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DM-Player Communications

Should I Run or Play in a Solo Game? 8 Pros and Cons to Help You Decide

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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.

Getting the “Face” Player to Shut Up and Let Other Players Share the Spotlight

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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.

How to Handle a Backseat DM: 11 Things to Know

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Why won’t the experienced DM playing in your game back off and let you run it? A backseat DM can be a frustrating experience and force some difficult conversations — but having an experienced DM on the player side of the table to help lookup rulings and encourage the other players can also be a really beneficial asset in your game. How do you leverage that DM player as a good assistant and not let them become your worst critic?

How to DM D&D Character Builds and Abilities That Piss You Off

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It’s OK to have a PC build that pisses you off. Whether it’s because they’re unkillable, unhittable, undetectable, unsurvivable, or, like our listener question this week, they passively perceive absolutely frickin’ everything! In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about how to handle builds that piss you off or at least challenge you as a DM. Along the way, they talk about builds, abilities and spells they’ve struggled with and how you can handle the situation without ruining the game for yourself or any of your players.

How Hard Is Too Hard for Your RPG Campaign and Players?

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Balance can be the trickiest thing to strike in any RPG campaign. On the one hand, the DM is running monsters and villains who are literally plotting the PC’s destruction. A game that’s not challenging is unrewarding. On the other, a game that gets too hard can frustrate your players right out of wanting to play it. So where is the balance? How hard is too hard for your style of game and your players?

The 8 Most Important DM Traits

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What defines a DM who is truly great at the craft they practice? Some would argue that it’s a masterful comprehension of the rules and their applications, while others might say it’s the experience they possess from years of running successful campaigns. While both knowledge and experience of the game are important, even the most polished DM can have a game end up lackluster or even go off the rails entirely. This is why we have assembled a list of eight essential DM qualities to help ensure your next game starts off with a bang or the one you’re currently running is filled with high player energy and memorable moments. 

What to do With a Bored D&D Player? A DM’s Dilemma

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ored? Maybe they’re bored with their character or combat or the way things are going, and now figuring out a way to pick things up a notch for this player falls to you, the DM. Do you let them revamp or replace their PC? Do you make combat more difficult? If the other players are having fun, will adjusting for the bored player ruin it for the rest of them? Here’s how the 3 Wise DMs handle it.

The Curse of Strahd Postmortem: Our Players Talk About What They Thought of D&D 5E’s Barovia, the Things They Loved, and a Few Things They Didn’t

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You hear The 3 Wise DMs talk about our games all the time, but what do our players really think? In this episode, we have 6 of the 7 players from Curse of Strahd on to get honest with DM Dave about what they thought of his campaign! Along the way, we get into whether you should leave your Tarokka reading random, The Death House, what it was like playing in a low-magic setting, slow leveling, the Amber Temple and much more!

All Eyes on the Game: 12 Tips to Keep Your RPG Players Involved and Focused on Playing

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It’s a problem as old as roleplaying: You have a few players who are engaged, paying attention and driving the story, and other players who may be shy or not interested in what’s going on today. On the show today, Thorin, Tony and Dave will dig into what causes players to disengage, how to bring their attention back to the table, and the tricks they use to keep everyone involved in the game.

Motivating Your Players: How Do You Get Your TTRPG Player Characters to Take the Hook and Get On With the Adventure?

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We’re all at the gaming table for an adventure, right? But what about when your players don’t take the bait? In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about what they’ve seen undercut PC motivation, how they get it back, and motivational tricks to use at lower and higher levels in your game.