The Dungeon Master. You’ve seen them in your game of Dungeons and Dragons. Hiding behind their screen, with their notes and precious secrets.

They hold all the power, one decision from them and your precious character “Theodore Chauncey Holland IV” snuffs it, and you haver to start all over again.

Being the DM can be a daunting thing, and many players end up terrified of going behind the screen.

Here’s why I think that everyone should give it a go.

Who is the Dungeon Master?

The Dungeon Master is the person in charge of running a game of Dungeons and Dragons. If you have no idea what I am talking about or how you got here, click here for my article on playing dungeons and dragons.

The DM designs the world, plays the other characters, and makes the rules. They are in charge.

If you want to do something stupid like seduce a dragon or attack a friendly merchant because he tried to charge you 5gp for a new sword when you only wanted to pay 3gp, then you’d better hope your dungeon master is on board, otherwise things could get nasty.

Having said that, a good dungeon master knows that DnD is best if it is collaborative, not a competition, it shouldn’t be “us vs the DM” but “us and the DM against the story”.

If a dungeon master kills the entire party, they’re not a great dm, they’re a bad one.

The term “DM” is specific to dungeons and dragons, if you’re talking about this role in other TTRPGs (table top role playing games) then they are usually called “Game Masters”. But since I’m most familiar with DnD, that’s the term we are going to stick with.

For many, the idea of trying to DM is a nearly impossible task. Usually involving the following reasons why they can’t do it:

• I don’t know the rules well enough
• I can’t multitask
• I haven’t got the time
• I don’t know how to write a campaign
• I’m terrible at voice acting.
• I can’t make any decisions.

I’m here to tell you why none of this matters.

How I got started as a Dungeon Master.

For most of my early time playing Dungeons and Dragons, I’ve been desperate to, and terrified of being the dungeon master.

While playing another campaign with friends, I found myself getting more and more frustrated at wanting to do things differently and getting annoyed. Then I remembered the answer, becoming a DM myself.

No I’m no Matt Mercer or Brennan Lee Mulligan, but I’m not terrible either. Although it took a long time to get there.

The first game I ran was a mini game, three episodes long, set in the world of the video game Stardew Valley . It was a cute little game about zombies infecting the town on the behalf of a monster in the mines. The game was really cute and they players had a great time.

Riding off the back of this success I ran a halloween battle royale style one shot, with a large group of high level players righting two ancient red dragons, and each other, in the crater of an active volcano full of lava. It was over the top and hysterical, and although we never finished it, it was still amazing fun and I loved every second of it.

Then it was time for the real challenge. I decided to be the Dungeon Master for a campaign of my own making. I created a continent, ancient lore, world events ticking along in the background. It all went great.

Although my players eventually fizzled and the campaign stopped, we had a great year playing about twice a month together and getting up to all sorts of mischief!

Now, thanks to my other Dungeons and Dragons commitments, there isn’t much time in my Schedule, but I have a book of pre written one shots that I have ready to adapt quickly if the need ever arrises.

Why you should consider being a Dungeon Master.

Now, Dungeons and Dragons is a great game as a player. Don’t get me wrong.

It’s wonderful to sit down at the table, and let yourself get carried away in an incredible adventure.

But what if you were the one that made up that adventure?

What if you got to decide or help guide what and how your players did?

You would be able to control the game in a way you might not have tried before, and as an anxious control freak myself, its a nice feeling.

I’m sure I’m not the only one who spends at least 30% of each game being worried you’ve done something wrong or messed up somehow.

Well that can’t happen when you’re the Dungeon Master!

If you’re not sure about the planning, try out the pre written campaigns, there are so many out there its virtually impossible not to find one that’s perfect for you and your players.

Or let your creative juices flow and go homebrew. (I’ve got tips below to help you out)

Being the Dungeon Master gives you a thorough understanding of the game, and a chance to have a bit more fun as well.

Tips, Tricks and Links.

Work out your Dungeon Master Style.

Everyone plays and runs DnD games in their own way. Figure out if you like long drawn out campaigns that slow burn. Or quick fast paced adventures over in a matter of hours.

For me and my hilariously short attention span its 100% the latter. I just can’t focus for longer.

Once you know what sort of game you want to run, it’s far easier to begin planning your first sessions

Plan from the end and work backwards.

Now, this isn’t for everything. Sometimes you definitely need to plan starting at the beginning, but for me, this is the best way of planning out what I want to happen in a game. I got the idea from Oxventure Dungeon Master, Jonny Chiodhini, in their incredible series guiding a player into the DM chair for the first tme.

This gives you a strong skeleton for the game, and makes it easier to control a game if that is something you struggle with.

Start by deciding what you want the end point of the game to be. Maybe you want your gang of adventurers to join a gang of pirates, well how will you get them there? maybe they get framed for a crime (or get caught doing an actual one) when they try to escape all the roads are blocked but the river isn’t. There are all sorts of possibilities.

Now bear in mind that with groups that love to explore, this may not work as well, but for a tight quick session it really helps to get the bare bones laid out this way.

Don’t plan too much.

Seriously. Don’t plan too much.

Get the specifics, the loot, the quest and maybe the names or the monster for the encounter. But don’t bother going into every detail.

I once wrote out the name, job, and descriptions for characters in an entire village, only for the entire gang to just walk straight through and not visit.

Don’t plan too much.

Or at least be prepared to move things around if you need to. Maybe if you create a blacksmith called auntie strong in the arm, regardless of when they next stop at a blacksmith, that’s who they visit, rather than getting everything out fresh each time, its just not worth it.

Being Dungeon Master doesn’t mean you have to be in charge of everything.

I got this tip from the excellent creator, Ginny Di, and her wonderful videos on all things Dungeons and Dragons.

Just because you’re in charge of the game doesn’t mean that you need to set up the next time to play, host everyone, provide the snacks, set up the music, and have any extras like battle maps and so on.

Delegation is a wonderful tool, and if multitasking really isn’t your things, then make use of your players.

Here’s how my games run.

• I have one player in terms of scheduling, and as well all live within 40 minutes of each other, we take turns to host.
• We all bring one snack (i.e. just drinks or just crisps).
• While we are playing, a different player acts as consultant on any and all rules, but I get final decision.
• One player is in charge of music and atmosphere during the game.
• While in combat, everyone tracks their own advantage or disadvantage changes, and shouts them out when needed, you forget to say it, it doesn’t apply.

This really takes the pressure off having to be overall organiser.

Some Dungeon Masters I have played with hate this method, but it really works for me and the group I play with, so don’t be afraid to try some stuff out and see what works for you and your crew.

Work with your players.

Good Dungeon Mastering is about helping your players have a good game. That means creating challenges and obstacles yes. But also giving them what they need to succeed.

You’ll know if you’ve threaded the needle with these two if your players never want to leave the table and start messaging you with ideas or thoughts in the middle of the night.

This might take a while to get the hang of, but stick to the rule “Don’t make a player roll for something you don’t want them to fail”. Don’t get them locked out of opportunities.

And if they’re really not seeing what you’re trying to show them, give them some hints, use their passive wisdom or intelligence to help give a player a nudge in the right direction.

Summary

Now normally I would put a breakdown in this section with a score for different aspects of the hobby, but I’m not doing that this time.

If you want to see that, you’ll have to read my regular article on Dungeons and Dragons.

Being a Dungeon Master is a wonderful way to experience your favourite game from a new perspective. It gives you an opportunity to have complete control of a game.

Once you are confident in the game, I urge you, have a go at being the Dungeon Master.