Michael E. Shea's Blog, page 17

Reinforce the Theme of your D&D Campaign

Campaigns like Wild Beyond the Witchlight, Rime of the Frostmaiden, and Descent into Avernus all have themes to them. Your homebrew campaign has a theme to it. We can best try to articulate this theme by defining it with a short phrase or even a single word. Here are some examples:

Rime of the Frostmaiden: IsolationWild Beyond the Witchlight: WhimsyDescent into Avernus: Redemption

You may not agree with the themes above. That's cool. Reinforce the themes you want for your campaign. Perhaps, instead of "redemption" for Descent into Avernus, you prefer "fall from grace". You get to choose.

Defining the theme of your campaign gives it focus. Every strong start, every scene, every secret or clue, every location, every NPC, every monster, every piece of treasure; every component of our prep and story reinforces this theme.

Wild Beyond the Witchlight doesn't just have bullywugs, it has bullywugs in a silly court of constant betrayal all while wearing funny hats and frocks. Descent into Avernus doesn't just have death knights, it has death knights who once were members of an angel's army and now serve her after her fall knowing how far she has fallen. Rime of the Frostmaiden doesn't just have a ruined city, it has a city trapped under the ice for thousands of years.

Here are two questions to ask yourself right now:

What is the one-word theme of your current campaign?

How do the components of your next game reinforce this theme?

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a couple of YouTube videos including "Describe D&D Character Abilities on Leveling Up" and "lazy DM Prep for Scarlet Citadel Session 6".

Patreons of Sly Flourish got lots of cool new things this past week:

A biography and stat block for the assassin-priest Brother Cavel for the City of Arches PDF.A greatly expanded section on the Worlds Beyond the Arches for the City of Arches PDF.A new Lazy DM Generator with random generators for all sorts of people, places, items, and worlds.

Check out the November Patreon preview in the Lazy D&D Talk Show. Patrons can find them in your Patreon rewards post.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

November Patreon RewardsWOTC's New Inclusivity ReviewJaquays-Style Design for Dungeon and Overland TravelPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer questions from the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon Q&A thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Keeping Villains Alive in CombatUsing Paper Notes for In-Person GamesMourning the End of a CampaignDeciding on a Campaign to RunUsing Time Flies Rules from the Midgard WorldbookTips for Promoting Paper Character Sheets with PlayersScaling Up Monsters and their Stories to 11th levelD&D Tips

Each week I ponder what I learned in my last D&D game and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's D&D tips:

Prep scenes with fantastic locations, interesting NPCs, potential secrets to unravel, and a situation to unravel. Expose history and narrative in small bites over the course of an adventure.Don���t take away magic items.Keep a list of potential magic items that fit the characters. Award them when it fits the situation.Make each magic item unique with a history and, if it makes sense, a once per day spell effect. Be wary putting the characters up against undefeatable foes. It���s a downward beat before it even begins. Dot your maps with small lairs and old ruins to explore as sidequests. Draw simple pointcrawl maps by hand. Be a kid again!Related ArticlesBuild Cities Around the CharactersTying Characters to a Campaign's ThemeWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsReach Satisfying Campaign ConclusionsPrep Lazy D&D With HandoutsGet 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.

Prep Lazy D&D With Handouts

Handouts are a valuable and under-appreciated element of D&D game prepration. Building and delivering handouts for our D&D games serve many purposes.

They help us focus on what's important in the game. They hand over import names of NPCs and locations in a permanent format.*��They clarify the current drive of the game to both you and your players. They give your players something physical to hang onto and read — something that looks like it's right out of the world we're playing in.They're easy to make.

For a video on this topic, see my YouTube video on Building Fantastic Handouts for D&D.

We don't often think about how building handouts helps us prepare our game, but they surely do. Thinking through a handout helps us understand what's happening in the game and in the world we share with our players. It tells us what's important. It forces us to think about things in concrete ways. We need real names, real places, real plots to fill in our handout.

A handout might include details of the characters, descriptions of coming events, secrets of the villains, location names, the names of important NPCs, descriptions of potential monsters, and potential treasure — components of all eight steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master. In this way, the handout itself is our game prep.

Often a handout is a note found by the characters (and thus handed to the players). Such notes might include:

Instructions from a boss to an underling.A journal or diary entry.A lost letter from an NPC.An order of goods or services.A formal proclamation.A contract or signed agreement.A local newspaper article.A final confession.A note to remember something.An inventory.

Each of these can give valuable information to the characters, and thus to the players.

Construct a Cool Handout

To build a handout, use any word processor with fancy fonts. Google Docs works just fine for making handouts and has a bunch of fonts that work well for fantasy fonts including:

Aguafina ScriptAlex BrushBilbo Swash CapsMonsieur La DoulaiseNothing You CouldRock saltRogue ScriptUnifrakur Maguinta

Other word processors and the website Dafont also have hundreds of potential fonts to use for our handouts. Select a font that makes sense for the writer. A drow high priestess is going to have a fancier and more beautiful font than a ratfolk ruffian.

Print your handout on fancy copper parchment resume paper to make it feel like cool parchment. A 500 pack of fancy resume paper lasts a long time. For a cheaper solution crumple up and soak normal paper in coffee. It's cheaper but takes longer.

Tear the edges of the page to make it look unique and non-uniform. Crumple it up and flatten it back out to make it feel even more rustic.

Use Handouts in Online Games

If you're like many DMs and running your games online, you can still make great use of handouts. First, you can still make it physically and share a photo of the handout in your online platform of choice. Photos of physical things still give players the feeling that this handout is real even if they can't touch it themselves. Instead of, or in addition to, sharing a photo of the physical handout, you can send the handout as a PDF or a screenshot so players can read it. Instead of printing it out on resume paper, you can use textured backgrounds for the documents to give them the same rustic feel even online.

Write a Great Handout

When writing handouts, keep these thoughts in mind:

What would the author write down in such a handout?What information do I, the DM, want to give to the players?

Balance both of these questions when writing your handout. What would the author put down on paper? Lean towards revealing too much. Players only grasp half of what you're throwing out so being too coy and secretive means they're going to miss stuff. Instead, lean towards revealing clear and useful information in your handout.

Second, ask what information helps the player and put that in the handout. Fill your handout with specifics. Don't be too abstract. Say what's really going on. Use proper names. Use specific location names. Use nouns and verbs. Give important details. Pack your handout with clear information useful to the characters. If you want to make it even easier, bold the important words in a note to make it easy for the players to reference them.

Keep your handout to one page. Any longer and it'll be too hard to grasp. Fancy fonts can be hard to read so make sure the font is big enough to represent handwriting.

Prep With Handouts

Writing handouts isn't just about building an accessory we hand to our players. Writing handouts helps us prepare our games. It helps us get our hands around the story — identifying what's important and where the focus of our story lies. Handouts don't just help the players focus on what's going on, they help us focus on what's going on too.

Handouts are a fantastic high value element of game prep. Write an awesome handout for your very next game.

Sly Flourish Patreon Releases

The Sly Flourish Patreon had a lot of big releases this past week.

First, I added a new NPC villain biography and stat block for the priest-assassin Brother Cavel. I also greatly expanded the "Worlds Beyond the Arches" section with new adventure hooks and more narrative descriptions. Patrons can find this in the City of Arches PDF.

I also released a new random generator for items, monuments, locations, treasure, encounters, and adventure hooks that flavor the results with factions from different worlds including Eberron, Midgard, Forgotten Realms, and more. The link for this generator is on your main Patreon rewards page, pinned at the top of the Sly Flourish Patreon homepage along with all your other rewards.

Patrons also get a sneak preview and playtest of a new project I'm working on with Teos Abadia and Shawn Merwin. The most recent Patreon post has details.

The Sly Flourish Patreon is packed with lots of fantastic stuff. If you're not a Patreon, you should really check it out.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Mastering Dungeons Goes IndependentD&D on ESPN??Heretics Guide to Devotion and DivinityUltimate Guide to Foraging, Harvesting, and Natural DiscoveryPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Managing Pacing with Heavy Roleplay ScenesDoes Writing Help You Become a Better DM? No.Players Coordinating Leveling UpMagic Items for Higher-Level Pregen CharactersFeelings on Boxed and Read-Aloud TextHeroes and Anti-VillainsD&D Tips

Each week I think about what I learned in my last D&D game and write them up as D&D tips. Here are this week's D&D tips. What tips did you learn in your last game?

Build fantastic locations from random tables and your own imagination fueled by fantastic fiction.Use monuments, items, and locations to tell small pieces of the history of the world.Print or screenshot pictures of NPCs or monsters to hand out during the game.Look for opportunities for roleplaying and discovery even in the thick of a battle.Pull on the characters��� backgrounds during NPC roleplaying. How do the NPCs act based on the characters��� history?Note new character features, magic items, and wish lists in your character notes. Review before every session. End on a cliffhanger. Give yourself a strong start next session.Related ArticlesMaking Great HandoutsThings Worth PreparingWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsSpending a Whole Day Preparing a D&D GameBuild 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.

Running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle ��� The 2022 D&D Starter Set Adventure

Wizards of the Coast released a new D&D Starter Set with a brand new adventure — Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. This article intends to help DMs, both new and veterans, make the most of this excellent starting adventure.

Choose Your Format

These days, more DMs than ever run their games online. Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is available on the three most popular online platforms for running D&D games:

D&D BeyondRoll20Fantasy Grounds

The digital version on D&D Beyond gives you everything you need to run in other virtual tabletops such as Foundry, Owlbear Rodeo (my personal favorite), Above VTT, or even directly over Discord.

Of course, you can play Dragons of Stormwreck Isle in person using the D&D Starter Set box. To do so, you'll want some other tools and accessories to make the most of the game. Zipperon Disney has a fantastic YouTube video showing how to fill out the Starter Set with some fantastic crafted accessories for under $20.

Top Tips for Running Stormwreck Isle

Here are my top tips for running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. These are detailed further in this article.

Combine the "additional encounters" together to build interesting dynamic situations.Be ready to deal with the zombies' "Undead Fortitude" ability. It can drag the fight.In Dragon's Rest, focus on a few NPCs instead of trying to introduce every one of them.In any given location, feel free to move creatures from one room to another, remove them completely, or change their hostility to support the pace your game.Lean in on the lore presented in the adventure. Let the characters learn about Sharuuth, Bahamut, Tiamat, and Orcus and the draconic battles plaguing the island for centuries as they explore the island.Read the Initial DM Tips

The beginning of the Stormwreck Isle adventure book includes a short section of tips for new DMs. Whether new or experienced, it's worth reading over these tips to refresh yourself. If you're looking for more tips for new DMs, see my Getting Started Playing D&D article.

Drowned Sailors

The first scene in the game has the characters witness a handful of zombies coming up the beach. This is a great encounter to get the characters into the action but gives them the option to leave well-enough alone if they choose. I expect most players fight the zombies. This isn't a difficult fight, and perfect for a Starter Set adventure. All too often published adventures throw 1st level characters against extremely difficult battles. This is a fresh change.

Note that the zombies start far enough away from the characters that the characters have a round or two to fire arrows or prepare for the attack. The zombies begin 30 feet away which means on their turn they must dash to reach the characters if the characters don't charge up first.

Choose How to Run Combat

You have options for how you want to run combat in this and every D&D encounter. This battle is simple enough that you can simply describe what's going on without any tokens, maps, or visuals — a style known as the "Theater of the Mind". You can, instead use tokens or miniatures to represent monsters and characters. See my Lazy Monster Tokens guide for building nice tokens to represent monsters and characters or, again, check out Zipperon Disney's video to see how to make tokens out of glass beads. If you want a more tactical 5-foot-per-square grid, check out the Pathfinder Flip Mat.

If you're playing online you too have the choice of running the battle in the theater of the mind or using an online virtual tabletop for gridded play.

Saved by Runara

Pay attention to the sidebar in chapter 1 called "Runara Saves the Day!". Should the characters fail in this adventure, they don't simply all die. Instead they awaken back at the temple under the care of Elder Runara. You can use this feature everywhere in the adventure, ensuring that a "total party kill" never ends in full defeat. Runara likely wouldn't describe exactly how she saved them, only that she was in the right place at the right time. This can further allude to her true origin as a bronze dragon.

Choose Your NPCs in Dragon's Rest

Chapter 1 is packed with NPCs to introduce to the characters. Instead of introducing every single one, choose the most important ones for the adventure so you and your players can keep them in mind. This includes:

Elder RunaraTarakVarnothOne of the kobolds. I'd recommend Myla who has a connection to chapter 3.Dive Into the Lore

Dragon of Stormwreck Isle is a largely traditional and straight forward D&D adventure. It's simple in its structure but heavily enriched by the lore presented in the text. Expose the characters to this lore as they talk to NPCs and explore the island. The histories of Bahamut and Tiamat, even the epic poem in the beginning of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, can tell the characters more about the lore of dragons.

The lost effigy in the Cursed Shipwreck can likewise reveal information about Orcus, demon prince of undeath.

Lean in on the lore. Let the players discover this lore as they explore the island and its inhabitants. Such lore binds the actions of the characters to the world around them.

Move Things Forward

There isn't a sense of urgency going on at Dragon's Rest. Give the characters time to explore the place, enjoy a dinner, and talk to NPCs. Then be ready to move things forward if the characters don't start exploring. The kobolds, for example, can push the characters to ask Tarak and Varnoth about their quests. Too much sitting around the temple can get boring fast so be ready to move things forward.

Combining Additional Encounters

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle includes three additional encounters you can run as the characters explore the island. Consider combining the "Kobold Renegade" and "There There Owlbear" encounter into one single situation. The characters might be tracked by two of the kobolds early on who decide they're not enough to take on the characters. Later, the kobolds run past the characters as the owlbear crashes in. You can combine these two encounters however you like to build a fun crazy situation the characters can get involved in. Mixing and matching encounters like this is a great way to keep situations unique and interesting.

Tips for Seagrow Caves

Like all of the chapters in this adventure, Seagrow Caves runs well without much modification. The one major tip I'll offer is to choose which battles you want to run and which you want to skip. As written the characters could face one battle after another between the plant octopus, the violet fungi, an the stirges. Feel free to skip or move around these encounters to pace the game so you're not throwing battle after battle at the characters which can get stale fast. Move both the violet fungi and the stirges around to suit the pacing of the game.

One fun detail I added to the two Stormwreck adventures I ran is to give the guardian plant octopus one of Tarak's boots. Not only can it whack someone with a tentacle but bonk them with a boot as well. Don't be afraid to give the octopus another melee attack as long as it's against a separate target. This makes it a more dangerous threat when facing four or five characters. Tarak will be happy to get his boot back when the characters defeat the octopus.

Lean in on the idea that the myconids, as afraid as they are, aren't hostile. Stage things carefully so it doesn't end up a mushroom bloodbath.

In the final battle against the fume drakes, let them share information about Sharuuth's tomb or prison beneath the island. Let the players ponder whether Sharuuth is alive or dead and what power she may possess but make it clear that answering such questions is better for another day far away.

Tips for the Cursed Shipwreck

The Cursed Shipwreck is an excellent derelict ship dungeon crawl. Like Seagrow Caves, be ready to move combatants around to suit the pacing of the game you want to run. Add or remove zombies and ghouls to increase or decrease the threat the characters face based on what feels right for the fun of the game.

Let the characters learn more about Orcus and his terrible realm of Thanatos based on the characters' religion checks when they discover the effigy and its accompanying note.

Tips for the Clifftop Observatory

Depending on how the characters approach it, there may not be a lot of combat in the observatory. If this fits the pacing of the game you want, that's fine. Otherwise, you can use the kobolds and flying kobolds as your combat dial — making them more aggressive and clearly villainous if you want an extra fight or more goofy and easily intimidated if you want to focus on the final battle with Sparkrender.

The puzzles in the observatory can be a little tricky so freely offer up clues to the more perceptive characters in the group if it helps keep things moving. Pacing such situations is always key. Don't be afraid to tell the players what their characters would notice.

When it comes time to run Sparkrender, a variety of circumstances can make the battle either easy or hard. Thus, you'll want to have your hands on the dials, changing up Sparkrender's hit points, number of attacks, and any allies who help him. If you have more than four characters you may want to add one or more flying kobolds into the battle to harass back-line characters. You can also give Sparkrender an additional claw attack if he doesn't seem very effective. Use his bite attack but change the piercing to slashing and don't include the lighting damage. Increase his hit points if you think he's going to go down too fast.

The fight against Sparkrender should feel epic but not completely deadly. Be ready to change things up to keep that danger high without completely wiping out the characters.

Continuing Your Journeys

Should you wish to continue your journeys, you can have the characters return to the Sword Coast by boat. I've written a bridge adventure in partnership with Scott Fitzgerald Gray and Jeff Stevens called Stars Over Stormwreck. This adventure connects Dragons of Stormwreck Isle with Light of Xaryxis, the adventure in the D&D Spelljammer boxed set but you can use this same adventure to tie to any adventure going on in Neverwinter, Waterdeep, Luskan, or elsewhere on the shores of the Sword Coast.

If you want to set Stormwreck Isle in the lands of Exandria, the world of Critical Role, you can connect Dragons of Stormwreck Isle with Call from the Netherdeep by placing Stormwreck Isle in the Emerald Gulch Sea and having the characters catch a boat that takes them to Jigow and the beginning of the adventures in Call from the Netherdeep which begin at 3rd level.

Stormwreck Isle is a fantastic adventure for both new and veteran DM's alike. Hopefully these tips help you run this adventure for your family and friends.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week on YouTube I posted my Scarlet Citadel preparation of session 4 and a tip video on How Surprise Works in D&D.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Free MCDM RPG Safety ToolkitThe Gloaming Wild 5e Survival HorrorRunning Ravenloft 2022 with Level Up 5e VampiresPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Keeping Big Battles from Being BoringWhat Other RPGs Do You Recommend?Filling In the Gaps During the GameFaction Ideas from Blades in the DarkTargeting Loot for the CharactersBetter Level Draining and Exhaustion for VampiresWhat to Get for Staring Out with NumeneraComparing Midgard to the Forgotten RealmsIncluding Every Character's Story ArcShowcasing High-Level AbilitiesBuilding Open World D&D GamesBuilding Problems Without SolutionsHow Many Encounters Before a Long Rest?Offering Headquarters and Lair Upgrades to the CharactersSecrets in Clues for Dungeon Crawls and Combat-Focused GamesD&D Tips

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

Build motivations for the characters to enter the room in combat to avoid the dreaded doorway fight. Flaming walls, hordes of skeletons, necrotic gas. Whatever works.Build encounters from the story first and challenge rating second.Paint your adventures and locations in short descriptions of lore, history, and setting.Double-check spell descriptions. If it feels too good to be true, it probably is.Tie third-party spells to single-use magic items. If the spell is broken, it only works once.Let tag-along NPCs handle their part of a battle off-screen. Keep the focus on the characters.Give the characters secret paths and side quests during travel sequences.Related ArticlesHow to Play Dungeons & DragonsBuild Cities Around the CharactersTwo Years Playing D&D OnlineWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsDungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Running PhandelverGet 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.

Running Dragon's of Stormwreck Isle ��� The 2022 D&D Starter Set Adventure

Wizards of the Coast released a new D&D Starter Set with a brand new adventure — Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. This article intends to help DMs, both new and veterans, make the most of this excellent starting adventure.

Choose Your Format

These days, more DMs than ever run their games online. Dragons of Stormwreck Isle is available on the three most popular online platforms for running D&D games:

D&D BeyondRoll20Fantasy Grounds

The digital version on D&D Beyond gives you everything you need to run in other virtual tabletops such as Foundry, Owlbear Rodeo (my personal favorite), Above VTT, or even directly over Discord.

Of course, you can play Dragons of Stormwreck Isle in person using the D&D Starter Set box. To do so, you'll want some other tools and accessories to make the most of the game. Zipperon Disney has a fantastic YouTube video showing how to fill out the Starter Set with some fantastic crafted accessories for under $20.

Top Tips for Running Stormwreck Isle

Here are my top tips for running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle. These are detailed further in this article.

Combine the "additional encounters" together to build interesting dynamic situations.Be ready to deal with the zombies' "Undead Fortitude" ability. It can drag the fight.In Dragon's Rest, focus on a few NPCs instead of trying to introduce every one of them.In any given location, feel free to move creatures from one room to another, remove them completely, or change their hostility to support the pace your game.Lean in on the lore presented in the adventure. Let the characters learn about Sharuuth, Bahamut, Tiamat, and Orcus and the draconic battles plaguing the island for centuries as they explore the island.Read the Initial DM Tips

The beginning of the Stormwreck Isle adventure book includes a short section of tips for new DMs. Whether new or experienced, it's worth reading over these tips to refresh yourself. If you're looking for more tips for new DMs, see my Getting Started Playing D&D article.

Drowned Sailors

The first scene in the game has the characters witness a handful of zombies coming up the beach. This is a great encounter to get the characters into the action but gives them the option to leave well-enough alone if they choose. I expect most players fight the zombies. This isn't a difficult fight, and perfect for a Starter Set adventure. All too often published adventures throw 1st level characters against extremely difficult battles. This is a fresh change.

Note that the zombies start far enough away from the characters that the characters have a round or two to fire arrows or prepare for the attack. The zombies begin 30 feet away which means on their turn they must dash to reach the characters if the characters don't charge up first.

Choose How to Run Combat

You have options for how you want to run combat in this and every D&D encounter. This battle is simple enough that you can simply describe what's going on without any tokens, maps, or visuals — a style known as the "Theater of the Mind". You can, instead use tokens or miniatures to represent monsters and characters. See my Lazy Monster Tokens guide for building nice tokens to represent monsters and characters or, again, check out Zipperon Disney's video to see how to make tokens out of glass beads. If you want a more tactical 5-foot-per-square grid, check out the Pathfinder Flip Mat.

If you're playing online you too have the choice of running the battle in the theater of the mind or using an online virtual tabletop for gridded play.

Saved by Runara

Pay attention to the sidebar in chapter 1 called "Runara Saves the Day!". Should the characters fail in this adventure, they don't simply all die. Instead they awaken back at the temple under the care of Elder Runara. You can use this feature everywhere in the adventure, ensuring that a "total party kill" never ends in full defeat. Runara likely wouldn't describe exactly how she saved them, only that she was in the right place at the right time. This can further elude to her true origin as a bronze dragon.

Choose Your NPCs in Dragon's Rest

Chapter 1 is packed with NPCs to introduce to the characters. Instead of introducing every single one, choose the most important ones for the adventure so you and your players can keep them in mind. This includes:

Elder RunaraTarakVarnothOne of the kobolds. I'd recommend Myla who has a connection to chapter 3.Dive Into the Lore

Dragon of Stormwreck Isle is a largely traditional and straight forward D&D adventure. It's simple in its structure but heavily enriched by the lore presented in the text. Expose the characters to this lore as they talk to NPCs and explore the island. The histories of Bahamut and Tiamat, even the epic poem in the beginning of Fizban's Treasury of Dragons, can tell the characters more about the lore of dragons.

The lost effigy in the Cursed Shipwreck can likewise reveal information about Orcus, demon prince of undeath.

Lean in on the lore. Let the players discover this lore as they explore the island and its inhabitants. Such lore binds the actions of the characters to the world around them.

Move Things Forward

There isn't a sense of urgency going on at Dragon's Rest. Give the characters time to explore the place, enjoy a dinner, and talk to NPCs. Then be ready to move things forward if the characters don't start exploring. The kobolds, for example, can push the characters to ask Tarak and Varnoth about their quests. Too much sitting around the temple can get boring fast so be ready to move things forward.

Combining Additional Encounters

Dragons of Stormwreck Isle includes three additional encounters you can run as the characters explore the island. Consider combining the "Kobold Renegade" and "There There Owlbear" encounter into one single situation. The characters might be tracked by two of the kobolds early on who decide they're not enough to take on the characters. Later, the kobolds run past the characters as the owlbear crashes in. You can combine these two encounters however you like to build a fun crazy situation the characters can get involved in. Mixing and matching encounters like this is a great way to keep situations unique and interesting.

Tips for Seagrow Caves

Like all of the chapters in this adventure, Seagrow Caves runs well without much modification. The one major tip I'll offer is to choose which battles you want to run and which you want to skip. As written the characters could face one battle after another between the plant octopus, the violet fungi, an the stirges. Feel free to skip or move around these encounters to pace the game so you're not throwing battle after battle at the characters which can get stale fast. Move both the violet fungi and the stirges around to suit the pacing of the game.

One fun detail I added to the two Stormwreck adventures I ran is to give the guardian plant octopus one of Tarak's boots. Not only can it whack someone with a tentacle but bonk them with a boot as well. Don't be afraid to give the octopus another melee attack as long as it's against a separate target. This makes it a more dangerous threat when facing four or five characters. Tarak will be happy to get his boot back when the characters defeat the octopus.

Lean in on the idea that the myconids, as afraid as they are, aren't hostile. Stage things carefully so it doesn't end up a mushroom bloodbath.

In the final battle against the fume drakes, let them share information about Sharuuth's tomb or prison beneath the island. Let the players ponder whether Sharuuth is alive or dead and what power she may possess but make it clear that answering such questions is better for another day far away.

Tips for the Cursed Shipwreck

The Cursed Shipwreck is an excellent derelict ship dungeon crawl. Like Seagrow Caves, be ready to move combatants around to suit the pacing of the game you want to run. Add or remove zombies and ghouls to increase or decrease the threat the characters face based on what feels right for the fun of the game.

Let the characters learn more about Orcus and his terrible realm of Thanatos based on the characters' religion checks when they discover the effigy and its accompanying note.

Tips for the Clifftop Observatory

Depending on how the characters approach it, there may not be a lot of combat in the observatory. If this fits the pacing of the game you want, that's fine. Otherwise, you can use the kobolds and flying kobolds as your combat dial — making them more aggressive and clearly villainous if you want an extra fight or more goofy and easily intimidated if you want to focus on the final battle with Sparkrender.

The puzzles in the observatory can be a little tricky so freely offer up clues to the more perceptive characters in the group if it helps keep things moving. Pacing such situations is always key. Don't be afraid to tell the players what their characters would notice.

When it comes time to run Sparkrender, a variety of circumstances can make the battle either easy or hard. Thus, you'll want to have your hands on the dials, changing up Sparkrender's hit points, number of attacks, and any allies who help him. If you have more than four characters you may want to add one or more flying kobolds into the battle to harass back-line characters. You can also give Sparkrender an additional claw attack if he doesn't seem very effective. Use his bite attack but change the piercing to slashing and don't include the lighting damage. Increase his hit points if you think he's going to go down too fast.

The fight against Sparkrender should feel epic but not completely deadly. Be ready to change things up to keep that danger high without completely wiping out the characters.

Continuing Your Journeys

Should you wish to continue your journeys, you can have the characters return to the Sword Coast by boat. I've written a bridge adventure in partnership with Scott Fitzgerald Gray and Jeff Stevens called Stars Over Stormwreck. This adventure connects Dragons of Stormwreck Isle with Light of Xaryxis, the adventure in the D&D Spelljammer boxed set but you can use this same adventure to tie to any adventure going on in Neverwinter, Waterdeep, Luskan, or elsewhere on the shores of the Sword Coast.

If you want to set Stormwreck Isle in the lands of Exandria, the world of Critical Role, you can connect Dragons of Stormwreck Isle with Call from the Netherdeep by placing Stormwreck Isle in the Emerald Gulch Sea and having the characters catch a boat that takes them to Jigow and the beginning of the adventures in Call from the Netherdeep which begin at 3rd level.

Stormwreck Isle is a fantastic adventure for both new and veteran DM's alike. Hopefully these tips help you run this adventure for your family and friends.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week on YouTube I posted my Scarlet Citadel preparation of session 4 and a tip video on How Surprise Works in D&D.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Free MCDM RPG Safety ToolkitThe Gloaming Wild 5e Survival HorrorRunning Ravenloft 2022 with Level Up 5e VampiresPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Keeping Big Battles from Being BoringWhat Other RPGs Do You Recommend?Filling In the Gaps During the GameFaction Ideas from Blades in the DarkTargeting Loot for the CharactersBetter Level Draining and Exhaustion for VampiresWhat to Get for Staring Out with NumeneraComparing Midgard to the Forgotten RealmsIncluding Every Character's Story ArcShowcasing High-Level AbilitiesBuilding Open World D&D GamesBuilding Problems Without SolutionsHow Many Encounters Before a Long Rest?Offering Headquarters and Lair Upgrades to the CharactersSecrets in Clues for Dungeon Crawls and Combat-Focused GamesD&D Tips

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

Build motivations for the characters to enter the room in combat to avoid the dreaded doorway fight. Flaming walls, hordes of skeletons, necrotic gas. Whatever works.Build encounters from the story first and challenge rating second.Paint your adventures and locations in short descriptions of lore, history, and setting.Double-check spell descriptions. If it feels too good to be true, it probably is.Tie third-party spells to single-use magic items. If the spell is broken, it only works once.Let tag-along NPCs handle their part of a battle off-screen. Keep the focus on the characters.Give the characters secret paths and side quests during travel sequences.Related ArticlesBuild Cities Around the CharactersTwo Years Playing D&D OnlineWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsGetting Started with Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons Starter Set: Running PhandelverGet 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 Cities Around the Characters

Introducing cities can be tricky in D&D. Even small ones have lots of locations and lots of NPCs. Big ones, like Waterdeep, can have hundreds of notable locations and thousands of NPCs. How can we introduce cities to the characters and their players without overwhelming both them and us?

For a quick minute-long video on this topic, see How do you introduce players to big cities in Dungeons & Dragons?.

As difficult as it is for you to make up or internalize so many locations in a big city, it's just as hard for the players to remember those locations. The minute you describe the eighth location the characters see, they forget the first one.

Instead, focus on the important locations. These might be the home base for the characters — a place to hang their hat. It might be the place they pick up quests, like an adventurer's hall or the local bulletin board. Maybe there's a clear adventure location like the old abandoned well, the creaky house no one goes to anymore, or the ruined watchtower out in the bay everyone says is haunted.

After these main locations build your city by thinking about what locations fit the characters. Where would they want to go. Bards like taverns, dance halls, and theaters. Clerics and paladins like temples or monasteries. Wizards, warlocks, and sorcerers might like a shady library or an arcane guildhall. Druids and rangers might like an overgrown wild grove with a grumpy caretaker. Fighters and rogues like shops where they can "buy" stuff or sharpen their weapons.

When you're building out a story, build from the characters outward. What do they want? What would interest them? This helps focus down to just a handful of places. Here's a quick checklist of the locations you might want to focus on in your next town or city:

Places to pick up new quests.Places to rest, recuperate, and call their own.Places their particular character might want to visit.

When you're introducing a story, focus on the locations designed to draw the characters into the rest of the story, adventure, campaign, and world.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a video on Running Dragons of Stormwreck Isle with Tips for New DMs and my Scarlet Citadel Session 3 Prep video.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Under the Harvest MoonsVenture Maidens Campaign GuideD&D Lead Designer Ray Winninger Leaves Wizards of the CoastOne D&D Expert Playtest Feedback SurveyOne D&D Ideas We Can Use Right NowPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Using NPCs as Assets in D&D GamesUsing 5e Rules with Numenera's Ninth WorldProps, Decorations, Accessories, and Themes in your D&D GamesFilling Out Big Climactic Boss BattlesD&D Tips

Each week, after my Wednesday game, I try to think about what I learned from that game and offer them as tips. Here are this week's D&D tips:

Prep interesting and unique magic items for each of the characters. Reward them when the time and situation is right.Build scenes from interesting set pieces, creatures, and situations.Offer a couple of meaningful choices for paths of overland travel.Use monuments as the backdrop for a scene.Make random encounters meaningful with interesting lore and the revelation of secrets and clues.Describe fantastic features of a city and the locations of most likely interest to the characters and their players.Tie monuments to the history and theology of your campaign world so the players can learn about it a piece at a time.Related ArticlesWrite Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character SheetsReach Satisfying Campaign ConclusionsSingle Encounters for Overland TravelBuild Resilient CampaignsWest Marches Campaigns in GrendlerootGet 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.

Write Down Page Numbers on D&D Prep Notes and Character Sheets

Add page numbers to your preparation notes and character sheets. This is a tip for both D&D DMs and players. For 1,500 years people have learned how to create the equivalent of digital hyperlinks in physical books by referencing locations in an index.

While many of us prep our games or run our characters using online tools, sometimes we're using PDFs of products which still have page numbers and no easy way to hyperlink specific locations. For others running in-person games using physical books, writing page numbers in your notes or character sheets speeds up referencing spells, powers, character abilities, magic items, monsters, locations, NPCs, campaign information, and just about everything else in D&D right at the table.

For players, think of your physical character sheet as an customized index of specific options in the books you use to make your character. Write down the book's abbreviation and page number next to spells, feats, class features, and anything else you might reference. Write down the page number while building your character. It'll save you considerable time during play.

If you're a dungeon master, write down page numbers next to monsters, magic items, locations, NPC descriptions, or anything else you think you might reference during the game. You can do this in your notes whether they're digital or physical. You can also recommend and help your players write down their page numbers as well.

Writing down page numbers pays huge dividends in gameplay. No longer do you have to rifle through the Player's Handbook trying to figure out how big the cone of a cone of cold is (PHB 224). No longer do you have to page through Kobold Press's Tome of Beasts to find the empty cloak stat block (ToB 176). No longer do you have to scramble through your copy of the Midgard World Book to learn more about the dwarven canton of Grisal (MWB 71)

Use technology proven over 1,500 years. Write down page numbers in your character sheets and game prep notes.

Other Sly Flourish Stuff

This week I posted a video on customizing your Lazy DM Notion Template and recorded my preparation for session 2 of my Scarlet Citadel game.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

New Patreon Adventure - The Silver GrottoMidgard Sale - 30% OffApocalypse - The Complete Guide to Ending the WorldTorrents of the SpellhoarderElder Brain 5e SurveyExperiences Running Dragons of Stormwreck IslePatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

Differences Between DMs and Players and Tips for DMs Becoming PlayersAdventure for New Local Game Shop GroupModifying Published Adventures with a Different MapInjecting Horror into our AdventuresPontification on RPGs Moving Towards DigitalWarlock Patreon of Evil God?Last Week's D&D Tips

Every week I ponder what I've learned from my last game and put them into some D&D tips. Here are last week's tips! What did you learn from your last game?

Build two-stage bosses that turn into their final form after their first defeat.Add environmental features that weaken bosses. Destroy the four unholy glyphs to remove the boss's advantage on all attacks and saving throws.Reward lots of healing potions for groups with limited healing spells.Clarify the lack of urgency when traveling so players can go off the trail sometimes and enjoy the sites.Every few sessions ask your players what they're enjoying about the campaign and what they want to see more of. Every few sessions run a "campfire tales" scene in which the players describe what their characters think of the current situation, their hopes for the future, and what it reminds them of from their past.Combine multiple random encounters together to build something rich and unique.Related ArticlesTwo Years Playing D&D OnlineReach Satisfying Campaign Conclusions2016 D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master QuestionnaireManaging D&D TipsTools for New D&D Dungeon MastersGet 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

Reach Satisfying Campaign Conclusions

K. Ivan R., a Patreon of Sly Flourish, asked:

Most of the games I've run and played did not have a satisfying conclusion. This jives with what I've heard talking to every gamer I've brought this up with, and received wisdom I've heard from people online: Maybe once in your life will you get a campaign that goes every week for multiple years, only a handful of times in your life will a campaign come to a satisfying end, and for every campaign that ends, five or more will fizzle out before anything major happens. And yet, you run campaign after campaign, straight bangers - two campaigns a week and every man jack (??) of them ends properly. How do you do it?

I wasn't sure I agreed with Ivan's assessment of the situation so I ran a YouTube poll and the results astounded me:

Question: This is a poll for D&D players and dungeon masters. How often do you reach a satisfying conclusion to your D&D campaign?

YouTube poll posted 25 August 2022, 2,600 respondents.

Response% of totalAlmost Never26%Rarely21%Sometimes31%Often14%Almost Always7%

About half of polled players and DMs rarely or almost never have a satisfying campaign conclusion. That's appalling.

I had lots of thoughts about how more groups might reach satisfying conclusions but I wanted to get a better gauge on why this is the case. So I hit up Twitter, asking why people didn't reach satisfying conclusions. You can read the Twitter thread here.

Scheduling was, by far, the number one reason. There were others, though, including:

Getting excited for the new thingChanges in players and groupsDM burnoutConflicting playstylesA general lack of interestLack of campaign clarityTPKs

I've managed to run two dozen successful campaigns since 2014 and a good handful of campaigns before I started counting. I've rarely had a campaign fizzle out before a solid conclusion, but it has happened.

It's clear survivorship bias to assume the the things I do in my game more likely lead to a successful campaign. Having read peoples' experiences, however, I do believe the following things helped me run as many successful campaigns as I've run. So I humbly share my ideas for reaching satisfying campaign conclusions:

Run Six Full-Time Players and Two On Call

Finding and maintaining a D&D group is the hardest part of D&D. One way to manage a group once you've put it together is by keeping an on-call list. Try to have six regular players who can make it most of the time and have two "on call" players who know that, when available, they're standing in for one of the open seats if someone can't make it. Then be ready to run even if you only have four players. This way it takes five people cancelling before you can't run a game. Ensure you bring in new players should anyone step away from the group. If one of the regulars steps out, ask the on-call players if they want to step in. If on-call players tend not to be able to make it, extend your list of on-call players.

Run Shorter Sessions Weekly at a Regular Day and Time

I run regular games on Wednesday nights from 7pm to 10pm and Sunday's from noon to 3pm. The Wednesday game has gone on for about fifteen years. The Sunday game for about eight. We don't schedule these games — that's when they happen. When games happen at a regular time they become part of people's weekly rituals. Their lives get scheduled around the game, not the other way around.

Run Short, Focused, and Flexible Campaigns

The longer a campaign goes, the more likely it is to fall apart for any number of reasons. Shorter campaigns are more likely to reach a clear conclusion. I tend to run campaigns of roughly 12 to 14 months — about 50 three-hour sessions. These are good meaty campaigns but have a clear ending. This solves a few problems I saw from those who described why their campaigns fell apart. It's easier to stay interested and still move on to the new cool thing if your campaign is short enough to accommodate this.

A focused campaign keeps you and the players engaged. You all know there's an ending and you know where things are generally going. This doesn't mean railroading but just knowing there's a single focused goal.

Keep these campaigns flexible. Avoid focusing on one character only to have the player of that character leave. Do your best to incorporate the stories of the characters into the game but ensure the campaign, or even a specific session, isn't so wrapped around one character that it can't go on if that player is there.

And what do you do if that character's missing? Just let them fade into the background. Everyone knows why the character isn't there.

Each session ask the players who attended the last session to summarize what's happened so players just coming back to the table can catch up.

Ask For "One Year Later" Character Conclusions

It's really easy to blow a good conclusion by trying to turn the story on its head. Instead, give players what they want in the conclusion. Let them fight the big bad. Let them enjoy a tremendous victory. Let them tie up their loose ends.

How do you ensure each character gets the ending their player wants? Let them narrate that ending. I call this the One Year Later montage. Warn your players before your final session that you're going to ask them to talk about where their character ends up one year after the end of the campaign. Then, when the campaign closes, ask each player to talk about where their character ends up one year after the final conclusion of the game. I've done this for dozens of campaigns and every time the stories delight me. It's my favorite part of the campaign and it ensures the players get what they want out of their characters arc. It's one of my favorite lazy tools for awesome campaign conclusions.

Run Games Online

I love in-person games but having spent the past two years learning how to play D&D online, it's clearly made attendance at my games more consistent. Online games fit easier into peoples' lives. They don't have to travel anywhere. They can keep an eye on the kids. It's just plain easier.

Playing online also opens up your potential pool of players by many orders of magnitude. Instead of only those who can make it to your gaming space, you can recruit players from, literally, all over the world. You can seek players who best fit your style and can commit to the times, leading to more consistent games.

Nothing beats the fun of playing in person but solid and reliable online games are better than inconsistent in-person games.

Send a Reminder Email

Even though we've played for more than a decade, I still send out a weekly reminder email two or three days before our game. This gives players a weekly reminder to get their affairs in order and make it to the table — or let you know they can't make it with enough time to do something about it. I schedule a reminder to myself every week to send reminder emails to my friends for our upcoming games.

Continual Efforts

Keeping games going takes continual effort. Game scheduling and attendance doesn't happen on its own. Getting people to your table and keeping them coming week after week takes regular work.

Building and maintaining a solid D&D group is the hardest part of this hobby. Hopefully this gives you a few ideas to keep your own group going and let you finish more awesome campaigns.

Last Week's Sly Flourish StuffLast week I posted my prep for my first session of Scarlet Citadel to YouTube.Patrons of Sly Flourish received The Silver Grotto. A 10 page 7th level City of Arches adventure written by my friend and long-time colleague, Scott Fitzgerald Gray.Enjoy my D&D tip video on Prepping Awesome D&D Handouts on YouTubeD&D Tips

Here are some quick D&D tips I learned this week.

Fill travel with interesting situations with choices to make and lore to discover. Watch carefully for players having a poor time from bad luck. Find ways to give them an upward beat. Maps, minis, and terrain work as well for exploration and roleplaying as they do for combat. Bathe in the lore of your world, whether your own or published.Write down page numbers in your notes for quick referencing at the table.Offer tactical suggestions for hard battles. The characters know more than the players. Offer multiple paths with clear choices during travel.Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Stars Over Stormwreck Released on the DM's GuildDread Thingonomicon by Raging Swan PressGrimoire of the Grave by 2C GamingDungeoncraft Review of the Lazy DM's Workbook and Lazy DM's CompanionNew Senior Vice President of D&DKeeping D&D Resilient for Us and our GroupsOther Commentaries on the One D&D Experts PlaytestD&D Lego ContestPatreon Questions and Answers

Also on the Talk Show, I answer some of the questions I get on the monthly Sly Flourish Patreon questions and answer thread. Here are last week's questions and answers:

New Lazy Combat Encounter Benchmark for One D&D?How to Destroy ArtifactsManaging Dungeon Crawling and Offering Useful OptionsGood Material from Older EditionsChanging Character Personalities with Magic ItemsRelated ArticlesFinding and Maintaining a D&D GroupManaging Player Attendance with an On-Call ListEnding CampaignsTwo Years Playing D&D OnlineInterviewing New D&D Players for Online GamesGet 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

Two Years Playing D&D Online

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I went from running D&D exclusively in person to running D&D exclusively online for more than two years. Though the circumstances are terrible, this was an opportunity to re-learn how to run D&D games — this time online — and I found it tremendously valuable.

I wrote a few articles one these experiences including:

Shared Experiences Playing D&D OnlinePlaying D&D over DiscordOwlbear Rodeo: A Simple D&D Virtual TabletopCall on Individual Players During Online D&D Games

I also took to Twitter to see what other DMs learned.

Today, with more than one hundred online games under my belt, I wanted to share my experiences running D&D games online.

It takes more to engage players

Digital distractions abound and not being in front of other people makes it easy to stray away from the game. The whole internet is one tab away and that's hard to compete with. I definitely notice, both as a player and a DM, how easy it is to get distracted from the game.

It takes work on the part of the DM to keep players engaged. Calling on individual players for questions instead of dropping general questions to the whole group helps. So does reiterating the current situation in the game. Don't shame players who get distracted. Summarize what's going on and ask them how they want their characters to respond.

Communication lag is a real problem

Voice lag over the internet definitely causes a social change in how we talk to one another. Even sub-second delays can make it sound like everyone's talking over one another or no one wants to talk at all. Ginny Di offers excellent suggestions for dealing with this social communication change and I touch on the topic in my article, Call on Individual Players During Online D&D Games.

Sharing maps and images is easy

I became so spoiled with the ease of sharing portraits of NPCs, images of events, and maps of locations online that it made me question how we ever managed to do it in physical play. The idea of hand-drawing maps after spending two years dropping Dyson maps into Owlbear Rodeo feels like the difference of writing out a novel long-hand and typing one up in a word processor.

I'm not done with physical maps or terrain at a physical table but I sure look at the problem differently now that I've had two years doing it easily online.

Games are more consistent

I've definitely had better attendance at games, both as a DM and as a player, with online play. This comes as little surprise. Committing to three or four hours in front of a computer in our own home is much easier than committing to a drive across town. Online D&D fits better into many peoples' lives than in-person play. I'm not abandoning in person play, but playing online definitely became a regular way I play D&D from now on.

I can play with people all over the world

I've had the great joy of playing in D&D games run by Ennie-award-winning DM Paul Gabat multiple times — a DM who lives in the Phillipines. During 2021, one of the players I used to play with in person moved half-way across the country yet we still continue to play weekly. I've attended multiple gaming conventions, playing as many games as I used to play in person, without leaving the comfort of my own home.

Playing games online immeasurably improves your access to players and DMs. Instead of only being able to play with people within five to ten miles, you can literally play with anyone on earth. Being comfortable playing D&D online exponentially improves your access to players and games.

Prep times vary between DMs

I find lazy DM prep easily fits online play. The stack of tools I use (Discord, Notion, D&D Beyond, and Owlbear Rodeo) are easy to prepare and easy to run during the game. This isn't true for everyone. For those spending a lot of time tinkering with maps, lighting, tokens, and integrations in thick VTTs like Roll20 or Foundry, prep time is still an issue. I've heard DMs say that it takes them about 1.5x as long as a session to prepare a game. For me it's about 30 to 60 minutes for three hours of gameplay.

We each decide how much time we spend on prep and where we spend that time. If setting up custom maps with dynamic lighting is important enough to you to spend the time doing it, go with the gods. If you're looking to speed up you're prep, there are ways.

Digital accessories are much cheaper than physical and scale much better

Digital tools, products, and assets offer a tremendous value to DMs running games online. If I want four balor miniatures, I'd have to pay about $180 on the miniature market. Four balor tokens for my virtual tabletop? Essentially free. Hell, forty balor miniatures are basically free.

Searching the internet for an image and then banging out a token with Token Stamp is fast, free, and extremely powerful. It's fast enough that I can do it during my game for improvised situations.

Even with a tremendous heirloom-level collection of physical miniatures, I still struggle to find the right miniature for the right situation in a physical game. In an online game, I can build a token for any monster in under a minute (I actually timed myself).

The same is true for maps. Getting a full color map of Loomlurch from Wild Beyond the Witchlight would run like $50 for a full-sized color map. Online I can grab the map from the D&D Beyond version of the adventure and throw it into Owlbear Rodeo in no time at all. Yes, the adventures run about $30 on D&D Beyond, which isn't nothing, but $30 for every map in the adventure is pretty cheap. Third-party versions of maps are often far cheaper.

Technology offers a lot but we must be selective

There are many options for digital tools we can use for our online games. There's a plethora of different virtual tabletops with different features, sources, and levels of complexity. There are tons of sources for online maps, music, visuals, and sound effects.

As DMs, we must be selective about which tools we choose to add to our toolbox. Some offer a wonderful experience for us and our players — often at the cost of time spent preparing.

Seek those tools offering the most fun for you and your players.

I still miss, and prefer, physical games

As much as I love running D&D games online, I desperately missed my in-person games. I've only recently returned to playing games in person and I still much prefer it. The first time my friends gathered around the table laughing, eating chips, rolling dice, and enjoying the game — I almost cried. I was so grateful to have them back at my table again and, whenever possible, I try to run my games in person.

That said, running games online offers me a powerful alternative and wonderful option I have no intention of ever stepping away from.

Some of my favorite sites and tools for online play

Over the past two years I've come to the following stack of software which I regularly use and love.

Owlbear RodeoTokenstampDyson LogosKenku.FMD&D BeyondDiscordNotion

I'll give an honorable mention to Above VTT, a Chrome plugin that lets you run a full virtual tabletop atop D&D Beyond. If you're running official modules in D&D beyond, its fantastic. I've not fully incorporated it into my stack because I'm just comfortable with Discord and Owlbear, but it's a fantastic option and worth checking out.

Thankful for Online Options

I can't think of what it would have been like not to play D&D over the past two years. As terrible as the last two years have been for many of us, having the options to play D&D online not only made it bearable but showed me an entirely new way to play the game — one I plan to use for the rest of my life.

Other Sly Flourish NewsLast week I released Stars Over Stormwreck, a bridge adventure between Dragons of Stormwreck Isle from the new D&D Starter Set and Light of Xaryxis from the D&D Spelljammer Boxed Set. Watch the release video!I discuss my Numenera campaign finale and offer tips for D&D DMs from Numenera and tips for GMs considering running Numenera.I recorded my preparation for my Scarlet Citadel Session Zero for my brand new campaign focusing heavily on Kobold Press 5th edition material.Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Free Drowned Sailors Encounter from WOTCStars Over Stormwreck Adventure Coming This Week!The One D&D Experts PlaytestDungeoncraft on Why D&D Editions Don't MatterTeos Abadia on Freelance RatesPatreon Questions

Every week on the Lazy D&D Talk Show I answers D&D-related questions from the Sly Flourish Patreon. You too can join in the conversation by becoming a Patreon of Sly Flourish.

Last week's questions and answers came out in two videos with links to each question below:

Your Thoughts and Plans for PatreonPractical Jokes with Tiny HutExperienced Player Tips for Inexperienced DMsThe Three Most Useful Third-Party ProductsWhat's In Front Of You When You DM?How Do You Choose and Run Lots of Campaigns?Helping New Players Avoid Bad ChoicesCharismatic Players with Non-Charismatic CharactersHow to Get Value from Purchased RPG MaterialIs a Focused Campaign Railroading?Drawing Quiet Players and Barbarians Into Political IntrigueThe Morality of Killing CultistsRunning Lotsb of Allies in CombatComing Up with Exploration and Social Encounters Instead of Just Combat All The TimeVerifying The Difficulty of Third Party D&D MonstersBalancing D&D in our LivesCan Three Villains Work in One Organization?Tips for Game Prep from Adventure WritingDealing with the Characters of Abscent or Missing PlayersD&D Tips for the Week

Every week I write down seven tips I learned in the last game I ran. Here are this week's D&D tips.

Give players meaningful choices when exploring a dungeon.Address the characters of quiet players.What ten secrets and clues might the characters uncover in your next game?Focus your game around the plotlines you enjoy the most.Embrace third party material. Expand your selection of campaigns, adventures, monsters, and character options.What can the characters learn about the activities of the villains behind the scenes?Write and email short flash fiction between games to keep players engaged.Related ArticlesShared Experiences Playing D&D OnlineJames Introcaso on Running Great D&D Games with Roll20 Owlbear Rodeo: A Simple D&D Virtual TabletopInterviewing New D&D Players for Online GamesCall on Individual Players During Online D&D GamesGet 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

Dealing with D&D Pre-Game Nervousness

We all feel it. It's game night and your friends are coming over (either in person or online). We feel it in the pits of our stomachs. Will this be the one? Will this be the game we drop on the floor? Are we stuck like Carrie White hearing a voice in our head repeating "they're all going to laugh at you!"?

For some who have not yet DMed a D&D game, even getting the confidence to run a D&D game is difficult. But even for those of us who have been doing this for years or decades, the nervousness of running a game doesn't go away.

Many DMs feel this pre-game nervousness, regardless of their skill or longevity in the hobby. It's common and it's ok. We're about to engage in a complicated performance. We're going to be spinning a lot of plates and throwing out words to build worlds no one has ever seen before. We're going to be mananging rules and adjudicating complicated mechanics and, somehow, keeping it all together so at the end of the session our friends walk away with a smile on their faces. That's a lot to manage and not feel anxious about it.

This feeling is normal. It's ok. We all feel it. I feel it every time I'm getting ready to run a game. This nervousness is an old friend and I know where to put it. Sure, I'm nervous, but it will be ok.

If it helps, you can check out my five minutes to D&D pep talk or "You Are Not Prepared" - Battling the Resistance videos on this topic.

Here are some things I try to remember when I feel this nervousness before a game:

My friends want me to succeed in this. They'll help me out. No one is out to get me.Soon I'll be laughing alongside my friends in an activity we all enjoy.I know what I'm doing. I've done it before.I have what I need to run the game and go where the flow takes it.Every game is an accomplishment.Running a game helps my friends as much as it helps me.My friends have been coming for years and keep coming back.

These little sayings help keep my nervousness in check. They remind me that, as Steven Pressfield would say, my doubt is "the resistance" and it's always out to keep me from creating things.

Trust Your System

I think Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is popular because it gives DMs a system — any system — that works well enough to prepare and run games. I never claim that the eight steps in Return are the end-all be-all of dungeon master prep, but the system can work and does work for lots of DMs, myself included. I feel like Return is a piece of boyant driftwood in a raging river of untamed creativity. It gives us some structure to build our games around.

Having a system, any system, helps tame pre-game nervousness. We can channel that nervousness into our game prep. If we don't have a system, such prep becomes a bottomless hole into which many DMs fall. They prep and prep and prep, taking their nervousness and thrashing about in all sorts of directions — many of which have no value to the game they plan to run. They wire whole sessions so tightly that there's no room for the story to twist, turn, and breathe as the game travels into new directions.

A framework like the eight steps helps us feel prepared for a game but not tie it so tightly together that we freak out if the game goes in a direction we weren't ready for.

Whatever system you choose, keep it focused on what you need and ensure there's an end to your prep other than burning every hour you have until its time to run the game.

Find Your Tricks

What helps you break past the pre-game nervousness you feel? What sayings do you have? What rituals do you conduct? Know that your nervousness will be there before your next game and know what you need to do to deal with it. Whether it's a set of preparation steps or a handful of mantras to remind you that we're all just here to have a good time, keeping these tools in mind will help you deal with your pre-game nervousness.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

WOTC D&D After-School ProgramGood Digital Tools for WOTC + Third Party Product UseSharing Third Party PDFs With Your PlayersRunning Wild Beyond the Witchlight for Tier 2 CharactersWhen Is It Appropriate To Hit Downed PCs?Advice I Regret from Return of the Lazy Dungeon MasterDealing With Player Optimizing Away From FunWhy Do NPCs Not Use Character Classes?Is 5e Too Complex?Related ArticlesBattling the Resistance That Wants You to Fail at D&DGaining Confidence to Run D&D GamesManaging D&D Tips2016 D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master QuestionnaireInterviewing New D&D Players for Online GamesGet 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

Convert and Scale Published D&D Adventures

With thousands of adventures written before the release of the 5th edition of D&D, we have a huge legacy of content we can use in our games. All it needs is some conversion.

Luckily, converting adventures to 5th edition is easy enough to do. It mostly come down to replacing the monsters in the adventure with monster from the Monster Manual. Choose the one closest to the one described in the adventure and you're done. If a monster in the adventure doesn't have a 5th edition equivalent (and I'd be surprised, there are literally thousands of 5e monsters these days), take the mechanically closest monster you can find in 5e and reskin it into the one described in the adventure.

1st and 2nd edition D&D adventures are likely easiest to convert over to 5th edition. They're style aligns closely to the adventure style found in 5th edition. If you're worried that battles are too hard once you've done the conversion, use the lazy encounter benchmark to check what a deadly encounter might look like. If things are easy, you may want to beef up boss battles, but you can likely leave the rest of it alone.

What about scaling adventures up or down in level? This is a little tricker. Again, using the lazy encounter benchmark and monster dials, you can do a lot to change up the difficulty of an adventure.

There's one area where leveling an adventure up or down can be a problem though, and it has nothing to do with mechanics, it has to do with theme.

The Right Theme for the Right Tier

In Tier Appropriate Adventure Locations I offer a list of the types of locations that make sense for characters of a given tier. When I describe choosing the monsters that makes sense for the situation, we don't choose monsters based on the level of the characters. Instead we choose quests, locations, and overall situations that make sense for the current status (level) of the characters. You don't ask 1st level characters to drop into Thanatos and kill Orcus. Nor do you ask 18th level characters to go down into Uncle Ed's cellars to take care of his giant rat problem. (I've often considered a quest in which Uncle Ed sends 18th level characters into his basement to take care of his Orcus problem.) Quests should match the character's capabilities and station in the world (often represented by level) and this all has to do with story, not mechanics. Here's a quick breakdown of what that looks like:

1st level (tier 0). Small problems. Rats in the basement of the local inn.2nd to 4th level (tier 1). Local problems. Bandits, thieves, local evil mercenaries.5th to 10th level (tier 2). Regional problems. Evil kingdoms. Rampaging dragons. Invading undead armies.11th to 16th level (tier 3). Global problems. World-ending magic. Lichs. Ancient dragons. Invading planar beings. Evil moons.17th to 20th level (tier 4). Multiverse problems. Planar doomsday weapons. Demon princes. Archdevils. Archlichs. Invasions of the Nine Hells. Abyssal apocalypses.

When you're scaling an adventure for the characters, ask if the theme of the adventure fits the level of the characters using the breakdown above. Is this the kind of job they should be doing? Are they too powerful and important to deal with such things? Are they too weak to take on a big job? Matching the theme of an adventure to the power of the characters matters.

Can you change the entire theme of an adventure to fit the characters? Maybe, but that's probably not worth the effort. Better is to find an adventure that makes sense for the characters.

Last Week's Lazy D&D Talk Show Topics

Each week I record an episode of the Lazy D&D Talk Show in which I talk about all things D&D. Here are last week's topics with timestamped links to the YouTube video:

Amazing Encounters and Places by CZRPGApocalypse Keys by Evil Hat GamesD&D Beyond, Limiting Character Options, and Third Party ProductsThe Sly Flourish Stream Bingo CardRunning the Same Campaign for Multiple GroupsD&D Plots and Inspiration from WesternsConflicting Secrets and Clues? No Thanks!Describing Your DM Style to New PlayersRelated ArticlesTier Appropriate Adventure LocationsBuilding 1st Level Combat EncountersChoose Monsters Based on the StoryRunning Dragon of Icespire Peak from the D&D Essentials KitScaling the Story to the Level of 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