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

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today we talk about suspense and surprise from Alfred Hitchcock's movies and Game of Thrones.

In this episode you will learn how to make the most impact by managing the knowledge your players have about each situation.

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.

Find Danny at: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof⁠⁠⁠

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:

Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter

Players (and DMs) have many unchecked assumptions for what they want out of a D&D adventure: they want "powerful loot," easy NPC interactions, and a cinematic, epic story for them to experience... right? Or is that just the surface level? Do they actually crave something more integral to D&D, like collaboration, creativity, and real consequences? Tanner discusses 5 hidden wishes that players have and DMs would benefit from addressing.

In our second interview episode, we sit down with Sacred, and talk about Solo TTRPGs, intention, immersion and getting to know yourself.

Sit back and enjoy this light-hearted talk about all things tabletop!

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.

Find Danny at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof⁠

Find Sacred on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@Sacred_Art_of_Gaming

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:

Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter

What happens when a group of Dungeon Masters get on a panel at FanX and start riffing about improv? Exactly what you’d expect — a lively, unscripted conversation about the skill every DM needs but almost nobody practices on purpose.

In this live panel episode, Justin sits down with three fellow DMs to talk about improv at the table — what it looks like, why it’s hard, and how to get better at it without freezing up when your players go completely off the rails.

Topics we touched on:

• Building improv confidence before you ever sit behind the screen

• What to do in the moment when players throw you for a loop

• How to keep your players involved so improv feels collaborative

• Recovering gracefully when something comes out of your mouth and you immediately regret it

Thanks for listening to today’s show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff:

Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith

Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/

Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord

Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

(Thanks to Zach for letting me know about the audio issues!)

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Today we steal from rappers and producers: How do they take good ideas and make them theirs?

In this episode you will learn how to get the best of your favourite Dungeon Masters while staying authentic!

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.

Find Danny at: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof⁠⁠

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:

Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter

Ever feel like one shots get off the rails, out of control, and become a wild beast for you to wrangle back into some semblance of a story in the limited time you have? These 5 guidelines will help you avoid overstretching, overthinking, and overstaying a one shot's welcome!

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Here is a little bit about what is going in my life and an apology for missing a week of content, plus some reflexions about getting inspired.

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.

Find Danny at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof⁠

Find Dr. Ben on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@rpgphd⁠

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:

Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter

What happens when you hand a live audience the keys to a D&D session and tell them to cause as much chaos as possible?

You get this episode.

Recorded live at FanX 2025, this one is unlike anything we've done before. No script. No safety net. Just four people at a table, a room full of audience members armed with prompts, and a whole lot of trust in the dice gods.

Here's how it worked: Ian ran a one-shot for players Justin, Tanner, and Matthew — all showing up with level 10 characters ready for anything. The audience? They got to create the monsters, magic items, spells, and NPCs that showed up at the table in real time, powered by Worldsmith. The players had no idea what was coming. Neither, honestly, did anyone else.

What unfolded was a live, audience-driven adventure featuring:

A big bad built by the crowd — designed (or sabotaged) by the audience before the session even started.

An investigation gone sideways — a midnight carriage ride, a mysterious shopkeeper, and a paranormal threat that only got weirder from there.

A rescue mission with actual stakes — ambushes, improvised plans, and a magic item that nobody saw coming.

A dungeon full of traps, riddles, and chaos — including a rolling boulder, a stone statue that really didn't want to be touched, and a door that rewarded the bold.

A boss fight to end it all — with loot, laughs, and the kind of ending only a live audience can create.

This is actual play the way it was meant to be: messy, surprising, and completely alive.

Cast:Ian Hawkes — Dungeon MasterJustin Lewis — PlayerTanner Weyland — PlayerMatthew Thompson — Player

Thanks for listening to today's show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff:

• Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith
• Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/
• Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord
• Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon
• Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

In this short run of episodes, Tanner discusses various aspects about one-shots and how to plan them—and today, the topic is one-shot character creation! Sure, you could just have your players create them, but maybe they take too long, or the players are new to making characters and you don't want to add more work onto your plate. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to make character creation simple to keep your one-shot a manageable experience!

In our first-ever interview episode, we sit down with Dr. Ben, whose work and studies span storytelling, game design, philosophy, and many other disciplines.

Together, we distill practical insights on authority at the table, both within the fiction and beyond it.

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.

Find Danny at: https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof

Find Dr. Ben on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rpgphd

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:

Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠

Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠

Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠

Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠

Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠

Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠

Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter