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.
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.
The oldest Dungeons & Dragons books said the game was for 4 to 50 players, and we know people who DMed white box D&D campaigns with groups in the 20s. But that was then, and D&D 5th Edition runs into a lot of issues once you pass a certain number of players. So, what do you do when your game is already at 6 players and 3 more want to join? That’s the question posed by one of our listeners in this week’s episode of 3 Wise DMs.
Many RPG campaigns end with the players taking over kingdoms, wizard colleges, crime syndicates or other powerful organizations in the world as a sort of epilogue. But what about when they want to take these titles during the campaign and actively run their new empires? How do you handle putting your player characters in charge of powerful organizations in your world as an active part of the game?
Not every player is OK playing RPGs by the rules as they’re written. Some can’t even get through character creation without asking the DM to make some kind of mechanical adjustment. This may seem like an easy situation – do it my way or play with someone else – but it’s not always that simple. How do you handle those situations?
The “forever DM” is a stereotype as old as roleplaying. The idea that one guy in the group gets roped into DMing and never gets to play has spawned a thousand memes, YouTube videos and TikToks. But as we discussed in our most recent blog, a lot of players actually want to DM – you just need to help them see why it’s fun. And you can’t do that if you’re busy playing the DM martyr.
How do you make new DMs? Here’s how we recruit new players to DM, encourage them to take the mantle, and support them as they take the reins.
One of the biggest selling points of D&D is that it provides an excuse to get together with your friends and do something interactive. However, sooner or later, one of the players will want to do something without the knowledge or approval of the entire group. This is why we have prepared a list of points both for and against keeping all events in front of a live audience to help determine what’s best for your game and group.
If you’ve never run or played in a solo game of D&D or some different system, then you’ve missed out on an interesting experience – even if, admittedly, one of the cornerstones of the game is built on collaborative roleplay. And, while solo adventure can be extremely fun, it’s definitely not for all players or DMs for a single session, let alone an actual campaign. This is why we composed a list of pros and cons to help you decide if a solo game is something you would like to introduce or request from your DM.
Some players are more assertive than others, as every DM quickly learns. Some players sit quietly waiting for their turn to speak, while the “Face,” like his A-Team counterpart, never misses a chance to go to town. Before you know it, the party is down another rabbit hole or skipping through a conversation without anyone else getting a chance to participate.
Or, as this week’s listener question asks: “How do you get the “Face” to STFU?
In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about how they handle the more dominant role players in their groups (especially when it’s one of them) and the tricks they use to make sure everyone gets to roleplay the way they want to.
