Michael E. Shea's Blog, page 14

Build from the Characters Outwards

The characters are the heroes of the worlds we create together. They're the focus of our lens. The world outside of their view doesn't yet exist — except for the villains and their own quests.

It's hard to keep this in mind when we're building our world. We're driven to write sprawling histories, wide geographies, deep religious sects, and vast cities.

In the eight steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, step one is to focus on the characters. Who are they? What are their names? What do they want? Where did they come from?

This is deliberately the first step we do. It puts them first in our minds as we prep the rest of our next session.

But we can take this character-first approach to anything we build in our games. Which religions should we fill out? Those tied closest to the characters as either their own domains or those domains they oppose. What elements should we focus on when building a city? Those of most likely interest to the characters, their classes, and their backgrounds. What sort of monuments might they run into out in the wilds? Those with a connection to the characters history, heritage, religion, or the villains they chase. What magic items should we drop in to the game? Those that provide use or interest to the characters.

We can use random tables to guide such things, but the results from such rolls can inspire us to build something interesting to the characters — something expanding the scope of the world through their own eyes.

What sorts of things can we focus around the characters and their players?

Everything.

What type of strong start might draw them into the larger story?

What scenes move their story forward?

What secrets might interest them to discover?

What NPCs would they enjoy interacting with?

What monsters might they enjoy fighting?

What locations might they enjoy exploring?

What items and rewards suit their characters?

There's a flip side to this. Players engage well with new things to discover, new religions, new histories, new stories and folklore, new NPCs and villains. In this way, we want to think two horizons out. We can still keep the characters in mind as our own world unfolds around them, feeling real to them as they learn its history and see it alive around them. As GMs, we keep the horizon line always moving outward, just beyond what the characters can see so they know there's a world out there even if it isn't right in front of them.

It's a delicate balance between building for the characters and building a larger world.

It's also why we love being GMs.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Prepping Scarlet Citadel Session 22 and Using Dwarven Forge in Virtual Tabletops.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

The Lazy GM's Resource DocumentDarrington Press Roleplaying GamesChris Perkins on the 2024 Dungeon Master's GuideCubicle 7 on C7D20 Open LicensingMore D&D Creator Summit AccountsPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Running High Level 5e GamesPointing Out Magic Items to CharactersTying Together Independent Published Adventures5e Cross Compatibility Among PublishersRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Introduce lasting, non-mechanical flaws for failed stress checks���ink-bleeding eyes, odd limps, etc.Show what came before ��� slain creatures, broken weapons, warning signs.Give characters reasons to get out of the doorway and into the room.Reward high perception checks by giving the characters the jump on hidden enemies.Use ambivalent undead as secret-revealing NPCs in the darkest dungeons.Let players discover secret passages to the boss's main sanctum.Set up situations to give characters a chance to catch sentries off-guard.Related ArticlesTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaHow Many Players are Ideal for a D&D 5e Group? Four.Describe your GM StyleSpiral Campaign and World Building in D&DBuild Cities Around the CharactersGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Build Your World with Immersive Daydreaming

Our imagination is an amazing gift. With a little focus and some fine tuning of our environment, we can use it to build fantastic worlds we and our players can enjoy for the rest of our lives. What can we do to further the creation of worlds in the depths of our imagination?

I've written about this topic in chapters 25 an 26 of [Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master] and in a few Sly Flourish articles including:

Playing D&D AnywhereCreative Mind Exercises for D&DDevelping your DM Brain AtticGoing ThereImmerse Yourself in D&DFocusing Your Thinking

It's not enough to tell ourselves to simply "think about our game" without any structure to the thought. Many GMs over the past half-century discussed how much of their game came from pondering their game while in the shower, out for a walk, stuck in traffic, at a boring meeting, or otherwise stuck in a moment in time where their only distraction was one that came from their own heads.

If we want to truly benefit from our amazing skull-bound universe-simulators some structure to our thought process can help. We need first to take conscious stock of our intentions — we want to focus our thinking on our game and our world. This involves two steps: setting up our environment and focusing our thought.

Setting Up our Environment

First, we must set up the right environment for our universe-building work. Here are some ideas:

Remove higher-function distractions. This includes smartphones, computers, audiobooks, and other distractions that force us to listen or read.Add low-function noise. White noise, instrumental music, or the sounds of nature helps us avoid the distraction of pure silence. I'm a huge fan of video game soundtracks but, in particular, I find the music of Siddhartha Barnhoorn to really let my mind wander.

Some great activities in which we can engage in such active daydreaming include:

Taking a walk (my favorite)ExercisingGoing for a driveLying in bed listening to musicGoing to sleep

It should come as no surprise that all of these should be done away from our smartphones. Don't worry, the world can live without us for thirty minutes.

Focusing our Thoughts

With our environment set we can focus our daydreaming by asking ourselves specific questions. I like to think of this as brain-work. What are we going to work on during our next thought-session? Sometimes this can be higher-order questions like "what three ideas do I want to bring to my next game?" but sometimes it can be true immersive daydreaming with a prompt like "What is my villain seeing right now? What actions are they taking? What conversation are they having with their underlings?".

Here are some potential prompts for your focused brain-gaming:

What does my fantastic location look like if I were walking through it? What would I see?What mosaics or frescoes would I see on the walls of this ancient crypt?What does a day in the life of my villain look like? What would I be doing were I them?What does this fantastic monument look like? What would it be like to look up at a 40 foot high floating obelisk hanging over a pit of bestial bones?What do the characters look like as they sit around a campfire on the hills overlooking the untraveled valley below?What do each of the characters look like and what do I think they'd be doing during a long rest?What would this particular magic item look like? Who forged it? What history does it have? What hands previously wielded it?Before this location turned into a ruin, who inhabited it? What did they do with it? What did that look like? What remains of this former use?What would it really be like to face a twelve-foot-tall helmed ogre wielding a two-hundred-pound spiked mace? What would it look like, to face two dozen ancient animated skeletons?Thinking First Person

One interesting way to fill in details of our focused daydreaming is to think in first person. What would it be like if we were really there. Not everyone can do this, a phenomenon called aphantasia affects about one in twenty according to current research. For those afflicted, this idea of thinking in first person — focusing on images specifically — is difficult to impossible. Not being a scientist in the field, I have little help to offer but potentially focusing on abstract questions without the visuals might still focus our minds in ways to build out our games.

For those of us able to build images in our head, the simulation grows ever more detailed. What does it feel like? What the smell in the air? What would we hear?

Questions to Avoid

When we're using immersive daydreaming to build our world and thinking about our game, there are a few directions our thoughts might go that we want to avoid. These include:

What are the characters going to do?Where are the characters going to go?What choice will the characters make?What direction is the story going to take?What is the result of the situation in which the characters find themselves?

We're not writing a novel. We're setting up a world for the characters to explore but we are not those characters. Our players are. We can set the stage, set the environment, and set out the NPCs but we should avoid assuming what the characters will do and what direction they will head. We'll find that out when we actually run it our game.

Giving Ourselves Time and Space to Go to Other Worlds

This process of structured daydreaming can do wonders for our D&D game. It lets us imagine the world with all of our senses. It lets us go there. Give yourself the time, space, and environment to use our amazing gift of imagination to build out amazing worlds we and our players can explore together.

Special thanks to Lilia for conversations on this topic.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Scarlet Citadel Session 21 and Using "Pause for a Minute".

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Regnum Rattus - The Rats in the CellarIskandar Explorer's Journal Volume 1Blood and Doom Three Books Released to the Creative CommonsWhat's Changed over 13 Years of Lazy DMing?More Material to the Creative CommonsWhat Does 5e Backward Compatibility Mean?Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Dealing with Non-Heroic HeroesConvincing a DM to Run Online GamesInitiation Quests to Get Into a CultChallenging Tier 4 CharactersRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Give characters something to do in every scene.Let players name interesting NPCs.Use third-party spells as features of magic items.Offer multiple paths when traveling overland.Provide a graceful way to flee from combat.Use narrative ability checks when fleeing or chasing enemies.Include interesting non-combatant NPCs in dungeons or hostile regions.Related ArticlesTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaDescribe your GM StyleHow Many Players are Ideal for a D&D 5e Group? Four.Spiral Campaign and World Building in D&DCreative Mind Exercises for D&DGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

How Many Players are Ideal for a D&D 5e Group? Four.

5e works with as few as one player and one DM up to maybe seven players and one DM on the high side. Larger groups aren't unheard of but I imagine they look quite a bit different than what we normally expect from D&D. The Dungeon Master's Guide and Player's Handbook don't offer guidance on an ideal number of players so I'll give it to you now:

Four

Four players hits a near perfect balance of player and character synergy while still giving each character enough time in the spotlight. Most D&D published adventures work well with four players.

Four also ensures the characters aren't overpowered. With each character added to a group, the synergy of those characters increases non-linearly. A group's total power is greater than the sum of the number of characters. It becomes harder to challenge groups with more than four characters. Difficult battles can sometimes be complete cakewalks. And this gets worse the more characters you have.

Four characters often ensures every role is covered. You'll want to make sure the group has one character willing to stand toe-to-toe with monsters and another able to heal but beyond that, players can choose whatever classes they want.

Of course, there's another answer to the ideal number of players:

Whatever number you get to run your game.

What happens when this number is higher or lower than four?

Fewer Than Four

It's possible, and even great fun, to run with fewer than four players. One-on-one games are not only possible, they're a unique style of wonderfully fun. The same is true with two or three players. You have to be careful with combat since the non-linear math for group power works in reverse��— the fewer characters, the higher the risk — non-linearly. You can always off-set this increased risk by letting one or more of the players run sidekick characters, either from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, the D&D Essentials Kit or a simplified player characters. We've talked before about balancing combat for one-on-one play.

More Than Four

Sometimes circumstances make it difficult to run with only four characters. Groups of friends don't fit perfectly into groups of four and there are always more people who want to play than GMs willing to run games. Five characters is close enough to four to be a fine way to play. Six can work too but, at least for me, it's right on the edge of chaos. Seven and above is, in my opinion, madness.

When selecting players for your group, having one or two players "on call" can ensure you have enough to play a game. That said, since playing with three is possible, a maximum of five players, including your on-call players, may work just fine.

If your roster of players is beginning to get to seven or more, consider splitting them into separate groups or running a West Marches style game.

While a perfect group of four players isn't always possible, keep the number in our mind as you build out a roster of players and shape your regular games. With the perfect set of of players at our table, there's no telling how awesome our shared stories will be.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Kobold Press's Black Flag is Tales of the ValiantThe ORC Open Gaming License Draft ReleasedThirteenth Age Humble BundleD&D Summit Writeups by OthersD&D Summit Top Three Observations for D&D DMsLooking Into the D&D Summit Organization, Missteps, and Recommendations for Next TimeD&D Summit 2024 Core Book UpdatesThe Format of PlanescapeThoughts on a D&D Beyond Marketplace Other News from the D&D Summit

In addition to the Talk Show, I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Preparing Scarlet Citadel Session 20 and The Most Important D&D Game.

Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

What Should the Dungeon Master's Guide Do?Challenges for 11th+ Level CharacersRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Give the characters a chance to plan a strategy for a big complex combat encounter. Give characters the option to skip random encounters. Let the monsters wander right by.Lean in on the characters' coolabilities. Put in monsters intended to take in those powerful abilities. Mix up treasure with random rolls and items selected for the characters. What are your three villains doing right now?Focus on your next session. Don't forget how simple this game is. Don't let the vastness of possibility overwhelm you.Related ArticlesDescribe your GM StyleTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaThe Near Perfect RPG SessionRunning One-on-One D&D GamesWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Spiral Campaign and World Building in D&D

Often DMs and designers build worlds from the outside in. The 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide describes worldbuilding through gods, religious organizations, the cosmos and planes, and the geography of the world. The world, and the campaign you build within it, starts big — from the universe inward.

But there's another way — a lazier way — spiral campaign development. I describe spiral campaign development in chapter 16 of Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master but we'll dig into the topic even more in this article.

For a video on this topic, see my Spiral Campaign Development in D&D YouTube video. A previous article Thinking Two Horizons Out also touched on this subject.

What's the Campaign's Theme?

When engaging in spiral campaign development, we start by thinking about the campaign's central theme, mission, or goal. What's this campaign about? The shorter this is, the better. Ideally one sentence. Maybe even just one word.

If we look at the hardcover 5e adventures from Wizards of the Coast here are some examples:

Help Ten Towns survive the endless night.End the soul destroying engine in Chult.Stop the rise of the elemental cults.Escape the underdark.Restore the Ordening.Stop Tiamat's rise.Save Elturel.Kill Strahd.

Sometimes these themes change. Sometimes we start with one theme and switch to another. For Descent into Avernus we might start with "hunt down the cults threatening Elturel" and then switch to "save Elturel" once it's sucked into hell.

A campaign theme helps you and your players understand the focus of the campaign. It lets players know what kind of characters to build and it lets you know what sorts of adventures to prepare.

What Makes Your World Unique?

The campaign's central tenants, often described during a session zero, make your campaign and your world unique. I often refer to these as the "six truths." There doesn't have to be six. There can be three. More than seven is probably too many.

Even though these truths may be big in scale, they matter to the characters right now. They tell your players what the world is like for them and what sorts of character navigate that world. They tell the players what makes this world and this campaign unique among those they've seen or played.

Example questions that might define these "truths" include:

What major war is going on in the region?What dark force is rising and what are the repercussions of this?What changes your world from the default considerations of D&D? Are the gods silent or dead? Does magic come from a different source? Is magic extremely rare or extremely common?What is the theme and feeling of your campaign? Is it wondrous and whimsical? Is it dark and dismal? Is it apocalyptic? Is it beautiful?

Clarify the theme in these "truths." Let the players know what they're getting into.

Spiraling Down to the Characters

Next, laser in on the characters and what's around them right in the beginning of their adventures or campaign in this world. Instead of answering questions about gods, pantheons, planes of existence, government structures, world geography and all the rest — focus on the following questions and ideas:

Where do the characters start physically? Where does the campaign begin? Build a small town or settlement.What makes this town or settlement unique? Pick one fantastic feature of the town. Maybe it's a big stone hand sticking out of the ground.What locations exist in this town or settlement that the characters (and players) likely want to visit? Pick one per character.Which NPCs likely engage with the characters? Which NPCs likely matter to the characters in the first session? Pick three.What villains are in play in this area? What do they want? What quests are they on themselves? What friction do they cause? Pick three.What adventure locations are nearby? What ruined watchtower sits atop a nearby hill? What shunned ruin lies just outside of town? What's hidden in the old sewers beneath the town? Pick three such locations.What quests can the characters pick up? Write up three.

You'll notice these questions feel like building an adventure, not a campaign world, but that's what matters. The larger world and the larger campaign is interesting but only in small pieces revealed to the characters as they explore the world around them. You don't need to know every god in the pantheon — just those tied to the characters or to their enemies. Fill out the rest as the characters go on their adventures.

A Focus on the Characters and Your Next Game

The whole philosophy of spiral campaign development is a clear focus on the characters, what they're doing, what they're going to do, and what the world around them is like. This isn't the end-all be-all of building a campaign. It's a start. Your world can be vast, deep, and old but the way you expose that to the characters, and their players, is through gameplay. It's during the game that the characters learn about the planes of existence, the old gods, the wars that tore apart the world, the lost species, and all the rest. They learn it one line at a time while delving deep into the old dungeons, caverns, keeps, and temples in the earth.

Focus on your characters and focus on the next adventure you're going to run. Let the world build out from there.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a YouTube video on [prepping Scarlet Citadel episode ] and Sharing your RPG PDFs with Players Safely and legally.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

D&D Direct AnnouncementsD&D 3D Virtual Tabletop First LookMore Announcements from D&D DirectThe D&D Virtual SummitPlayDnD and D&D Beyond 1st Level PregensCubicle 7's Design Goals for C7D20Shadow of the Weird Wizard AncestriesPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Getting Better at Being a DMUsing Random Tables for Prep or At The Table?Using D&D For Facing with Real Life IssuesToo Many NPCs as Upward Beats in a Dungeon CrawlGetting Through Lots of Story in Shorter SessionsRunning Online With Some Players At Same LocationHow's Dungeon 23 Working Out?Dealing With High Passive InsightOffering Three Plus Infinite ChoicesBuilding Shorter Campaigns for 8 to 12 SessionsRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Don't forget the simplicity of this hobby. It's friends around a table rolling dice and having some laughs. Don't let the game psyche you out.Think about secrets from the points of view of the characters. Which of them are most likely to reveal the secret?Grab what the players bring to the table and run with it.Keep a handful of your favorite monster stat blocks handy. Use them liberally.Scenes are built from fantastic features, interesting NPCs, cool monsters, intriguing secrets, and eye-opening treasure.Roll randomly for treasure during prep but select items you know the players are interested in.Set up situations. Let the players choose their approach.Related ArticlesTying Characters to a Campaign's ThemeConverting Adventures Between SystemsTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaBuild Cities Around the CharactersWriting a One-Page Campaign GuideGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Converting Adventures Between Systems

With all of the great RPGs out there, sometimes we want to run an adventure or campaign from one system but with the mechanics of another. Maybe that awesome 5e adventure sounds like it'd be fun in Fantasy AGE or the Cypher system. Maybe that Pathfinder 2 adventure would work well in D&D.

How do we convert adventures or campaign worlds from one system to another? The answer might be easier than you think.

When we first think of such an endeavor, we think about converting all the mechanics of the adventure over to our system of choice but we don't usually need to do that. Instead, use the mechanics of your RPG system of choice and overlay the lore and fiction of the adventure.

Don't worry about the specific details of difficulty checks, monster statistics, or other mechanical bits from the adventure or campaign. Focus on the intention of the adventure and use the mechanics from your chosen RPG system.

Ensure the Theme Fits

Certain types of adventures or campaigns don't fit well with certain RPG systems. A Call of Cthulhu adventure isn't likely to work well with vanilla 5e rules — one being a game of gothic horror and the other a game of high fantasy. It's often best if the theme and genre of the adventure fits the themes and genre of the RPG system you choose. High action adventures work well with high action RPGs, for example. Are the heroes from your chosen RPG powerful and empowered or are their lives risky and fleeting? Consider the theme of the adventure or campaign and ensure that theme fits the style of the RPG you want ot use.

That said, story-focused RPGs like Dungeon World or Fate Condensed work well with more mechanical adventures because the theme still fits. It's more of a problem when the intended feeling of an RPG doesn't fit the feeling of the adventure or campaign.

Understanding Challenges and Action Resolution

It's important to know how your RPG of choice handles resolutions like skill or ability checks. How are actions resolved? How do the characters accomplish things? What is the range of difficulty and how do you change it?

Then look at the adventure or campaign and understand how it expects to handle challenges like this. It's important to understand the underlying system of an adventure or campaign so you know what the actual difficulty of a DC 18 check is compared to a DC 12. Once you understand the ranges of challenges, you can abstract such types of checks into bins of difficulty like "easy", "medium", and "hard". Then convert those difficulty bins over to your new RPG of choice.

For example, if you wanted to play a D&D 5e adventure using Fate Condensed, you can take D&D's difficulty class range of 10 (easy) to 25 (very hard) and lay it over Fate's adjective ladder of -4 to +8. Thus, a DC 14 in a D&D adventure is probably about a +2 in Fate Condensed.

Reskinning Monsters

Many times our chosen adventures and campaigns have a big bunch of monsters in them. Instead of painstakingly converting monsters from one system to another, rip out the ones in the adventure or campaign and replace them with monsters from the RPG you're using. When they aren't a perfect match, reskin the closest monster in your RPG to the one described in the book. Reskinning once again proves to be an invaluable lazy DM tool.

Make Life Easy On Yourself

We GMs often take the hard path. I don't know why, but we feel like it's cheating when we find things too easy. What really matters is running a fun game for our friends — not how accurately we stayed within the lines of a published adventure or campaign. When it comes to converting an adventure or campaign to an RPG of your choice, take the easy path. Rip out the adventure's mechanics and replace them with those from your RPG. Take a break. You deserve it.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Final Week of Forge of FoesAppearance on D&D Beyond Twitch StreamForge of Foes Interview on EN WorldThe Resilience and Antifragility of Tabletop RPGsWhat can WOTC Do for the RPG Community?Before the Storm D&D Intro on D&D BeyondPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Avoiding Bioessentialism in 5e RPGsLow Fantasy Survival Horror in 5eDealing with Lots of Overpowered Tag Along NPCsRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Let characters manipulate magical monuments in combat recklessly as a bonus action, potentially suffering damage on a failed attempt.Give as clear description of the situation that you can. Avoid gotchas.See the world, NPCs, locations, situations, and items through the eyes of the characters. What do they see?Let NPCs recognize characters and their reputations.Describe points of interest likely to interest the characters and their specific backgrounds and interests.Build puzzles or riddles that show off a characters' skills and approaches.Use random tables to fuel your prep. Build your ideas off of the results.Related ArticlesTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaDescribe your GM StyleMultiple Solutions to a Single ProblemUse Static Initiative for MonstersSandwich Mechanics with StoryGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Multiple Solutions to a Single Problem

We're on the last week of the Forge of Foes Kickstarter! If you haven't yet checked out the 30 page free preview and pledged to get the book, now is the time! If you're as excited about the project as we are, please share this link wherever you think you can help get the word out:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/slyflourish/the-lazy-dms-forge-of-foes-for-5e?ref=e3rd14

Forge of Foes is built to address a lot of hard parts of running monsters in our 5e games. Many times these problems don't have one single solution. If they did, we'd be using that one and it wouldn't be much of a problem anymore. But some things are hard. How do you balance encounters? How do you design encounters? How should you modify monsters? How do you choose monsters? How do you run great boss battles? What parts of a monster can you modify during play and when should you? How do you run dozens to hundreds of monsters in a single battle?

There's no one perfect solution to the problems above, so we offer multiple. In Forge of Foes you'll find multiple solutions to these common problems. We don't just offer one way to run hordes of monsters — we offer three ways of both managing damage done to monsters in a horde and handling a horde's dice rolls. You pick and choose the tools that work best for running hordes at your own table.

We have entire chapters looking at problems from different angles. Do you choose monsters based on the story or build a story around cool monsters? We talk about both approaches.

This idea of having multiple approaches to a single problem doesn't just define how we write about the topic in Forge of Foes — it's also how you can think about your own GMing toolbox. We each have so many ways we can run our games. There are so many ways we can build and develop NPCs, run scenes and situations, spice up encounters, build magic items, and share the story of the game at our table. There's often no single right solution. There are many right solutions for different circumstances.

When you're putting together your own toolbox of GMing processes and ideas, don't feel like you must have only one solution for each problem. Keep a wide range of tools — choosing the best one at the moment to share our fantastic tales with our friends.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Forge of Foes Material Going to Creative CommonsGeneral-Use Stat Blocks for 5e in Forge of FoesShadow of the Weird Wizard Kickstarter June 2023Arcane Library Adventures for 5eKobold Press Black Flag Playtest 2Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Why Make a Book About Building Monsters?Playing D&D with Small Children or Obstructive PetsHelping Players Synergize Character CreationRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Ask your players to take notes. Refer to their notes during your recap. Write down one cool character-focused event for each character in your next session. Ask players for a loose wishlist of magic items every few levels. Give magic items a unique name and history. What is the history of your fantastic location? What happened here before?Offer choices. Ensure the characters have something to do. Leave mysteries unanswered. Spotlight character traits and backgrounds through the eyes and actions of the NPCs. Related ArticlesTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaUse Static Initiative for MonstersDescribe your GM StyleBuild a Quick Monster with the Forge of FoesWhat 5e in the Creative Commons Means to YouGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Use Static Initiative for Monsters

There are lots of little lazy tricks we can use to streamline our 5e RPGs. I'm a big fan of using static monster damage for example. I find anything to help speed up and streamline the game worthwhile.

Forge of Foes (currently on Kickstarter!) is packed with tips and tricks for running awesome 5e monsters. Some tips offer fast and dirty tricks for streamlining your game. The book also has lots of tools and advice for adding detail, changing up tactics, and building big and engaging encounters. If you're a tactically-focused GM, you'll find as much to love in Forge of Foes as those who prefer the simple tricks to speed things up. Take a look at the free preview and back it on the Forge of Foes Kickstarter page!

One trick I've been using, which shows up in the "Lazy Tricks for Running Monsters" chapter of Forge of Foes, is static initiative for monsters. I started doing this a year or so ago and I really like it.

For a video on this topic, check out my Use Static Initiative for D&D 5e Monsters YouTube video.

With static initiative, you skip rolling initiative for monsters and instead give monsters an initiative of 10 + their dexterity modifier. If you want to group different types of monsters together, use the best dex mod of the group, or split them up with their own static initiative scores if you want.

Want an even easier way? Just make it 12.

There are some big advantages to static initiative. First, it saves you the time of rolling initiative. If someone else at the table is managing initiative for you (another lazy trick I really love), tell them the monsters have an initiative of 12. Like static monster damage, it's fast and it's easy.

Static initiative also puts monsters in the middle of the initiative order. This ensures the characters don't destroy half the monsters before they ever get a chance to act. Acting in the middle of initiative gives monsters a small but valuable edge, especially at higher levels.

Also, in my experience, players don't tend to care. In years of doing this for multiple groups, I've not had a player even mention it. I'm sure they know it's going on, but it just doesn't matter to them. Beating the monsters' initiative matters to them but when they know it's a static number of 12, they now have a reasonable number to beat.

You'll still have circumstances where all of the characters go before the monsters. That's fine. But it won't be because the monsters rolled low. It'll be because all of the players rolled high and that's cool and fun.

If you're more of a tactical DM who likes all the nuances of 5 foot squares, prefers rolling for monster damage, runs lots of different types of monsters in a battle, or likes rolling individual initiative for every monster in a battle — you can still do so. You might keep this idea on hand and use it for some of your battles where speed is more important than detail and tactical accuracy. Battles with less consequential outcomes or battles against easier opponents might benefit from static initiative. If you're like me, though, you might end up using it all the time.

So, to speed up your game and balance things out a little bit, try using a static initiative score of "12" for your monsters. It'll surprise you how much it streamlines your game.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Forge of Foes Kickstarter ContinuesRadiant Citadel Nominated for a NebulaTome of Beasts 1 Revisited Campaign Builder - Cities and Towns by Kobold PressD&D Community UpdateD&D Content Creator's SummitHow Can Wizards be a Stronger Positive Force in the RPG Community?Patreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Modifying NPCs with Species TraitsThe Challenge of Discovering SecretsIntegrating In Disconnected CharactersUsing Dice for Other Things In-WorldRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Put big decisions towards the end of the game so you know where things are heading next. Always consider what the characters can do in any given scene. End just before a big battle and you have a strong and meaty start to your next game. Aim for four players at your game. It's the ideal mix of character synergy and focus.Build fantastic locations. You have an unlimited special effects budget. Instead of rolling monster initiative, just give them a static score of 12.Ask your players to take notes. Refer to their notes during your recap. Related ArticlesSimpler Initiative OptionsThe Case for Static Monster DamageTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social Media13 Tips to Speed Up D&D CombatEasier Initiative CardsGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Build a Quick Monster with the Forge of Foes

The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes is live on Kickstarter right now! Back the awesome 128 page book of guidance, tools, tips, and tricks for building, customizing, and running awesome monsters for your 5e RPGs. Check it out and download the jam-packed 30 page preview absolutely free.

The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes lets you actually build monsters faster than you can find most monsters in your various monster books. Forge of Foes gives you the tools to stat out a monster at any CR in under a minute then fill it out with custom abilities in just a minute or two more. It's fast enough that you can improvise a monster right at the table. I know because I've done so.

Today we're going to look at an example I used in my own game — the dwarven flesh cultist built for my Empire of the Ghouls campaign.

For a video on this topic, see my Build Quick D&D Monsters with the Forge of Foes YouTube Video.

To build our dwarven flesh cultist, we're going to use the Forge of Foes sample PDF and the "quick monster builder" on page 4.

Choose a Concept and Challenge Rating

The first thing we do is start with a quick concept. Dwarven flesh cultists are nasty cultists who eat the flesh of other humanoids and follow the Creed of All Flesh. They're no pushovers, attacking with whatever nasty cannibalistic weapons they have on hand and filled with the unholy strength of the Creed of All Flesh (a mask of the ghoul-god Vardesain from the Midgard setting).

Given it's story, we're going to give our dwarven flesh cultist a challenge rating of 3. This one challenge number gives us most of what we need to build it out.

With that challenge rating in mind, we write down the base statistics we need found on the "Monster Statistics by Challenge Rating" table on page 6 of the sample. Here's what we get:

Dwarven Flesh Cultist (CR 3)AC / DC 13HP 65Primary Ability Bonus: +5Damage per Round: 23Attacks and Damage: 2 x 12 (2d8 + 3)

With just that we're ready to go and it took about 30 seconds. We can improvise almost everything else when we run our flesh cultist at the table.

Here are some important things to note. First, the AC / DC number represents both the AC of the monster and as the monster's primary DC when forcing any sort of saving throw against a character.

The same is true for the primary ability bonus. It serves as the monster's attack bonus, their very best saving throw (if they're proficient in such a save), and skill bonus for their best skills. We can think of this number as the very top of their potential saving throws and skill checks.

Determining Saving Throws — the Lazy Way

What about it's other abilities or saving throws? Make them up. There's no simple curve for saving throws based on CR other than their highest possible one (the proficient ability bonus above). High CR monsters often still have lousy saving throws in some areas and many monsters have no proficient saves at all.

So we make up monster saving throws based on what we think makes sense for the monster right when we need them.

Here's a really lazy trick for you. Don't bother figuring out a monster's abilities and saving throws until you need them during the game. Often they never come into play. When a monster does need to make a saving throw — say a Wisdom saving throw — roll the dice first and see what the roll is. If it's really low or really high, it doesn't matter what the bonus is. They've already either succeeded or failed. Only if the roll is somewhere in the middle do you bother to determine a creature's saving throw bonus and you do so by asking yourself what sort of save the monster would have in that ability from -2 to a maximum of their proficient ability bonus.

Let's say a wizard casts a DC 14 Hypnotic Pattern on our dwarven flesh cultist. We roll a Wisdom save and the die is a 12. That's in the middle enough that we probably want to think about whether they failed. If it were a 5 or a 17, we wouldn't bother to figure out the bonus. But it's a 12, so we need to know if a bonus would have helped it.

So we go back to the monster's story. Based on our story of the dwarven flesh cultist, do we think them particularly wise? Not really. So we give them a +0. A 12 would then still fail and the flesh cultist is indeed affected by the hypnotic pattern.

This concept of "going back to the story of the monster" is a totally different way of thinking about our monsters but a great one for improvising monsters right at the table. Get comfortable with it and it'll take you far.

Customize Armor Class

Sometimes the baseline AC of a creature at a particular CR doesn't make sense based on its story. We can raise or lower a monster's AC however it makes sense for the story of the monster. I like to keep in mind that a non-dexterous creature wearing leather armor is an AC of 11 and a knight in full plate with a shield is an AC of 20.

If our flesh cultists wore heavy armor we might increase their AC to 17. If we want to keep it from being too much of a pain to kill, we can reduce their hits points in exchange. Don't worry too much about the mathematical rigor of such a shift. In the end it really doesn't matter.

For the story of our dwarven flesh cultists, though, an AC of 13 makes sense so we'll stick to that.

Improvising Attacks

We have most of the stats we need, but what about the details of their attacks? Like much of what we've done so far, we improvise them. Let's make them creepy by giving the flesh cultists bloody curved disemboweling blades, heavy meat-tenderizer mauls, and big chopping cleavers. This is all just flavor. The attack and damage are already in our stats. A flesh cultist might hack twice with a big cleaver for +5 to hit and 12 (2d8+3) slashing damage. Improvise the damage type along with the damage.

If you want to flavor it a bit more, you can split the damage type. Maybe the flesh cleaver inflicts 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage + 4 (1d8) necrotic damage because of their connection to the Creed of All Flesh. We can take the damage dice in the damage equation included in our quick monster stats table and split it among different damage types.

It's almost always worth including some sort of ranged attack. Maybe the flesh cultists can throw barbed harpoons. We use the same damage equations we would use otherwise or we can lower it a bit if we want based on what we think about the story of the flesh cultist.

Filling Out our Flesh Cultist with Powers

We can go with what we have but for more fun, let's give them some extra powers and abilities. Forge of Foes and the free sample include a bunch of "monster type templates". One trick is that we don't have to stick to only the monster type template that fits our monster's type. We can steal powers and abilities from any of these to fit our creature's theme.

Maybe our flesh cultist can throw out a fleshy barbed tendril Hellraiser-style by using the Aberration's "Grasping Tentacles" ability. Maybe we grab the beast's "Empowered by Carnage" power or the Monstrocity's "Devour Ally" power or the undead's "Stench of Death" trait. There's a lot to choose from if we want to customize our cultist.

If none of those feel right we can jump right to our "Common Monster Powers" list. Think of these like feats for bad guys. Choose one that makes sense for the monster you're building. Our flesh cultist might benefit from any of these:

Delights in SufferingFrenzyGoes Down FightingRefuse to Surrender

You can customize any of these powers to fit the theme of whatever monster you build.

Don't to overboard with these powers. Usually one special power is enough for a typical monster.

For our flesh cultist, we're going to use the Hellraiser-style barbed tendril and give it the ability to pull the target towards the cultist as well as restrain them. Fun!

A Final Look at our Flesh Cultist

In the end of our experiment, we have a fleshed out flesh cultist that looks like this:

Dwarven Flesh Cultist (CR 3)AC 13HP 65Primary Ability Bonus +5ATTACKSMultiattack. The dwarven flesh cultist can attack with two meat cleaver attacks. It can replace one of these attacks with a barbed fleshy tendril.Meat Cleaver. +5 to hit; 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage and 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.Barbed Fleshy Tendril.: +5 to hit; 30 ft., 7 (1d8+3) piercing damage and 4 (1d8) necrotic damage. The creature must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or be pulled adjacent to the Dwarven Flesh Cultist and is grappled and restrained (escape DC 13).

That's a solid and really fun stat block to run.

What do you want to build next?

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Forge of Foes Kickstarter Going On Right Now!Shadowdark RPG by Arcane LibraryOpen5e.comPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

How to Handle Maps for ExplorationTeaching New Systems to PlayersTaking Notes while Running a GameHelping Players Balance Character Types and SkillsNot Offering Custom Lineage or Variant Humans -- Is that Wrong?Accomidating a Players's Spirit Being In Your GameOverwhelmed by Midgard LoreDealing with Shopping SessionsBalancing Encounters in High Magic Item CampaignsAdopting the Eight Steps to Gumshoe GamesRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

What's the coolest part of the next session you're going to run?Print or share overland maps, NPC art, and captured letters as handouts to your players. Build monsters on the fly with the Forge of Foes quick monster builder!Embrace 5e adventures, character supplements, and monster books from many publishers.Understand how the species and backgrounds of the characters tie them to the world. Let the characters get away with shenanigans. Add monsters intended to be crowd controlled. Related ArticlesImprovise D&D Monster AbilitiesD&D 5e Numbers to Keep In Your HeadCustomizing MonstersTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaInstant NPCs for Fifth Edition D&DGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Twenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social Media

Read a sourcebook, campaign book, or world book.Read some third-party campaign books.Think about what your villains are doing right now.Watch a movie or show with great characters and fantastic locations.Read a fun fantasy novel.Listen to an audiobook and practice your voices.Call a friend and chat about their game.Fill your campaign's geography with little-known dungeons and lairs.Come up with three fun sidequests.Read a monster book seeking fun lairs and encounters.Read the descriptions of the characters' race, class, and background.Write down a personalized quest for each character.Find evocative art for your campaign.Share an experience from your last game with fellow DMs.Update your campaign journal.Write down a character-focused summary of your previous game to deliver at the beginning of your next one.Make a cool handout.Write and email short flash fiction to your players showing the movement of the world.Find music to build a great soundtrack for your game.Flesh out the details of NPCs the characters know and love.More Sly Flourish Stuff

The Lazy DM's Forge of Foes is live on Kickstarter! Back it today and grab the 30 page sample PDF!

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Forge of Foes Kickstarter This Wednesday!Arcana of the Ancients Bundle of HoldingMastering Dungeons on Shadow of the Demon Lord New One D&D Playtest Iskandar Player's HandbookPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Co-DMing Two Groups in the Same Campaign AdventureManaging and Referencing So Many Monster BooksUpdates to the 5e Artisenal Monster Database in NotionWorldbuilding Book recommendationsSharing RPG PDFs with Google DriveRunning D&D for a 5 year OldGetting Players to Be More TacticalRPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Never forget. The number one goal of an RPG is to get together and share some laughs and tales of high adventure with your friends.Your friends love you. You're game will be great.Stack multiple encounters together. Mix in roleplaying and exploration.Monsters often aren't tactical masterminds. Play them dumb.Provoke opportunity attacks.Keep tools on hand to improvise monster statistics at the table.Keep a handful of basic monster powers you can drop in when you need them.Related ArticlesDescribe your GM StyleSandwich Mechanics with StoryWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsThe Near Perfect RPG SessionSeven Fantastic Tools to Play RPGs OnlineGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.

Describe your GM Style

Fengh, a Patreon of Sly Flourish asks:

"How do I describe my style of play to players I don't really know?"

This is a fantastic question.

Just as we should try to define the characteristics we look for in our ideal players (recognizing that our ideal players aren't necessarily everyone's ideal players), I think it makes sense that we, as GM, describe our style in a way that clarifies to potential players how we're different from other GMs.

When I describe my own GM style to new potential players, I clarify the following:

I'm a GM who focuses mostly on the evolving story of the game itself.I play either online or in-person.I run a mix of abstract and "theater of the mind" combat styles. I'm not a tactical GM who focuses on the 5 foot grid. Half or more of battles are in theater of the mind (this immediately filters out a lot of players which is fine).I use Discord, D&D Beyond, and Owlbear Rodeo. I don't use Roll 20 (this also filters out a lot of players).I'm a loosy-goosy GM. I don't hang on too tight to the story, the characters' story, the rules, or just about anything else.I make mistakes but keep rolling on. If a player is looking for a tight cohesive narrative arc, I might not be able to provide that.

In many ways I try to think about my style of GMing and how it would turn players off. Instead of selling myself as a GM, I'm happy for them to recognize how I might not be a good fit before we start.

If I'm looking for a GM, I'd probably look at the following criteria:

Are they a tactical or story-focused GM?Do they consider themselves a "killer" GM?Is everything on a grid or do they run some combat in the Theater of the Mind?Do they consider themselves opponents or fans of the characters?What parts of the game do they enjoy most?What bugs them?Where do they spend most of their prep time?

Of course, nothing works better than running a one-shot or a short number of games with potential players and GMs to see if things gel.

Friend and Sly Flourish Patreon Rangdo offered up this Same Page Tool which discusses how players and the GM can work together to build the style of game they're all interested in. It's another good source to think about your style and how you might describe it to potential players.

How do you describe yourself as a GM?

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on the Preview of Forge of Foes and Scarlet Citadel Prep for Session 16.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast) in which I talk about all things in tabletop RPGs. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Forge of Foes Kickstarter Coming March 1stValikan Clans by Ghostfire GamingKobold Press Black Flag Playtest 1Demiplane 5e Nexus and the Future of Digital 5e ToolsLevel Up Advanced 5e Trials and Treasure by EN World PublishingPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from Sly Flourish Patreons. Here are last week's questions and answers:

The Future of RPGs -- 5e or Independent RPGs?RPG Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last RPG session and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's tips:

Steer the game towards the decisions and actions of the characters.For each scene you plan, write down a few things your specific characters might do in the scene.Show the results of the characters' actions.Not all dark magic items are cursed.Let the characters take a specific part in a larger war or military campaign.Shake up stereotypes. Run phased battles. Lots of minions followed by some big bruisers followed by a boss.Share art, either printed or shared online.Related ArticlesSandwich Mechanics with StoryWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsThe Near Perfect RPG SessionSeven Fantastic Tools to Play RPGs OnlineBuild Cities Around the CharactersGet More from Sly FlourishRead more Sly Flourish articlesBuy Sly Flourish's BooksWatch Sly Flourish's YouTube videosSubscribe to Sly Flourish's PodcastSupport Sly Flourish on PatreonBuy Sly Flourish's Books Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master The Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Fantastic Lairs Fantastic Adventures: Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures

Have a question or want to contact me? Check out Sly Flourish's Frequently Asked Questions.