And I came up with a wonderful idea for where to take my blog, Dungeons With Dragons.
I want to make this life of ours a fun place to be around, just like how it is in Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a lot in the subject of life where we could apply the lessons that D&D can teach you. Don’t believe me?
I’ll prove it to you. But first you have to join my party. Want some stew with that ale?
Welcome to Session 0
Starting with this website, and with a little trust from you, I’ll start talking about my thoughts on life’s lessons that could help you live it just a bit easier. Just from a Dungeons With Dragons Blog point of view.
If you’re not interested in that, I still plan to talk about D&D in the same format I have been. How to play the game, class and character help, thoughts and information on monsters. You know, technical D&D 5e stuff that players of the game should know about. –But don’t be surprised if you find a side post about how gods darned tasty my mom’s stew was. I’m not gonna go into the details, but inspiration hit me like a Dungeon Master granting it when I tasted it. The stew was that good.
The inspiration was that I thought of the reason for this article: “So I Was Eating My Mom’s Stew”.
Here’s my point: I just want to make this blog fun, damnit. That means gamifying it a little bit. Having fun with the formatting and inviting others to participate in the making of the website. To help turn it into an interactive place of wonder.
For example, I want to reveal that I’ve been looking into implementing a custom dice system into the website. My first implementation will be to code in a dragon rolling a d20 to the bottom of the page. Here’s a preliminary gif that will be at the top of the home page:
And the bottom of the page will be a randomized d20, it would look sort of like this:
But randomized of course.
What do you think about it? I need to figure out the coding. Get into Javascript. I’m thinking of using Chat GPT to teach me coding and figure it all out. Feel free to give me feedback.
So, Please Roll Your Character!
Were I to be any DND character, I’d probably be a Bard in my current scenario. A human Bard. I’ve told you about my character, what about yours?
If this is Dungeons With Dragons, will you help me explore this dungeon? I’ll write you notes every once in a while as we carefully meet the dragons ahead. You seem more like the quiet type, anyway. Am I wrong?
If you find something interesting, feel free to click on it. It might be important. A note. A picture. A peak at my inventory. As if I’d let you do that willingly. –You may have to roll the dice to do Sleight of Hand. Maybe it’s to perceive something else, like a monster or an ally. Whatever it is, I just want it to be fun to interact with. You’ll know to click it when you see it.
Thanks for reading Dungeons With Dragons. Stay tuned for these changes. Check back often. You may notice a dragon you’ve never seen before.
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 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.
A player or multiple players canceled.
I was feeling sick.
Schedule changes
Players were late or unresponsive.
I was called into work.
Emergencies to do with the group.
Internal Changes in the game itself.
It’s my aim today to discuss when to continue your D&D game despite these disruptions.
When Should I continue my D&D game?
The answer is not apparent because it depends on the context of your issue holding up the game. The good news is that as the DM, you have the power to keep the game moving forward at your discretion. Just make sure to be fair to your players too!
To answer this question better, I color-coded the cancellation reasons listed above to highlight the least important to most important causes. Keep in mind that this is my personal opinion:
One player canceled.
Schedule changes
I was feeling sick (And I’m playing online).
Multiple players canceled.
Players were late or unresponsive.
I was just called into work.
I am feeling sick (And I’m playing at a table.)
Emergencies to do with the group.
Internal Changes in the game itself.
An act of God (Power outage, etc).
Remember that, despite my opinion, it’s up to the reader to determine what should be taken more seriously when deciding to cancel their game. Some of these reasons listed in orange and red are discussed further in my article “How To Know When To Cancel A D&D Game.”
One Player Canceled.
Players have canceled on plenty of my games, and while it’s not ideal, the show should go on if only one person cancels that night. The first thing DMs should do when a player withdraws is to take control of the situation immediately. I usually ask the player if it is okay for them if we continue playing. Usually, they have no issues, and you can announce to your group about the change. If they have a problem with the game starting, make your determination after conversing with the player. That said, it’s all about talking with the player that canceled to ensure what their character needs are and to update them reliably on what happened in the game. Think of it as an opportunity to learn your player’s character better during the session. It could turn into a more exciting game because of this.
Schedule changes
Schedule changes are rare. Once someone mentions a change of schedule, it can feel like their foot is both in and out the door of the game. Hopefully, when you set up your game, you’ve already established the rules of your dedicated game, including a set schedule. Recently, one player changed their schedule and notified us ahead of time. They couldn’t be at the game at the start time due to another game they were invested in. The solution we came up with was that the player would join when they could to continue playing. I would tell them what happened to their character when they returned and what to expect in the session.
What I do not ever recommend doing is changing everyone’s schedule around for only one person. It could lead to additional cancellations by other players. Again, it’s important to use communication to unravel the beast that could be a schedule change. If more than one person is announcing a change of schedule, that should result in the cancellation of the game until a new plan is formed or the current one is enforced.
You, The DM, Are Sick (And Playing Online)
Since you are sick, it is vital to distinguish how sick you feel. After all, if you know you aren’t feeling well to play, don’t. This goes for players too.
That said, dedication is key for keeping a game going consistently. I canceled plenty of games when I was sick, but I’ve also continued playing in plenty of games despite that. It all depended on how I felt then and whether or not I could talk and speak, which is very important for DMing. From the POV of online play, I remind myself that D&D is a game. So as long as I’m having fun with everybody, it doesn’t matter if I’m sick. It’s not like I’m infecting the other players through Discord.
Sometimes sickness isn’t physical. It can be mental too! Remember to always take it easy when you need the time to collect yourself. Anxiety and unease about a social game are not worth having. Make sure to communicate with the players and let them know why the cancellation has to happen. You don’t have to go into details, but it’s your duty to inform them that you need a break. Be kind to yourself.
About Consistency
A common phrase is thrown around the D&D and roleplaying communities: “No D&D is better than bad D&D!” I agree entirely. If you need to cancel because you know that the reason would affect the mood of the game, then please cancel. That said, it’s also imperative to remain consistent when playing a dedicated game. Heavy emphasis on dedicated. Consistency matters less if it’s a simple and casual game between friends. A dedicated game can still be relaxed, but it’s run strictly due to a specific set of mutually respected rules.
How to Play Consistent D&D Games
D&D is a collaborative storytelling game, so it follows that you need to collaborate with your players. If you plan to play D&D, you must roll with the punches and not cancel every time something happens during a session. It’s a significant responsibility, but enforcing your game rules and being strict with scheduling will make your games run smoothly. –Especially when the players under you get with the program. That said, getting players to adhere to your rules requires professionalism, fairness, and the expectation that following your rules will lead to a fun gameplay experience. Otherwise, why play D&D with you?
Opinion: Consistency Means You Need To Be A Manager
You can’t be a god if you want consistency in your D&D games.
Sure, it’s the DM’s role to play as the literal world your players are dropped in. After all, I describe the scenes and play the piper leading the adventurers where they wander. It’s like being a god. But I’m not too fond of the idea that the DM is this overlord where players must cower in fear, wondering what may come next from my random and godly decisions. Surely most players don’t want the rules to change because of a spontaneous decision. They want a consistent ruleset they can anticipate that every participant follows to the letter, including the DM. –This is why playing the dungeon master should be more like a manager than a god. Especially outside of the game, the dynamics of planning it are entirely different, requiring more collaboration from everybody.
If I were a player, I would want my games to have consistent and easy-to-follow rules, encourage and reward my ideas, and provide a safe space to play without worrying about the others around me. In my opinion, you’ll find that managing your players is a much easier proposition for facilitating your game than pretending you are a god. You don’t want prayers from your players. You want an open-ended discussion for this collaborative game. When a problem occurs in your game, as the DM Manager, it’s your job to facilitate dialogue with everybody and resolve it ASAP.
So, communicate! Do not dominate!
Food for thought.
I hope this helps you determine when to keep going with your game or when to cancel. Did I miss anything? If I did, please let me know by leaving a reply below. Thanks for reading.
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy.
