A short story depicting how my favorite NPC from Phandelver & Below died in a game I DM’d for.
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The caves weren’t as bright as they are now for Sildar. Before, they were dark. Save for the orange light of the campfire and torchlight. But fire always meant trouble here. It meant torture and deprivation. It meant humiliation from Yeemik the goblin.
Sildar roamed the caves with ease now. He was free to leave, but he felt something holding him back. Fated to hide in Cragmaw Cave forevermore. He watches the goblins as they build traps. One stacks stones atop a pond of rising water, a fitting trap to wash out any invaders to the cave. Other goblins patrol the stream towards the entrance of the cave. Yeemik and Klarg are directing other goblins outside to build defensive towers. Out of the few times Sildar looked outside, the construction was ramshackle and falling apart. But given time…
There is no time for the goblins, though. They die now, one by one. A tall and fearsome rabbit man with a powerful punch surprises them from the bushes and slaughters them. The same half-elf who ran away the other night joins him. The night that Sildar died at the hands of Yeemik. Soon, a human fighter and a woman dressed in a green cloak shows to end the rest. Sildar retreats back into the cave. His memory had been vague, but he senses hope for the first time after spawning. –And after the hope, he remembers now.
Sildar claws his way towards his most recent memories. Back to where he spawned. He let his wings unfurl where they could in the trapped cave environ. Behind him, the rushing of water and the sound of fighting resonate through Sildar. But his thoughts were of himself. He used his monstrous strength to jump clear over the large snake roosting at the ridge above him. Sildar was practically flying. Now he stomps his way towards Yeemik’s favorite spot of Cragmaw Hideout. Someplace away from Klarg, where he is free to torture the prisoners. Sildar thought of Iarno. He wondered if his guild companion was okay. Unaware, Sildar let a goblin with a torch run through him as he ran screaming towards Yeemik’s position. This slight angered Sildar. Yet another goblin desecrates his body. Enraged, Sildar let out a roar not unlike that of an eagle. He surprised himself, however. Sildar never roared before.
From Sildar’s experience, he let out the sound of a Griffon. Like the one he rode upon as a part of the Cavalry of Waterdeep. It was Sildar’s service to the city watch that allowed him to join the Lord’s Alliance. The goblin stopped in its tracks and dropped the torch. It turned around slowly, gazing at the horror that was now Sildar Hallwinter. Sildar roared again, and the goblin pissed itself. Then an arrow penetrated its heart, and it died with fear in its eyes.
Sildar feasted upon the soul of the goblin when it emerged. At least he felt some vindication. As he ate the essence of Maglubiyet’s evil, he watched the green-cloaked woman pick up her arrow from the corpse. She didn’t see him. Sildar knew why, and was glad of it. After all, he assumed she was there for him, too. Soon, Shenzi the half-elf and the rest of her party joined the cloaked one towards Yeemik’s cave. Sildar followed. The halfling magic user was in the middle of the pack—the Rabbit Man before him. The human fighter was far behind all, and Sildar was closest to him. The tattooed fighter turned back towards the cave. He looked upon Sildhar’s now massive frame, but turned around and muttered to himself.
“It was nothin’, Maquin”, he said. Sildar still followed.
Perched upon Yeemik’s ledge just above the goblin camp, Sildar watched the party of adventurers confront the murderous clan that killed so many people. His remaining band of goblins snarled. Sildar’s monstrous senses told him many were more fearful of this new fight, but Yeemik remained strong. He told the adventurers just what he’d do to them. And Sildar knew it would be true, if fate allowed.
But it was a pitiful showdown. The halfling with the party named Quinfer let out an icy barrage of death upon a group of Yeemik’s kin. Shenzi and Maquin let loose arrows into the group, too, which decimated their numbers entirely. Sildar learned of the rabbit-man’s name, Travis, after Quinfer praised him for a stunningly brutal show of force. Blood let loose in this cave of torturers, but it wasn’t the tortured blood of prisoners anymore. Some splashed upon Sildar’s ridge above.
Filled with the pride of revenge, Sildar beams when he learns it was Shenzi who would be dealing the final blow. After all, she lost her entire party after an ambush gone wrong. Her previous teammates and the prisoners she tried to save, including Sildar himself, lost their lives after taking a gamble on the sensibility of goblins. Shenzi pierces Yeemik’s heart, and her words echo in the chamber. “I will cut you down, break you apart, splay the gore of your profane form across the stars! I will grind you down until the very heavens cry for mercy! My hands shall relish ending you, here and now!”
And so it happens that Yeemik dies a glorious death. Sildar didn’t let any of their souls go. He hunted them down, especially Yeemik. He wouldn’t be allowed to join Maglubyet in death. Not ever. Sildar chirped, and he found the woman in the cloak gasping in terror from below. They lock eyes while her teammates are distracted. Sildar was surprised to learn that the woman in the green cloak is a fair-faced half-orc. As they looked upon each other, Sildar felt compelled to turn. He found his spawning place. –And he recognized why he came from here. Before Sildar was his old bag. He let out a ghostly coo, beckoning someone to find it.
Behind the half-orc woman, a voice called out. It was Maquin. “Xahri, everything alright?”, he said.
“I’m not sure,” Xahri said. “I think I saw something above us”.
It may have to be Xahri, Sildar thought. He found that he could leave this place. There was nothing left to hold him back from the adventures that lay beyond his horizons. Xahri discovered the contents. Aside from a simple gemstone and a potion of greater healing, inside Sildar Hallwinter’s bag was a peculiar item for a retired adventurer. The heavy leather harness features an emblem of the City of Waterdeep, including an expertly crafted image of a guardsman riding a Griffon. Initials are carved into it. – “S.H.”
57 sessions of Curse of Strahd. That’s how many sessions I had before I made the decision to switch out my campaign with my players. To put this into context, each session I DM’d lasted 3 hours. So, doing the math, that’s 171 hours worth of Strahd von Zarovich taunting (and getting taunted by) the players. For those familiar with Curse of Strahd, we barely scratched the surface of the module. The players were level 6 at the time, and they had just finished exploring one of the most exciting dungeons I’ve personally done so far: The Amber Temple. Now, going into the Amber Temple, the players at that level were painfully aware of what I’ve been telling them out of game. It was going to be a dangerous slog. Without going into spoilers and many character deaths later, the party was still having a blast.
However, towards that last session, life got in my way. I got hired as a general manager for a hotel. I was moving to a new apartment. My life? Topsy turvy, like Ireena’s poor spirit in Barovia. My computer died, too. Thus, the sessions grew further apart. Scheduling was a hassle. The game I’ve been curating went by the wayside. I barely recognized what happened as the final sessions went awry.
On top of that, I got bored. The theme of Curse of Strahd is oppressive. Dark and grim can only be so exciting after months of grim darkness and oppression infecting the spirit of what traditional happy-go-lucky D&D adventures tend to be. I wanted to go back to form. And it wasn’t just me. Either through my own personal lack of interaction with the players, or with how the game-feel shifted… Suddenly, the dedicated group I entrusted my time with started going their own separate ways. I could tell they were getting bored, too. Well, not all of them. Obviously, when life hits, there’s nothing a DM could do other than to hope the player returns when the time is right. To disparage them otherwise is rude and can break trust. Don’t do that to your fellow players…
So what else could I do?
I Needed a Breath of Fresh Air! So I Switched to a New Module.
Yep! I went ahead and switched modules. The response I received from my players after I announced this switch was a renewed interest in playing. Of course, not everybody could make it, but when you have a dedicated group like me, new players tend to find themselves in my games faster than I can blink sometimes. I feel fortunate for that. In no time at all, less than two weeks of waiting and prepping, I had my players building their new characters and learning about the theme of Waterdeep’s urban landscape. The change in setting and the new challenges presented in Waterdeep’s world breathed new life into our game.
In my beginning months as a DM, which was well over 2 years ago now, I wouldn’t ever think of switching modules. To end a story when there was so much left to tell! So many more characters that could die! However, by the time the campaign ended, one long-time character in the game died a most exciting and gruesome death. Lunara, the naive centaur Ranger, through certain decisions of her own, turned to the darkness of evil. –Before she could murder a party member for her own personal gain, she was murdered by the party. She wasn’t the only one changed by their time in the Amber Temple.
It was a fantastic ending for that character. It went so well with the roleplaying that members of the party that ended her life held a burial in her honor anyway. The player controlling the dead party member rolled a new character, and all was well. Despite a player vs. player encounter that ended in a death, I had one rule: If there was to be PvP, it would be planned ahead of time with consent and understanding of the consequences. Or I would end the game. My players followed my rule to the letter, and again it was great. Several other moments occurred, too. A player had to leave my table, and his PC left the Amber Temple, which had changed him forever.
My point is that the sessions leading up to my ending Curse of Strahd felt very culminating. Despite more to do and experience from the module, the party of characters that started the game 57 sessions ago actually met their end. It wasn’t a total demise, mind you, but it felt final to me. The other players must’ve been thinking the same, and because of the delayed timing, I bet we were all itching for something different.
Learning to Prevent Burn Out And Embrace Change!
I did this with various one-shots during my playthrough of Lost Mines of Phandelver / Phandelver & Below and when I was still doing Curse of Strahd. These one-shots provided a refreshing change of pace and allowed me to explore different aspects of the game. For instance, we played a one-shot themed on a cult world takeover, which was a stark contrast to the gothic horror of Curse of Strahd.
But in this specific circumstance, my bore with COS meant that I needed to end that story essentially for good. And a simple one shot break wouldn’t do it this time. We could go back to COS later, but my thinking right now… What would the consequences be if I kept up Curse of Strahd? I bet you this:
The gameplay may have gotten more stale because I personally wasn’t invested anymore. I wouldn’t be having as much fun.
My players may have left one by one after a while. I was seeing this happen every week. (To be fair, I was also having issues keeping consistent with my games every week, which is a major issue. Thank goodness it’s fixed now).
When you start a long-form videogame like Valheim or Satisfactory, you play for a while, but the gameplay starts to feel dull. Yet, you yearn to try again. You want to try anew with the knowledge of experience and the nostalgia you felt before! And sometimes that works. Even if it’s the same experience essentially, you’ve gotten to your original point faster. Or at least more efficiently.
I felt exactly the same when I started Waterdeep: Dragonheist a few weeks ago with my players. The feeling of starting session 0 again with the knowledge of how to run D&D as an actually experienced DM is pretty great. Exploring a new setting is invigorating, too, and my veteran players loved the creation of their new characters. My favorite character at the party so far is actually a new player. He’s doing an Owlin Wizard that’s 2 feet tall. A brilliant character design.
Have You Switched Modules Before? What Tips Would You Share?
It’s funny to think I was so resistant to switching up D&D stories. After this paradigm shift, my threshold for making the switch consists of knowing exactly when the party’s story should end. –And the party’s story doesn’t need to end when the module ends. And that’s okay. If anything, it returns to form what a tabletop game actually is. It’s a game. There are end conditions, and it is a treat to have the party survive and fight their way to the end of a module story without losing the souls of their characters in the process. Out-of-game, it’s a celebration to do so without life getting in the way. So:
If the party is severely compromised and affected or if there is a TPK (Team Party Kill, everyone dies), switch up the module/campaign story.
Also, switch it up if life gets in the way. The campaign type you are playing may be too long-form. Shorten it up with a short campaign instead.
Also, switch if you get bored!
My Curse of Strahd campaign was flirting with all three reasons. That’s my justification for switching, anyway.
No regrets. Sayonara, Barovia. Until next time!
Thanks for reading my article. What are your stories with switching up campaigns? Did you end up saving a game table by switching, or did it have the opposite effect? Have you ever finished a campaign in its entirety before? What was that process like? I’d love to hear about it!
As Elven Barbarian Danithan Carthor sleeps, dreams come to him…
Of The Grand Mountain, black upon white.
Its shadow reaching, white upon black.
The world spins, the mountain does not.
The mountain shadow touches his, pain.
Fear mixed with marked bravery.
The Grand Mountain looms over him.
This is a poem involving one of my players in our Lost Mines of Phandelver game. For Danithan, this dream references Ygthir Unsulah Del-Ull, one of the forgotten sons of Shar. Ominous.
When I started playing Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition a few years ago, I played at a table with a good friend of mine who I think is excellent at the role of Dungeon Master (DM). His main strengths were in how he planned his games. –I would later learn that how he introduced his games to his players would be paramount to getting his sessions started right. Turns out, after searching, Session 0 was a thing to focus on when DMing games. So, I copied those methods and added my own personal flair. I must tell you that following Session 0 best practices is probably the main reason my games keep going. Other than that my players are frikken awesome, of course.
One game turned into two throughout the year, and some new players joined in the middle of those games. I can safely say that the only time I’ve had a player drop out of my games entirely was due to personal reasons (like school or work). So, I want to share a bit of my process for getting my games going, recruiting players, and conducting my games on my Discord server.
It’s About Prepping for Session 0
Many experienced D&D players and Dungeon Masters know about Session 0, where the game doesn’t start just yet. It’s more about meeting everyone officially at the table, building player characters, and establishing the world that they’ll be playing in. –Whether it’s in Discord, on the phone, or at the physical table in your home.
It’s also about getting player expectations and introducing your Code of Conduct.
My Code of Conduct Rules and How I Enforce Them
Just writing the title above me has me feeling all Stalin-esque like I’m a dictator in my own world. Well, sorry to say to players who want less structured games, but I am the dictator of my Discord world! –At least when it comes to ensuring that my server is inclusive while fostering good teamwork and mutual respect.
Personally, I’ve found that enforcing these rules is so easy to do, especially when you read them out to everybody during Session 0. When everyone knows what to expect and respects each other despite disagreements, it could save many headaches for the future. So, how do you foster that?
I must take each player aside to ask them what they want from my game. I set up the world, but how do my players want to have fun in it? Do they want to focus on their character’s roleplaying? Do they like combat? Are they prepared to face the dragon in the article? Ask them these clarifying questions and take note of what their needs are for your games. This act does more than help you prep your games; it’s respecting your players.
The rules are written my way, but they borrow from an Adventurer’s League Code of Conduct ruleset that I saw online. It’s a resource I’m afraid I can’t quite find anymore:
In general, I plan to run my games with “the rule of cool” rule basis. Keep it nice, civil, & friendly. If you have a question, ask me. Here’s some specific rules to keep in mind:
**Harassment & Behavior: **
All members of the server, players, DMs, and otherwise, are expected to respect the other members and players, and all people are welcomed here. This includes treating each other with respect regarding, race, age, sexuality, gender, religion (or lack thereof), and other physiological or ideological characteristics/beliefs. Every person is entitled to this respect; call and address every person & their characters by the name and pronouns they’ve given you.
**General Conversation:**
Do not engage in inappropriate conversation, mean-spirited insults (if you are asked to stop, stop immediately), forcefully telling others how they should play or act, or other intentional behavior that is hurtful. If you have an issue with another person, settle it privately or message me.
**No #NSFW Content**
While this is an adult server, I want to keep it safe for work. This means no posting of nudity, sexual images, real life gore/violence, promotion of hateful speech or behavior). Foul language is allowed, but it should be kept to a minimum and be respectful of all participants in chat.
**In-Game Courtesy**
While in Voice Chat during a game or session, it is expected that all players give others a chance to speak, not interrupting them, discouraging them from talking, or from participating. It is reasonable to expect that some players will be more experienced and/or more comfortable when speaking and playing, and tend to “lead” the conversation, which is perfectly fine. But all players should try to be respectful of everyone else in their session while some of us are learning the game (Myself included). I will be doing my best to keep everyone involved and make sure ALL players are heard.
**Welcoming New Players**
Bringing in new players and welcoming people to the server is what I will strive to do to keep the ongoing game running. Everyone is welcome, including people of all race & creeds, and all levels of experience to D&D. Please be sure to encourage inexperienced players along, never put them down or discount them based on lack of experience as some people may have had bad experiences before.
**Keep Content In Appropriate Channels**
This will help keep the server organized. If you think a conversation may derail into another discord topic, please move it to that particular thread on the server.
**Rulings & Disagreements:**
There will be times when a player may disagree with another player or myself about how something is supposed to be done or the way things are handled. In those situations, I have the right to make a judgment call. If you disagree with the call, you can message me about it later out of game. I recognize that mistakes happen, especially when I’m learning, but it’s usually better to have fun than deliberate over the rules, which could be learned from during study later.
• DO NOT continue to argue mid-session.
• DO NOT complain about the situation in a public channel.
**Consequences: ** I’ll always attempt to resolve issues in a way that corrective behavior can be followed and allow all to continue playing and participating. However, failure to comply with these rules will result in the following:
• Verbal or Written warnings.
• Permanent banning from the server and game you are involved in.
There is zero tolerance for harassment here, consider this your only warning if you are found violating this rule.
**Reporting Problems, Harassment, Rules, General Questions:**
If there is ever any issue where you feel someone is breaking one of the server rules, is being disruptive, or harassing you or other players, even just for clarification of rules or general questions, please contact me.
Feel free to copy my code of conduct rules for your games! It’s my aim to help people create a fantastic environment for their D&D campaigns without having to stress about how to get started. Some of what was written above is very specific to my campaigns, but this could easily be converted to serve your needs. Ain’t the internet grand?
What if a New Player Joins in the Middle of the D&D Game?
I would hold a D&D Session 0 for that player specifically. At the very least, setting aside a few minutes to read your Code of Conduct to the newbie is easy. After that, you should be able to resume your game.
How Do You Enforce Your Rules?
Very carefully.
I remember a situation involving a homebrew mini-campaign that I played with my gaming group. –And one player understandably thought that this campaign was more adult in nature. So much so that they posted a nude picture of their character on my Discord server. Now, this wasn’t entirely my player’s fault. After all, the theme in my campaign was about a cult involving Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. And my theme of love in this campaign was heavily laden with all sorts of innuendos and meanings.
I advise clarifying that breaking the server’s rules isn’t allowed. Because if they can do it, others can, too. It was immediately addressed as soon as it occurred, and the player involved was so respectful about it that it didn’t even cause an issue at the table. All I had to do was point out the server’s rules, which they agreed to earlier, and that was that.
I’d also like to say that getting to know the players you’ll be playing with is essential. The best thing you can do for yourself is to vouch for a player who will respect your table rules. That said, that expectation and curation demands something from you, too. Which is transparency. If you aren’t transparent about your intentions of the game with your players, then miscommunication happens, and mistrust is sowed. Even if that doesn’t happen, you could get players with entirely different intentions trying to apply to your games.
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How to Seek Players for Your Online DND Games
When I got interested in starting my own games, I was fortunate to have many of my players coming in from my real-life circle of friends. However, I also knew I would have to get new players into my games. People I didn’t even know yet. And I’m expected to just…buddy-buddy?
I ended up on dndbeyond.com, a robust forum full of interested players. In my original forum post one year ago, I laid out exactly what I was doing, how I was playing, and the kind of players I wanted to play with (beginners like myself). Here’s an excerpt of that exact post:
Schedule: 5 PM weekly on Tuesday (Time is tentatively set, but will usually be TUE, WED, THU starting 4,5, or 6 PM.
Roles sought: Players. I’m only looking for 1 player, but may add more depending on circumstances.
Game style: Casual and RP focused. Learning.
About Me:
My name is Ryan. I have played DND before, but never a full campaign. –That said, I’ve been enamored with the game and have found myself with more than enough time to get a game setup. My goal is to learn how to DM on Fantasy Grounds and learn how to make the game as fun for players as it will be for me.
I’m a former news reporter (working at a hotel now lol) and I’m currently writing my own fiction novel. In general, I love telling stories. I just like the idea of eventually making a world that a small group of people could enjoy and participate in together. This will be my first dive into it.
About my game:
This will be set with the Lost Mines of Phandelver starting campaign. Session 0.
I have a full discord community set up, and the game is ready to run on Fantasy Grounds. Everything provided to my players, including FGU and the DND modules that come with it, are free and only need to be installed for your use.
This means that the first games may run slow. -_Because we’re all learning Fantasy Grounds and DND 5E combined. So patience is required. The game I’m running may be perfect for beginners.
My rules generally follow the code of conduct set forth by The Adventurer League’s rules. More details will be in the discord server that I’ll provide to you should you be chosen to join my campaign. The people in my game currently are friends and co-workers of mine, but should they fall out, I want to continue learning how to play. Thus, I’ll have need to invite players to fill the gaps. On this occasion, I want a random player to join the game from session 0 too. Nothing is expected of my players other than that they enjoy themselves and follow the rules of conduct. This means that this game will be privately played.
If you are interested, please respond back about yourself and your experience playing DND. Any other details you want to add, go for it!
This post attracted four interested people to play in my game. I invited 2 of them to play with me, and we have been having great adventures since August 2022. We still play together today once a week at generally the same time that I wrote in my post.
I think players interested in D&D will also want to know what to expect from their potential DM. Keeping this in mind, I sought to define my game specifications to the players I was seeking:
What game I’m playing (D&D 5e).
How I’m playing it (Online using a virtual tabletop called Fantasy Grounds).
How many people I’m looking for (1-2 players).
When will the game start, and include a tentative game schedule (5 PM TUE, WED, or THU).
How I plan to run the table (Adventure League table rules, RP focused, learning).
Introducing myself, and adding details about what my players could expect from me.
Feel free to use this method for yourself.
The Rest Lies With You, DM
Remember that to properly apply the Code of Conduct, you must follow it as best as possible. No one likes a hypocrite… It’s essential to keep consistent with your players. This means that your promises are kept as best as possible. I still feel like I have to work on that, DMing-wise. That said, the role of the DM is not to be perfect. It’s to be practiced.
Now, you have a reliable Code of Conduct for your players to adhere to and a working template for contacting new players should you seek them. After that, I hope you enjoy the finer points of DMing your own games. Like how to set up your Discord server, for example! Or organizing snacks at the table. Oh, and prepping your game, of course.
What game are you preparing? Do you have your own code of conduct or suggestions? Please share and help the D&D community!
The Warforged Monk is faced with a dilemma. A wraith desperately wants to rid the dungeon of a spectator who is holding precious magic at the building next door. –However, the adventurers are already aware of the spectator, having already dealt with the planar monster. And now they are looking at the ghostly treasures the wraith keeps but can’t use. Greedy bastard. A trap is sprung, and it’s time to take the fight to the solo spirit.
Luckily, you, the Monk, go first.
As the Monk, you announce that you attack the wraith and end your turn.
“With your fists? Just the once?” The DM asks.
“Yes, and yes,” you say.
“Okay then…”
The wraith takes 1d6, which is then halved due to being resistant to bludgeoning. Some of the more seasoned players take psychological damage, too. Meanwhile, the Monk smiles, pleased with themselves that they did…something?
The rest of the players swiftly take care of the wraith before it can react, so the fight doesn’t end terribly. However, the party members eye their Monk teammate sideways. What about the next battle?
In this article, I aim to highlight the many features available to the Monk. –Particularly at the 5th level. I chose level 5 to give beginning players an idea of what to expect at that specific level of play and also provide a general baseline for other players to compare to. For simplicity, I’ll only touch on Monk features in the Player’s Handbook (PHB). If you don’t already have it, I recommend getting one so you know what’s what.
The features will be described from the 1st level up to the 5th level. I plan to explain some possible combos as we go down the list.
The Monk’s Features at Level 5:
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Unarmored Defense
A level 5 monk should know they do not need to wear armor to gain a significant advantage to their Armor Class (AC).
Your Monk’s AC is 10 + Dexterity modifier.
Remember that you cannot wear armor or shields for this effect to apply.
Martial Arts
This feature is the bread and butter for Monks, and it gets stronger as you achieve higher levels. Particularly at the 5th level, Monks can enjoy dishing out 1d6 worth of damage for the first time (Earlier levels have the Monk dishing out 1d4 damage). There are other benefits:
You benefit from the Martial Arts Feature only if you are unarmed or have monk weapons (short swords, simple melee weapons that do not have the two-handed or heavy properties).
Instead of Strength, you use the Dexterity modifier for attack and damage rolls.
You can roll 1d6 to damage enemies with an unarmed strike or monk weapon (as mentioned above).
On your turn, attacking with an unarmed strike or a monk weapon grants you the right to do another unarmed strike as a bonus action (Make sure you haven’t expended a bonus action already).
Ki (Including Ki Features)
If Martial Arts is the bread and butter of Monks, then the Ki Feature is the pizza and french fries of Monks, too. A 5th-level monk will have access to 5 Ki Features:
Flurry of Blows
Remember the part of the martial arts feature that gives you the chance to take an unarmed strike as a bonus action? With Flurry of Blows, spending one ki point will allow two unarmed strikes instead of one on that bonus action.
This move is excellent for adding damage. Thanks to your Martial Arts dice, it only gets more potent at higher levels.
Patient Defense
When you spend one ki point on your turn, you can take the Dodge Action on your turn.
This is great for mitigating the worst attacks you have to endure.
About Dodge
Enemies that attack you get disadvantage on their attack rolls against you.
You receive advantage for all Dexterity saving throws.
When you spend one Ki point, you can choose two abilities as a bonus action: Disengage, or Dash.
Your jump distance is also doubled.
Out of combat, I see Step of the Wind as handy for climbing buildings and making it easier to traverse rooftop environments.
About Disengage
You can move out of range of enemies without provoking Opportunity Attacks.
It’s beneficial for moving out of the way of crowds or getting away from the Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG).
About Dash
You can move double your movement speed (plus any qualifying modifiers, if available).
This is excellent for getting in battles quickly if you are too far, and you can still attack on your same turn.
Deflect Missiles
This one is one of the coolest Ki features available. Great for defending and attacking against ranged opponents!
As a reaction, you can deflect a missile (or projectile) when hit by a ranged weapon attack.
The damage is reduced by 1d10 + DEX modifier + Monk level (5).
If the damage is reduced to 0, you can spend one ki point to catch the missile if you have a free hand that can hold it.
What happens when you catch a Missile using Deflect Missiles?
During the reaction, you can make a ranged attack with the projectile you caught (including thrown weapons like Javelins).
This reaction attack is made with proficiency, and the weapon will have the same damaging effects as a monk weapon. So cool!
Stunning Strike
This move is excellent for stopping a creature in its tracks! Great for ending chases, stopping rituals, and fighting the BBEG.
When hitting a creature with a melee weapon, you can spend one ki point to do a Stunning Strike.
The creature you hit must make a Constitution saving throw (8 + Monk proficiency + Monk Wisdom modifier).
The creature is stunned until the end of your next turn if it fails the saving throw.
About Ki Points
The five features above require at least one Ki point to be spent to use. At level 5, a monk will have 5 ki points (You gain 1 ki point per level). This means a lot of versatility, especially with the Monk’s Monastic Tradition (This will be introduced shortly).
How do you Recharge Ki Points?
Ki points are recharged by meditating for at least 30 minutes. This can be done by using a short rest or long rest.
This makes the Monk really useful for getting back into fights quickly, whereas spellcasters would have to wait much longer. Specifically, monks should have their ki points charged and ready between watches during a long rest.
Monastic Tradition (Specialization Abilities for Ki)
In the PHB, there are three Monastic Traditions that Monks can choose to specialize in their classes and differentiate themselves from other Monks. At level 5, Monks can only access one ability from their Monastic Tradition tree. Remember that there are more abilities in these specializations in the PHB, so I recommend reading up on that if you are curious.
As the famous Ugandan Knuckles from VRChat would say…
Do you know the Way?
Way of the Open Hand
If you choose this tradition, you can access the Open Hand Technique, which further improves the Flurry of Blows Ki ability. When a creature is successfully attacked by a Flurry of Blows Unarmed Strike, you can choose to impose additional effects the target must save for:
Open Hand Technique:
Trip them!
Your target must make a Dexterity saving throw (8 + Monk Proficiency Bonus + Monk WIS modifier). If they fail, they are knocked prone!
2. Push them!
Your target must make a Strength saving throw (8 + Monk Proficiency Bonus + Monk WIS modifier). If they fail, they are pushed 15 feet away!
3. Suppress them!
Your target cannot take reactions until your next turn ends!
Way of Shadow
Way of Shadow gives you several stealth-related spells by expending Ki points! This tradition is an excellent pick for players who want a stealthy build. –Perhaps a multiclass with Rogue? It sounds like a good combo for preventing the dragon in this article from eating you.
You can spend 2 Ki points to cast one of the following spells, which have simplified explanations:
Darkness: You can create a 15 ft. radius of magical darkness. Even darkvisioned creatures are affected, and the darkness can spread around corners. It can be used on objects!
Darkvision: You can touch a willing creature to give it Darkvision for 8 hours. –But only if they are within 60 ft. of you.
Pass Without Trace: You and your companions get a bonus on Stealth checks (+10 DEX)! They cannot be tracked except through magic, and any creature with this bonus leaves no tracks or traces.
Silence: You can create a 20 ft. radius sphere on a chosen point. Any creature inside is immune to thunder damage, and creatures inside are deafened. Casting verbal spells inside is impossible.
You attain the minor illusion cantrip.
Way of the Four Elements
This one is quite a complicated tradition! If you wanted your Monk to have elemental spellcasting ability, why not give them the powers of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender through the Way of the Four Elements? A level 5 Monk will be able to choose two novel abilities that either augment Monk abilities or give the ability to cast an elemental spell using Ki. Remember, the options listed below are for level 5 monks. Still, there are many more at higher levels, with the added ability to switch between disciplines at certain levels.
You learn the Elemental Attunement discipline:
You can use an action to move the elements, causing one of the following effects:
Create a harmless sensory effect related to the elements, like sparks, wind, mist, or rumbling stones.
Light and extinguish fire.
Chill or warm objects (nonliving) for up to an hour.
Form any element within a 1 ft. cube to any crude shape you wish for one minute.
You also learn one of the following disciplines of your choice:
Fangs of the Fire Snake:
Using 1 ki point, your range of unarmed strikes increases by 10 ft on your turn. They also deal fire damage.
If you spend an additional ki point on an attack that hits, you deal another 1d10 fire damage.
Fist of Four Thunders:
Using 2 Ki points, you can cast Thunderwave!
Every creature in a 15 ft. cube must make a CON save or take 2d8 thunder damage. They are also pushed 10 ft away.
If they succeed in the save, they take half as much damage and aren’t pushed.
Loose objects are pushed 10 ft. away.
A thunderous boom emits from 300 ft. outwards.
Fist of Unbroken Air:
Using 2 Ki points, you can take an action to choose a creature 30 ft. away. They must make a STR save. If they fail, they take 3d10 bludgeoning damage, plus 1d10 for each additional ki point you may want to spend.
They are also pushed 20 ft. away and knocked prone.
If they save, they take half the damage and aren’t pushed.
Rush of the Gale Spirits:
Using 2 Ki points, you can cast Gust of Wind!
For up to 1 minute, you can cast a line of strong wind (60 ft. long, 10 ft. wide), and you can use a bonus action on each turn to change the direction of the ability!
A creature caught in the line must make a STR saving throw or be pushed 15 ft. away.
The ability can disperse gas or vapor and extinguish unprotected flames (lanterns have a 50% chance of extinguishing).
Shape the Flowing River:
Using 1 Ki point, you can choose a 30 ft. wide space of ice or water within 120 ft. of you as an action.
You can change the water to ice (and vice-versa) and reshape ice in any manner you choose (Raising elevation, creating trenches, making walls, pillars). The max range is half the dimension of the water you have affected (30 ft. cube area water = 15 ft. high walls).
Ice cannot be shaped to trap or injure a creature.
Sweeping Cinder Strike:
Using 2 Ki points, you can cast burning hands!
Flames shoot from your fingertips in a 15 ft. cone!
Every creature in the cone must make a DEX save or take 3d6 fire damage.
If they save, they take half damage.
Any loose and flammable objects in the cone will ignite (except worn/carried items).
Water Whip:
Using 2 Ki points, you can create a whip made of water that can shove or pull creatures!
A seen creature within 30 ft. must make a DEX save or take 3d10 bludgeoning damage.
If you spend an additional ki point, you can deal another 1d10 damage, knock them prone, and push/pull them 25 ft.
If they make the save, the creature takes half damage and cannot be knocked around.
Monks at 5th level can only spend 3 Ki points to use a discipline (This max doesn’t increase until level 9).
Any spells in a chosen discipline follow general spell rules. — but do not require any components to cast. Only Ki points.
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Ability Score Improvement
Your Monk should have been able to increase their ability scores!
Choose one of the following:
2 points for one ability score,
1 point for two ability scores.
You cannot move an ability score past 20.
Slow Fall
You can use a reaction to reduce fall damage equal to 5 times your Monk level. Thus, Level 5 Monks will be able to mitigate 25 fall damage.
Extra Attack
You can attack twice for an action on your turn!
Combining extra attack with your Ki abilities is paramount to combo moves that would make a Fighter jealous. At the 5th level, the Monk’s capabilities start to shine bright.
For example, one excellent combo for a Monk to deploy against a single enemy would be to attack twice (Thanks to Extra Attack) and commit Flurry of Blows as a bonus action to do two unarmed strikes. A total of four potential hits to the enemy! –And if they have Way of the Four Elements tradition, you can take it even further to hit enemies from 10 ft. and deal 1d10 fire damage with the Fangs of the Fire Snake discipline!
Now You Know the Basics of the Level 5 Monk!
I learned much more about the Monk just by writing this article. The crazy thing is that this article only covers what’s offered in the PHB. One player for my Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign currently uses the Way of Mercy Specialization offered in the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything module. This subclass of Monk is healing-based. I might do an article on it later.
I hope this helped you with whatever you were looking for regarding abilities that the Monk class generally enjoys! My favorite subclass from the PHB version is definitely the Way of the Four Elements. There’s so much versatility that you can give your Monk. The Way of the Shadow is my second favorite because I immensely like subterfuge characters. What’s your favorite Monk subclass? Did I miss anything in particular in this article? Please let me know!
Rolling initiative in Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition determines the order of the combat round. Players and the Dungeon Master (DM) roll Dexterity Ability checks to assess the combat order in which they’ll take turns. Players roll these DEX checks for their characters, and the DM rolls DEX checks for their monsters.
The highest roll gets to play first, followed by the next until the round of combat ends. –When the round restarts, the order follows the same format (unless abilities or spells affect it) until combat ceases. Every new round of combat means everyone must “Roll Initiative!”
Here’s what the Player’s Handbook (PHB) says about initiative:
Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity check to determine their place in the initiative order.”
-pg. 190, Player’s Handbook (PHB)
Also, remember that when creatures are surprised at the start of combat, it doesn’t matter what their initiative roll ends up being. –That creature must wait until the next turn to move or commit an action. Fun tip: Stealth, which determines moments of surprise, relies on the DEX modifier too.
What Happens When Initiative Is Tied?
Player Character Ties:
There are many ways to decide the initiative roll. My method for player vs. player ties is to look at the individual Dexterity (DEX) Modifier on their character sheets. If there is a difference in DEX modifiers (Like +3 vs. +2), the higher modifier will go first (+3).
If the modifiers are also tied (+1 vs. +1), have them roll a d20 until there is a winner for that slot in the combat round.
Now, the above ruling is more to my liking. However, the more official rule set in the PHB is straightforward:
“If a tie occurs, the DM decides the order among tied DM-controlled creatures, and the players decide the order among their tied characters. The DM can decide the order if a tie is between a monster and a player character. Optionally, the DM can have the tied characters and monsters each roll a d20 to determine the order, highest roll goes first.”
-Pg. 190, PHB
Allowing players to decide amongst themselves can work. Still, sometimes gridlock can occur, so I like to use the character DEX modifiers to settle initiative.
I’m curious if there are other DMs out there with different ways to figure out ties? Please comment below if so!
Player vs. Monster Ties:
In the case of player vs. monster, I usually let the player win the tie so the game can continue. After all, the players are generally the main characters in this collaborative story setting. That said, if they are fighting against a formidable enemy, like a BBEG (Big Bad Evil Guy), it should be treated like a player vs. player tie. Don’t overcomplicate matters, though, especially if it’s holding up the game!
Alternatively, The PHB lets the DM decide who wins a tie regarding player vs. monster initiative rolls, which I find interesting. I can’t entirely agree with this, but it might align with DMs wanting more authority in their games.
When Multiple Enemies Are Involved In Combat
One mistake I consistently made as a starting DM would be to roll each similar monster individually, which would sometimes halt combat. I vividly remember sweating, trying to roll for each Redbrand Ruffian enemy in my Lost Mines of Phandelver campaign – as my players patiently waited. We slogged through it, but my lesson was to make one initiative roll for large groups of the same enemy.
That way, when there are inevitably too many enemies on screen, your players aren’t forced to watch you roll initiative for every. Single. One. The PHB touches on this specifically:
“The DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.”
-Pg. 190, PHB
Try This! Tying Charisma With Initiative For Roleplay Purposes
You know what grinds my gears? Determining who gets to go first at the start of sessions. In my games, instead of asking the heavy-leaded question of: “So, uh…who wants to go first?” –and waiting for the players to hem and haw and oh my Gods 5 minutes just passed by, I have them roll a new kind of initiative:
“Roll for Roleplay Initiative!”
-Me, Ryan
My idea is that roleplay initiative is a Charisma (CHA) check that lets players determine who goes first in an imaginary “combat round.” It’s an ice-breaker round meant to get the story going.
I use CHA instead of DEX due to the circumstances of roleplay often attached to beginning a session (Unless that session starts during a combat round). It also gives roleplay-focused characters a chance to shine and act out their characters during quiet scenes.
Remember when I mentioned the imaginary combat round? In my games, once the ice is broken, players will begin to intercede and interact organically. –Which is just what you want in the first place as the DM. I drop the roleplay initiative round entirely to run the game as usual.
The rules for Roleplay Initiative generally follow standard combat initiative rules. I wanted to add this here for DMs struggling to start their games or prod players to act mid game. While I haven’t done this midgame before, enacting a roleplay initiative can be an excellent idea for revving a “dead” table, where players may just be standing around. If anyone does this, please let me know the results! I imagine it depends on the players you have. I certainly feel lucky that I don’t need to do this.
Now You Know How Rolling Initiative Works In DND 5e!
Saying “Roll Initiative” is probably one of the best moments for me as a DM. Setting up the scene before saying it is excellent. Still, it’s even better when initiative starts due to a player’s inopportune action.
What are some of your favorite moments when you had to roll initiative? Is there anything that I missed or should expand upon? Please let me know!
The Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG) for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition (5e) is a pillar resource for DMs looking to create their own world with players willing to tell their stories in it. The focus of the DMG is primarily on world-building. It consists of three main sections which are meant to guide the DM throughout their game:
How to build the places your players will inhabit.
How to build the adventures and NPCs for players to do quests.
The adjudication of rules for specific player scenarios.
Let me start by saying this whole article is a matter of opinion. Whether you choose to read going forward is up to you. My main aim is to get fellow DMs thinking about what it really means to run a game. While this focuses on the DMG for 5e, this should translate well enough for Game Masters adjudicating other TTRPGs. The DMG is a vital resource, so why shouldn’t DMs and players take it literally? We’ll answer that question and then dive into those three sections of the DMG I mentioned above to talk about how I think people should interpret them.
The Role of The DM In The Dungeon Master’s Guide:
What makes a Dungeon Master stems from the introduction of the DMG (Pg4). In the intro, it explains the many roles of the DM:
Campaign Architect
Inventor
Storyteller
Writer
Actor
Referee
Essentially, the Dungeon Master is the one to take charge of their games. After all, they created the world the players participate in. It can be a heavy burden for certain people, especially when implementing the game’s rules. That said…
The DMG Helps You Improvise Your Games
Without rules, you don’t have a reliable game. Yet the DMG states it isn’t some law book for DMs to clutch to. –It turns out that breaking the rules of the Players Hand Book (PHB), modifying the creatures in The Monster Manual, and rebelling against ideas in the DMG for your own is encouraged. The DMs at Wizards of the Coast understand that various people will have different playstyles and worlds. No DM will play the same as the other, and that’s okay.
Here, I’ll summarize some of the critical points in the DMG’s three sections that allow the DM to change rules as they see fit:
Part 1: Master Of Worlds
To quote the very first sentence:
“Every DM is the creator of his or her own campaign world. Whether you invent a world, adapt a world from a favorite movie or novel, or use a published setting for the D&D game, you make that world your own over the course of a campaign.”
(DMG, Pg.4)
From the beginning, it tells us that you can adapt D&D to whatever you want to build your world upon. The DMG also introduces the idea that D&D is a multiverse where many planes and worlds coincidentally occur. It’s a fancy way of saying to DMs: “Do what you want!”
While this is a freeing thought, the guide also makes a point to say that consistency is a massive part of world-building.
“Consistency is a key to a believable fictional world. When the adventurers go back into town for supplies, they should encounter the same nonplayer characters (NPCs) they met before…Once you have achieved this degree of consistency, you can provide an occasional change…one that has nothing to do with the adventures directly, but one that they’ll notice –makes the players feel as though their characters are part of a living world that changes and grows along with them.”
(DMG, Pg.4)
Further, the DMG suggests that by using the PHB in conjunction with your world-building plans, you can merge them to serve your campaign’s needs.
Part 2: Master of Adventures
Part 2: Master of Adventures merely suggests that you’ll need to prepare beyond the hours you spend at the table with your players in a session.
That said, Part 2’s introduction states plainly how it will help you craft your own NPCs, including any motives and ambitions. This includes how to make up clever encounters in your story. It also says how you’ll create treasure, magic items, and special rewards so your players stay invested in your world.
The above are excellent hallmarks of consistent planning and improvisation on the DM’s part.
Part 3: Master Of Rules:
It is crucial to remember that the DMG states how important it is to have a referee who guarantees that everyone at the table plays by the rules. That said, eventually, a player’s actions would stump the most studious DM wanting to run their games Rules As Written (RAW) Style.
The DMG encourages DMs to faithfully determine what their player’s action requires or if it is even possible. Such scenarios include:
Mentally determining the Difficulty Check (DC) for an action the player may want to take.
Whether a unique action (Like throwing hot coals in an enemy’s face) imposes extra penalties or advantages for players.
Referencing the rules of the PHB to determine success or failure for player actions (Like how far a player can move to a target).
While the DMG mentions the above scenarios, there are no rules for these scenarios. –Just the suggestion that you, as a DM, must make that call yourself.
Interestingly, the DMG makes a hypocritical statement implying that you should know the rules to appropriately make the calls you need to make in the game while also saying that you don’t need to know everything. However, It closes that loophole with this beautiful quote:
“You don’t have to memorize this book or the Player’s Handbook, but you should have a clear idea of their contents so that, when a situation requires a ruling, you know where to find the proper reference.”
DMG (Pg. 5)
As long as you know where the rules reside in the PHB and the DMG, you will be doing okay as the DM. I believe this statement gives certain DMs leeway to bend the rules, but do so at your own risk and make sure that you are communicating with your players should you choose to do so. Or, like the dragon inside this article, they will eat you alive.
Taking Your Players Into Account
Believe it or not, the success of your world does not depend on how well you craft the environment, the people in it, the adventures, or the encounters.
It depends on if the players enjoy the experience you’re giving them.
“The success of a D&D game hinges on your ability to entertain the other players at the game table. Whereas their role is to create characters (the protagonists of the campaign), breathe life into them, and help steer the campaign through their characters’ actions, your role is to keep the players (and yourself) interested and immersed in the world you’ve created, and to let their characters do awesome things.” (DMG, Pg. 6)
(DMG, Pg.6)
The beauty of D&D is that it is a collaborative storytelling game. Suppose you plan to implement a novel complete with fully fleshed NPCs into your D&D game, complete with detailed revelations just waiting for your players to discover. In that case, you may encounter some serious issues.
Your NPCs are not the protagonists of the D&D world. Your players are.
The nuance of story writing for novels and short stories vastly differs from the writing required for D&D.
The arc of your story world will be trampled on and changed by the players in your D&D campaign based on the choices they are free to make.
I’ve moderated communities invested in storytelling and novels, and the one thing that stands out to me when reading for aspiring writers? They dump lore, backgrounds, and settings into their story without respecting the reader. Paragraph after paragraph of…just get to the action already! Similarly, for D&D, your players want to play the game and get to the action. I’m not saying you shouldn’t design a detailed world. But you have to go about it with the idea that D&D is more a game than a story. Leaving loopholes open and questions unanswered for your players to latch onto is the best thing you can do to introduce your custom-made world to the game.
Moving away from that tangent, I want to highlight some of the things the DMG recommends for DMs to consider when it comes to their players:
Acting: Similar to the requirement of DMs, players can act out their character. Let them!
Exploring: Understand how much your players enjoy exploring in the game. Providing them with something to uncover the mystery of your world is as easy as giving them monsters or scenes with peculiar details to start investigating.
Instigating: Instigators should be allowed to start trouble in your world. It’s up to you to give them the appropriate consequences for getting into encounters that are fun for everybody. Don’t be afraid to let the instigator’s actions change the world around them.
Fighting: Similarly, players who like to fight should have you focused on how combat proceeds, thanks to their actions, with vivid detail if at all possible.
Optimizing: Players who like to optimize their characters should be rewarded with new abilities and items. It’s wise to give these players encounters that let them shine.
Problem-Solving: Problem solvers would likely love encounters that reward planning and tactics and challenging them with NPCs that have complex motives.
Storytelling: Players who love to tell stories are at home when they know they can participate in the DM’s overarching plot. –Using their character background, ensuring encounters advance the story, and making their actions known in future events is recommended.
Implementing a portion of these suggestions from the DMG will help you craft a world that collaborates and compromises with the player’s needs and the DM’s. Having a Session 0 will help you determine your player’s needs as the story progresses. You need to ask them what they want out of the game.
An Argument for RAW (Rules As Written):
My article describes many snippets that I’ve found that support the idea of flexibility when it comes down to the rules of D&D. After all, it is a free-form game where game decisions, consequences, and player reactions will always put the DM to task when it comes down to wayward rulings. It makes sense when it comes down to consistency and reliance when playing D&D RAW style.
You will always have the PHB, the DMG, and the other supporting books behind you when you make your rulings at the table.
Players will be at ease knowing they will be treated equally at the table. Favoritism is a hard accusation to point at a DM who plays their games RAW.
Again, consistency is key for playing D&D regularly. Following the rules by the book is guaranteed to allow everybody to have fun at your sessions.
However, when it comes to making calls on the fly, RAW-style gameplay falters when:
You can’t find the specific rule in an official manual.
There is no particular rule in the official manual.
I say you shouldn’t overthink it. Sometimes, when a ruling needs to be made, it’s time to let go of RAW Style when it doesn’t work and exercise the most potent D&D rule. Just make sure not to abuse it:
Whatever you say goes. –Or the Rule of Cool.
If a really extraordinary circumstance pops up, and you are unsure if it’s allowed in the rules…why not let it happen?
If there is an action that makes sense to play, but there’s no official rule for conducting it faithfully, why not make something up and move along?
I am not the best DM in the world, but some of my best moments in the game were when I bent the rules to allow the player to do something unique. –And it ensured everyone had a blast, too.
After all, you are the Dungeon Master.
I hope that this article helps anyone thinking about running their own game, or currently doing so think about the impacts of how they choose to implement rulings for their players.
When I first started playing D&D a few years ago, I was enthralled with the idea of seeing how my friends would react to situations I would come up with on the fly. I remember that after a game of D&D, my friends and roommates would sit around, just talking. Seemingly, we still wanted to play, but the DM wasn’t around anymore. So we played pretend instead. –I wasn’t even really DMing with the rules of D&D…we were just rolling a d20 and having a blast through a scenario involving breaking into a castle.
Fun times.
My point is that the soul of D&D is in the mutual storytelling itself. The make-believe encounters we put ourselves in so we can socialize, laugh, and talk through together. No rules are required for that. Just willing sacrifices. Err, players.
There are several reasons to need to cancel a game. After more than a year of playing a few dedicated games of D&D every week, I listed my main reasons for cancellations in my games. Remember that these reasons are based on my experiences with online play only.
Major bummer. But it happens! When multiple players cancel, you must determine how many players you have.
3-4 players: You should cancel. Half of the party canceling the game will lead to the DM playing with themselves. Alternatively, you could do individual one-on-one games with your active players instead. Soon I will have an article up detailing my best practices for a one-on-one game.
5-6 players: I recommend communicating with everyone to determine if they want to continue playing the game or wait for the others. If no one answers, cancel the game. If there is interest from the other players, keep it going.
*7 + players: You should continue playing, you mad lad!
Players are late or unresponsive, and they haven’t communicated:
This is a very worrying event. Your players could have had a terrible thing happen to them, or hopefully, it’s something as simple as not looking at the time. After all, they each have their own lives to lead. Try contacting them directly and determine if you can reach them. If only one person does this, by all means, continue the game without them. If multiple people do this, I recommend canceling to work on the game internally. DMs ultimately need to make their own determination when this event occurs. Suppose this happens with a particular player for multiple sessions. In that case, you may want to evaluate whether they belong in your game. Thankfully, I’ve never had to do this, and I hope you don’t either!
You, The DM, Are Called Into Work or Family Matter:
Nothing you can do when life calls you back to tend to critical matters. Remember that playing dedicated D&D means you’ve made the conscious decision to dedicate a few hours of your life to playing D&D. Of course, when you need to pay the bills or care for a sick parent, you cannot control everything perfectly. Work is a leading reason why I must cancel my games. –But let me state that I very rarely let it happen.
At my current job, I iterate to them just how vital my set days are to me. As a DM, it’s ultimately your responsibility to communicate with your job’s supervisor about your scheduling needs. I firmly believe nobody should work a job that doesn’t let them work on a consistent schedule. If this isn’t addressed, I think it will be tough for a DM to consistently play their game long-term. Similarly, you must ensure your family understands your boundaries and hobbies. Good luck!
* I’ve had moments where my job started calling me to work almost weekly! Eventually, I told them I wouldn’t come in that day, and they stopped. I am fortunate to have a very understanding employer with an excellent boss. I feel it’s a respectful relationship. If you have to have any reason, all you need to tell them is that you have an appointment scheduled that day. –Because you literally do. Your appointment is to play some D&D with your friends!
You, The DM, are feeling sick (And Playing At A Table):
You should call the session off. While I’m sure it would be fun to raise the dead in a game of Dungeons & Dragons, it’s not fun to make others feel like the rising dead because you had the flu. This goes for players too. If you are unwell, stay home!
*Alternatively, you could switch your D&D game to online play for that session. I will write an article soon detailing how to get an online game started quickly and for free so you can focus on playing instead of infecting your friends!
A Group Emergency Happened.
Many types of emergencies would affect the dynamics of your D&D group. Sometimes someone has a death in the family and needs to leave for a while. Maybe someone was injured in the group. Whatever that group emergency is, the prevailing feeling from everyone is that play would feel forced and not enjoyable. I recommend canceling the session, at least for that week, and openly communicating with everyone affected.
Internal Changes In The Game Occurred Or Will Occur.
Did you come up with an entirely epic storyline that needs further development? Are players pining you for something new & tasty for their D&D games in the future? What if you found a significant glitch in the game that may destroy what you’ve worked to cultivate?
Cancel, cancel, cancel the session! –And use that time to develop what you need to update. You will thank yourself for doing it; I’m sure your players will too. Sometimes it makes sense to pause a project, like a dedicated game, so you can view it from all sides and make the necessary changes.
A Major Disruption Happened In Game.
There are a variety of disruptions, but the worst ones will be the ones that cannot be worked around or ignored. These types of troubles include:
An outburst from a player or multiple players affected everyone’s enjoyment of the game.
Power Outages.
An act of God (Like an electric fire or a tree falling on your roof).
These disruptions are the ones that are entirely out of your control as a DM. Sometimes people aren’t in the best mood, or a lightning storm happens, and you must cancel the game. Whatever the reason, always communicate to your players why you need to cancel. I’m sure they’ll understand.
In particular, whenever an outburst from a player or players occurs, it should be treated promptly and seriously, as it could affect the future of your game moving forward. Later, I will write an article detailing how to set up your games for success by having a strict but fair set of rules. It will be linked here.
What Would Make You Cancel A D&D Game?
Of course, there are several other reasons why you would cancel a D&D game. Every dungeon master has their own issues, obstacles, and pool of players with different needs and wants. There’s gotta be a random hodge-podge of specific reasons to cancel your game. The list I provided was merely a general summary of some of my most common issues.
So what would make you cancel your game? Leave a comment below.
My name is Ryan. I am 32-years-old and I currently live in Colorado Springs. Before all this, I worked for the news in Alaska. When I left that job and moved to various locations across the USA with my high school friends, I was relatively ignorant of TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons.
That all changed after my friends, Cody and Alex, convinced me to play the game with the help of a mutual friend that would facilitate the game for us. When we started D&D, I quickly fell in love with the format of the game. I heavily leaned into my reporting background to play. Surprisingly, the first character I ended up creating was an amnesiac half-orc barbarian by the name of Muk Yearn, and he had some amazing stories!
However, those first games were bitter-sweet and left my friends and I wanting more. While they were very fun and a great social experience, the games were almost always delayed due to the dungeon master at the time being fashionably late. It was still amazing, but I quickly knew that I had to start something of my own, especially when the lease to the house expired and my friends and I went separate ways.
So! I sought to continue the D&D experience. But this time, I would be the Dungeon Master. Starting in the Summer of 2022, just after the COVID pandemic, I was finally ready to play. I bought a copy of Lost Mines of Phandelver (LMOP), a pre-made DND 5e Module for beginners, and purchased a virtual tabletop program called Fantasy Grounds to start playing digitally. All I would need is my computer, Discord, a great social media app for gamers and TTRPG enthusiasts, and some friends to play my game with.
What happened afterward is nothing short of an adventure! Many of my friends from the first game were already interested in playing. This, despite my personal ignorance of the rules at the time. They joined me in my games alongside some players that I found on the D&D Beyond forums, and we have since expanded from LMOP into other modules, such as Curse of Strahd, Phandelver & Below, Tales from the Yawning Portal, and Radiant Citadel. We’ve also been playing custom stories that I’m proud to call my own. My new and old friends still play online today, with two 3-hour sessions per week at a consistent schedule.
Why Start This Blog?
It’s been 3 years of D&D modules, and several homebrewed one-shots. I even had the pleasure of enjoying a custom one-shot that my friend and player, Dan, made due to our adventures together. These experiences, along with some failed wisdom saves, made me want to roll initiative and start sharing my D&D experiences with other people too. I want to use this blog to talk about my personal D&D games (and potentially other TTRPG games I may start playing), and to improve my own play style. I also want to start an invested community of like-minded players and share with them some of the knowledge that I’ve gained after just a year of playing dedicated D&D. I want this website to be a fun gathering for everybody, too. (A lot to want, I know!)
After three years, I expect a lot from this blog. I just want people to enjoy the content I create involving all things dungeons with dragons while we all stumble around figuring out what to do next. Cheers!
-Ryan Grimes, Creator – Dungeons With Dragons Blog
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