May 15, 2025

The 4 Core Skills of Dungeon Mastery (Plus the Secret 5th One)

34 minutes

Here are today's sponsors:

Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

Feeling stuck or burned out as a Dungeon Master? You’re not alone—and you’re not out of options. In this episode, Justin and Tanner break down the Four Core Skills that every great DM needs to master:

1️⃣ People Management

2️⃣ Showmanship & Performance

3️⃣ Game Design

4️⃣ Storytelling

And yes... there's a secret fifth pillar 👀

We discuss how to use these pillars as a personal skill assessment framework so you can stop overthinking your sessions and start building campaigns that actually improve week to week. Whether you're overwhelmed with prep, worried you're not "immersive enough," or comparing yourself to pro DMs, this episode will reframe your mindset and re-energize your games.

🔑 What you’ll learn:

The most overlooked DM skill (and why it makes or breaks your game)
How to identify and strengthen your weakest pillar
A tactical way to use these 4 skills to get "unstuck" mid-session
How to balance emotional storytelling with crunchy mechanics
Plus: A future tool we’re developing to help you self-assess

Special thanks to:

Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

Foxy Beard, Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

Mentioned in this episode:

Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

Visit session0studios.com for more information.

Do You Want to Earn some Money?

🎲 Want to Earn Some Extra Gold?

We’re offering a referral incentive for our professional Dungeon Mastering services! Here’s how it works:

1️⃣ Refer someone to session0studios.com/prodm

2️⃣ They sign up for a free consultation.

3️⃣ They mention they were referred by a podcast listener.

4️⃣ We DM an unforgettable session for them.

5️⃣ They get 10% off their booking.

6️⃣ You get 10% of what they paid—straight into your coin purse.

7️⃣ We celebrate with a virtual high-five. 🙌

We run games for private groups and corporate teams—whether it’s a one-shot or a long-term campaign.

💰 Want to earn some gold and help someone level up their game night?

Send them to session0studios.com/prodm and start earning today!

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 provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout.

Monument Studios

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.

...more