it’s great you have this epic story about a dark lord and his all-powerful ring, maybe your players want a break from that weeks-long march to Mount Doom? This gives you, the DM, an opportunity to introduce something known as an “All-Star Game”!
DMing Large Groups: 19 Tips for Running Games With 6 or More Players
Most TTRPGs, including D&D 5E, run best with 3-5 players. How can you run them smoothly with 6, 8 or even 10 PCs? Here’s how the 3 Wise DMs handle it.
5 DM Combat Tricks to Challenge the Toughest PC Parties
Not every D&D fight should be a 2-hour slugfest for the party’s lives. But at the same time, how often does it feel like the party is steamrolling everyone they meet without having to break a sweat? Here are 5 tactics I use to make combat more dangerous when I want to challenge the party. They’ll put the PCs on the back foot and make them feel less than comfortable on the battlefield.
DM Inspiration and Influences: The Gaming and Culture Stuff That Makes Us Who We Are
We all stand on the shoulders of giants in games, whether those are metaphorical giants, literary giants or literal giants. In this episode, the 3 Wise DMs talk about the things that shape their games and how they directly impact what they do.
Happy Birthday to Us!
It’s been a year since we launched 3WiseDMs.com. 30 podcast episodes, 60 blog posts, 10,000 downloads and 30,000 site visitors later, and here we are. So, Happy Birthday to us! Thank you to all of our listeners and visitors (not to mention all of you who follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) for making … Read more
3 Reasons Players Leave Your Game – Revelations From a Year of Gaming
Even Master Yoda and Obi-Wan lost students, and even the best DMs lose players. While there could be literally hundreds of reasons someone leaves a game, I would like to focus on the biggest and how you can hopefully avoid them.
DM Burnout: 6 Things That Cause It, and How We Recover From It
What does DM burnout look like? What does it feel like? Can you play through it? Here’s what the 3 Wise DMs have learned, and tips to start healing.
3 Tips to Stop Wasting Game Time – Revelations From a Year of Gaming
Even seasoned DMs can get lost spending their time in the wrong places, both prep time and at the game table. Here are 3 tips for managing yourself and your table to make sure game-related time is spent wisely.
The Bootstrap Guide to DMing Your First Role Playing Game
Every DM needs to run their first game, and you don’t need a Ph.D. to do it. Here’s the 3 Wise DMs’ advice for mastering the game while you run it.