- Geez, this is way more
complicated than being a player. (cellphone vibrates) What the... Hello? - Whoa! I can't believe you picked up! Oh, I guess you don't have
all those robocallers yet. Lucky. - Are you calling from the future? - I am! You're just about to start your first game as a Dungeon Master, right? - Yeah! I'm excited, I
think it's gonna be great. - Oh, sweetie. No, it's terrible. You get so stressed.
You're full of self-doubt. You make it way harder for
yourself than it needs to be. And then your game dies
when you have to go online during the pandemic. - During the what? - Oop! Nothing! Gotta watch out for the butterfly effect. But I think it's worth the risk. I wanna teach you some
Dungeon Master lessons that I wish I'd learned earlier. - So you're still DMing? - Oh, yeah! I actually just got done running a game as a professional Dungeon
Master in England, in a real castle. - Wow! That sounds amazing! - Yeah, but imagine how
much more confident I'd be if I'd learned all this stuff earlier! So let's get started. I've
got five tips for you. First, let go of control. I know this is hard for you. You're a little type-A
controlling asshole. - Excuse me! - I'm you, I can say that. And listen, the truth is,
you can only prepare so much. And the more you try to define what your players are gonna do, the more frustrating it's gonna be when they inevitably do
something completely different. Just leave some room to improvise. - But I wanna make sure I'm prepared. What if players do something that's hard for me to improvise? - I get it, and honestly, I still prep a lot more than some DMs do. Everybody has their own preferences there. But remember, this is a
collaborative storytelling game, so you need to be ready for your players to tell some of the story. They might do that in a
different way than you would, but that's part of what makes it fun. You can prepare for what your
NPCs are thinking or doing, you can prepare for what's
going on in the town or what monsters are gonna
live in which places, but make sure that you're not
making decisions for players during your game prep. Prepare for what exists in your world, but leave room for them
to respond to that world in any way they choose. You get to decide what's already happened, but they'll only have fun if their choices affect what happens next. - That makes sense. I can totally do that, you're overstating how controlling I am. - Yeah, sure. Also, on that note, remember that it's just not that serious. Even if you're telling an
intense story, D&D, as a game, is gonna result in some
ridiculous situations. It's more fun if you just embrace that. You'll write a dramatic bad guy, and then your players will humiliate them. Or someone will roll
really badly on a check when trying to do something dramatic. Your game isn't gonna be
like an epic fantasy saga the whole time, and trust
me, it's better that way. Just loosen up that
death grip on the reins and remember that it's a game. - Yeah, yeah, got it.
It's a game. What's next? - I know I just said that
you shouldn't be forcing your players down certain paths, but there is a caveat there. Remember that control is relative. You want your players to feel like their choices are impacting the game. But that doesn't mean that you have to completely
relinquish control. - Ha! Now who's type-A? - That's a self-own. I'm you. - Dammit. - Listen, if a random
story was the most fun, then we wouldn't even need DMs. You aren't here to write the story, but you are here to guide it. That means that sometimes, what your players need isn't
complete freedom of choice, it's the illusion of choice. Maybe you planned on an important
item being in the tavern, but your players investigated
the library instead. That's okay. You can just pretend
that the important item was in the library the whole time. That's gonna be more fun than
having them just find nothing, and it's gonna make them feel rewarded for having the idea to search the library. You can't do this all the time, but it's a useful tool
to have in your toolbox. Or maybe you planned a
whole combat encounter, but your players worked
out a way to avoid it. You don't want to ignore
their clever solutions and then force them into combat anyway. But you could still reskin those monsters and bring them out again later so that all that encounter
balancing isn't wasted. Or hold onto that encounter until your players are
in the same area again and don't get so lucky
with their stealth rolls. You want players to have freedom,
but not too much freedom. Boundaries and structure are part of what make the game fun and interesting. There's a joke in the writing world that real events sometimes
make for shitty stories. And that's because usually, the kinds of things that
happen in real life are random, they don't have meaning. - That's pretty dark. Are you okay? - Sweet summer child. So innocent. I bet you don't even have mask-ne. - I think I get it: There's a sweet spot between
being too controlling and too hands-off, and I need to find it. - Exactly. It takes practice, but it's easier to find that sweet spot if you're looking for it. - Ah! You've come for
a potion, haven't you? - Wait, wait, wait, wait.
What the heck is this? - Oh, we have sponsors now! People pay us to make silly skits. - Oh my god, the future is awesome. - Ah! You've come for
a potion, haven't you? The one that makes it easy for DMs to keep track of their
worldbuilding information? A popular brew, I must say. We call it the World Anvil potion. I've already added the base: A highly customizable website where you can create, index,
and crosslink articles about everything from NPCs to
local holidays in your world. Now, for the other ingredients... First, interactive nestable maps from galaxies all the way down
to the insides of buildings, all neatly linked together. (inhales) Mmm, smells nice, too. Next, historical timelines
and family trees, very useful for keeping
track of world events, cursed bloodlines, et cetera. (potion pouring) Character sheets and
stat blocks, of course! Couldn't possibly make
this potion without those. They're interactive, you know, so you can roll digital
dice with just a click. These are the privacy tools. You want your players to have
access to some information, but you're a DM! You also have some secrets to keep. And last but not least... (ingredients plops) Sorry, I can't explain every ingredient! There are far too many. Suffice it to say, if
worldbuilders need it, World Anvil can do it. Now it needs to sit in the
light of the full moon, and then bathed in a Red Dragon's flame, and then age for a century. Is that too long of a wait? I'm so sorry, I thought you knew! Well, good news, you can
just sign up for free at WordAnvil.com to get instant access. And if you decide you want
the full list features, you can take 40% off any membership level with the code GINNY. Just to tide you over in
until the potion's done. - (clapping) Yay! That
was so funny and cute. - Okay, calm down, you egomaniac. Anyway. Tip three: Listen to players. You're players will tell you what kind of game they want to play and what sorts of things
they have fun doing. - But how do I interpret that? - No, I'm not saying "they'll
tell you" metaphorically. You can literally just
talk to them about it. Do they want to roleplay a
lot? Do they like puzzles? How much combat do they want? Are they jokesters, or do they
want a more dramatic game, or maybe somewhere in the middle? Even if you think you know,
it's good to make sure. That's what Session Zero is for. Just get together for a session
before you start playing to make sure everyone's on the same page about what you're looking for in a game. I like to ask each player what their favorite part of D&D is, and what their least favorite part is, Sometimes the answers surprise me, and they can help me create a game that has something for everyone. Or, to realize that some
players might not be a good fit for the kind of game that I want to run. - Okay, but what if they aren't sure? Some of my players have
never done this before. - In that case, I think
it's just good to remember that your at least partially in control of the direction and tone of the game. If what you planned just doesn't seem to be
landing with players, it's okay to switch gears. You don't have to force yourself to play out a long dungeon crawl or a series of riddles or
a big political plot line if it turns out that your
players aren't enjoying that. And if your group all said that they wanted a
serious, dramatic campaign, but they keep gravitating
towards puns and silliness, then maybe that's what
you wanted all along, and that's okay. You're not married to
any of these decisions. You can change your mind, as a group, from session to session. Pay attention to the way that your players engage with the game. If they tend to try and gain
favors from NPCs, make allies, and persuade people to achieve their ends, then you can make sure that there are NPCs with their own goals and motivations, ready to interact with them. But if they really seem to prefer heists and stealth missions
and sneaking around, then you'll learn to prepare
traps and hidden secrets. They might not always
want to navigate the story the same ways that you would predict. But don't force them
down the kinds of paths you think they should be taking. Instead, let them reach
the important destinations using whatever paths they choose. - Listen to players. Got it. But what if they don't give me feedback, like, maybe they're afraid
of hurting my feelings? Oh, then you should just try and guess what their feedback is,
assume it's negative, internalize the idea
that they hate your game and feel trapped by it, and then develop a feeling of
deep insecurity around that. - Really? - Of course not! But that's the kind of
what you're about to do. Listen, you can ask for feedback! And there are ways to request it that make it easier for
players to be critical without worrying that they're
hurting your feelings. Personally, I like Stars and Wishes, which is a system where
everybody says "one star", something they enjoyed about the session, and then "one wish" for something they would like
to see happen in the future. It only takes a few minutes, but a structured feedback system like this can be really valuable in taking the temperature of your group. And what they say might surprise you. Often the things that I am the
most worried about messing up are the exact things
that my players point out as things that they're really enjoying. It helps keep those assumptions in check, and it gives me actionable information for what to prepare for the next session. - I guess I am pretty scared
of screwing up the game. Being the DM is a lot of responsibility, and I want my friends to have a good time. - I know you do. And that's why the next tip is really more of an affirmation: You're on the same team. Your players are on your side, and everybody wants to have a fun game. As always, you are your own worst critic and your players are not nearly as worried about your mistakes as you are. In fact, they probably aren't
even noticing most of them. - Are you sure? I've never done this before, I'm probably gonna mess a lot of stuff up. - Yeah, you are. But that's okay! It's all right to admit to your players that you messed up, misunderstood a rule, or made a call that
you want to change now. You can retcon, you can hand wave. If you don't know what to say
when players ask a question, you can ask for a few
minutes to work it out, or tell them that you'll look it up and answer their question next session. You can pause to look up a rule. Or you can ignore the rules entirely! It's your game, and as long as you and your
players are on the same page, you can pretty much do whatever you want. It can be easy to get
sucked into the roleplay and the performance of it, and then if something comes up that you aren't sure how to handle, it can feel like a lot pressure. But in the end, you aren't really god, and your players aren't
really adventurers. You're all aware that
you're playing a game, so it's okay to press pause, step back, and acknowledge that. - I just really want to be an awesome DM and give them an amazing game. - Yeah, but you're a player, too! What's the point in doing all this if you aren't having a good time? If you remember that your
players are on your team, then any obstacle that comes up is one that you can face together. And I can tell you from experience, that the more fun you're having, the more fun players are having. Your energy is contagious, because it's in every element
of the world you're creating, So, do what you can to make
sure your energy is positive. - To be honest, you're
kinda freaking me out. It sounds like I'm about to
really mess up this game. What if you're tips aren't enough and it's still really hard? - That's possible! Your players had a good
time, but I'm not gonna lie, it was really hard for you. You put a lot of pressure on yourself. And once you weren't having a good time, you felt guilty for that, too. If those other tips don't help and your first DMing is still rough, that's when you'll want the last tip: No D&D is better than bad D&D. Especially when your first starting out, you might not know what
to expect from a D&D game. You might think that whatever
you're feeling is normal, or that maybe everyone else is fine and you're just wrong. But ultimately, no
matter whose fault it is or why it's happening, if you aren't having a good
time, it's okay to stop. Not every table is right for every person. Maybe you're sitting down
with a bunch of lovely people who just want a different
type of game than you, and that's okay! Or maybe the timing is just wrong. Or maybe you don't
actually want to DM at all! It can be easy to just
keep putting one foot in front of the other and never actually stop to reevaluate. So, make sure to take time
to check in with yourself and just see how the
game is making you feel. Do you get excited before a
session, or do you dread it? Do you feel like time
flies while you're DMing, or are you watching the clock? Life is short, and D&D sessions are long. God, they're so long. It is not worth it if you don't love it. - Man, thanks for calling to
warn me about all this stuff. It sure would suck if 2020
was ruined by a bad D&D game. Now that you've given me all these tips, I'm sure 2020 is gonna be awesome. - Mm-hmm! Totally! Anyway, I better go. Stock up on toilet paper. - What? Hello? - Phew! That was a close one. (phone rings) Hello? Whoa! Are you from the future? Do you have DM advice for me? - What? Oh, yeah, D&D. I remember when we played that, Back before the climate wars. No, I'm calling to tell you to
be nicer to your Google Home. Oh, and buy Tums. - Why? Do they become super valuable? - No, you're just 30 and most
food hurts your body now. - [Josh] Babe, come on, we gotta go pick up the
clones from daycare. - I gotta go. Oh, start learning Latin. It comes back. - Huh. That was weird. Anyway! If you're a beginner DM
trying to improve your skills, you definitely need to watch my video about fixing boring combat next. I really wish I'd learned
all this stuff earlier, but you can't send videos
over the phone through time. Yet, apparently.
