Running the Game

DMing RPG Party Conflict: 5 Tips for When Your Players Get Along But Their Characters Don’t

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Gaming keeps friendships together. But. what do you do when one or more of your friend’s characters either don’t get along or outright dislike each other? Unfortunately, when this happens, it can kill a game like nothing else. And on this topic, I’m speaking from experience. So, I would like to give some tips to help navigate this situation if you happen to be that unlucky DM whose party members have more hate for each other than the final boss.

Storm King’s Thunder DM Review: The 9 Deviations DM Tony Used to Make D&D’s Giant Globetrot His Own

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When is a book module not a book module? When the DM throws in birthday games, a modifiable Spelljammer airship, legendary weapons tied to every character’s backstory, and more deviations from the standard campaign than we could count. Hear all this and more, as we break down the 9 main deviations Tony brought to Storm King’s Thunder and the DM’s perspective on running it.

TTRPG Party Dynamics: How We Want Players to Work Together and What We Do When They Don’t

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In this episode, the 3 Wise DMs talk about what they want in the RPG parties and players they DM for, what they care about, and what they let slide.

The Cannonball Run: 3 Ways to Handle Players Missing Sessions

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In our latest episode, we answered a listener’s question regarding how to handle players missing sessions. This led to a brainstorm about how to build a campaign that turns this apparent weakness into a strength. Starting from the basic idea of a West Marches-style campaign, I offer you “The Cannonball Run.”

Missing in Action: How to Handle Players Skipping Games and Scheduling Conflicts

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The ultimate BBEG for any tabletop RPG is the calendar. And judging by the vast gallery of memes about this topic, that villain is nigh unbeatable. Whether our schedules are hard to align or players have important things that come up or someone in your group is just flakey, every DM has to deal with some level of absenteeism. It’s always a little bit disruptive, and sometimes it can outright kill your campaign … How do you handle it?

How to DM Epic-Tier Games: 19 Tips for Running – and Ending – High-Level TTRPG Campaigns

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How do you challenge RPG PCs who wield actual cosmic power? How do you bring that campaign to a satisfying end? The time for killing rats is past, here’s how the 3 Wise DMs run and end high-level campaigns.

Party Downtime: When, How and Should You Let the Players Pursue Their Own Character Goals?

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Do you actually give your player characters downtime? Or do you keep them slaloming down the plot with barely a weekend to get their equipment sharpened?

Is the Game Interesting If the Players Always Win?

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In any game, just like in life, no one enjoys constantly losing. Most people would quickly get discouraged and want to move on to another game or stop playing such games at all. If the players always won, wouldn’t the reverse also be true? Instead of being frustrated with consistently losing, the players would start phoning in every scene and battle because the chance of defeat is less than zero. That’s why the risk of failure is just as important as the risk of death to a good TTRPG game.

When the DM Isn’t Having Fun: How to Fix an RPG Campaign That Feels Like a Chore

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The DM is a player, too. If you’re not having fun, there’s no game. Here’s how to figure out what’s wrong and get back to a game you enjoy running.

How to DM an Evil Campaign

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To help you to have a successful villainous campaign, I will provide four guidelines that have worked for me in the past. And trust me when I say they can make the difference between a party wiping each other out or creating their own evil pantheon. (And who wouldn’t want to do that?)