Michael E. Shea's Blog, page 4

Write One Page of Prep Notes

When prepping my game using the eight steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, I like to narrow my prep down to one page of notes. Lately I write my notes in Obsidian and have a custom stylesheet to export it to PDF in a nice single-page two-column format. I print this page out for each game ��� whether playing online or not. I don't include things like annotated maps in my one-page of prep ��� I print those separately. Some GMs may be able to stay down to one page of notes with a map but I'm more comfortable with a page of notes and a page with an annotated map for most games.

But for my prep notes themselves ��� I stick to one page.

Why is a single page of prep notes ideal?

It's Easy to Reference

When you only have a single sheet of notes, it's easier to find the things you need when running your game like the proper names of NPCs, towns, political groups, locations, and other stuff. It's easier to reference your secrets and clues when they're all on a single page. You can skim your notes quickly just before a game when it's on a single sheet.

It Limits Your Prep

Overprep is a common problem with many game masters. GMs often find themselves prepping a lot of material ��� too much for one game. I think the drive to overprep comes from the nervousness of being creative in front of our friends. When GMs overprep, however, many lament that the material they prepped never gets used. Limiting prep to a single page helps break this cycle. The more comfortable you are when keeping your notes to a single page and seeing how your notes support you at your table, the more comfortable you'll be recognizing how little prep you need to run a fun game for your friends.

It Gives You a Structure

The eight steps from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master aren't the end-all be-all of RPG prep instructions. GM books rarely offer a clear structure for game prep because they know there are so many ways to do it. Return offers the eight steps, but I recognize that this structure isn't the only way to do it. Structure for prep, whatever system you prefer, is important. Focusing on a single sheet ensures you find a clear structure that fits on that page. Whatever your own steps, you only have one page to fill.

It Focuses You on What Matters

One page isn't a lot of room so something has to be cut. Maybe you don't put in entire custom monster stat blocks. Maybe you don't write long paragraphs of read-aloud text. Maybe you don't describe every room in a dungeon. You must choose what to put on a page and those choices help you focus on the things most important for your prep. Limiting prep often forces you to eliminate non-essential things so you have the things you really need.

It Takes Less Time

Not having enough time to prep a game is probably the second biggest reason GMs have trouble running games�������the first being finding and maintaining a great RPG group. When you refine your system of prep down to a single sheet, it has the beneficial side effect of reducing the time you take to prep. Less prep means your prep fits easier into your life and lets you run more games.

It's Fun

There's something fun about the constraint of writing all your notes on a single sheet. It feels refined. It sharpens your blade. It makes you feel like you have what you need and sets a boundary on the game itself ��� it doesn't need to be any harder than what you have on that page. It's a good feeling.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

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.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Kobold Press Black Flag SRD in MarkdownCreating and Adapting Monsters for ShadowdarkMike Mearls on Dungeon CraftHow Bonus Actions ChangedGM-Focused Products as Advanced Software for Advanced UsersExperiences with the D&D 2025 Monster Manual Adult Black DragonLegendary Resistance AlternativesThe End of One D&DTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Kobold Press Black Flag SRD in MarkdownCreating and Adapting Monsters for Shadowdark KickstarterMike Mearls on DungeoncraftPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Running Frostmaiden with ShadowdarkAdditional Roles for ExplorationDid I Negate Character Abilities and Take Away Player Agency?Should I Kill Shadowdark Characters with Big Backstory?Is Your YouTube Channel Dying?

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on The Top Tip for New GMs ��� Lazy GM Tip and The Red Portal Part 2 ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 13.

RPG Tips

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

Build scenes from locations, inhabitants, and situations. Be prepared for the characters to negotiate with even the worst villains. Assign a quartermaster to keep track of all loot and who received it. Have them share a spreadsheet. Give players additional roles like cartographer (mapper), quartermaster (loot tracker), scribe (note-taker), and caller (arbiter of choices). Be ready for characters to bypass combat encounters through subterfuge or negotiation. Use random tables during prep and play to shake up ideas and come up with unique situations. Related ArticlesThe Simplest Way to Annotate a MapUsing the Lazy DM's Eight Steps At the TableFocus Extra Prep Time on the CharactersGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Offer Choices in Every Scene

I have two great reads for you today. The first is the chapbook Adventure Crucible����� Building Stronger Scenarios for Any RPG by Robin Laws. This book inspired my series on adventure types, starting with Dungeon Crawls. You can find links to the others at the top of that article.

The second great read is a blog post from the Arcane Library called How to Design Exciting D&D Encounters. This article at me from the Arcane Library newsletter ��� subscribe here.

Both pieces cover ways to ensure scenes and adventures in our RPGs excite our players and both cover one particular element we do well to consider �����offering choices.

Choices are true actions of the characters in our RPGs. Characters can only make meaningful choices if there are other options they could choose but decide to skip. The more narrow this range of choices becomes, the more boring the game might become. When a character has three to five possible options in a turn during a battle �����all of them viable ��� they feel empowered. If they only have one thing they can do ("I hit it with my sword") that's not much of a choice.

One reason combat takes such a prominent place in fantasy d20 RPGs is because combat choices are typically clear. Different attacks, different movement options, different bonus actions, different spells, different abilities �����all these possible actions offer choices to players. They're intellectually stimulating.

Consider including such intellectually stimulating choices in all scenes. The characters go to town and meet an important NPC. The NPC tells them about the dangerous cave outside of town in which local treasure seekers sought a powerful idol but never returned. Will you brave adventurers go in there and seek it out? What choice is there? Sure? What the hell else are we going to do?

That's no choice.

But now our heroes come to town and meet with the local adventurers' guildmaster. "Hey, I have three jobs for you. Pick one. Pick another when you're done with that one. The last job we'll farm out to some other group." That doesn't sound particularly stimulating but it offers a choice. It matters which quest they pick and which they leave behind.

The characters come into town and meet a priest who wants to tell them about the marriage of the gods Rava and Volund. Ok, great. We'll sit here and hear all about these gods. That's not a choice. That's exposition.

Instead, a dwarf merchant is pissed off at the heretical priest's statements about this "marriage" between Rava and Volund and threatens to have his mercenaries beat the priest if the priest doesn't shut up. And that priest just can't shut up. What do the characters do? Who do they side with? What happens next?

That's a choice. That choice builds an interesting scene.

Whether your scene is delving through a dungeon, negotiating with a local thieves' guild leader, researching old magic in an arcane library, or fighting a horde of undead ��� ask yourself what choices you leave open for the characters and their players. Are there options here? Are they viable? You don't need to define each and every single choice but there should be some range of possible choices and players can certainly come up with their own.

Otherwise all we've done is offer a single path in which we spew forth our own narrative while our players sit back bored in their chairs.

Noting Choices During Prep

Consider identifying potential choices when prepping your game, perhaps during step 3, the "scenes" step, of the eight steps from [Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master]. When you jot down a quick description of the scene, maybe meeting the hag Lady Bloodnails in the dragon's grotto, ask yourself what options exist for the characters. Can they negotiate with her? Can they fight her? Can they sneak around her or learn something else about her from her environment? What can they do here? Three options are usually good. You don't always need an option. Maybe fighting Ourivax the Sallowsworn is really what everyone wants to do. But you don't want a series of scenes that all just lead to the next. Think about what options the characters can choose from and jot them down next to your short scene description.

So the next time you're prepping your game, ask yourself: what choices do you offer in each scene you intend to run in your next session?

More Sly Flourish Stuff

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.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video. Lots of deep dives into the new D&D 2025 Monster Manual!

Hexploration DecksMike on EN World and Kobold Press PodcastsAll Three D&D 2024 Core Books are Released2025 Monster Manual is the Most Important DM-Focused D&D 2024 BookIs the 2025 Monster Manual Better than the 2014 MM?Is the D&D 2025 MM the Best 5e Monster Book?Could It Have Been Better? Of Course.2025 Monster Manual Monsters Hit at Their Challenge RatingOther Designers on the 2025 Monster Manual Monster MathD&D 2025 Monster Manual Compared to Forge of Foes2025 Monster Manual Effects Don't Negatively Impact Damage Anymore2025 Monster Manual Vampire2025 Monster Manual Requires Looking Up Spells2025 Monster Manual Cultist FanaticThe Language of the 2025 Monster Manual2025 Monster Manual Has No Orcs, Drow, or Duergar2025 Monster Manual Static Initiative Scores2025 Monster Manual Crappy Treasure "Tables"2025 Monster Manual Crappy Ability Score Tables2025 Monster Manual Awesome Contextual Random Tables2025 Monster Manual Alphabetically Sorted Most of the Time2025 Monster Manual What Else Is Missing?2025 Monster Manual Day 1 Errata2025 Monster Manual Final ThoughtsTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

BackerKit: Hexploration Decks by Inkwell IdeasMike on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop Podcast (YouTube ��� MM starts at 1:18:00)Mike on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop Podcast (Podcast Recording)Mike on Kobold Chat Talking About Doom PointsPaul Hughes on 2025 Monster Manual on a Business CardAlphastream YouTube Monster Manual AnalysisBob World Builder on the Monster Manual

Last week I also posted a YouTube video on The Red Portal Part 1 ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 12.

RPG Tips

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

When it works for pacing, have minions flee or die when their bosses drop. Let some bosses suck the life out of minions for temporary hit points. Show players how many legendary resistances or doom points a villain has so they can see their progress at eliminating them. Give yourself a good 60 to 90 minutes to run a big boss fight. Add interactive terrain and monuments to big boss battles. Add 25% more HP to a boss for each extra character above four.Add roleplay or exploration scenes before a big boss fight where the characters can reduce the forces they have to fight. Related ArticlesAre Actual Play Games Hurting Home-Game GMs?Making the Most of the Monster ManualCustomizing MonstersGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Don't Get Lost in the Zeitgeist

If you're really into this hobby, like I am, it's extremely easy to get caught up in all the big news, scandals, conversations, and controversies that surround this (and any) big hobby. Gods know, I do.

It's important to remember that, when we think about reading and running RPGs, we're talking about a handful of books, dice, paper or digital tools, and the friends we have around our table to enjoy a fun game.

When the D&D 2024 books came out, I spent a lot of brain power on it. I watched and read everything I could. I talked with friends, RPG colleagues, patrons of Sly Flourish, and other fellow fans. I analyzed and hypothesized. I tested theories. I talked about it a lot on my talk show.

In the end, I can hold all three D&D core books in my hands. That's the entirety of the game ��� three hardcover books I can stuff into a backpack. That's it. Right there. That's the whole game.

We know the game is bigger than just the books themselves. RPGs mean a whole lot to many of us. I think RPGs save lives. When I'm sitting at the table playing games with my friends, it hits all of the most important parts of my life ��� relaxing and spending time with friends and loved ones together creating tales of high adventure.

That's why we get so focused on all the RPG news, debates, ideas, and attention applied to this amazing game. RPGs really matter to us.

But RPGs are also just a game.

RPGs are built from the books we use at our table, or load up online, once a week or so and spend a few hours away from the rest of our lives to enjoy some time in a world we all share in our minds together.

The zeitgeist surrounding the RPG hobby really doesn't matter that much. New products show up ��� some good and some bad. Some products we bring to the table. Others we skip. We and our friends decide what we want to play and how we want to play it. None of the rest of it actually impacts us directly.

It's easy to forget that, for each of us, the game at our own table is the only one that really matters. I forget this all the time. I spend hours on Discord or EN World debating the hobby, the products, the business, and all the rest, almost forgetting that I have a group coming over tomorrow night and maybe it's worth spending more of that time thinking about how to draw their characters into the game.

It can be fun to dive into news and discussions surrounding the larger RPG hobby but remember that the larger hobby doesn't dictate what happens at your table ��� you do.

Focus on the next game you're going to run for your friends around the table.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

I was away at Winter Fantasy last week so there was no Lazy RPG Talk Show (also available as a podcast). Maybe take a look at previous episodes you missed!

Last week I posted a YouTube video on The Best Large Language Model for your RPG ��� Your Own Brain.

RPG Tips

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

Puzzles and riddles are like tapping out songs with your finger. They���re totally obvious to you and no one else has any idea what you���re talking about.Have at least two ways to get past a puzzle.How did the creator of a puzzle door use it themselves? Why did they lock their door with a Sudoku?Let players roll all their dice even if you know it���s a fatal blow. Don���t take away their fun with the math rocks. If you love your players and their character does 52 damage, tell them the monster had only 51 hit points left. If you don���t love them, tell them their foe only had four. Let players use character shenanigans during skill challenges. Don���t force them to just make ability checks the whole time.Add beneficial and detrimental environmental effects to get characters moving around the battlefield.Related ArticlesBeing a Good Steward of the TTRPG HobbyHow to Survive a Digital D&D FutureFind Local Players for Tabletop RPGsGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Are Actual Play Games Hurting Home-Game GMs?

A friend passed me a post where someone described how their child, a GM, got feedback from their players stating "I think Matt Mercer would have done it differently".

This comment fired up a common question I've seen discussed for years now:

Are high production liveplay games like Critical Role and Dimension 20 building false expectations among players?

Probably not.

I have three main points on this topic:

There still aren't enough GMs for all the players who want to play.Players generally enjoy the games they're playing in.Only your game and the expectations of your own players matter.

Let's start by examining points 1 and 2.

Feedback from 100,000 Players

Whatever people's expectations for a game, there continues to be too few GMs for the players who want to play games.

I asked David Christ at Baldman Games about this topic. Dave has facilitated tens of thousands of games run by hundreds of GMs at hundreds of conventions for decades. He gets surveys on each of these games ��� over one hundred thousand of them ��� and had two main points towards this conversation:

He still has too few GMs to run all the games players want to play.Satisfaction scores given by players about the games he manages average 92%.

These games aren't just hard-core Adventurer's League games either where there's a fixed group of players who play AL differently than everyone else plays D&D. Most players, Dave states, are new to D&D.

Organized play adventures are almost the exact opposite of Actual Play games like Critical Role and Dimension 20. GMs usually don't know the players or their characters. Players often don't know each other. GMs often run multiple games a day which can be exhausting. GMs are limited in what table props they can use because they have to travel with them. The environment is far from the incredible million-dollar studios of actual plays�������often a fold-out table in a big area with dozens of other tables.

And still, there are more players who want to play games than GMs able to run them and still their satisfaction with their games is high.

Only Your Game Matters

Now on to point 3.

No one put you in charge of ensuring that players across the world all have the right expectations for any given game and that GMs are sheltered from criticism stemming from expectations garnered from actual play shows. Your job is only to run great games for the players you have around your own table.

It doesn't matter that Baldman Games has a hundred thousand surveys with a 92% satisfaction rate. Only the satisfaction of your players matters.

That, of course, doesn't mean your players won't have false expectations based on actual play, but you only have to worry about them, not the entire hobby.

So how do you manage these expectations?

Talk to Your Players

Ask them what they want in the game. Ask them what they hope for. Ask them about their characters ��� their goals, their motivations, what magic items they're excited for. Use campfire tales and stars and wishes to get feedback throughout your campaign.

If their drives and expectations go beyond what you can provide ��� talk to them about it. Let them know what you're capable of. Let them know if you're likely not to hit on every thread of their character's backstory. Set these expectations during your session zero.

Listen to them too. Maybe there are things they want that you can bring into your game. It's not just a matter of telling players how it's going to be. Use that feedback to steer your game as well as manage their expectations about what you can provide.

It's Probably Not the Problem You Think It Is

I suspect the anxiety GMs feel to perform at the level actual play shows is self generated more than brought on by actual players. Most players just want to play. As long as you're not railroading their characters or being a jerk, your game is likely to be fine. Follow the top tips for GMs and things should go well.

Enjoy your time at the table with your friends sharing some laughs and fun tales of high adventure.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

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.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Horizons MagazineAlphastream on 2025 D&D Monster Manual MathD&D at Madison Square GardenMike Mearls and Ray Winninger on the Past and Future of D&D 5e2025 Monster Manual Initial ThoughtsD&D 2025 Monster Manual LichAvoid Getting Caught in the ZeitgeistTalk Show and Patreon Q&A DatabasesTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Horizons MagazineAlphastream on 2025 D&D Monster Manual MathRay Winninger and Mike Mearls on Past and Future of D&D 5ePrintable HeroesPatreon Questions and Answers

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

What D&D Classes and Features Do I Ban?Making Flat Paper Character MinisDealing with Agency-Stealing Effects like StunBasic Rules or 5.1 SRD for New Players

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on Instant Monsters for 5e & D&D and Ziggurat of Thoth-Hermes ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 11.

RPG Tips

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

Use long rests to ask players about their characters' backstories.Mix up easy combat encounters, hard combat encounters, and NPC roleplaying scenes.Introduce enough gods to keep your world unique but not so many your players can't keep up.Fill large locations with several factions ��� each of which might be allies or enemies of the characters.Mix multiple random encounters to build unique scenes.Roll a d6 for hostility and distance during random encounters. The lower the number the closer and less hostile they are.Bait dangerous situations with shiny treasure.Related ArticlesFind Local Players for Tabletop RPGsTwo Different 5e Games at the Same TableTalk To Your PlayersGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Two Different 5e Games at the Same Table

When we sit down to play a 5e game at our table, we're actually playing two different games with two different sets of rules, sometimes from totally different publishers.

Players play one game ��� with a focus on their characters and the rich mechanics surrounding them. GMs play another game ��� with a focus on monsters, treasure, scenes, situations, world building, and more.

These two games mesh together on a shared and agreed-upon baseline of rules. We can change both sides of the game significantly and still play a fun game at our table.

The easiest example of GMs playing a different game is when gamemasters use a different monster book than the default monster book for our chosen 5e system (likely D&D but possibly Tales of the Valiant or Level Up Advanced 5e). Switching monster books is common. We can use 5e monsters from lots of different publishers, including building and improvising our own. We can use simple and straightforward stat blocks like those in the Tales of the Valiant Monster Vault or crunchy tactical monsters like the stat blocks in Flee Mortals. Even with vastly different design philosophies, these monster sources still work with other 5e systems.

It's not a huge revelation to note that GMs are playing one type of game at the table and players another type. But when we think of it this way, it opens further possibilities to change up and customize our game ��� getting back the modular feeling that 5e's designers intended in the 2012 to 2014 playtest of D&D Next.

There are many ways we can shake up the game on the GM's side such as

including the journey rules from Uncharted Journeys .using safe havens and "supply" from A5e's Trials and Treasure .using doom points from Tales of the Valiant .giving out spells from Deep Magic 1 or 2 as special rewards, single-use magic items, or strange powers for monsters.

Likewise, we can talk to our players about changing things on the player-side of the game by

selecting a different core sourcebook for character options such as D&D 2014, D&D 2024, the Tales of the Valiant Player's Guide , or the Level Up Advanced 5e Adventurer's Guide .offering multiple flavors of 5e on the player's side in the same game! It seems impossible but I'm doing it right now and it works just fine.replacing inspiration with ToV's "luck" system.allowing character options from books like Kobold Press's Tome of Heroes .

It's trickier to mess with the game on the player's side because changes we make there affect everyone and are permanent unless we pull them back. On the GM side, we can change things all the time. If we don't like how our change worked, we can throw it out and never use it again.

Thinking Differently About the Game We Play

Thinking of our game as a series of components ��� with a separate game being played on the player side and GM side ��� gives us lots of interesting ways to tweak and change things to fit the style of game we enjoy.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

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.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Weapons of Lore by Jeff StevensGate Pass Gazette by EN World PublishingMike on Kobold Press Talking Doom PointsRay Winninger Interview with Stan! on YouTubeNo Roll20 Tales of the Valiant Character BuilderThoughts from the Philadelphia Area Gaming ExpoRPG Communities on Independent SpacesTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Weapons of Lore Kickstarter Gate Pass Gazette Annual 2024 Mike on KP talking Doom Points and Monster Vault 2 Ray Winninger EN World DiscussionRay Winninger on Stan!'s ShowStan!'s 50 Years YouTube PlaylistBring On the Discourse ��� Yochai GalEN World forums.rpg.net Mastodon ��� dice.camp Mastodon ��� chirp.enworld.org Mastodon ��� mastodon.social Bluesky My Blueskky Starter PackTTRPG Blogs RPG Blogroll ttrpg.network Top Rated RPG Podcasts Patreon Questions and Answers

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

Can I Submit Your Book to Adobe's AI Tool?

Last week I also posted a YouTube video on Blood Magic ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 10.

RPG Tips

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

Call on individual characters during online games. Clarify options and ask for decisions from each player. Assign a ���caller��� who gets consensus from the group. Assign roles to players including scribe (game notes), cartographer (mapping), quartermaster (loot tracking), and caller (choice consensus). Ensure each scene has choices and options for the characters��� to take. Have characters describe their new features to the group on leveling up. Keep narrative descriptions brief and focus quickly on the options in front of the characters. Related Articles2024 RPG Gift GuideWhat Is 5e?My Favorite TTRPG Products of 2023Get More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Notable Sections of the 2024 D&D Dungeon Master's Guide

A while back I wrote about Gems of the DMG in which I captured what I thought were the most notable sections of a book typically ignored or vilified among 5e D&D DMs. I think it's an underrated book but it's certainly a flawed book.

Now, with the new 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide in hand, we can look for similar notable sections of this book.

I have good news. The 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide is well organized and does a great job introducing new dungeon masters to the craft of running D&D games. That was its primary goal and I think it meets this goal.

But how much do we want to use the 2024 DMG at the table? How often will we refer back to it? What parts of the book should DMs, new and old, keep in mind to help us prepare and run our games?

Let's dig in.

First, a DM's Trick

Before we go in, I have a trick I really love. Use little adhesive tabs to mark your favorite and most-used sections so you can reference them easily at the table. Tabs run a couple of bucks at a drug store and make all your books far more table usable. Work from back-to-front, putting tabs along the edge opposite of the spine starting low and working up. This way, by the end, you have neatly organized tabs running from the top to the bottom. If you don't get anything else from this article ��� tab your books!

Notable Sections of the 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide

Ok, let's have a look at the 2024 DMG sections we're most likely to reference.

Dungeons �����Page 65. A nice big list of dungeon quirks that can help fire up your imagination for the dungeons you want to prepare for your game. I wish there were more dungeon-focused tables, frankly. I feel like the 2024 DMG is missing tables to help inspire DMs to build out lots of different kinds of dungeons.

Running Mobs ��� Page 82. This section includes good information for running a large number of monsters. It has a cool table telling you how many monsters in a group succeed on a given attack roll or saving throw target number. This section also includes a table to determine how many targets are likely in an area when running theater of the mind style battles which I appreciate. It's only missing a way to handle hit points for lots of monsters other than letting low HP enemies just die. I use my own idea for pooling damage when running a lot of monsters. We offer other ways to handle lots of monsters in the Lazy DM's Companion and Forge of Foes that I think work better but this section works fine.

Common Names ��� Page 85. Everyone needs a good list of names and here they are in the DMG. Bookmark this page.

Poisons �����Page 90. Poisons can be used in lots of different ways in your game. Heroes can acquire them. Bad guys can use them against your heroes. Traps can be poisoned with exotic poisons. It's a good section to remember.

Settlements �����Page 93. These two pages offer lots of tables to help you build out settlements. I always love a good tavern name generator.

Supernatural Gifts ��� Page 98. It's easy to focus on tangible magic items but cool supernatural gifts and charms are a great way for the characters to be blessed by monuments or the will of the gods. Some effects permanent while others are temporary so they offer some good flexibility.

Traps ��� Page 100. These four pages of traps give you good models you can reskin into hundreds of different tailored traps for the lairs into which our heroes adventure. It includes specific traps with ranges for different levels and a trap-building table to build your own traps.

Adventure Situations ��� Page 107. Four tables offer ten to twenty different adventure situations for the four tiers of play. These tables are great when you need a quick sidequest or adventure idea and help us understand the types of adventures appropriate for characters at different levels.

Common Map Symbols �����Page 109. Get out your Pathfinder Flip Mat or Chessex Battle Map and practice these simple and common map symbols to help you draw out awesome maps for your game. I wish they had included more of Chris Perkins's Map Fu article here.

Adventure Hooks ��� Page 111. Good tables describing the way characters can learn of the adventures they might undertake. These hooks are also good ways to reveal secrets and clues when needed.

XP Budget Per Character. This table to help you build and understand the threats of combat encounters is much improved over the convoluted two-dial system in the 2014 DMG. I would have preferred a system based on challenge rating that you can keep in your head instead of an experience-based table you must continually refer to and do a bunch of math with. Luckily, I offer such a CR-based encounter building system.

Monster Behaviors����� Page 116. Good tables for monster hostility, personality, and relationships to shake up your random encounters. Too bad there aren't any random encounter tables in the book. Another big miss if you ask me.

Random Treasure Hoard �����Page 121. An excellent and simple table built for session-based treasure hoards. Nothing fancy here and no tables to break out hoards into gold, bars, gems, jewelry and the like but enough to tell you how much gold you expect so you can break it out yourself. I love the simplicity.

Planar Adventure Situations�������Page 179. I love these fantastic adventure hooks. While we often think of planar adventures as high-level adventures, some of these situations can work at mid-levels too.

Tour of the Multiverse �����Page 180. The multiverse section of the 2024 DMG is about 30 pages long and this, along with the Greyhawk section on page 143, is where you can really dive into the lore of D&D. It's common to think you only care about this stuff when the characters are plane-hopping but this sort of lore can flavor dungeons and monsters at any level of play. It's worth the time to read through this whole section to fill your head with awesome D&D lore you can spout out during your games in all sorts of ways. Don't skip it.

Magic Item Special Features�������Page 222. The 2014 DMG had this table too and I used it all the time. The creator and history tables are fantastic for any magic item. Who made the item? What is special about it? You can use these tables to flavor single-use magic items, trinkets, permanent magic items, and all sorts of other things. These tables are super-valuable. Keep them bookmarked.

Random Magic Items ��� Page 326. These tables are common in any good gamemaster's guide but always worth mentioning. Mixing up random magic items along with items tailored for the characters is the easiest and best way I've found to make players happy and make your game exciting. These tables break things up well and are easy to roll on to find interesting items for your characters. I wish they didn't mix consumable items and permanent items together. Sometimes I want to offer one without the other.

Maps ��� Page 365. I love Dyson maps for many reasons and I'm extremely happy to see a good pile of them at the end of the DMG. There are fifteen maps in here covering a wide range of common locations you find in D&D. These maps are fantastic for improvising adventure locations when time is tight. They include:

Multi-level CryptSmall campsiteSmall villageRuined temple / Dragon's LairDungeon hideoutFarmsteadKeepManorMineRoadside innShipSpooky houseUnderdark warrenVolcanic cavesWizards towerA Useful Book to Have At Your Side

Often the trickiest part of using the Dungeon Master's Guide is knowing what's inside. When you have the time, maybe once or twice a year, go through it and remind yourself what you have. Mark it with adhesive tabs so you can easily reference useful bits while you prep and run your games.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

I was at the Philadelphia Area Gaming Expo the previous weekend so I didn't have any YouTube videos or podcasts this week.

RPG Tips

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

Give players a way to hack the dungeon such as secret passages, puzzle bypasses, and ways to get the jump on bad guys.Set up a goal and a situation and let the story unfold during the game. Avoid a series of hard combat encounters in a row. Improvise combat encounters by what makes sense in the story and then what is the most fun for the game. Tell the story of a location through the discoveries in each chamber. Layer histories in your dungeons. What was it before? What is it now?Modify dungeons as you play should they overstay their welcome. Cut off hallways. Collapse chambers. Move things around. Related ArticlesGems of the D&D Dungeon Master's GuideAward Treasure and Magic Items in 5eRandom Tables of the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Dungeon Master's GuideGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Rolling Lots of D20s? Assume One Quarter Succeeds

When you need to adjudicate a whole bunch of checks — say rolling two dozen saving throws for a bunch of skeletons hit with Turn Undead — simplify the situation by assuming one quarter succeeds.

This quick rule-of-thumb is part of the Running Hordes section of the Lazy DM's Companion but it's a good tool to keep in our toolbox for lots of situations. Sometimes you need to roll a bunch of attack rolls against a single character. Sometimes you need to roll a big pile of ability checks. Sometimes you need a big group to make a bunch of saving throws.

Assume one quarter succeeds.

You can slide this scale up or down depending on the situation. If the creatures making the checks have advantage, assume half succeeds. If they're at disadvantage, assume it's one on ten. This calculation also works if the target number the roller would have to shoot for is particularly high or low. Keep the math easy.

If you want to add some variance, subtract three from the number of successes and add 1d6. This change shakes things up and shows players that there's some variance to the result instead of what feels like an arbitrary number.

This "one quarter succeeds" guideline is based on the idea that the creatures making the check need to roll a 16 or better to succeed. It assumes these creatures are generally weaker than the character they're attacking or the spell they're saving against. It's a skeleton (+4 to hit) versus an armored paladin (AC 20). Many times this guideline is in the favor of the characters (and the players) which makes it easier to accept.

Assuming one quarter succeeds lets you abstract lots of dice rolling and get back into the fiction and action in the world. Instead of rolling two dozen saving throws you get to say:

"Eighteen of the twenty four skeletons surrounding you are destroyed as your waves of radiant light turn them to dust! The remaining six claw forward and attack!"

If you're looking for more tricks for running hordes of monsters against the characters, check out Running Hordes: The Lazy Way to Run Lots of D&D Monsters.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

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.

Last Week's Lazy RPG Talk Show Topics

Here are last week's topics with time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Monster Vault 2 by Kobold PressCrit Happens iOS Dice RollerFree5eSly Flourish Newsletter Adventure Generator and One-Page 5e2025 Monster Manual VideosWhat Do I Want From WOTC After the Monster Manual?When and How to Fudge Your GameTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Monster Vault 2 Kickstarter by Kobold PressCrit Happens iOS Dice RollerFree5e KickstarterPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Monster Dials for Non-5e GamesAlternative Initiative Options

Last week I also posted a couple of YouTube videos on Distance, Reaction, and Activity Rolls for Random Encounters and The Puzzle box ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 9.

RPG Tips

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

Choose monsters that fit the story and environment. Wrap them in historical lore.Swarm characters with lots of one- or two-hit low CR monsters. Let players enjoy their big area blasts.Include big brutes in battles who are intended to be banished or controlled.Give magic weapons or suits of armor a cool name, theme, history, and daily-use spell effect.Let mechanists and artificers understand how magical artifacts and arcane machines operate.Roll on behalf of characters attempting to detect traps so they don't know if they failed or if there was never a trap to begin with.Include several ways for characters to traverse a dungeon �����vertical chutes, deep cracks, collapsed elevators, and so on.Related ArticlesFree Dice RollerLet Characters Automatically Succeed SometimesLazy Monster Damage ��� Subtract 3, Add 1d6Get More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Let Characters Automatically Succeed Sometimes

My friend and Forge of Foes partner, Scott Fitzgerald Gray, wrote a great post called Embracing the Awesome (subscribe to his newsletter here!) extolling the virtues of letting characters automatically succeed at ability checks more often than we typically do.

Letting characters auto-succeed sometimes is a useful way to keep the pace of your game moving forward and showcase the characters' role in the world. When should you let your characters auto-succeed at a check?

When it makes sense that they could just do it.When failure isn't an option or a failure is boring.When the task isn't very difficult.When doing so spotlights the characters' proficiency in the task.

Certain character capabilities make them more likely to auto-succeed on some tasks. These capabilities include a character's

background.class.subclass.species, ancestry, or race.skill proficiencies or specializations.tool proficiencies.religion.family or regional background.ability bonus.feats.spells.

Focusing on these character features means we can spotlight individual characters and what they're good at.

"You Succeed but Roll Anyway"

Sometimes one or more of the characters are going to succeed on a task but we want to know how well they succeed. Those trained in history may know most of what they need about the gods of the underworld but those who roll significantly higher than the difficulty class (DC).

We often treat the d20 roll on a DC check as a binary pass or failure but there's no reason we can't think of it as an analog gradient. The higher the result, the more the characters learn or the better they succeed. The lower the roll, the more clumsy it is even if they succeed anyway.

Move Things Forward and Spotlight Characters

A friend of mine once described a game in which the GM had them rolling checks to put on every article of clothing before making it to the briefing for the actual adventure. All the characters came with a hodgepodge of shirts, pants, underwear, and one sock. Putting on one's pants does not a hero make.

Have characters automatically succeed on some checks. It helps you move the game forward when failure isn't interesting and spotlights characters and their unique roles in the world. Such powerful tools are the perfect addition to the lazy dungeon master's toolbox.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Twelve Types of Medieval Artwork for your fantasy RPGs and Unending Thirst Part 2 ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 8.

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 time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Most Anticipated RPGs of 2025Two Year Anniversary of the OGL FiascoTalk Show Database with 2,000 TopicsImprovisation and the Eight StepsTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Most Anticipated RPGS of 2025OGL Article by Lin Codega on 5 January 2023The Story Behind WOTC's Blurring of D&D 2024 Videos ��� Lazy RPG Talk ShowLightning Rods ��� Showcase Powerful Character AbilitiesPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Lightning Rods for Control WizardsRunning for a Mix of Online and Offline PlayersHomebrewing Character BuffsRPG Tips

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

Break up long sequences of narration with clear opportunities for player-driven decisions. Call for ability checks to keep things moving. Let characters break out of debilitating effects by taking damage. Know the purpose of an NPCs appearance. Why are they in the scene?Review your prep notes right before your game. Break up a long series of roleplay scenes with exploration or combat.Offer multiple vertical connections between the levels of a big dungeon ��� sinkholes, collapsed floors, waterfalls, and, of course, staircases. Related ArticlesHow to Choose DCs for Your 5e GameSteal Character Archetypes from a Single ShowAsk Players to Describe New Character AbilitiesGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Steal Character Archetypes from a Single Show

There are lots of ways to build NPCs in your fantasy RPGs. In Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master I suggest building NPCs by finding an existing character archetype from your favorite source of fiction ��� books, TV shows, movies, comics, and so on.

Picking characters from existing fiction is a shortcut for filling out NPCs fast with physical traits, mannerisms, attitudes, accents, motivations, and more. Instead of either selecting or rolling randomly for all these traits, you can grab a character from a book, movie, or TV show you like and get all of them at once.

It's easy to get lost in this idea, though. Which characters should you choose? Do you keep a database of a thousand possible characters? That doesn't sound very lazy to me.

So here's an even lazier trick. Keep a set of characters from a single show handy. Pick a show you like ��� one with interesting enough characters that you have a bunch to pick from. Go to the show's Wikipedia page, IMDB page, or some other site with a list of characters. Print them out or copy them into your prep notes. Look them over when you need a character archetype for an NPC and you're off to the races. You don't need a lot. Seven to twelve should be fine.

I binge-watched the Expanse recently and it has a great set of characters to choose from.

Here's a list of the characters from Expanse, some of which I've already tied to NPCs in my City of Arches campaign. The others are available for me to use later.

Joe Miller ��� Belter detective on Ceres. James Holden ��� Captain of the Rocinante (COA ��� Garland Willowmane, head of the Archkeepers).Alex Kamal ��� Martian pilot of the Rocinante.Naomi Nagata ��� Belter engineer of the Rocinante.Amos Burton ��� Earther mechanic of the Rocinante.Chrisjen Avasarala ��� UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration (COA ��� Roselyn Zeche, spymaster of the queen).Bobbie Draper ��� Martian Marine Corps gunnery sergeant (COA �����Joslyn Halfcloak ��� Second of the Golden Knights).Camina Drummer ��� Tycho Station's Belter head of security, later the leader of the rebel faction opposing the Free Navy. Fred Lucius Johnson ��� UNN colonel-turned-leader of the OPA on Tycho Station (COA ��� Lord Bianca Swifthand, leader of the Golden Knights).Anderson Dawes ��� OPA's Ceres liaison (COA ��� Adel Rosethorn, fence of the Black Hand).��� Diogo Harari ��� Young Belter from Ceres in the OPA.Other Example Shows

Here's a list of shows with some great characters. Again, you only need a list of characters from one show but this list can give you some ideas for shows to choose.

Breaking BadDeadwoodDownton AbbeyThe MandalorianMr. RobotPeaky BlindersSons of AnarchyThe WireTwin PeaksAdd Your Own Ancestries and Genders

Shake up your character archetypes by changing genders, applying different fantasy ancestries, and tailoring the characters to suit the job you need them to do. Given how often we improvise NPCs, you'd be surprised how little you need to change to run one at the table.

Fictional archetypes are a fantastic short-hand for building rich NPCs in just a couple of minutes. Now, with a single show's cast of characters in hand, you're ready to roll.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Tracking Character Info ��� Lazy DM Tip and Pit of Unending Thirst ��� Dragon Empire Prep Session 7.

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 time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Goodman Games DCC Bundle of HoldingHumblewood and Heckna Pay What You Want Whitesparrow and the Night Blades in the CCGoodman Games 5e System - Advanced AdvantageMonster OverhaulThoughts on Foundry3-2-1 Quest ModelTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Goodman Games DCC Adventure Bundle of HoldingHumblewood Campaign Setting Pay What You WantHeckna Campaign Adventure Pay What You WantWhitesparrow and Night Blades in the Creative CommonsMonster OverhaulMobile Improvements for FoundryPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Dealing with the Strain of GMingBalancing Types of SecretsWhich Books Do You Take With You?RPG Tips

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

Keep your prep, your tools, and your game simple. Let it get complicated as the story evolves with your players. List and refine your most useful tools for prep and play. Ask for out of game feedback every few games. What do people like? What do they want to see more of?Trouble sleeping? Put yourself in your game���s world. What do you see? How is the world evolving?Who are your three main antagonists? What do they want? What three steps are they taking to get there?Draw mini-maps to show the characters��� progression through a dungeon. Use a small fishing tackle box to hold minis, tokens, coins, markers, sticky tack, index cards, and other small things you use during your game.Related ArticlesFocus Extra Prep Time on the CharactersTwenty Things to Do Instead of Checking Social MediaWhat Does Your Room Look Like?Get More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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

Free Dice Roller

A while back, as part of Wizards of the Coast's great hurling of D&D into a digital future, WOTC removed access to a long hosted and simple dice roller ��� along with everything else on the original D&D website.

Lamenting its loss with a friend, I decided to whip up a new simple dice roller that you can run online or download and run locally.

You can find it at:

https://slyflourish.com/dice/

Bookmark it and download it so you always have a copy.

I released this dice roller under a CC0 license so you can host it on your own website, share it with friends, build apps, engage in a dice-rolling interpretive dance, or do anything else you can think of with it. You can find or fork the sourcecode on Github.

This dice roller is intended to be simple ��� no fancy 3d dice bouncing around the screen, no crazy options for weird roll mixes. You can choose a common die, roll one or several of them, add modifiers if you want, or roll a die with a weird number of sides if you're into Dungeon Crawl Classics.

If you're on an iPhone and want to use it offline (say you're at a big convention with terrible internet connectivity), you can download it to your Files app, unzip it, and "share" it with Microsoft's iOS Edge browser. I don't know why it won't open in Safari locally, but Edge seems to work.

You can also go to https://slyflourish.com/dice/ and "add to reading list". If you have the "Automatically Save Offline" option on in your Safari settings, it'll save a local copy in your reading list so you can use it offline. By downloading the html version yourself, you'll always have a copy.

I'm giving this dice roller away completely, no attribution required, but if you dig what I do and want to see more tools like this one, check out my Patreon which has cool tools like

the 5e Artisanal Monster Database with over 2,400 5e monster stat blocks.the Forge of Foes monster stat tool.the Dyson royalty-free map gallery.the Lazy GM random generator.the Lazy RPG Talk show topic database.the Sly Flourish Patreon Q&A database.

All these tools include downloadable versions so you can keep your copy forever.

Thank you and happy holidays!

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on the 2024 TTRPG Year in Review.

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 time stamped links to the YouTube video.

Cities Without Number Bundle of Holding (ended 24 December 2024)Shadowrun Bundle of HoldingJoin the Arcane Library Newsletter for Two Free AdventuresGM Resources in Markdown for ObsidianUse the Obsidian Web Clipper to Save Web PagesFree Dice Roller Web AppNotable Sections of the 2024 D&D Dungeon Master's GuideTalk Show Links

Here are links to the sites I referenced during the talk show.

Shadowrun 4e Bundle of HoldingArcane LibraryLazy GM Tools in Markdown on GithubObsidian Web ClipperFree Dice RollerLazy Encounter BenchmarkRunning HordesPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Pondering Conclusions for Sandbox GamesUsing a Big Monitor on a Gaming TableAdvice for Bridge and Travel SessionsRPG Tips

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

You don���t need to spell out every detail in a room. Let your players��� imaginations fill in the blanks. Huge wheels, running water, and heat can power ancient machines for millennia. Use adhesive tabs to mark important pages in your GM books you use at the table. There���s no such thing as ���official���. No single company holds a monopoly on good game design. Build your own game for your table from many sources. Get used to averaging damage ��� for every two dice you subtract from a big pool of dice, add the max of one of those dice plus one to the static value. 8d8 becomes 36. Add variance to static damage by subtracting 3 and adding 1d6. Keep a good list of random names on hand. Write them down when you tie them to an NPC. These lists are one of the simplest examples of ���preparing to improvise���. Related ArticlesLazy Monster Damage ��� Subtract 3, Add 1d6Use Physical Tools for Online GamesThe Simplest Way to Annotate a MapGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books City of Arches Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master Lazy DM's Companion Lazy DM's Workbook Forge of Foes Fantastic Lairs Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Adventures Fantastic Locations

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