So you want to be a fantastic Dungeon Master?

Nearly everyone can stand adversity, but if you want to test a person's character, give them power.

Too many gaming tables around the country have a dungeon master at their helm who thinks they’re the best dungeon master on earth, and each of their players is honoured to be sat at their gaming table. This is, of course, total BS. 

Lose the Arrogance

Nobody is better at running tables than you. If this thought has ever entered your mind, then I’m afraid you will never be a fantastic Dungeon Master. To everyone else, they might think you’re great, and all your NPCs are cool, but to be as good as the professionals, you have to humble yourself. Every Dungeon Master brings something different to their players; excellent storytelling ability or brilliant acting, but don’t neglect one over the fact that you have super skills in another. Instead, accept your flaws and work to improve them. 

How will you know what you could improve on? Ask your players. 

Try running a game for a different group and get some feedback. Avoid asking questions like:

 What did you enjoy? 

Which bit of the story was the best?

Did any of those encounters really hit the spot?

Instead of fishing for praise, try asking questions where the answers will force your hand to improve: 

What didn’t work for you? 

What would make this more fun?

Was there anything I didn't include that you felt was needed in the game?

Learn Improv Skills and Use Them with Every Low Roll

Being positive is one of the critical fundamentals of improv and helps to spark your imagination in a fun way. 

Before your next session, write down a list of fun things that could happen for a party if one of them rolled a Nat1. 

And always, if they rolled the nat20, be sure to tell them that any animated roleplay and excellent descriptions get rewarded. 

A positive gameplay approach will always help to uplift anyone on a low-roll death spiral. 

Got a player rolling low consistently? Good, make the world around them notice. 

An example would be Merry and Pippen in the prancing pony, both clearly rolled low numbers when they got drunk and practically gave away who Frodo was. But what happened? Strider noticed and came over to aid them. This, of course, takes practice, but as long as you’re not railroading your players, they will soon begin to think the plot was your idea all along when in fact, you simply made it up because everything in your world is joined and consequences to low rolls are genuine.  

Learn Accents 

There are thousands of different YouTube training videos on accents. All you gotta do is punch some in, and off you go! Accents can be fun to learn and give your NPCs real depth, so don’t be afraid to use them. Also, it doesn’t matter if you get them wrong, what matters is that you and your players are all having fun.

Resist The Urge to Takeover

Many dungeon masters get a kick out of taking centre stage. As the DM, this is the perfect opportunity to act out your favourite characters, bring your rich stories to life and gain praise for your creations. 

But if you thought for one second this game was a showcase of how awesome a Dungeon Master you are, then you’re wrong, so very very wrong. 

This game is all about collaboration. It’s about teamwork and storytelling together. Don’t hog the limelight with an NPC or find yourself going off on one with some over the top world description. Let your players fly; to do that, you have to give them wings!