How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

Do you think deeply about every piece of loot that you give? Or does your party get a kick out of getting the most random, most funny, more chaotic gear and equipment that D&D has to offer? Depending on your answer, you might want to focus on either personalizing or randomizing how you give out loot. But which is better? Listen to our episode and find out!

Mentioned in this episode:

Follow us on Instagram

Thanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop.

Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!

You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions.

Roll and Play Press

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.

Today we talk about how to start an actual play podcast, how to keep going with a creative idea and how to make it happen with Brennon from the Afterlife Pod.

Today is part 1 of a special 2-part series. The 2nd part of this show is over on the Afterlife Pod. You can find out more about the Afterlife Pod at https://www.patreon.com/AfterlifePod/

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!

You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions.

Roll and Play Press

Follow us on Instagram

Thanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop.

Welcome Back to How to Be a Better DM!

Today is a very special episode. Today is a Dungeon Master Coaching episode with our friend Aaron Singh.

Today we talk about Dungeon Mastering for kids and tying up loose ends in your campaign.

If you're interested in having your own dungeon master coaching session go to

https://session0studios.com/coaching. If you let us record the first episode, it's free.

Mentioned in this episode:

Sign Up For Dungeon Master Coaching

Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone in your corner as a DM? Maybe having someone who can help you find solutions to your DMing problems and help you improve every aspect of your game.

Dungeon Master Coaching

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Follow us on Instagram

Thanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop.

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Your party probably gets into a lot of sticky, unforeseeable moments, where death or a terrible consequence is on the table. At that moment, you might be tempted to utilize a Deus Ex Machina plot device, saving them from their own mistakes through some person or change that they never expected. But is that a crutch for you, or an opportunity? Let's talk about it!

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!

You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions.

Roll and Play Press

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.

Today we talk about the afterlife. Listen to episode 109 of our show to learn about death in D&D if you want more on this topic.

Here are some questions to help you flesh out the topic of the afterlife in you

1. Is there an afterlife?
2. How many types are there? With many different gods who rule over many different domains, you need to know how many afterlifes are there?
3. Are there any negative ones?
4. What is it like in any of those afterlifes? You need some sort of description of the experience a soul would have in that afterlife.
5. What interactions do souls have with their deity and with other souls?
6. What determines whether they end up in one afterlife versus another? Is it a pick and choose, or do actions determine the eternal resting place of a soul.
7. Is there a chance you end up where you don’t want to be?
8. Is it permanent? Once you’re in one type of afterlife, can you change to a different afterlife, even if you don’t want to?
9. Has anyone returned to life from the afterlife? If so, what do they remember?
10. Do people know or understand the afterlife?

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!

You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions.

Roll and Play Press

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

We’ve all been there: you’ve had a great run with all your players. Month after month, and maybe even week after week, you’ve been able to meet without any significant delays or gaps. And then, all of a sudden, it’s hard to meet. And if you do discuss meeting up, people don’t seem to prioritize it as much. And you’re worried that the campaign might not have much longer to live, so to speak. So, what do you do? Let's talk about it.

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

When you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios.

Monument Studios

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Welcome back to today's Show.

Today, we talk about 8 tips for beginner dungeon masters.

1. Stop Waiting - For Finding Players listen to this episode: https://session0studios.com/captivate-podcast/how-to-find-your-dd-group/
2. Push Past the Learning Curve
3. Start where you are.
4. Focus on your Strengths or on Finding your Strengths
5. Don’t Stop - Be Consistent
6. Focus on Player Engagement
7. Do what feels fun and cool
8. Be Real with Your Players

Thanks for listening.

Mentioned in this episode:

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

When you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios.

Monument Studios

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM

Today we have a special episode with Jay Foster from Swole Initiative (https://swoleinitiative.com/)

Today we talk about a lot of things including:

• The importance of player check-ins
• How to push boundaries without crossing lines or veils
• Why and how to add theme to your game

And more.

If you liked today's episode and you want Jay to come back on the show, go onto Jay's social medias and tell him thanks for joining us and show him some love.

Mentioned in this episode:

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

When you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios.

Monument Studios

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM

This is another RAW episode, which means more personality and less polish.

I'm your host today, Justin Lewis.

Today we talk about what I would spend $50 on to improve my D&D hobby.

This is my list:

1. A dungeon master screen
2. A new Sourcebook
3. A large tablecloth and some pipe cleaner
4. A lot of Foam and some paint
5. A set piece
6. Some LED lights
7. A simple sound system
8. Minis I guess

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Join Our Discord

So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army.

Discord

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

When you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios.

Monument Studios

Welcome back to the show!

Today we talk about what skills you need to develop as a DM.

• Mechanics

Understanding the basic gameplay of the game

Being able to make twists on the rules or invent new ones to suit your game

• Player Management

Scheduling Management

Relationship Management

• Story Writing

Being able to create beautiful settings

Being able to build amazingly real characters

Plot twists, turns and developments

Pacing

• Roleplaying

Voice Acting

Personification of the different characters

• Improvisation

Previous episode about improv: https://session0studios.com/captivate-podcast/improve-and-comedy/

• Presentation

Online Game Technology Mastery

Minis and Maps

• Lore

Full understanding of the lore of your world

Full understanding of available DnD Lore

• Experience Planning

The extras

The Wow Factor

• Combat

Speeding it up

Keeping it Interesting

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Give Us a Rating and Review

You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

We Like You

Hey Bud…

Patreon

Add the Magic of Sound to Your Gameplay

When you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios.

Monument Studios