Here are the top ten Dungeon/Game Master tips that I posted to various social media channels in July 2023. These tips are great for almost any TTRPG like Dungeons & Dragons or Pathfinder.
- Have your players summarize the last session so you know what they remembered and what is important to them.
- Be careful giving monsters too many surprise rounds. Ensure the PCs get the drop on the monsters once in a while.
- Write enemy ACs on a visible 3×5 card so the players know if they hit or not.
- As long as the threat of a major villain is clear, it doesn’t matter if the PCs wipe it out in the first round.
- Try to find a stat block you can reskin instead of spending your time building a monster from scratch.
- Always know the most important elements an NPC has to relay to a PC during an interaction. Jot them down in bullet points.
- Skip the boring parts. Use cut scenes, montages, or groupings of skill checks to move to the interesting stuff quick.
- Ask players about the details and background of their new fancy magic weapons. Put storytelling in their hands!
- Even if you don’t get to play them all, digging through other RPG rule books can give you some great ideas for your own game.
- Keep a set of rich location areas on hand as your players explore areas you hadn’t prepared.
These tips are courtesy of Mike Shea at slyflourish.com.
If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below.
As always, good luck with your next session, I believe in you! See you in the future.
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