Michael E. Shea's Blog, page 6

The Simplest Way to Annotate a Map

Find a map that fits the location you need for your game. Print it out. Write evocative location names on the map with a pen.

I haven't found a method for annotating maps easier than that. Even if you use digital tools, printing the map, writing names on it, taking a picture with your phone, and adding it back into your digital notes is still faster than any other digital annotation tools I've used.

5,000 Year Old Technology

Pencil and paper are often faster and simpler tools for prepping our game than digital tools. I've used Obsidian and Notion for RPG prep, but I still enjoy the days where I write my strong start, scenes, secrets and clues, and the rest longhand. There's something simple, direct, and pure about prepping with pen and paper. No distractions. No funky interface to get used to. Just the 5,000 year old technology of putting our thoughts and imagination down on a medium that can last a thousand years.

Simple Maps

I love Dyson Logos for simple, well-designed maps that fit all sorts of different situations. I've written about my love of Dyson maps before. They're easy to print, easy to write on, and easy to copy onto a battle mat using his key. They work well digitally and physically.

Evocative Names ��� Just For Us

Sometimes we GMs prep like they're prepping for someone else. We write out read-aloud text, develop large random tables, and add details to notes as though we're going to hand our prep over to another GM to run.

Our notes are just for us and they serve one purpose ��� to help us run our next game. Our notes aren't for anyone else. They're just for us. They don't need to be complete and they don't need to be pretty.

When we annotate our map, we don't need to fill in lots of details. Often a single evocative name for each chamber does the trick. Here are some examples:

Shrine of Heretical AtenWell of WorldsHowling sinkholeSinister armoryMoss-covered mosaicsCrumbling statuesProfane dias and altarFiery dragon skullsCracked stone bridgeDelicate laboratory

These one to three word descriptions, when we write them ourselves, gives us enough of a reminder to fill in further details when it comes to running those rooms. We don't need paragraphs of text for each room ��� many of them the characters never see.

Our notes are just for us. Our annotations are just for us. We don't need a lot written down to remember what we had in mind or to riff off of should the characters go into a chamber we didn't expect.

Keep Things Simple

Focus on tools that help you run your game ��� the ones that help you improvise during the game. The more complicated your stack of tools, the harder it is to find the right tool the moment you need it. Often these tools are the oldest ones in existence ��� a sheet of paper, a pencil, and some dice.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Organizing and Searching RPG PDFs on a Mac and Mugdulblub ��� Shadowdark Gloaming Session 44 Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Sly Flourish After-School RPG Club SponsorshipFree Kobold Press Encounter BuilderDread Thingonomicon Bundle of Holding for $8Goodman Games Humble BundleGrim Hollow Transformed Kickstarter Ars Magica in a Creative Commons LicenseTwo Bandits Talking About the CharactersPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Single Best Tip for New GMsWhat If Characters Don't Strike Lighting Rods?D&D 2024 Tool DCs and DM AgencyCan You Mix TOV, A5e, D&D 2024, and D&D 2014?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 each improvised monster an interesting trait to define its story in mechanics.At 7th level, don't expect any single monster to bring a significant challenge unless it has legendary resistance.Prepare one major scene for every 45 minutes of gameplay.Show characters the breadth of cultures from the humanoid creatures they meet.Keep a list of names of previous NPCs you can quickly reference when an old NPC comes back into the spotlight.Let players level up characters together and discuss the new abilities they're considering.Build historical layers to your dungeons. What is it now? What did it used to be? And what was it before that?Related ArticlesUse Dyson's MapsTips for Paper Character SheetsPrepping a DungeonGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Ten Types of Stonework Decorations

As characters explore dungeons deep and ancient ruins, they often come across decorations from times past. Such decorations serve as excellent vehicles for secrets and clues, single-sentence pieces of history or lore revealed through play.

Here are ten types of stonework decorations to keep on hand to improvise the revelation of such secrets and clues.

Relief . The projection of an image in which the stonework around the image is carved back, leaving the image protruding forward. Includes low (bas), high, and sunken. Such reliefs might reveal lost histories or forgotten knowledge. Frieze . A long horizontal stretch of painted or sculpted decoration at the upper edge of a wall, room, or object like a sarcophagus. These decorations might not be noticed at first glance but a perceptive character might pick up interesting clues with their keen eye. Mural . A piece of graphic artwork painted directly on a wall or ceiling. Murals can depict great wars, images of gods, or rulers of old. Murals might peel away revealing layers of such works. Fresco . A vivid painting applied directly to freshly laid plaster. The plaster might break away showing carvings on the wall underneath. Mosaic . A pattern or image created from inlaying small pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic. Such pieces of glass might contain magical lights or other embedded spells. Runic carvings . Writing of language or ideographs carved into rock slabs or tombstones. A knowlege of history might uncover their meaning. Encaustic painting . Using heated wax to apply pigments to a surface, often wood or canvas. The wax might be melted away to reveal something underneath. Gilded Engravings . Applying a thin coating of gold over another surface, sometimes inlaid within a carving. Such engravings might conduct electricity or activate a trap when pulled away. Marouflage . Applying a painted canvas to a wall with an adhesive such as plaster or cement. Such decorations might hide a secret door behind the canvas. Sgraffito . Scratching through the surface of one pigment to reveal the pigment underneath. Scratching away further might reveal a mural painted underneath �����like a giant scratch-off ticket.

Keep these sart styles in mind to add richness and detail to the characters' discoveries in the depths of the dark.

These decorations have been added to the Lazy GM's Reference Document in the "Core Adventure Generators" section released under a Creative Commons Attribution license.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Finding Players and Building a Resilient RPG Group and Dragon Empire Campaign Building Part 2 ��� Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Enter the Labyrinth by Kobold PressDragontown and the Darkness BelowHorizons Magazine by Wildmage PressBeadle and Grimm 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide Map Pack2024 Player's Handbook is D&D's Fastest Selling Book EverYou Don't Own Your D&D Beyond BooksHidden Subclass Compatibility in D&D 2024The Current State of Generative AI and TTRPGsPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Industry Standards for Releasing RPG Material Under Open LicensesComing Up with Villains or Fronts in Strange Campaign SettingsExcluding a Player from a GameRPG 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:

Mix easy encounters with hard encounters. Don���t always push PCs to the limit. You don���t always have to call for an ability check. Sometimes characters just do it. Add shortcuts to your dungeons so characters have an easy way to enter and exit big multi-level dungeons. Visions or remnant illusions can show moments of history long forgotten. Know your wall decorations: mosaics, frescos, reliefs, friezes, murals, tapestries, engravings, marouflage, and encaustic paintings. Use waves of combatants to shake up challenging fights. Tag improvised monsters with keywords that remind you of unique abilities like ���life drain��� or ���necrotic blast��� or ���cunning action��� or ���pack tactics��� or ���reposte���.Related ArticlesRe-Using Secrets and CluesBathe Your World in LoreBuild from the Characters OutwardsGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

The Best LLM for Generating RPG Stuff ��� Your Brain

Your brain, fueled by books and augmented with simple tools, is your best resource for preparing and running awesome tabletop roleplaying games.

Many GMs and players say they find a lot of value out of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and other generative AI tools like Midjourney or Dall-E. Who am I to tell them they���re not finding them as useful as they say they are?

But there's a high cost for generative AI.

They're built on people���s intellectual property without their permission and without compensation.They use tons of power and water.They displace workers with shitty AI alternatives.They fill the internet with slop.

With this in mind, we can ask ourselves two questions:

Is generative AI really helping you more than other tools and techniques you have available?Is generative AI worth the cost to the world to use it?

Your answers to these questions may be "yes". That's up to each of us to decide and I'm not here to judge. I find LLMs useful for small coding projects but they don't help me with RPGs. They offer the illusion of help, but my best RPG work is the work I do myself.

The Current State of Generative AI in TTRPGs

Creators, companies, and hobbyists of tabletop roleplaying games find themselves on both sides of the generative AI value discussion.

Chris Cocks, CEO of Hasbro (the parent company in charge of D&D) is super excited for AI in D&D, saying:

I play with probably 30 or 40 people regularly. There���s not a single person who doesn���t use AI somehow for either campaign development or character development or story ideas. That���s a clear signal that we need to be embracing it.

On the other side, Wolfgang Baur of Kobold Press issued the No-AI Pledge:

We don���t use generative AI art, we don���t use AI to generate text for our game design, and we don���t believe that AI is magical pixie dust that makes your tabletop games better.

Among 3,700 players and GMs I surveyed, about 3 in 10 use generative AI when preparing for or playing RPGs. There���s a lot of divisiveness between these groups:

It helps me immensely. I���m the type that���ll stare blankly at a screen for hours before being able to write a single word, so having AI to get things started has helped me in everything.

No, and I never will. Never use plagiarism software.

Your Best Large Language Model ��� Your Brain

You already possess the most powerful computer in known existence ��� available any time to help you generate awesome ideas for your tabletop roleplaying game. Instead of nuclear power, it runs on meat and plants and other garbage like a Mr. Fusion in Back to the Future. It has no monthly fee. It���s not killing creative jobs, stealing the work of millions, literally boiling the ocean, or filling the internet with crap.

Your best RPG tool sits right behind your eyes.

It���s easy to get caught up in the ���magic��� of large language models but, in my experience, they���re not great for generating game content when compared to reading books and using your imagination.

Our brains ��� fed with great source material and simple tools like random tables ��� give us tons of ideas to fuel our games like they have for over 50 years.

GM Brain Tricks

We don���t need a data center the size of Ohio to think about our games. Here are some fun brain tricks to help you prepare and run awesome games.

Read sourcebooks. Highlight them. Reference things from other books. Take notes. Connect the dots. Enjoy the experience of diving into lore written by other human beings.Think about your characters. Think about your villains. Write down secrets and clues connecting them to the world. Write some flash fiction to show your players where the villains are going and what plans they may be making.Think up lists of ten things ��� NPCs, locations, monsters, quests, factions, secrets and clues, or anything else you need for your game.Grab a Dyson map and fill out rooms with interesting features for your next adventure location.Mash together random tables. Roll on multiple tables and combine the results into more meaningful random encounters.Build your own faction tables for your campaign. Combine them with items, NPCs, quests, or locations for results customized around your campaign. See my Forgotten Realms factions and my Eberron factions for examples.

Find more brain tricks in these articles:

Creative Mind Exercises for D&DBreak Conventional Thought with Random TablesPlay D&D AnywhereDevelop Your DM Brain AtticGet Ideas for your RPGsGood Books of Random TablesRandom Creativity in D&DOther Fantastic Non-Generative-AI Tools

Here are other fantastic resources to help you shake up your brain, come up with awesome ideas, and run great games for your friends.

The Lazy GM���s Resource Document . A free creative-commons-released document including tons of random tables from the Lazy DM���s Workbook and Lazy DM���s Companion. Remix these lists to your heart���s content. Perchance . An online tool to build your own random generators. The Lazy GM���s Random Generator, a Patreon exclusive feature, is built using Perchance. Dyson Maps . Fantastic reskinnable maps. Pick one, jot down short room descriptions, and let your mind fill in the blanks. Donjon.bin.sh . A fantastic and venerable random generator for all sorts of fantasy RPGs with a lot for D&D and 5e. Stock art on DriveThruRPG . Great art by real artists with reasonable licenses at reasonable prices. If you���re looking for character or NPC portraits for your game, check out Inkwell Ideas���s Portrait Decks available in print and PDF. Dread Thingonomicon . A huge book of random tables by Raging Swan for all sorts of fantasy situations.Give Yourself Time and Space

In our always-on world, we seem to be in a constant state of FOMO. Whatever we���re doing now, there are a thousand other things we could be doing instead. Go for a walk. Do some structured daydreaming. Get away from your phone and computer for an hour. Grab physical books. Roll on random tables. Write your notes longhand. Pretend to be Gandalf in the old library of Minas Tirith blowing dust off old tomes to find ancient secrets.

You don���t need a large language model to read books for you and spit out half-truths and nonsense. Dive in yourself, cross-reference things, jot down thoughts, and come up with awesome ideas yourself for the game you���re going to run with your friends.

You are your best large language model.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on Leaving Blanks and Return to Bittermold Keep ��� Shadowdark Gloaming Session 43 Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Pirate BorgRun I6 Ravenloft with Shadowdark on HalloweenFree D&D 2024 Rules with All Twelve ClassesD&D Adventurer's League Moves to D&D 2024D&D 2024 PHB Available Physically and on Four VTTsD&D 2024's Handling of Tools and DCsTwo Words for Increasing Combat ChallengePatreon Questions and Answers

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

What's My Next Campaign?Upward and Downward Beats in a CampaignWhy Switch to Obsidian?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 seeds of clues even on low ability checks. Use static initiative to better time and pace battles. 5 for slow, 10 for medium, and 15 for fast creatures. Spread out combatants and clarify the distances if trying to avoid all the baddies getting nuked at once. If a spell you���re not familiar with sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Start your prep with a map of a cool location. Print it out. Jot down two word room descriptions. Put your strong start, secrets, NPCs, monsters, and treasure on the back. A single sheet of paper is likely all you need for your prep notes. Give monsters one cool trait to make them unique. Related ArticlesGetting Ideas for your RPGsGood Books of Random TablesAward Treasure and Magic Items in 5eGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Running I6 Ravenloft with Shadowdark RPG

Each year I like to run Castle Ravenloft, either through the original I6 Ravenloft adventure from 1983 or the updated Castle Ravenloft from Curse of Strahd. While I've typically run Ravenloft using 5e, in 2023 I ran it with the excellent "old school feel, modern sensibilities" Shadowdark RPG.

It was a perfect fit.

Shadowdark captures the feeling of dread and horror in Castle Ravenloft better than I've ever seen it. Shadowdark's rules almost perfectly match the mechanics and feeling of 1st edition D&D with a focus on darkness and lighting, flat math, high randomness, and a system of grim horror lurking just inside the surrounding shadows.

Patrons of Sly Flourish get access to a Shadowdark Ravenloft Lazy GM kit including

a one-page handout for players.ten pregen characters.a GM reference sheet to keep track of your card draws, character info, and quick monster conversion stats.printable i6 Ravenloft handouts.

Patrons can find the Shadowdark Ravenloft Lazy GM kit on your Sly Flourish Patreon rewards page under "Adventures".

Experiences from the Shadows of Ravenloft

Here are some primary observations from running Ravenloft with Shadowdark.

I used 5th level pregen characters from Shadowdarklings. They worked perfectly. The characters had enough resources to survive the night but just barely.I generated 10 pregens for five players. We used every one of them. We had a lot of deaths. New characters would pop in as lost adventurers in the castle as needed. I'd recommend not bringing in new characters in the final battle with Strahd. It's fine to bring in new characters everywhere else when they die.The characters definitely want to acquire magic items or use spells to make their weapons magical. Many creatures, including Strahd and other vampires, are immune to non-magical weapons. You might be kind and toss a couple of silvered weapons their way either in the beginning or during the game.I used my abbreviated Ravenloft adventure built for a single session. More on this version later.We used old-school mapping. I would draw a loose diagram of rooms and one of the players drew their own map to keep track of where they went and what options they chose. In more than 10 years of running Ravenloft, I'm still running into new rooms I haven't seen before.We got through a lot of chambers in the three hours of exploring the characters did. Shadowdark makes it easy to move quickly.The characters ran from a lot of encounters. That was a good idea given the adventure's lethality and the timing of the adventure.Introducing Players to Shadowdark

Before our session, I sent out a one-page Shadows of Ravenloft guide to help players understand how this game was going to work. It includes the following list to help 5e players understand how Shadowdark RPG differs from 5e.

The core mechanics and abilities of Shadowdark match 5e. Roll a d20, add a modifier, match a DC.Shadowdark embraces randomness. Die rolls carry a lot of weight. Ability scores are generated 3d6 down the line, and are thus much flatter than standard 5e ability scores. There are no skills ��� only ability checks.Characters have far fewer hit points than in 5e but so do monsters. Damage is a flat die roll, no ability modifier, so damage is lower and more swingy.There are no spell slots or cantrips. Casting spells requires a spellcasting ability check. On a failure, you lose the spell. Most of the time, if you succeed on the check, the spell succeeds ��� targets rarely get saving throws.Torches matter, equipment slots matter, and rations matter ��� Shadowdark has a much greater emphasis on the logistics of dungeon delving.Beware the dark! Torches burn in real time, for one hour. When they go out, the horrors lurking in the dark fall upon you.You���re always in turn order. We go through turns and rounds regardless of what the characters are doing. Spend too much time dorking around and wandering monsters fall upon you.The Rules of Halloween Ravenloft

Beyond using Shadowdark for the game, my single-session Castle Ravenloft game runs differently than a normal adventure. Here's a breakdown of how I run it.

The session is scheduled for five hours. This schedule gives us an hour to socialize and get acclimated before the adventure begins.The game begins with the characters in a carriage heading towards Castle Ravenloft. Madame Eva is in the carriage and does the card reading as in i6 Ravenloft.With the reading done, the characters arrive at the castle and in they go.The characters might meet with Strahd. He offers them the chance to escape Ravenloft with their lives and leave Ireena to him. If they take this deal, he laughs at them and says they'll soon get what they deserve (whatever they choose, he's still going to spend the evening hunting them down in his castle).With their meeting complete, Strahd tells them they may explore his castle with what remains of their lives and he will join them in X time. X being whatever time is left for the session minus 45 minutes.I set a timer for that amount of time and the time counts down. When the time runs out, Strahd appears wherever the characters are and starts the killing. This timer is separate from torch timers.The characters spend their time hunting down the relics of Ravenloft before Strahd shows up.Modifying I6 Ravenloft for Shadowdark RPG

I6 Ravenloft needed very little conversion to run with Shadowdark. Shadowdark's flat math and I6 Ravenloft's 1st edition AD&D rules work well together. Many monsters in Ravenloft exist in Shadowdark or are easily reskinned. Strahd zombies, for example, can use the normal zombie stat block but with twice the hit points and twice the attacks. The witches can use the acolyte or cultist stat blocks.

For Strahd himself, I used the standard vampire stat block. He was plenty hard. I didn't bother giving him spells but you can give him some mage or drow priestess spells to fill him out. Snuff is a great ability for him to use.

If you're being generous, you may want to throw in a couple of silver weapons early in the session so characters have a chance of hitting Strahd if they don't find the sunsword or any other magic weapons.

Modifications to the Relics of Ravenloft

The items in Ravenloft work mostly fine as-is except for the Holy Symbol of Ravenkind which is simply too powerful. If the characters have that relic, they can stop Strahd dead in his tracks without any effort.

Instead, consider having it impose disadvantage on Strahd's attacks, stop or break his charm, and prevent the regeneration from his blood drain. The vampire's blood drain is already a really powerful ability. I limited his regen to 2d6 per round instead of per hit or else he would have completely overpowered the characters.

Maps for Online Play

If you're playing online you can find these excellent Ravenloft battle maps on the DM's Guild.

You can use a lasso-style copy and paste utility to grab the part of the map the characters have seen and avoid showing rooms they haven't yet gotten to. With some practice, this technique is a fast way to show off parts of this massive dungeon. Owlbear Rodeo is another great option for a fast and lightweight virtual tabletop. With Owlbear Rodeo and the Ravenloft battle maps, I was able to get all of Ravenloft loaded up and ready to go in less than ten minutes!

A Fantastic Combination

I really loved running the classic Ravenloft with Shadowdark RPG. It was a perfect match for the old-school feeling of the adventure. I highly recommend it.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on The Most Underappreciated Combat Style and Dragon Empire Campaign Building ��� Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Worldographer 2025 by Inkwell IdeasShadow City MysteriesLevel Up Advanced 5e on Bundle of HoldingMCDM's License for Draw SteelShadowdark Guide to Monster Statistics by Matt DietrichFour Sources of D&D HistoryInstant Monsters for 5ePatreon Questions and Answers

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

Handling Back Seat Driving Veteran PlayersRunning the City of Arches with ShadowdarkManaging Secrets with Multiple Paths AheadBuilding Single-Session Episodic AdventuresRPG 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:

Reiterate lines and veils if your game heads towards potentially sensitive areas like body horror or sexual intimacy. Peoples��� feelings may have changed since your session zero. Stay in turn order, even outside of combat so you give everyone enough time in the spotlight.Give players' roles including quartermaster, cartographer, scribe, and caller.Two key pieces of dungeon-crawling structure: what is the marching order of the characters and who's maintaining light?Build a faction list unique for your campaign including gods, factions, historical figures, and campaign icons. Roll on this list to flavor items, monuments, and NPCs.Roll on behalf of characters when their character wouldn't know if they succeeded or not.Offer multiple paths and decisions as often as you can.Related ArticlesRunning Ravenloft / Curse of Strahd in a Single SessionDelving Into ShadowdarkMy Favorite TTRPG Products of 2023Get More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Find Local Players for Tabletop RPGs

Finding and maintaining a great RPG group remains the biggest hurdle for the RPG hobby. It's the topic of memes all over the internet. With all of our technology and interconnectedness, it hasn't gotten significantly better.

But there's hope.

Today we're going to look at best practices for finding local players for your tabletop RPG. For those of you who play online, do not fret. I plan on a similar article for finding great online players. In the meantime you can read my article on Interviewing New D&D Players for Online Games. Online play is a fantastic way to enjoy RPGs but today we're going to focus on finding local players.

Many suggestions here came from some fantastic discussion on this YouTube community thread. I've consolidated the many responses I received when I asked how GMs best find players for local games.

Where to Find Players

Here's a list of common places people found players for local games:

Local game shopsColleagues at workFamily membersThe local libraryLocal meetups and conventionsSchools and universitiesAsking new friendsFacebook groupsMeetup.com (I don't know if this option is still a good one but it used to be)Local Discord servers or Reddit groupsLocal Adventurer's League meetupsLocal bulletin boards (actual physical boards)Local volunteer groupsRun Games

It's much easier to find players than it is to find gamemasters. GMs are still the rare commodity in this hobby, so if you're willing to GM, it's easier to find players. The last time I saw a poll on it, most GMs became GMs because no one else would take the role. So take it and you'll find it easier to find players.

Try One-Shots

When you're first finding people and inviting people to play, consider running single-session or short-run campaigns in public places. This trial run gives all of you an element of safety and helps you ensure you mesh with players before you commit to a regular game or a long-term campaign.

If you have the chance, you might meet up with potential players, either physically in a public place or online, just to see how well you get along before you sit down to a game but the real test will be gaming itself.

Focus On What They Want to Play

You might have a huge stack of different RPGs you want to play but new players don't know you at all yet. They might know what system they're already comfortable with ��� likely D&D. Start with something familiar to them. Run a few sessions. Show them what kind of DM you are and gauge what kinds of players they are. Once you've built some trust, you can talk to them about running other systems if you want or you might find you're enjoying the game you're running.

If you start off trying to bring players in for a lesser-known game system, it may be harder to find people. They don't know you and they might not know the system, so why jump in?

Worth the Effort

Finding a group to play RPGs is worth the effort. RPGs are important. They build stronger connections between us than most forms of entertainment these days. They matter to peoples' lives. It take time and energy and likely involves some false starts and frustrations to put together a great RPG group, but it's worth it in the end.

Be patient, be persistent, and be hopeful that you'll find an awesome group to enjoy your favorite RPG.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on One Night with Level Up Advanced 5e amd Haldrin the Lich ��� Shadowdark Gloaming Session 42 Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Mike Loses a BetD&D 2024 and Free D&D on D&D BeyondRich Lescoulflair Talking Phantasy Star RPG on Morrus's PodcastMatt Coleville on Eldritch Lorecast Talking About Project SigilFree Hex Crawl Rules from Cursed Scroll 4Broken Weave for 5e by Cubicle 7Distance, Activity, and Attitude for Random EncountersPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Rewriting Published Adventures for Table UseBuilding Your Own PantheonUsing the Eight Steps for Published AdventuresRPG 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:

Don���t start your game with a huge hard battle. It might wipe out your players��� energy just as things get started. Give characters multiple paths to research problems and discover answers. Abstract clues from their location and method of discovery. Improvise their discovery during the game. Add meaningful choices to every scene. Drop one interesting encounter in the middle of travel. Roll and mix two random encounters together. Use random encounters to show what passes by before.Related ArticlesFinding and Maintaining a D&D GroupBuilding Stronger Friendships through D&DDescribe your GM StyleGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Monuments of Power

Like the best lazy GM tricks, monuments serve multiple purposes in our fantasy RPGs.

A monument is a physical object sitting in the middle of a room, location, or scene. They draw our players' attention ��� making a location feel real. Monuments can act as vehicles for secrets and clues, markers to remember past locations, and artifacts of power to change up combat encounters.

Today we're going to look at the steps for building out encounter-changing monuments of power.

Step 1: Build a Monument

The best monuments are built from the context of the scene. See Chernbog's Well for an example of an in-world monument with some great environmental effects.

Here's a list of baseline monuments from the Lazy DM's Companion:

SarcophagusObeliskOrbBone pileSkullMegalithPillarsThroneStatuesWellOrreryEffigyArcane circleSpireAltarPitFountainArchwayCageBrazier

Random tables help us shake up ideas for monuments. Often, a monument itself isn't enough so we can tie it to conditions, effects, origins, species, gods, moments of history, and other potential variables. You can find useful tables like these in the Lazy DM's Companion as well. It often helps to build your own custom god, faction, or history tables for your own campaign setting and tie those aspects to a monument.

Step 2: Choose CR and Stats

How powerful is the monument? Use your same encounter benchmarks to determine how difficult a monument might be. You probably don't want a monument of a higher CR than the average level of the characters. It likely shouldn't be the most dangerous thing in the room all on its own. Smaller monuments have lower CRs.

Monuments of power may have different effects on the battle. If monument powers are mostly defensive, they might just make the battle longer. If they're offensive, the difficulty might be much higher and have a greater impact on combat. If they can be turned in favor of the characters, manipulating the monument might shift the battle halfway through.

When you select a CR for the monument, you can choose its AC, DC, and hit points from the Forge of Foes quick monster builder, available in the sample chapter. You also give the monument an attack bonus and damage per round if you need it for the effects it produces.

Monuments are immune to psychic and poison damage and probably all status effects. You might give them resistances, vulnerabilities, or immunities depending on the type of monument as well.

Some characters want to bash monuments in which case they attack its AC and do damage like normal. Others may want to perform ability checks to disrupt or turn a monument. In those cases, its AC can act as a DC.

For example, a CR 5 monument has a AC / DC of 15 and 95 hit points. A successful intelligence (arcana) check might inflict 35 damage. You may want to base the amount of damage the character does with an ability check on the damage it otherwise would do in a round. A 9th level character, for example, can likely inflict 35 damage in a single turn so that makes sense.

You might include multiple smaller monuments instead of one single big one. Reduce their CR appropriately for their number and effects.

Step 3: Choose Effects

Monuments of power radiate powerful encounter-changing effects. Here's a list of twenty potential powers a monument might have.

Offers advantage to particular creatures on attacks and saving throws.Increases damage to particular creature types.Reduces damage taken by particular creature types.Unlocks particular abilities of creatures.Gives access to particular spells they wouldn���t otherwise have.Obscures vision.Prevents or reduces healing.Prevents teleportation.Acts as a vessel for extra spell concentration.Has an ongoing protective spell effect.Offers regeneration.Animates dead minions.Grants temporary hit points to nearby creatures.Grants resistance or immunity to a specific damage type.Gives a +2 bonus to attack rolls to certain creatures.Adds damage to the attacks of certain enemies.Grants the ability to fly.Summons and controls a powerful creature.Offers legendary resistance and shrugging off other debilitating effects.Radiates damage.

Some of these monument effects can protect bosses. Others can throw out damage. You choose what power you want to add to a monument based on the in-world situation and what would be fun for the battle.

You can also tie spell effects to monuments. Here are a few spell effects that work well when tied to a monument:

Globe of invulnerabilityFire shieldSpirit guardiansSpiritual weaponDarknessStone skinProtection from goodGreater invisibilitySilenceAntimagic fieldStep 4: Ensure They're Fun

The line between a fun monument and a tedious monument is thin. The wrong monument with the wrong power can feel like a slog instead of an interesting tactical decision in a big battle. Ensure the monuments you create add to the fun instead of just slowing everything down. In particular, avoid monuments that take away agency. Monuments should add interesting choices to a battle, not take choices away. If a monument is too powerful, the characters have no choice but to go dork with it. But a monument that gives villains an edge creates a choice for the players ��� do they just bash the boss or go disable the monument?

One great trick is to let players reverse a monument instead of destroy it. Looking down the list of potential effects, ask if there's a way the characters can channel it in their favor instead of just destroying it.

Shaking Up Big Battles

Our 5e games remain interesting session after session because every battle is different. The environment changes. The mix of monsters changes. The situation changes. And with monuments in our bag of tricks, we can change them even further. Our bosses become harder. The characters have to move around. Extra variables create battles completely unique from one game to the next.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos on City of Arches ��� Running Summervine Villa and Haldrin's Tower ��� Shadowdark Gloaming Session 41 Lazy GM Prep.

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:

Follow Up on D&D 2014 Material in D&D BeyondLost Worlds of Gygax Humble BundleD&D Direct AnnouncementsKnave 2 by Ben MiltonTwelve Types of Medieval Artwork and Architecture for Dungeon DelvingPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Convincing New Players to Try a New System18 Months Since Other Publishers Published on D&D BeyondUsing City of Arches with TherosEmpire of the Ghouls Out of PrintFavorite Campaign Sourcebook and SettingRPG 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 layers of gods the characters can discover as they explore the world around them. Improvise gods by shifting the names, appearances, genders, and domains of existing gods from fiction or history. Study types of historical artwork and decorations to improvise such features in your game. Lean in on the characters��� cool abilities. Change up encounters so the characters discover two groups already engaged in battle. Mix roleplay, exploration, and combat even in the deepest dungeon. Warn players that they might not have everything they need, should they have to backtrack in a dungeon. Related ArticlesAnatomy of an Environmental Effect �����Chernobog's WellCharacter-Focused Ancient MonumentsLost Monuments of ChultGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Scenes ��� The Catch-all Step of the Lazy Dungeon Master

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The eight steps for game prep from Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master include:

Review the charactersCreate a strong startOutline potential scenesDefine secrets and cluesDevelop fantastic locationsOutline important NPCsChoose relevant monstersSelect magic item rewards

Obviously, with so many different types of games and many different adventure models, these steps are intended to flex and shift as you need them.

One step in particular holds a lot of weight and contains a lot of flexibility: outlining potential scenes.

This step can act as a catch-all for many different things depending on what you need for your session. This includes:

Adventure hooks ��� what draws the characters into this session's adventure?Forks and options �����what paths might be open for the characters in this session?Five scenes ��� What scenes might happen in the game? You probably need about one scene for every 45 minutes of gameplay. Writing down this handful of short scene descriptions is the default use for this step.Potential shifts in the story �����where might the world move to in the short-term if certain things happen?Next steps �����what options do you want to put in front of the players this session to figure out where they're going in the next session?Steps required to accomplish a task ��� what do the characters need to do to accomplish a goal? This works well with the three of five keys idea.

You don't need all of these things for any given session, of course. Sometimes the hooks are already firmly planted. Sometimes there aren't clear forks or there are so many forks (like when exploring a dungeon) that you don't bother to break them out into scenes. Sometimes you know where the characters are going next so you don't need to outline the next steps.

A Flexible Catch-All

Use the "scenes" step to apply whatever glue you need to hold your session together and give you what you need to prepare the next one. There's no fixed format for this step (or really any of the eight steps). Like secrets serving you, this "scenes" step serves you to help you get your hand around the session you're going to run and helps you get what you need to keep your game going in the right direction.

And, of course, you can omit it completely. None of the eight steps are mandatory. Each step is there to help you get your hands around what you need to run an enjoyable session for your friends. If a step doesn't serve that purpose, skip it. If you feel like you already have what you need, toss out anything else.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos including Regions and Biomes of the City of Arches, Let's Build a Character in Shadowdark RPG, and Return to the Gloaming ��� Shadowdark Gloaming Session 40 Lazy GM Prep.

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:

D&D Designers of All Editions Talk About and Play D&DKelsey Dionne of Shadowdark on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop RPG PodcastD&D Beyond Changes, Then Reverses, How They Will Handle 2014 Characters Track the CharactersPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Running Short Games for Large GroupsFavorite D&D 2024 Rule?Running Mastermind and Dark Nemesis Bosses Releasing the Forge of Foes Generic Monster Stats into the CCWhat's In your DM - GM Kit?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:

Bathe dungeons in layers of lore. Give characters a customizable home base. Write down names of NPCs associated with the characters Drop in quick combat encounters in looser exploration and downtime scenes to focus peoples��� attention. What cool magic item reinforces each character���s theme? Take notes and review them during your prep.Think of encounters as situations the characters can navigate instead of purely tactical combat encounters. Write your own quick random lists to bring locations to life. Related ArticlesUsing the Lazy DM's Eight Steps At the TableThe Eight Steps of the Lazy DM �����2023 ReviewChoosing the Right Steps from the Lazy DM ChecklistGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

The Flee Action ��� A 13th Age Rule You Can Use Today

Back the Kickstarter for the City of Arches, my high-fantasy city sourcebook for lazy GMs! Check out the 42 page playable sample and support an awesome new book from Sly Flourish!

13th Age is an awesome fantasy roleplaying game built by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet as their love letter to D&D. There's much to love in this book but today we're going to focus on one feature:

The Flee action.

Fleeing in D&D is a problem. Monsters get you locked down and by the time you know you should flee, two of your characters are down and the others are going to take a mountain of opportunity attacks if they try to run. Players already hate running from a battle, but often by the time they think they need to, they mechanically can't. By the time players realize they need to run, it's already too late.

13th Age has an elegant solution for this dilemma.

The Flee Action

Here's the flee action from the 13th Age SRD (known as the Archmage Engine):

Flee: Fleeing is a party action. On any PC���s turn, any player can propose that all the characters flee the fight. If all players agree, they successfully retreat, carrying any fallen heroes away with them. The party suffers a campaign loss. The point of this rule is to encourage daring attacks and to make retreating interesting on the level of story rather than tactics.

In short, if your group says they want to run, they run. They get away, carrying any downed characters with them �����but at a story cost.

This is an easy rule for handling retreats ��� something players surely want to avoid but one which doesn't penalize them for mechanical idiosyncrasies like being locked down by potential opportunity attacks or dropped to zero hit points. It isn't a matter of the tactics or mechanics that let them flee����� it's a matter of the story and what it means in the fiction.

The Cost of Retreating

Retreating has a cost. But we don't want this cost to be too severe or we'll still steer players away from the option of retreating. Instead, we want this cost to be interesting. We want it to move the story forward, just in a different direction. It doesn't end the situation, it begins a new one.

Here are ten example campaign shifts when the characters flee from combat:

A ritual succeeds and a portal to the hells is opened.An important NPC is killed and the politics of the city becomes chaotic.The villains acquire or complete the construction of a powerful artifact.An unearthly horror is released into the world.A new cult forms around a creature the characters didn't defeat.Armies of disparate warbands now convene around a central warlord.One of the two ships the characters had in their possession is destroyed.The characters find themselves in darker and danker chambers below the site of their exit.Prisoners the characters hoped to rescue have become thralls.The Cult of the Black Harbinger activates the obelisks and discovers the doorway of the Black Cathedral.Planning Costs Ahead of Time

When we're prepping a big dangerous battle, or a series of battles, we can ask ourselves:

"What happens if the characters lose this fight?"

It's one thing to assume the characters all die but what if they escape and the villain's plan moves forward? Fleeing from a battle shouldn't be the end of the story, it should be a new and interesting beginning.

Tell Your Players

The flee action isn't helpful if your players don't know they can do it. You may want to add it to your session zero checklist or your list of house rules and describe it as an option before the players need it. That way they always know they have this feature available to them if they want it.

If you don't think calling it the "flee" action will sit well with your players, call it the "retreat" action instead so they don't feel so bad using it.

An Easy Way to Focus Fleeing on the Story

This house rule for fleeing can be a great addition to our games. Instead of focusing on avoiding opportunity attacks or saving downed characters, shift the conversation back to the story itself. Let you and your players find a new path and a new angle in the ever-changing tales we share at the table.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a few of YouTube videos including City of Arches Campaign Paths, Lazy GM Kit 2024 ��� Tools of the Lazy Dungeon Master, and Let's Build a Character with Tales of the Valiant.

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:

Horror at Devil's Run on FoundryRob Heinsoo on GnomecastFree League Publishing Pulls PDFs from the Alchemy VTTThrones and Bones Player's Guide by Lazy Wolf StudiosLetters to Washington Post About D&DRunning an Infiltration in Summervine VillaPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Do We Need to Change Forge of Foes and the Lazy Encounter Benchmark for D&D 2024?Can a Paid DM Run Your Books?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:

Track magic item rewards per character. Don���t let a character fall significantly behind. Let random treasure tools inspire your own parcels and rewards. Keep character names in front of you. Track turns even outside of combat. Keep the lazy encounter benchmark on hand to tell you if a fight is way too difficult or not. A battle may be hard if the total of monster CRs is greater than one quarter of total character levels, or half of total character levels if the characters are 5th level or above. Prep handouts and secret villain notes. Use them to keep yourself and your players focused. Clarify goals in open situations, heists, or infiltration adventures. Give characters a home base. Related ArticlesThe Heroic SparkTell, Don't ShowHigh Value PrepGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterBookstorePatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

The Perfect Distance �����25 Feet (or 10 Meters)

Back the Kickstarter for the City of Arches, my high-fantasy city sourcebook for lazy GMs! Check out the 42 page playable sample and support an awesome new book from Sly Flourish!

"How close are the gnolls?"

"25 feet."

Understanding distance when running combat in the theater of the mind can be tricky if players have their heads still wired around 5-foot-per-square distances in gridded combat. It's hard to break this focus on spatial representation, so GMs often find themselves answering a lot of questions about distance.

How close or how far a creature is from a character isn't the real question they're asking.

"Can I get up the gnoll and hit it with my hammer?"

That's the question they're asking.

"Can I blast it with eldritch blast?"

Players want to know if they can do stuff. The distances don't really matter.25And we want* the characters to do stuff. So we have an easy default answer.

25 feet.

25 feet is a perfect distance for lots of things. It's within range of just about every ranged attack. It's within the distance of any character's move.

It's also not yet in melee. So characters can move without taking opportunity attacks. 25 feet is the perfect distance to give characters options for just about anything.

Next time you're running combat in the theater of the mind and a player asks you how close or far something is. Instead, think about the real question they're asking �����can they do the thing they want to do?

Yes.

How close are they?

25 feet.

For our Metric-Using Friends

If you're using the metric system for your game, treat 5 feet as 2 meters. It's close enough and as long as you're consistent across the rest of the game, the extra meter won't matter. Most characters, for example, move 12 meters in turn.

How close are the gnolls? 10 meters.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted the following YouTube videos:

City of Arches ��� The Obsidian SkullLet's Make a Character with Level Up Advanced 5eUnblurred 2024 D&D Player's Handbook Deep DiveLast 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:

Amazing Encounters and DungeonsThe Perilous VoidFollow-Up on Blurring 2024 D&D PHB VideosMike on Morrus's Unofficial Tabletop Podcast on Blurgate and Project Sigil - the D&D 3D VTTMore Character Builds with Tales of the Valiant and ShadowdarkWOTC Designers on Eldritch LorecastTales of the Valiant on Herolab and ShardBiomes of the City of ArchesPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Bifurcation of the Hobby Between 3d Online and Tabletop PlayHandling Simultaneous EventsIs a D&D Beyond Content Subscription Service Acceptable?Which To Buy ��� D&D 2024 PHB or Shadowdark?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 the characters and players clear goals and meaningful options in open-ended situation-based adventures. Gauge the types of interactions players are interested in while running situation-based adventures.Work with players to coordinate their activities in larger open situations.Prep a handful of solid NPCs the characters can meet in social interactions.Steer players towards the fun even if you have to just tell them where it is.Write notes during your game. Keep track of what's important to the players.After your game, evaluate what worked well and what could be improved.Related ArticlesHigh Value PrepHow to Survive a Digital D&D FutureBeing a Good Steward of the TTRPG HobbyGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterPatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books The 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.

Being a Good Steward of the TTRPG Hobby

Back the Kickstarter for the City of Arches, my high-fantasy city sourcebook for lazy GMs! Check out the 42 page playable sample and support an awesome new book from Sly Flourish!

On a previous episode of Mastering Dungeons, Teos Abadia and Graham Ward answered an excellent question about whether Hasbro / Wizards of the Coast was being a good steward of D&D.

Graham turned the question around, asking whether we were being good stewards �����a far more useful question. We can't control what Hasbro does with D&D. But we can influence how we promote our love of tabletop roleplaying games to others.

Embrace the Diversity of the Hobby

I think the most important thing we can do to be good stewards of the hobby is recognizing that there's no one right way to enjoy tabletop RPGs. Embrace the wide range of games we play and how we play them. Embrace the diversity of the people playing them. Embrace the breadth of books and accessories we have available to add to our games. Embrace the wealth of knowledge and experiences people in the hobby share. Embrace the different ways people come to the hobby.

Being a Good Steward

What are some specifics for being a good steward of the hobby? We each get to decide, but I'll offer some thoughts:

Welcome new members. Show them how awesome and important the hobby can be. Teach them how to play. Listen to them.Get to the fun fast. Lower the barriers to play. Start small and simple.Teach what players want to learn. If they want to learn D&D, teach them D&D. Don't steer them away from the game that drew them in.Show them the breadth of the hobby. Talk about different games. Talk about different supplements. Expose them to the many excellent publishers and products that exist in the hobby.Focus on what matters. Show people how these games help us enjoy a fun and creative time with our friends.Always be learning. Learn from players' new experiences. Expand your view of the hobby. Recognize when your preconceptions might be wrong.Things to Avoid

What are some things we can avoid so we're continuing to be good stewards of the hobby?

Don't gatekeep. Players and GMs don't need to prove themselves to enjoy the hobby. They can enjoy this hobby many different ways from our own. Don't alienate people who come into the hobby through avenues different than yours. Someone who starts playing because they love watching Critical Role or Dimension 20 isn't a tourist, they're a fellow member of the hobby.Don't bash other games. Don't promote one game by tearing down another. Let people choose the games that speak to them even if their chosen system isn't for you.Avoid alienating jargon. Describe games using real words people understand.Don't brag. Avoid throwing around how long you've been playing. Someone playing for only a few months is just as valuable to the hobby as someone playing for decades.Don't promote a single "right" way. There are many right ways to enjoy the hobby �����don't assume yours is the only right way.Keep an Open Mind

Recognize that the way we enjoy the game doesn't have to be the same as those we talk to. This hobby evolved continually over fifty years. People of all different ages, backgrounds, experiences, drives, and motivations come at it from all different angles. They enjoy different things. They have different experiences.

Learn from new players as much as you teach them.

More Sly Flourish Stuff

Last week I posted a couple of YouTube videos including Golgoron Rises ��� the Intro Scenario for the City of Arches, Let's Build a Character with the 2024 D&D Player's Handbook and the Temple of Saint Terragnis.

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:

City of Arches Kickstarter!Victoriana 5e by Cubicle 7WOTC Made Me Blur My D&D 2024 VideosShadowdark Wins Four ENNIES!Survive a Future Digital D&DCity of Arches Campaign OutlinesPatreon Questions and Answers

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

Maps and Mapping At the TableWhat Makes the City of Arches Unique?Awarding Treasure to Specific CharactersRPG 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:

Even if characters chase a red herring, give them something valuable for their effort.If a character fails the save to fall a great distance, give another character a chance to succeed on a check to catch them before they fall.If you use music in your game, build playlists for relaxing, sinister, and combat music.Let your players know if they're at risk of missing something awesome.Add one secret tied to each character's story during your prep.Mix up monster types. Don't fill crypts with nothing but undead.Jot down three noteworthy features for larger locations. Use one feature for smaller rooms or chambers.Related ArticlesLetters to New and Veteran Dungeon MastersHow to Survive a Digital D&D FutureD&D Beyond, Wizards of the Coast, 5e, and YouGet More from Sly FlourishArticlesNewsletterPatreonPodcastYouTubeBuy Sly Flourish's Books Lazy DM's Companion Forge of Foes Ruins of the Grendleroot Fantastic Locations

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