How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

Learn how to be a better DM (Dungeon Master) so you can tell better stories for yourself and your friends. Learn things like how to start a campaign, how to create realistic NPCs, how to move the plot along, and how and why to use session 0's for your party. Join hosts Justin Lewis, Cayden Ottley and Tanner Weyland as they distill all the DM tips, tools and resources for the beginner DM, for the DM with a few years of experience and for the Forever DM who's been playing for 20 years. If you're sick of searching for things like, "How to create a homebrew DND campaign?", click the play button and listen to become the best dungeon master you ever could be!

A Simple Session 0 Checklist

Welcome back to today's show.Here's a simple session 0 checklist to help you set your games up for successGet the First Session ScheduledSet Expectations2a. Your Expectations2b. The party’s Expectations and WantsTable RulesThe Premise of the StoryPlaytestingParty ConnectionsToolsMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Hire Us as Your Dungeon MasterDid you know that you can have one of our hosts here at How to Be a Better DM be your dungeon master? That’s right. All of our podcast hosts are professional dungeon masters that you can hire for your private or corporate dungeons and dragons game. We can do one-shots or long-term campaigns. If you want to schedule your first session with us, go to https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ and get started. Dungeon Master for HireStart Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up Guide

12-19
22:33

Challenging Yourself With Challenge Rating in D&D

It's hard knowing what to throw at your players during an encounter. Luckily, D&D has a nifty challenge rating system set up to help you out. Easy!.... right? Actually, no. So many DMs don't know how to approach Challenge Ratings for their encounters because of the dense tables and calculations. However, it isn't something worth stressing about at all, as you'll learn in today's episode.Mentioned in this episode:Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

12-12
23:54

Important Lessons Learned in 2024 about being a Dungeon master

All things must end. But endings always bring new beginnings. As the year 2024 comes to a close, many of us become thoughtful and introspective. In my case, the introspection has allowed to think on the many changes I’ve personally made throughout this year and the dungeon master I’m morphing into. So today, I’d like to share some of the most important lessons I’ve learned over this last year and hopefully some of these lessons can help you too.Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM. If you’re listening to this show, you’ve tried not being the dungeon master. You’ve stopped DMing and have just tried to be a player for a while, but for whatever reason, you just can’t not be the DM. Other people stop showing up, you feel the urge to write and run the story or it’s just in your blood. And because of that, we made this show to help you with your affliction! I’m your host Justin Lewis and I’m very happy to be chatting with you today of all days because tomorrow on December 6th, I will be guesting on 2 panels at Dragonsteel Nexus in Salt Lake City. Dragonsteel Nexus is the convention put on by Brandon Sanderson’s company Dragonsteel and I’m lucky enough to be able to participate. If you’re in the area, you should grab a ticket and come and hang out with me in real life. I’ll be joining a panel on TTRPGs for Authors and Writers and another on GMing 101. It should be a fun experience and frankly, I am a little nervous so any positive vibes are appreciated.This year was the first year where any of us here at Session 0 Studios and How to Be a DM were able to guest on panels. The first happened earlier this year at Dead Wars in Provo Utah and frankly, we’ve all evolved a lot since then.But before I get to the lessons learned, I must tell you guys something; I’m going to be a little vulnerable here.  I’m a sham.I’m not saying this for sympathy or anything, I’m just trying to be real and vulnerable. On most days, I feel like a big fat phony. It’s mostly because I honestly consider myself to be a pretty mediocre Dungeon Master. Looking back over my DMing career, I see a huge gap between where I am and where I want to be. It’s humbling really. I’ve gotten so much better over this last year, but that improvement has really only made me more aware of how much farther there still is to go.When I first started How to Be a Better DM, I started it for a few reasons. First of all, I love podcasts and I love podcasting. Back in 2016 and 2017, I’m pretty sure I told people that podcasts were among the things I did for fun. I love the medium and I love being able to say something. I think we all have something to say, and maybe podcasting is my way of saying something.Secondly, and this is something most of you are probably not aware of, I had a previous podcast and that turned out to be less than successful, as least in my eyes. I want to do this full-time and the previous podcast wasn’t really going anywhere. It was a personal development podcast about doing hard things to make your life better. I called it The Hard Thing Podcast. Yeah… I know… Not the greatest name. Towards the end, I actually ended up rebranding it to Becoming the Hero which is actually still live to this day. I stopped doing that podcast because I’d tried putting together a summit of previous guests which included a couple navy seals, army rangers and a CIA spy. It was an online summit and even with a small advertising budget, I didn’t get any signups even when I dropped the price to free. I felt like I didn’t have any authority in that space and I eventually stopped putting out episodes because I felt the target market was too broad and that I couldn’t compete. When I stopped putting out episodes and nobody reached out asking where I’d gone, I knew it was the right decision.In contrast, I saw Dungeons and Dragons as a great market to get into. I love the game and I...

12-05
25:22

Simplify and Supercharge your World Building with Worldsmith.io

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DMToday Cayden and Justin sit down with the creators of worldsmith.io to talk about worldbuilding and how to do it more effectively with less time and hassle.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play Press

11-29
44:51

The Art of Foreshadowing: Planting Seeds for Big Reveals

Want to take your campaign from good to unforgettable? In this episode, we’re diving into the art of foreshadowing! Learn how to plant subtle clues, create epic payoffs, and keep your players hooked with those jaw-dropping "aha!" moments. Whether it’s a prophecy, a recurring symbol, or a suspicious NPC, foreshadowing is your secret weapon for immersive storytelling.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:What foreshadowing is and why it’s essential for a cohesive campaign.The difference between direct and subtle foreshadowing (and when to use each).How to plan your big reveals and drop hints that feel natural.Practical DM tips for layering clues, using red herrings, and tracking your foreshadowing efforts.Real-world examples you can adapt for your table.Quick Highlights:Start with the reveal: What big moment are you building toward?Use NPC dialogue, environmental details, and symbols to plant your hints.Repeat clues and let them evolve, but avoid overwhelming players with too many.Encourage player speculation—sometimes their theories are better than your plans!Resources Mentioned:Tips for managing clues and continuity in your campaign.How to balance foreshadowing with the flow of gameplay.Connect With Us:Did you use any of these tips in your campaign? Share your story!https://session0studios.com/https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast?igsh=YmU0b3Zsbms1anUwMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/

11-22
14:57

To Randomize or Personalize Loot: That Is The Question

Do you think deeply about every piece of loot that you give? Or does your party get a kick out of getting the most random, most funny, more chaotic gear and equipment that D&D has to offer? Depending on your answer, you might want to focus on either personalizing or randomizing how you give out loot. But which is better? Listen to our episode and find out!Mentioned in this episode:Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

11-14
17:04

How to Start an Actual Play D&D Podcast With Brennon from the Afterlife Pod

Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.Today we talk about how to start an actual play podcast, how to keep going with a creative idea and how to make it happen with Brennon from the Afterlife Pod.Today is part 1 of a special 2-part series. The 2nd part of this show is over on the Afterlife Pod. You can find out more about the Afterlife Pod at https://www.patreon.com/AfterlifePod/Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressFollow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/

11-07
41:20

DM Coaching: DMing for Kids and Tying Up Loose Ends with Aaron Singh

Welcome Back to How to Be a Better DM!Today is a very special episode. Today is a Dungeon Master Coaching episode with our friend Aaron Singh.Today we talk about Dungeon Mastering for kids and tying up loose ends in your campaign.If you're interested in having your own dungeon master coaching session go to https://session0studios.com/coaching. If you let us record the first episode, it's free.Mentioned in this episode:Sign Up For Dungeon Master CoachingWouldn’t it be nice to have someone in your corner as a DM? Maybe having someone who can help you find solutions to your DMing problems and help you improve every aspect of your game. Well, here at How to Be a Better DM we are trying an experiment. We are offering 5 free coaching sessions to listeners of the show. During these coaching sessions, we’ll work with you through your strengths and weaknesses as a DM and help you generate a game plan to make both better. You can either send in a recording of one of your games, or we’ll attend it live if able. If all else fails, we can still chat about your struggle and talk through any prep you’ve done for your upcoming games. Just go to session0studios.com/coaching and sign up.Dungeon Master CoachingGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Follow us on InstagramThanks again for listening to our show. If you like our content and would like to engage with more of our content, head over to our Instagram account, @howtobeabetterdm, and give us a follow. Make sure to watch some of our helpful Dungeon Master Rules videos to give yourself some structure and procedure as a Dungeon Master. Don’t forget to reach out with a DM and we can talk shop. https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

10-31
43:26

Oh No! Your party is in trouble! Deus Ex Machina, I guess??

Your party probably gets into a lot of sticky, unforeseeable moments, where death or a terrible consequence is on the table. At that moment, you might be tempted to utilize a Deus Ex Machina plot device, saving them from their own mistakes through some person or change that they never expected. But is that a crutch for you, or an opportunity? Let's talk about it!Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressJoin Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. Discord

10-24
21:43

How to Flesh Out Your Afterlife - Questions to Ask to Help Develop the Concepts of Afterlife in your Homebrew World

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM.Today we talk about the afterlife. Listen to episode 109 of our show to learn about death in D&D if you want more on this topic.Here are some questions to help you flesh out the topic of the afterlife in youIs there an afterlife?How many types are there? With many different gods who rule over many different domains, you need to know how many afterlifes are there?Are there any negative ones?What is it like in any of those afterlifes? You need some sort of description of the experience a soul would have in that afterlife.What interactions do souls have with their deity and with other souls?What determines whether they end up in one afterlife versus another? Is it a pick and choose, or do actions determine the eternal resting place of a soul.Is there a chance you end up where you don’t want to be?Is it permanent? Once you’re in one type of afterlife, can you change to a different afterlife, even if you don’t want to?Has anyone returned to life from the afterlife? If so, what do they remember?Do people know or understand the afterlife?Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Always Have Your Sessions Prepared!You work 8 hours a day. You spend time with your family when you come home. You do work around the house and it seems you never have as much time as you would like to prepare your D&D sessions. Does this sound like you? Wouldn’t it be amazing to have endless material prepared for your D&D sessions anyways? That’s where Roll and Play Press comes in. Roll and Play Press provides D&D 5e Compatible materials for any type of session. Running a one-shot? Check out their One Shot Wonders book with over 100 one-shot ideas. Getting started with your new sci-fi campaign? Get their Game Master’s Sci-Fi Toolkit to have your games much more prepared. Why reinvent the wheel? Check out Roll and Play Press at rollandplaypress.com and get 10% off when you buy something by using the code BETTERDM10. Roll and Play PressJoin Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. Discord

10-17
25:45

When Your D&D Group Loses Momentum

We’ve all been there: you’ve had a great run with all your players. Month after month, and maybe even week after week, you’ve been able to meet without any significant delays or gaps. And then, all of a sudden, it’s hard to meet. And if you do discuss meeting up, people don’t seem to prioritize it as much. And you’re worried that the campaign might not have much longer to live, so to speak. So, what do you do? Let's talk about it.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosJoin Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

10-10
22:55

8 Tips for Begginner Dungeon Masters

Welcome back to today's Show.Today, we talk about 8 tips for beginner dungeon masters.Stop Waiting - For Finding Players listen to this episode: https://session0studios.com/captivate-podcast/how-to-find-your-dd-group/Push Past the Learning CurveStart where you are.Focus on your Strengths or on Finding your StrengthsDon’t Stop - Be ConsistentFocus on Player EngagementDo what feels fun and coolBe Real with Your PlayersThanks for listening.Mentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosJoin Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

10-03
15:05

Swole Initiative: Player Check-ins and Campaign Themes with Jay Foster

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DMToday we have a special episode with Jay Foster from Swole Initiative (https://swoleinitiative.com/)Today we talk about a lot of things including:The importance of player check-insHow to push boundaries without crossing lines or veilsWhy and how to add theme to your gameAnd more.If you liked today's episode and you want Jay to come back on the show, go onto Jay's social medias and tell him thanks for joining us and show him some love.Mentioned in this episode:Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosBrought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

09-26
51:17

What to Spend $50 on For Your D&D Hobby

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DMThis is another RAW episode, which means more personality and less polish.I'm your host today, Justin Lewis.Today we talk about what I would spend $50 on to improve my D&D hobby.This is my list:A dungeon master screenA new SourcebookA large tablecloth and some pipe cleanerA lot of Foam and some paintA set pieceSome LED lightsA simple sound systemMinis I guessMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Add the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument Studios

09-24
19:03

The Skills of the Dungeon Master

Welcome back to the show!Today we talk about what skills you need to develop as a DM.MechanicsUnderstanding the basic gameplay of the gameBeing able to make twists on the rules or invent new ones to suit your gamePlayer ManagementScheduling ManagementRelationship ManagementStory WritingBeing able to create beautiful settingsBeing able to build amazingly real charactersPlot twists, turns and developmentsPacingRoleplayingVoice ActingPersonification of the different charactersImprovisationPrevious episode about improv: https://session0studios.com/captivate-podcast/improve-and-comedy/PresentationOnline Game Technology MasteryMinis and MapsLoreFull understanding of the lore of your worldFull understanding of available DnD LoreExperience PlanningThe extrasThe Wow FactorCombatSpeeding it upKeeping it InterestingMentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonAdd the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument Studios

09-19
30:43

RAW: Voice Acting Tips from a Non-Voice Actor

Welcome back to today's RAW podcast episode.This is a special episode where it is shorter and less edited and more real.On today's show we talk about 8 voice acting tips from a non-voice actor.They are:Tip #1: CommitTip #2: Faster or SlowerTip #3: Eye ContactTip #4: Loud or QuietTip #5: Pauses or BreaksTip #6: Your BreathTip #7: Inflection and EmphasisTip #8: AccentIf you like today's episode reach out to us and let us know.Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonAdd the Magic of Sound to Your GameplayWhen you set the scene you need to tap into the five senses. When it comes to sound one of the best ways to do that is with music, sound effects, and ambience. That’s why we’ve teamed up with Monument Studios. Monument Studios provides an easy-to-use Soundboard perfect for Dungeon Mastering. If you want to see this in action, go to fantasy-plus.com and get 10% off of your first month of their Fantasy+ App by using the code BETTERDM at check out. Again that is fantasy-plus.com and BETTERDM at checkout. Monument StudiosGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

09-17
22:14

Focusing on Your Strengths: What Makes You a Great DM?

Sometimes, it feels like all of your efforts are focused on the things you DON'T feel good at as a DM: maybe you don't feel like you do voices well. Or you don't feel great at drawing maps. Or maybe you feel like combats drag a bit. Whatever it is, you definitely have spent too much time focusing on your weaknesses. Stop it! This episode is all about finding and focusing on your strengths as a DM. You've got them, and we're going to talk about them!Mentioned in this episode:Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonListen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today.

09-12
18:38

RAW: How to Move DND Along

Welcome back to this RAW episode of How to Be a Better DM.This is from an Instagram Live I did about how to move DnD along when it gets slow and boring.Here are 8 tips to help you move things along in your DnD games:When the party has been planning too long introduce a complication.Describe something trivial in suspiciously extreme detail.Make the bad guys make a moveJump CutTalk honestly with your playersSkip the Boring BitsBring the EnergyEnd things EarlyMentioned in this episode:We Like YouHey Bud… How’s it going? Just wanted to say… we like you. We’re think you’re pretty cool. We hope you like us too. If you do like us and what we’re doing, you can support us on our Patreon. Just $1 a month is enough. Just go to https://session0studios.com/patreon and show your support. But even if you don’t… we still like you. See ya around bud. PatreonListen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today. Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

09-10
18:24

Dan Wells: What are You Good at As a GM?

Welcome back to How to Be a Better DM!Today is a special episode with our guest, author, and professional Dungeon Master Dan Wells!Check out information about Dan Wells here: https://www.thedanwells.com/Dan is partnered with Dungeon Master Direct which has some great events coming up: https://dungeonmasterdirect.com/On today's show, we talk about:Professional Dungeon MasteringHow it's ok to use pre-written modules for professional dungeon master campaignsAs a dungeon master, you need to figure out your strengths and your weaknesses and lean heavily into those.You also need to lean into the collaborative nature of RPGsThis episode was facilitated and recorded in the space at We Geek Together in Provo. You can shop at their store in Provo or online at https://www.wegeektogether.com/Mentioned in this episode:Give Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideListen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

09-05
52:19

How to Give Just a Little More to Your Roleplaying as a Dungeon Master

You’ve probably wondered if you could do or give more. Specifically with your roleplaying, you may have finished a session and thought that you could do better. I’ve been there too. I’ve had many sessions where I’ve wished that I was a much better roleplayer.Luckily today, we’re going to share 7 tips to help you give more to your roleplaying.Welcome to How to Be a Better DM.This is the show that helps you speed up the learning curve of being a DM without spending extra time, and extra hassle.I’m Justin Lewis, and I’ve been helping dungeon masters now for over 150 episodes. I’ve spoken with Voice Actors, writers and even real life experts, all to help you be a Better DM.Why Give more to your Roleplaying:We’ve all had those experiences after a really good roleplay where there’s almost this stunned silencePart of why we got into D&D was to reach that full immersionYour players want you to give everything you haveHow to Give more to your Roleplaying:Be vulnerableTry things that may not work outThink about your players altruisticallyForget yourselfTry some real life Improv ClassesPractice your Acting/Public SpeakingUse the White Space of DMingMentioned in this episode:Start Leveling Up As a DMWouldn’t it be nice to gamify your dungeon master abilities? In D&D, characters can reach level 20, so why can’t dungeon masters? We’re happy to tell you that now, you can. We created the Dungeon Master Level-Up Guide. It’s a simple tool to gamify your progression to higher and higher levels of dungeon mastering. It includes Dungeon Master Levels 1 to 20 with associated XP requirements as well as a long list of Dungeon Master activities that will give you XP. Each activity has a Challenge Rating and an XP amount. In order to level up, all you need to do is find out how much XP you have, find out how much you need and pick activities to try. You can get the Dungeon Master Level-Up guide for free by going to session0studios.com/newsletter/, sign up for our newsletter and we’ll email you the Level-Up Guide. Finally, leveling up as a DM can be as fun as leveling up a character. Level Up GuideGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.Listen to Our New PodcastAs a listener of this show, you obviously love story. Now that you’ve learned how to craft your own story on this show, wouldn’t it be nice to have some inspiration? Or maybe just a moment of immersion and escape? Then come join us in our new Actual Play D&D 5e show, Pact and Boon. Enter the World of Calignos where our characters, Jolly, Wolfgang and Alon will meet each other in Hell. Enjoy our troublemaking and near-death experiences wherever great podcasts are heard. Just go to session0studios.com/pactnboon and start listening today. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.

09-03
20:43

Robert S

it seems like a really good podcast that I would love to get into but the multiple mid-show ads just take me immediately out of the immersion and I don't want to listen anymore

06-17 Reply

Ryan Haas

what is the show he said I couldn't understand him

05-17 Reply

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