Running the Game

Teaching Your Wife to Play RPGs: How to Bring a Non-Gamer — and Perhaps Shy or Unmotivated Player — Into the Game You Love Without Making Them Hate It

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Can you teach your wife, girlfriend, best friend, family member or anyone you love to play your favorite RPG? It’s a risky proposition, as listener Dave points out in this week’s listener question: He wants to teach his wife to play D&D, and she’s agreed to give it a try, but he’s afraid that “if she doesn’t enjoy that first session, she will never come back to the table.” In this episode, Thorin, Tony and Dave talk about their experiences — both successes and failures — in bringing non-gamers into RPGs and what they’ve learned about giving them the best chance to love it.

8 Ways to Accomplish More in Your Games

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What happens during every gaming session needs to matter. Perhaps not directly to the main story, but at least to some plot thread. When this doesn’t happen, players can find themselves frustrated or disappointed after a game if it doesn’t feel like they really accomplished anything. This is why we’ve put together some tips to ensure every game feels satisfying. Because no one wants to sit through a session that feels like a double-sized filler episode.

WotC Changing D&D 5E Monsters and More – Are These the Updates the Game Needs?

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At D&D Celebration, Wizards of the Coast held a Future of D&D panel discussion. Among the topics discussed were changes to the way monsters will be presented, balanced, and rebalanced around Monsters of the Multiverse as well as some hints about how settings will be presented in the future. Are these the right changes to make? Thorin, Tony and Dave break down what we heard and how it could impact the way we DM.

6 Ways Google Docs Changed How I DM

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Advances in technology are said to be the ultimate game-changers, and with gaming it’s no different. For me, that game-changer is Google Docs, which is free and solves so many issues I had prepping and running games. So, allow me to explain how this online word processor became an invaluable tool for how my games are both prepared and run. Because every DM has a limited amount of time to spend working on any given game, and this could help you use that time more effectively. 

Patrons, Powers and Punishments in D&D 5E: So Many Classes Get Their Powers From a Higher Power … But at What Price?

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Patrons and punishments have been a part of D&D since 1st Edition’s paladins had to toe the line or get busted down to fighter status by an angry deity. But with so many classes drawing their powers from gods, devils and monsters in 5e — and not really getting any better deal than the wizard who studied, sorcerer who was born with it, barbarian who’s too angry to die, or the bard who just has to rock out with his glockenspiel out — how can the DM handle these patron relationships in a way that feels cool but doesn’t become unfair compared to the other classes?

Gods and Cheese: 5 Tips for Running RPG Deities, Demigods and Super-Powered NPCs

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Every fantasy RPG setting has its share of super-powered beings worthy of legend. And as the DM, it can be extremely tempting to introduce one of these mighty beings directly in the game to establish a presence. But such an NPC can cause numerous problems that easily do more harm than good, even derailing your campaign. This is why we’ve composed these 5 tips on how to introduce and run extremely powerful NPCs without wrecking the continuity of your game.

6 Ways to Get Everyone at the Game Table More Involved

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Ideally, you want all of your players getting the most from their gaming experience instead of just one or two players stealing the show. Rather than trying to coach several of your players to be more involved, there are ways you can adapt how your game runs to accomplish this painlessly. This is why we’ve composed a list of tips to get all of your players more involved in the game without it feeling forced. If done well, these will help your party not only function as a more effective team but perhaps enjoy the game itself even more. 

Keeping Your Story Straight: How We Manage All the DM Details of Our RPG Campaigns

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No DM’s plan survives contact with the players. Between remembering the story you’re trying to tell, the details you had to improvise, and the players’ actions (which may or may not have made sense), it can be hard to keep the details straight in your RPG campaign. Thorin, Tony and Dave each have their own tricks for keeping their stories straight.

5 Tips for Building Interesting Encounters, Random or Otherwise

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What does a good encounter look like? While not every battle should push the characters to their limits, whether in or outside on the main story arc, they also shouldn’t come off as material from a filler episode. If done well, these seemingly random battles should not only set the tone for your campaign but also promote its lore. So, let’s take a look at developing encounters, so yours can be memorable for all the right reasons. 

A Bad Day for the Black Dragon: 5 Mistakes I Made DMing My First D&D 5E Dragon Fight

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Dragons! They are the logo monster of Dungeons & Dragons. They are fire. They are death. They are the winged nightmares of any fantasy citizen. … Except the one my party chewed through in about 3 rounds. *sigh* So, the party had fun, and good for them! But on my end, mistakes were made, and here’s what I think they were.