Tabletop Roleplaying games, like Dungeons & Dragons, are an essential part of my life. They help me get in touch with the part of my mind that many people me seem to have given up on -- The Imagination.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Tabletop roleplaying games, the concept is simple: Everyone sits around a table. They take on the persona of a character that (in most games) they created, those characters exist in a world called a campaign setting, then they use dice a tool for creating the randomness of the world.

What Is A Dungeon Master?

The Dungeon Master (or Game Master) is the person who runs the storyline for the adventures. As the DM (or GM) you create an interactive experience for everyone playing, developing problems to solve, giving the group monsters to fight, providing all of the other personalities in the game, from the shopkeep to the evil overlord, but most importantly — the Dungeon Master is the storyteller.

A dungeon master can never know everything that the players are going to do, but if you spend a few extra minutes preparing, using the following tips, you can put yourself in a position to have everything lead them down the path you’d like.

More tips and info on Dungeon Mastering here:
Become A Better Game Master and Storyteller #1
Become A Better Game Master and Storyteller #2

Spend Your Idiot Points

Subtlety has its time and place in Storytelling and Game Mastering, but sometimes, with all that's going on, you need to be blunt. My screenwriting teacher called it, "spending your idiot points."

It's very simple: Repeat, through drama, what needs to be done to move the story forward. Add spectacle to emphasize the point.

Don't rely on the intelligence and awareness of your players to pick up on your subtle cues. Use idiot points to get the heroes on track for the major events.

Here's an example of how a scene might look:

“I will send you all to fight the dragon," says King Alcus.

The Kings advisor speaks up, “Your Majesty if you send them to fight the dragon they will surely die. They have done so much for us, send someone else.”

“There is no one else!" yells the queen, then she gestures to one of her wizards. "Show them."

A young wizard nods and steps into the center of the room; Raises both hands, which blur and waver with magical energy. From the floor rises a crystal ball on a black pedestal. He waves his hand over the artifact.

A mist swirls within the glass. Colors begin to blend until you can see clearly: a red dragon burning a small village in the mountains. The wizard gestures to the dragon, "This is who you must fight, heroes. Please, save these people."

Spend Your Ego Points

Every player you have wants to be the hero. It's a rare thing to have a party that will allow one player to be the protagonist while they play supporting roles. So, to keep the players motivated and excited by using ego points.

An ego point is a moment that makes the player feel like the hero like his character has a greater purpose than the rest of the party.

Use 20's on mundane actions do something extraordinary.

We all know what it's like to roll a 20 for something mundane. It almost feels wasted. These ordinary 20s are all chances for a DM to spend an ego point. For those of you not using a D20 system, just use whatever constitutes an excessively successful outcome in a not so dire/dramatic event.

Direct bonuses toward the big fights and dire moments

Characters want to have big moments at critical times. So try to make every bonus something that will assist in the next major dramatic moment.

Create mundane, but magical items

Throw in common items that are secretly magical. As a storyteller, I can trigger these things to give people purpose during big moments.

Here's an example of how an ego point might play out for a hero:

Zaxa, the rogue, is climbing an average wall and a natural 20 is rolled for her climb check.

As she easily climbs the wall, her hand presses against an oddly smooth piece of stone.

Her hand seems to fall through the wall. His heart skips a beat, but in the blink of an eye. Zaxa’s hand is free again and it’s grasping a long piece of rope.

Use an idiot point to let the players know that this isn’t something to investigate. The bard in the party knows that, “There were many heroes who investigated these caves, some left tools behind to help future adventurers. This was a one time portable hole, with common rope hidden inside. It must have been left by one of those previous adventurers.”

Time passes as the game goes on.

The heroes end up fighting on a narrow bridge with Krug the Troll. Xaxar is knocked off over the side. He's falling to his death.

Something moves in Xaxar's backpack. The rope. It animates, slithers from his belt one end wraps around his waist, the other shoots toward the bridge. Xaxar's trajectory changes. He's swinging beneath the bridge. Then up and over. The rope snaps and Xaxar, you're flying toward Krug. You have one action.

In this example you see the hero discovers something on a common action. He receives a mysterious but common item.

In a dire moment, the rope he found becomes a dramatic moment for the party. His actions led to this moment and he’s the hero.

Sources: Elf

---

I’m Decimus.

I write, I teach, I tell stories. Read my intro post.

---

100% STEEM POWER