fbpx

Running the Game

The 8 Most Important DM Traits

by

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

by

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

by

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!

Strahd, Dead and Loving It? The 3 Wise DM’s Review of D&D 5E’s Curse of Strahd and DM Dave’s Campaign Through Ravenloft

by

Ding dong, Strahd is dead! He was thrown down from a pillar and we smashed his head! And with that epic victory, the 3 Wise DMs are finally able to talk about their review of D&D 5E’s Curse of Strahd, including their thoughts on what worked, why and the adjustments DM Dave made.

The Fast Start-Up Guide for DMs With New Players

by

When running a campaign for new players, you will want to lead off with your A-game.  However, at the same time, you don’t want to work until Christmas designing every detail of the first adventure. Below is a list of 8 tips that will allow you to accomplish this and hopefully have an extremely successful opening campaign with your new group. 

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

by

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?

by

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.

7 Tips for Teaching D&D 5E to a New Player So They Become a Regular One

by

Playing D&D is easy, right? Well, maybe that’s the case if you have been playing somewhere between two and twenty years. But try explaining the game and all of its mechanics to someone who has never played an RPG before. To help this, we have composed a list of tips to help new players learn the game in an enjoyable and painless way that will make them want to come back for more. 

D&D 5E for Old Fogeys: What Old-School DMs Like Us Should Know About How this Edition Compares to Earlier Versions of Dungeons & Dragons

by

Now, even old-school RPG players who haven’t played a new edition in decades are wondering what they’d need to know to run 5E. Players like Jeff, who emailed us and said, “After 40-ish years, my daughter and son-in-law got me back into RPGs with 5E and I have been playing for the last 2 years or so. In all this time, I have never been a DM/GM.” And he had a few questions about running 5E that we do our best to answer in the podcast. In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about how DMing 5E is different from older editions of D&D, how the culture around playing it has changed, and what every old-school D&D DM should know about running the system if they haven’t played it yet.

Dinner With the Devil: Horror Gaming in 5e’s Curse of Strahd

by

discussion centered around the costume dinner party I threw when the players finally accepted the dinner invitation from the Master of Ravenloft, Count Strahd von Zarovich. With all of the players buying in and coming in costume, the table was set for what is, arguably, THE set piece for the entire adventure. What followed was a wonderful session full of tension, dread, laughs and a knock-down, drag-out Round 1 to the epic conclusion of our Curse of Strahd. Here are some points to consider when really playing up the immersion during your horror games.