PAX 08: Twelve Things Any DM Can Do to Improve Their Campaign

I just got back from the “Art of the Dungeon Master” panel at the Penny-Arcade Expo, which taught me many things (the largest of which being I need to get my ass in gear and play more D&D). The last question that was asked was for each of the four panelists to choose three things that any Dungeon Master can do to improve their campaign instantly. I took notes, but they often talked faster than I could transcribe, so if I get something wrong and one of the panelists read this I apologize, leave a comment and I’ll fix it immediately. Or just take credit for someone else’s words. I also didn’t get the fourth panelist’s last name, and it isn’t on the sheet with all of the session’s information, so if anyone knows let me know. Either way, here is the list:

Christopher Perkins:

  1. Use funny voices and take notes on what characters have what vocal styles. Copy celebrities for key NPCs, even if you can’t get it close you will still give them a unique and signature voice. He also says to give different races different accents, and revealed that throughout all of his campaigns the Drow race has had a French accent and Gnomes all speak with lisps.
  2. Use a folder full of maps, take them from the internet or books or wherever. It will make you seem infinitely more prepared when the party finds an outhouse and you have a map for the dungeon underneath it.
  3. Don’t spend months or days creating a campaign, instead write a 3-10 page document detailing the world and give it to the players before the first session. It will help them create their own characters and give them help with backstory.

Click the little thingy that says something to the effect of “Read More” to, well, read more.
James Wyatt:

  1. Overpreparation is a waste of time, don’t do it.
  2. Steal ideas from everywhere don’t be afraid to blatantly plagiarize. Loot, pillage, and rob movies, books, and television shows of their plots to make your own better, and take anything from your life, like architecture you see, and use it in your campaign.
  3. Turn up the fantasy. If you’re playing in a fantasy setting don’t fear making it too unrealistic or fantastic, throw in the dragons, pixies, and goblins they expect – the want to see it/kill it.

Chris Pramas:

  1. Be prepared to change your plans, which is part of not overpreparing. If you create a plot that you want the party to follow that goes against what they want to do you might find yourself dragging them along a path they don’t want to follow. If they want to go one way and you aren’t prepared, get ready to improvise.
  2. Don’t be afraid to challenge your players and surprise them. This doesn’t mean with just powerful enemies, but be willing to give them important choices and challenge their minds, as well as their characters in combat.
  3. Try different playing styles, switching up Dungeon Masters and seeing if you can find something new to do with the game to make it fresh.

Mike:

  1. Ask yourself why you are DMing. Odds are it is to have fun and entertain your friends, so be sure you are doing that.
  2. Evoke emotions from your players. Hate is always a good one to use, so try and see if you can get them to hate a character, it makes them more emotionally involved.
  3. Use props. It’s one thing to say to a character “you find a magical sword,” it’s another thing to say “you find a magical sword, AND HERE IT IS!” It’s fun, so do it more.

For a full write up of Art of the Dungeon Master be sure to check back in the coming days, as I will actually get a chance to step away from the convention and report everything that took place. Do any of these speak to you? Have any that you think should be added?

4 comments

  1. The Chatty DM says:

    Thanks for the Writeup… it’s all great stuff that i agree with!

    August 31st, 2008 at 9:35 am

  2. TMan says:

    Good notes and good ideas! Wish I could have been there.

    September 2nd, 2008 at 11:01 am

  3. Keep on the Borderlands » Blog Archive » PAX and the Art of the Dungeon Master says:

    [...] After this the conversation moved towards player involvement and how to tell if your players were engaged or not. Most of the responses were variations on players are not engaged if they are doing other things, stacking dice, etc. I think the most interesting response came from Chris Pramas, because it dealt with player’s behavior in the game: he said that players tend to play more selfishly when they are not engaged in the game, taking side jaunts or trying to place focus on their own character. I’d never thought about this that way before and I think it’s something to watch out for. The panelists were all asked how a campaign could be improved or to engage players further, which I’m not going to cover because someone else covered it much better here. [...]

    September 4th, 2008 at 7:49 pm

  4. Gnome Rodeo: Evil Robots Made Me Write This in Binary - Gnome Stew, the Game Mastering Blog says:

    [...] Over on Pen and Paper Portal, Coop summarizes PAX 08’s twelve things any DM can do to improve their campaign. Good points all around, and I want to try this: “Don’t spend months or days creating a [...]

    September 5th, 2008 at 2:40 am

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