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epicd
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Introductions

Soyouhavedecidedtotakeaspinatrollingthedicefrombehindthe
dungeon masters screen and are perhaps a bit nervous on where to
start.
Beingresponsibletorunanadventure,keepalltherulesincheck,and
makesurealltheplayershaveagoodtimecanbeveryintimidating.
But it doesnt have to be with a little preparation, understanding and
confidenceinyourskillsasaplayerandstoreteller.
Being an effective dungeon master is a learned skill. Think about the
first time you played a role playing game or even a complex board
game.Firstcameunderstandingtherulesofthegame,thentheflowof
those rules, and finally strategy which you used to win or play the
game.
ThatistheaimofthisPDFtogiveyouthefundamentaltoolsyouneed
to understand as a dungeon master along with the confidence to run
yourfirstadventureandkeeponbuildingfromthere.
Readytogetstarted?

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BehindTheScreen
In my many years of enjoying tabletop role playing games, both as a
player and as a dungeon master one of the biggest fears that I have
encountered is what happens if you get something wrong or make a
mistakeasaDM.
Whathappenstotheflowofthegameandthethoughtsoftheplayers
whensomethinggoeswrong?
Typically my response is this how do they (the players) know that
somethinggoeswrong?
Think about both the perspective from behind and in front of the
dungeonmastersscreen.Runninganadventureandsittingbehindthat
screen you have a ton of notes to follow, maps to sort out, dice,
miniaturesperhaps,andsometokenstotakecareofallwhilesorting
outtherulesandfiguringoutwhatisnext.
You know where the players have been, where they are now, and
wheretheywillbegoing.
Butwhatdotheyknow?
Sitting in front of the screen, the player have their character sheets,
dice,andperhapsaminiaturefortheircharacter.
They only know what you tell them, and what has just recently
happenedintheadventure.
From the perspective of the dungeon master there is no way you can
makeamistakesinceyouareinchargeoftheflowoftheadventurean

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ultimatelyaGOODDMisallaboutmaintainingtheflowandkeepingit
goingandwewillgettothatinabit.
Keepthisfundamentalprincipalinmind:
ASTHEDUNGEONMASTERYOUCANTMAKEAMISTAKE.
Onceyouallowyourselfthatconsiderationyouarewellonyourwayto
masteringtheart.
Anexample?
Lets say you have been leading the players through a dungeon
adventure for the last few hours of the evening and they are
approaching the final room in the dungeonwhich contains the locked
artifacttheyhavebeensearchingfor.
Thedoorinfrontofitisunpickableandmagiclockedsotheonlyway
inistousethekey
and then you suddenly realize that the key the party is supposed to
havetheydontyoumadeamistakeandforgottogiveittothem.
Backinoneofthefirstencountersagainstapairoftrolls(onewhohad
thekeytothetreasureroom)youweresupposedtoallowtheplayers
tofindthekeywhentheydefeatedthem.
Andyouforgottotellthem.
Whattodo?
Well, they could just open up the door, but that doesnt make much
sense.
Panickedyet?
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ASTHEDUNGEONMASTERYOUCANTMAKEAMISTAKE
Pauseforamoment.
Remember,theydontknowthetrollshadthekeysinceyouforgot,
andtheyarenotawareofthenextstepsintheadventure.
Simply have one of the trolls come back down the hallway, hurt, but
regenerated and fight the players one more time, and it goes down,
allowthekeytofallfromitshands.
When the players search the area, allow them to find a small hidden
chestbehindthewallwithatrap(makessense)withthekeyinside.
Putthekeyonthelastbossmonstertheyareabouttofight.
FrombehindtheDMscreenyouthinkyoumadeamistake,butfromin
frontofthescreen,fromtheperspectiveoftheplayers,theyjustfound
thekeytothetreasureroom.
This is an example of keeping the flow of the game going no matter
whatdirecttheplayersalongthepathoftheadventure,letthemmake
theirownchoices,andseetheoutcometotheendofthegame.
Agoodplacetostart.
So now, lets start looking at how you can control the flow of the
adventure, and some ideas to help you find the style of dungeon
masteringthatyouenjoy.

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FindingYourVoice
Running an adventure as a dungeon master is an art form part story
teller,partarbitrator,andpartruleslawyer,therearemanywaystodo
it,justastherearemanywaystosingasongorcreatemusic.
Thekeyistofindthestyleyouaremostcomfortablewithdonttryto
emulate other DMs or RPG game masters you have played with.
Findingyournaturalvoicemeansyouwillbecomfortablewithhowthe
adventure comes out and flows, the difference between creating a
goodstoryforyourplayersandjustreadingsomethingtothem.
Thefirststepistoselectanadventurethatyouwanttorunsomething
with a plot line or encounter that captures your imagination this
enthusiasm will carry over into the game, making the story better,
whileallowingyoutofloweasilyandcorrectmanymistakes.
Nowitistruethatcertainplayersalsohavetheirowntasteofwhatis
fun in an adventure some prefer straight up tactical combat, other
acting out an RPG scene with the nonplayer characters in the
adventure,etc.
Dont completely ignore what the players like, but rather include,
direct, or pick an adventure with a few of these likes rather than
makingittheentirethrustofthegame.
For example if one of your players loves tactical combat, include or
steer one of the encounters in that direction, likewise for NPC
interaction.

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Onceyyouhaveselectedanadven
nturethattyouareinteresteedinrunn
ning
thenexxtdecisio
onistoplanhowyyouarego
oingtoru
unit

Whenrunningaanadventuretherreareofttentwob
blocksofttextforeeach
encoun
nter secttion (see
e above) one blo
ock that describees what the
playersssee(oftteninasq
quaredte
ext)ando
oneboxfforwhattthedunggeon
masterrisaware
eof.

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Before running the adventure take a few moments to ready through

bothboxesforeachencountertohelpgetaflavorastowhatisgoing
onandwhattheplayersmightreasonabledo.
The next decision is going to be to determine how you convey the
adventuretotheplayerswhichisamatterofpersonaltasteandstyle.
Whentheplayersmovetoanewencounterandyouhavetodescribe
whattheysee(asintheplayertextbox)areyougoingtoreaditword
forword,orgiveasummaryofitinyourownwords?
Bothhaveadvantagesanddisadvantages.
Ifyoureadthedescriptivetextfromtheboxwordforwordyouwillbe
sure not to miss anything but it can be very limiting and cut into the
flowofthegame.
At parts of the adventure you will be looking down away from the
playersandreadingwordstothemratherthancreatingwords.
Theotheroptionistoreadthetextofwhattheplayersseetoyourself
really quick and then while looking up and engaging the players tell
themwhattheyseeinyourownwords.
This has the advantage of adding your own flair and personality to it
thus making it more lively, while at the same time fully engaging the
players.
Whichmethodisbetter?
FornowyourcomfortlevelasanewDMiswhatismostimportantas
eachofusstartwithdifferentskillssetsandcomforts.

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If you feel more comfortable reading the text asis then 100% start
there,butseektograduallyworkyourwayuptowhereyoucanread
the player text to yourself and then communicate it to the players in
yourownwordsandpersonalityasthiswillcomethoughmoregenuine
andkeepthegamegoing.
AverygoodDMrarelylooksdownathisnotesorstuffconsiderhowa
very good public speaker acts and looks this is the goal and
engagementwearestrivingfor!
Findwhatiscomfortabletoyouandslowlyworkonexpandingout.

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AdventurePreparations
Letsnowtakeamomenttotalkaboutsettingforyourfirstadventure
andsomethingstoputinplacebeforethegamewithflowinmind.
Onceyouhavepickedanadventureyouarepassionateaboutrunning
(agoodsignofthatisanadventurethatyouastheDMgetsocaught
upinthatnotonlyareyouexcitedtorunit,butalsoyouneverwantit
toend)andhavereadthroughittofamiliarizeyourselfwithit,itistime
tosetupthetable.
Set up your adventure behind the dungeon master screen and of
coursemakesureyouhaveyourdice,corebooks,somepaper,pencils,
andallthat.
Ifthereareanymonstersorspelleffectsintheadventurethatyouare
notfamiliarwith,orarecomplex,takeamomentaheadoftimetoputa
sticky note or scrap of paper in the monster manual or dungeon
mastersguidewherethemonsterorspellentryis.
This way if you have to look something up it is quick, creates little
stress,andwontbreaktheflowofthegame.
AsaDMthereisnowayyouwilleverbeabletomemorizeeverything,
nor should you be expected, but having the stuff you might need to
lookupaheadoftimeindexedgoesalongway.
Nothing helps kill a game and drain the excitement of an encounter
withahugegapintime.
Whyisthisbad?

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When the players are involved in an encounter in the adventure you

want to keep it as close to real time as possible create a sense of
urgencyforthemtoactinthemoment.Givingthemsmalleramounts
oftimetothinkandactcreatesdrama.
NowtheplayerSHOULDhavetimetothinkandplantheiractions,but
once the swords start swinging and the spells slinging stopping the
encountertolookupjustwhatacertainruleormonsterdoescanbea
buzzkill.
There is a HUGE difference between just going to page X and reading
what acid stream does vs. figuring out what book it is in, thumbing
throughtheindex,readingit,etc.
PLUShavingthepotentialrulesyoudont100%knowathandwillhelp
youberelaxedwhichwillshowintheadventure.
Many gaming groups also use miniatures, gaming tiles, or dry erase
matstodrawthedungeonorencounterandplayonifyoudecideto
dothis,makesureitisallsetupaheadoftimetokeepthegamegoing.
PersonallyIusebothtilesandadrayerasechessexmatdependingon
theadventurebutwithbothIeitherlayoutallthetilesaheadoftime,
ordrawtheentire(orasmuchasIcan)dungeononthemapandthen
coveritoverwithpapertorevealtotheplayersastheygo.
This way everything I need for the night is set up and mapped out
aheadoftimeIonlyhavetorevealitoverdrawingit,whichcouldtake
up ten or so more miniatures during the adventure again an
interruptionoftheflow.

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TheDMDice
NextletstalkaboutthedicefromtheperspectiveoftheDMandhow
theyaretooltocreatesuspenseandNOTpunishtheplayers.Nothing
fromthedungeonmastersperspectiveshouldbeabsoluteyoushould
beabletomanipulateeverythingtohelpbuild,run,andcreatethefun
inanadventure,andasthedicearetheretointerjectsomeunknown
randomness (like does the dragon hit me?) you want to be able to
controlit.
Some dungeon masters roll the dice behind the screen, while others
rollitfortheplayerstoseebothjustlikemanagingtheadventuretext
haveadvantagesanddisadvantages.
When you roll the dice for the players to see it allows them to
potentially learn more about the encounter for example in fighting a
dragon if I as the DM roll a D20 and the dragon hits the best fighters
armor class on a 3+ on the D20 then the party is going to have a
problem.
Howpowerfulamonsterappears,is,anddecidedbytheplayersshould
not be figured out from the dice, but rather in how it is described by
thedungeonmasteratthestartoftheencounter.
Thatsaid,showingtheplayersthedice,allowingthemtoseetherolls
can create some VERY intense moments that final moment in the
battle when both the monster and a player have a few hit points left
and it all comes down to who strikes first does the monster hitroll
thatD20

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Of course the downside to this is that it is harder to modify the dice.

Letssaytheplayershavesomeunluckyrollsatthestartofthebattle
and the monsters are thumping them around if the dice are hidden
behind the screen that you can roll it and just pretend the monsters
missedaroundortwoeveniftheyhityoucanfudgethedicetohelp
theplayercatchup.
AndastheDMyouSHOULDfudgethedicefromtimetotimetohelp
keepthegamedramatic.
Thatsaid,evenifthedicearevisible,youcantfudgethetohitscore,
butyoucanmodifythedamage havethemmakealesserattack,roll
one less D6, roll a D4 instead of a D6 often the players wont ask
questionsiftheyareengagedinthemoment.

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NexxtStep
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Bestoffluck!

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