5 Tips and Tricks for DM’s

1. Identify the needs of the group and craft a story that caters to that
a. As a DM, it is important to recognize and understand the type of game that your players
are looking to experience. Tamril Silverleaf, the High Elf Paladin with 3 pages of
backstory will not necessarily be looking for the same table experience as Socrates the
Barbarian, and his neverending quest for hemlock. A common occurrence to help
alleviate this disparity is colloquially called a “Session Zero”. A session zero is the first
meeting of the player group with the DM for the purposes of the campaign and it is to
help establish table dynamics, assist with character creation, hammer out any
homebrew rules, etc. A tactic I’ve been using to much success when dealing with a wild
player dynamic is to require each player to provide some sort of backstory (doesn’t need
to be a novel. 100 words will do.) and include one of the other PCs at the table within
their story. This creates cohesion within the group early and generates buy-in to various
quest lines. Now, the DM can have a serious and drama-filled quest line for Tamril that
will be explored by Socrates, as well as a more whimsical experience that Tamril will
enjoy as well.
2. Establish pacing early and keep it
a. I think everyone has experienced a table at some point where they fly through the early
levels and somewhere around mid-tier it begins to feel like a slog. As a DM, establish
what you anticipate the pacing to be and stick with it. You can even be vocal about it to
your players so they are able to anticipate their own experience. I find that is the most
valuable thing to any player; the ability to anticipate their own game. My general
guideline is that there should be as many sessions (for Adventure League, that is 4
hours) as the player has levels to advance to the next. For instance, a 3rd level party of
PCs will sit through 3 sessions to advance to level 4. Next, it is 4 sessions to advance to
level 5. And so on. This can be a bit tricky when levels are widely varying, but it also
creates an EXP pool that you can quantify and use as a measuring stick. Another
example would be a party of PCs who are 2nd, 3rd 4th, and 5th level. In this case, the EXP
can be calculated and used as a resource pool for monster selection.
3. Don’t be afraid to be deadly, but never be unfair
a. Often times, DMs will be a little shy when it comes to dolling out deadly encounters.
And rightfully so. No one enjoys dying, no one enjoys remaking characters over and over
 again just to see them mince through the grinder wheels of the monster halls. However,
it’s a fine balance because the threat of death needs to be present to create thrilling
combat. If victory is assured, why bother with the combat at all? To create this dynamic,
I will often select encounters that are on the difficult end of the spectrum and have
ways to incorporate their environment. An example would be alligators in a sewer, who
can grapple and hold a player underwater. In my opinion, it is easier to scale down
difficulty than to scale it up. DM’s can fudge rolls or reduce hitpoints when things seem
exceptionally dire but have a hard time swinging the other way beyond “critical hits”,
“max damage”, or more monsters. I like to prepare for a much deadlier encounter and
scale back when necessary.
4. It’s what you do, not where you do it
a. The #1 complaint I hear from newer DMs is that the players went off the script and
created havoc on their storyline. To that, I say some flexibility in preparation is key.
When I build an adventure, I use the aforementioned EXP pool that I calculate to
generate my monsters. I basically take the total number and start “shopping” through
the monster manual. It’s the most enjoyable aspect of preparation for me! Once
compiled into a handful of encounters, I don’t necessarily place them into a specific
slot/moment/instance/destination. I allow the party to stumble upon them exactly
when I feel it makes sense. For instance, a low-level encounter of 4 goblins will be
created to start the adventuring day. The party is presented with multiple paths for
storyline purposes (mainly because I don’t like to railroad players). Let’s say it’s a
generic forest, mountain, or desert for each pathway. If I placed the goblins in the forest
and the players choose the desert path, what am I to do? This is especially true if the
storyline has been pushing for the forest path to be chosen and the players still decided
to go elsewhere. Instead, I’ll keep that encounter and label it as “combat #1”. Now,
regardless of which path is chosen, the goblins will be their first combat. To enhance
immersion, I may create a specific encounter for each path that increases the realism for
the players, but that is not entirely necessary either. The takeaway here is that by
incorporating flexibility into the adventure planning and staging the events around
milestones of the adventure as opposed to locations, a DM is able to remain on task
with the storyline they created much easier.
5. Feedback, feedback, feedback
 a. Let’s face it, tabletop RPG gaming is a significant time investment. And everyone at the
table wants to have fun. That’s the point of the whole shtick! As such, it’s important to
check with your party from time to time and discuss where the adventure is going,
things they want to see more of/less of, their enjoyment level, etc. Speak frankly and
candidly. I sometimes will even drop hints in my responses about upcoming events in
the adventure to keep everyone enraptured in the conversation. There isn’t a lot to say
here but that doesn’t pull from the significance of incorporating a feedback loop
between yourself and the players.

The number #1 killer of any party of adventures if that the players controlling them stop showing up.
Groups falling apart is the leading cause of adventurer death, not arrows to the knee! Incorporate these
tips and keep the dice rolling. Happy gaming!