Dungeons & Dragons is the world’s most popular fantasy role-playing game. To play requires two kinds of people: one or more players, and a Dungeon Master.
How to play D&D is one thing, but how to be a Dungeon Master is another.
In this article, I describe the two skills you need to become a DM and how to learn them.
A great resource for aspiring new dungeon masters is my guidebook: "The Dungeon, The Dragon, and Becoming the DM Who Makes it Fun". It's a 69-page printable PDF. Your copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide tells you what the rules are. It doesn't tell you when to bend them, when to ignore them, and what forty-five years of actual play teaches you that no rulebook ever could. That's what this guidebook is for. There's even a free sample download.
A DM Wears Two Hats
When playing D&D, there is the BEFORE TIME and the NOW TIME. The BEFORE TIME is when the Dungeon Master prepares the adventure, deciding what can happen in the game, where it takes place, and so on.
The NOW TIME is what actually happens around the table as the players ‘play’ the adventure the DM created.
These two phases are called “prep” and “running the table.”
If you want to become a DM, you will need to learn how to do both, although the prep side of things can be fudged a little bit. I’ll go into those details later in the article.
At this point, you probably have a lot of questions about what it takes to be a Dungeon Master. In a previous article, I answer 20 common questions I’ve been asked by aspiring DMs. Check it out. “20 Dungeon Master Tips: A Q&A for New and Aspiring DMs“
Preparing the Adventure
Let’s start with the BEFORE TIME, otherwise known as “prep”. This is when you as the DM decide three things:
- Where the adventure will take place.
- What places, beings, and objects exist there.
- And how they are all connected.
You can go about these three tasks in a few different ways, many of which can be mixed and matched based on your available time, the needs of the adventure, the expectations of your players, and even your mood.
A Wide Range of Prep Styles
There is a wide range of prep styles and methods to choose from. You can purchase ready-made adventures that have all the locations and places and monsters and objects pre-defined. They are truly self-contained, all you need to do is read them first to become familiar with what’s included. You don’t have to memorize it, but you at least should have a good understanding of the high-level plot and locations it describes.
At the far other end of the prep spectrum is the true home-brew approach. This is where you design an entire world with geography, nation-states, factions, even weather. Like zooming in from a spy satellite, you get more detailed and design cities and wilderness areas and everything in between. Zooming in even further, you create the dungeons and castles and temples and ruins located within your world, as well as their inhabitants. Finally, you get down to such a level of detail that you’re designing individual rooms within those locations and the creatures that occupy them, even the weapons and treasure they carry.
“How do I learn how to prep?”
You may be asking yourself: “Self, how do I learn how to prep my adventures?” Fortunately, the various editions of Dungeon Master Guides and other rule books published by Wizards of the Coast and several outstanding 3rd party publishers provide various levels of information to help you create your own adventures.
Most of these do a pretty good job of walking you through adventure prep from basic concept to filling in the final details.
In another article, I review four of the more common Dungeon Master Guides printed over the years and describe their pros and cons for adventure creation. Check it out. “Which Dungeon Master’s Guide Is Best for Adventure Creation? (AD&D to 2024)“
Pre-made D&D Worlds
I mentioned the range of adventure prep styles and methods, from choosing a complete turnkey solution you buy to creating an entire universe completely on your own. Most DMs fall somewhere in between.
For example, the D&D group I run has all their adventures taking place within the Forgotten Realms setting published by Wizards of the Coast. This saves a bunch of time by providing all the higher-level locations from the continent level down to the individual cities and even several small towns. It’s then up to me to create the specific adventure locations like dungeons, castles, temples, and ruins within that broader setting.
For a beginning DM, I highly recommend getting one or two beginning adventures, such as what’s included in WotC’s Starter Set. These often provide a lot of information tailored not just to beginning players, but to beginning Dungeon Masters as well.
“Am I adequately prepared?”
Before gameplay begins, as a new Dungeon Master, you will probably be feeling a bit of anxiety. Probably the number one fear beginning DMs have is, “Am I adequately prepared?”
Even experienced DMs can ask themselves this question before game night. So if you have that kind of anxiety, take it from a guy who’s been a Dungeon Master since 1980 when I say that’s completely normal. You’re probably more prepared than you need to be, and when I talk about the NOW TIME, actual gameplay, I’ll give you some tips for how to flex and handle situations as they come up, even if you didn’t prepare for them specifically — which is impossible to do anyway.
It’s Time for Your First Game Night
Okay, whether you’ve got a self-contained adventure that you bought or borrowed, or you’ve rolled your own universe from scratch, it’s now time for game night. Here’s what you need to know.
First, you’re going to be nervous. I’m not going to tell you “Don’t be nervous!” because that’s like telling the ocean, “Don’t be wet!” What I will say is feeling nervous is normal. I’ll also say that the game will nearly always go better than you expect, especially if your players are new to the game, too. And even if they aren’t, most players are super sympathetic and understanding of new DMs and will be both encouraging and appreciative of your efforts.
What You Need To Have On Hand
You’ve got your maps, your list of encounters, monster and NPC stats, and perhaps even an opening description written down or nearly memorized in your head. It’s time to start playing D&D.
There are a few things you’ll need. First, get a DM screen. This separates what you’re doing from the players. It keeps them from seeing your notes and monster stats and other tidbits that should remain solely for your eyes only, at least until you decide to reveal them!
You’ll need dice, of course, and some scratch paper. I keep a notepad to track monster hit points, treasure and other items acquired, and basic notes so I can make more detailed session notes later.
The Three Steps of a D&D Session
Around the table before you are the players, smiling and eager to get started. You’ve prepped to whatever degree you felt was needed and are ready to go. Here’s how the game goes in the simplest terms:
- You tell the players what their characters see, hear, smell, etc. You’re their senses.
- They tell you what they do, or attempt as is often the case.
- Then you tell them what happens based on their choices.
That’s it. Rinse and repeat. Everything that goes on in D&D is one variation or another on those three steps.
Before I go further, let me point out a few maxims to keep in mind.
Dungeon Master Advice
You are the creator of the adventure, the settings, and all the things and beings the players can encounter and interact with. During the game itself, you are the referee. It is up to you to be impartial and fair. You will need to make judgment calls throughout the game. You are not the player’s enemy or opponent, even if you role-play the monsters they fight against. It’s not you versus them.
Remember that fun is the ultimate goal, not winning or losing. This is where the “Rule of Cool” comes in, which is essentially, if sticking to the rules is less fun than breaking the rules, go ahead and break the rule.
The Definition of a Good DM
There are as many ways to run the game as a DM as there are DMs. This means that the rules for what constitutes a good DM at the game table are almost entirely subjective. There are a few you should strive to adhere to, however.
I’ve already covered one, and that’s to be fair and just. It’s not them versus you.
Second, honor player agency. This means let the players make their own decisions as much as you can. Their choices may have bad consequences, both to their characters in-game and to the dynamic between the human beings sitting around the table, but do what you can to let them make those choices and then experience the rewards or suffer the consequences as they happen.
Third, don’t be afraid to admit when you’re incorrect or when you’ve made a decision you regret. Notice I didn’t phrase it as “when you’ve done something wrong.” That’s because a lot of what happens around the D&D table and what constitutes right or wrong is subjective.
In fact, you’ll learn that nearly everything about D&D and what makes it fun is subjective.
Learn by Playing and Watching
One of the best ways to learn how to be a DM during gameplay is to be a player first, preferably with a DM who’s got some experience. Pay attention to the kind of things they say, what they reveal, what they keep hidden, and how they pace the experience.
It’s not always possible to sit at a table with a real DM, so you can turn to gameplay videos on YouTube. Keep in mind, however, that this may skew your expectation of how a DM should act and plan and run the game. I’ve said it before and it bears repeating that a great deal of D&D is subjective. What is fun to you may not be fun to the next person. What constitutes a great DM at one table might be boring or frustrating to others.
There’s something called the Matt Mercer Effect, where people who watch him as a Dungeon Master on YouTube develop this expectation that all DMs must run their game the same way Matt does. Expose yourself to D&D play through videos, but be aware that there are many ways to run a game in a fun way.
Flexibility is Your Superpower
As a Dungeon Master, you’re often called upon to make things up as you go along during the game. Remember this motto: SEMPER GUMBY. This means “always flexible” and it will develop into your greatest super power as a DM.
Being always flexible means taking what’s happening and extending it or shifting its direction by a few degrees here or there. It means using the events in the game as inspiration for new ideas. It’s easier to edit than to create, so rely on what happened a minute ago to provide the seed of where you’ll go next.
This is sometimes referred to as “improv” but I think that is often confused with being able to portray NPCs on the fly. What I’m talking about here is more creative license to shift things as you go. If this need to be flexible freaks you out a little bit, don’t sweat it. You get better at it over time. You’ll get there.
What have we learned?
First, being a Dungeon Master requires you to wear two different hats. First, you prep the game, then you run the game. These are two very different skill-sets. Preparing the game has more resources available to walk you through the process, most commonly found in the various Dungeon Master Guides published through the years.
Running the game boils down to three things: telling the players what they see, the players telling you what they do, and you telling them how it turns out. This, of course, takes place within the adventure setting you prepared.
A lot of what constitutes being a “good” DM is largely subjective. D&D is very much a social and dynamic experience and what works for one group of people may not work for others. You will get better with practice and experience — I’ve been a DM since 1980 and I’m still learning how to be a better dungeon master with every game.
Finally, feeling nervous or anxious about how you’ll do at your first D&D game is natural. Even experienced DMs can feel a bit of apprehension before a game, asking “Did I prep enough?” or “Do I have certain details figured out well enough?” That’s natural, and over time you’ll learn to prepare to the degree that is both enjoyable for you and adequate for the needs of the table once game-play actually begins.
Final Thoughts
Being a Dungeon Master is a big undertaking. It’s a labor of love, but the love must come first or your experience will be nothing but labor. Sometimes it’s tiring and a bit challenging, but for most DMs it’s something that brings a lot of joy and good energy to their lives.
We need more of that.
