Becoming a good Dungeon Master – Tips and Suggestions

    The Dungeon Master is quite the title for any Dungeons & Dragons game and many responsibilities come with it. Creating a magnificent fantasy experience, bringing players together in a magical and exciting world, is truly a wonderful role. But how do you become a successful Dungeon Master? Where do you even start? Well, Dice Domain will help you out with the basics, suggestions, and enlightening tips to help you gain insight and a little more knowledge on how to be an exceptional DM.

Through storytelling and collaboration, Dungeons & Dragons is a social experience. It’s essential to get to know the members of the party you will be playing with; regardless if you are a first-time beginner or a DM of many, many years. Perhaps you know this group personally, or meeting for the very first time. Maybe some players in the group are veteran players or maybe it’s their first time playing a tabletop game. Teamwork is of utmost importance and a supportive dynamic will be beneficial. Communication and an open mind are truly imperative to build a great foundation beyond the campaign and into the journey ahead.

Recognizing and learning the rules and fundamentals of how to play Dungeons & Dragons will be helpful to become a successful leader and also help be prepared to answer any questions that may be asked during the gameplay. Now you don’t need to remember every single rule but mastering the basics should be a necessity. Having an interest in knowing the lore and the history of the towns, dungeons, and monsters you design and create is beneficial to guide you with success and help develop your fantasy world into a reality within the campaign. There are many books, creator guides, pre-made campaigns, and monster manuals that can help aid the way full of information that can be helpful and useful towards your quest. Researching is definitely key and there are many resources out there.

Be sure to understand all about creating and rolling characters. Many core dynamics can be learned just by rolling a character. If new players are interested in tabletop RPGs, as the Dungeon Master, you can offer a helping hand which could establish a great teamwork foundation within your game. Building possible NPC characters in advance as well as planning battles that may occur can help with improvisational times during the journey. Writing lists of NPC names and town names can be helpful too, especially if the adventure shifts directions unexpectedly. Knowing your player’s character’s unique skills will help progress the game and engage them to utilize their abilities to their full potential. Incorporating your player’s character’s backstories within the campaign can bring utmost value so it could be a good idea to read and understand the history of the characters presented in your game.

A concern that is brought up quite often about playing Dungeons & Dragons, is if you need to “be good at math.” Well yes, and no. You do not need to be a mathematical wizard to be a successful Dungeon Master or have mathematical wizards in your party. Knowing basic math is crucial though for a few reasons like asking the total of a critical roll or adding a modifier to a D20 roll. Some DMs may feel it’s quite frustrating if a player, struggling with basic math, takes their time figuring out, for example, if their roll hits or misses. Having empathy and patience can surely have a positive outlook on these situations. Perhaps offering a pocket calculator, or a memo pad to quickly jot equations down can help troubled and anxious players. Collaborating as a team and having others assist with the answers can also be a positive outcome as well. Playing Dungeons & Dragons should be fun, not daunting, and with many solutions to help support these circumstances, there is always a resolution for everybody.

One last beneficial tip to becoming a successful Dungeon Master is to have a collection of polyhedral dice. Owning enough dnd dice is necessary with how much a DM has to utilize them. Creating epic and intense battles with monsters, dice will surely and frequently be needed. You never know when a player or two may accidentally forget their dice bags. It’s always a good idea to have an extra set or two for any situation that may possibly arise. Fortunately, Dice Domain has many beautiful and unique dice sets in every color, hue, and design to choose from.