Bjarkmundur
2021-11-26, 03:59 AM
The discussion on which order a DM should purchase his books not only made me realize that I only own the Monster Manual, and that there are so many important resources a DM uses that AREN'T the officially released books. To give upcoming DMs some idea of the toolkit they are likely to develop over maybe a year of DM-ing, I thought I might share mine. NOTE: This is going to look like a LOT. This is not what you need to play, it is just things that will happen naturally as you work around finding ways to make DMing easier. This is why you should start small, because it will get an order of magnitude easier to DM the more you do it.
My DM Google Document
When I first started DMing this document was simply called "Things I've googled before". I simply copied and pasted all the various rules I've had to look up during sessions, so that the next time it would pop up I could simply ctrl+F and find it right away. Over the years this document slowly morphed as we adjusted rules, added our owns etc. Now this is a full blown compendium of houserules (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fqVaIbHNWRzWJ11L7aAuxxPqPdTp39zZ6DVBo7sXaD8/edit?usp=sharing). Althought you won't use this exact link in your games, it is good practice to still have a Google Doc that you can access from anywhere where you can keep all your links and various bits of information.
Session Outline
Having bullet points for what you expect to come into play during your next session is REALLY helpful. I like to print mine out. At the bottom you can then add all your ideas, random encounters and other cool stuff you find.
Player Handouts and Resources
Being a DM is already a lot of work. I like to delegate as much work as I can to my players. Handouts are great for that purpose. This way I can frontload a lot of the work and therefor have less things to worry about in a session. When they ask "How do Downtimes work?" I can simply give them a paper and say something along the lines of "Figure it out" My handouts are usually something like this, and I update them regularly depending on the campaign, or just based on last session's experience:
What they can spend their gold on. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
Downtimes (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
How their skills work (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
Various Rules I know they'll have to look up eventually (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1va_bm_LVjAKfWbNVkFxfLPYVTkfcNsoDih6sSzSUnVA/edit?usp=sharing)
Encounter Calculator
I gave up on trying to figure out 5e encounter building a LONG time ago. Quitting early and instead looking for a calculator has saved me a LOT of headache. I'm still grieving kobold fight club, but an excel sheet like this works (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nAZ8j0ffchVXOh7EoQZrUoAwdu5kv1pwpKUN_hRO_-Y/edit?usp=sharing) really well (although it is a bit buggy somtimes). Find out what works for you!
Monster Creator
Creating monsters on the fly, and adjusting the CR of whatever monster you want your party to face, is probably my biggest timesaver. I even some times just write down the notable abilities of a creature, and then use generic numbers. My favourite is this PDF (http://blogofholding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/monsterrules.pdf), which is explained in this blog. (http://blogofholding.com/?p=7338) It took me a while to figure out the "damage budget" idea, but it's essentially just the average damage your creature is supposed to deal each round.
Managing Your Economy
I don't know which sucks more, being a player who has too much money, or being a player who has too little money. I like to use Sane Magic Item Prices (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?424243-Sane-Magic-Item-Prices) as a reference point, and then aim to give my players around 100gp-200gp times their level, and a handful of consumables, each session. The numbers you use aren't important, but having some formula or just writing it down is. That means you can tweak these numbers between sessiosn and between campaigns, and slowly tune it what you find gives the best player experience.
Extra Effort
Every little bit of extra effort is immediately noticed by your players. Each DM has their strong side. My friend excels at world building and using religion and deities to embellish his fantasy setting. I like printouts. I feel that the more physical resources the players have, the more immersed they're likely to become. My two favourite techniques are Character Tents (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV1nH-9WUAAl3H2.png) to track initative with (I just hang them on my DM screen), and making a playing-sized printout of each consumable and magic item. My players once told me that "potions that are just on a list on someone's character sheet are easiliy forgotten about". After I started printing out potions and scrolls, they become used much more frequently!
Adventure Modules
I like making my own campaigns. But it is much easier to build it AROUND something. Adventures like Wolves of Welton are short, easy to prepare, and allows you to create a whole world without having to worry about the small details.
Tips and Tricks
- Inspiration can be used to add or alter minor details in the player's environment. This gives the player more power over constructing his own fantasy. Want to swing from a chandalier, but there isn't one? Use your inspiration! Rogues tend to use this a lot to add stuff to hide behind.
- Once per sessions my players can declare "Hey, I know that guy!". It's been really fun, and makes the players feel like their characters are an established part of the world. I have had to say no two times, when they try to use it on a story-villain, but apart from that it has been a blast.
- Get your players used to explaining what they want to do, how they want to do it, and why. Instead of "Can I roll perception in this room?" try "I want to go through his desk, bit by bit, to try to find notable documents, clues or hidden compartments". Using the latter I might not even ask for a roll!
My DM Google Document
When I first started DMing this document was simply called "Things I've googled before". I simply copied and pasted all the various rules I've had to look up during sessions, so that the next time it would pop up I could simply ctrl+F and find it right away. Over the years this document slowly morphed as we adjusted rules, added our owns etc. Now this is a full blown compendium of houserules (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fqVaIbHNWRzWJ11L7aAuxxPqPdTp39zZ6DVBo7sXaD8/edit?usp=sharing). Althought you won't use this exact link in your games, it is good practice to still have a Google Doc that you can access from anywhere where you can keep all your links and various bits of information.
Session Outline
Having bullet points for what you expect to come into play during your next session is REALLY helpful. I like to print mine out. At the bottom you can then add all your ideas, random encounters and other cool stuff you find.
Player Handouts and Resources
Being a DM is already a lot of work. I like to delegate as much work as I can to my players. Handouts are great for that purpose. This way I can frontload a lot of the work and therefor have less things to worry about in a session. When they ask "How do Downtimes work?" I can simply give them a paper and say something along the lines of "Figure it out" My handouts are usually something like this, and I update them regularly depending on the campaign, or just based on last session's experience:
What they can spend their gold on. (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
Downtimes (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
How their skills work (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1okXeDdHzW1n1E7DBaBmACtEj6ZBYoHk3K-kTL-QIfy4/edit?usp=sharing)
Various Rules I know they'll have to look up eventually (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1va_bm_LVjAKfWbNVkFxfLPYVTkfcNsoDih6sSzSUnVA/edit?usp=sharing)
Encounter Calculator
I gave up on trying to figure out 5e encounter building a LONG time ago. Quitting early and instead looking for a calculator has saved me a LOT of headache. I'm still grieving kobold fight club, but an excel sheet like this works (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nAZ8j0ffchVXOh7EoQZrUoAwdu5kv1pwpKUN_hRO_-Y/edit?usp=sharing) really well (although it is a bit buggy somtimes). Find out what works for you!
Monster Creator
Creating monsters on the fly, and adjusting the CR of whatever monster you want your party to face, is probably my biggest timesaver. I even some times just write down the notable abilities of a creature, and then use generic numbers. My favourite is this PDF (http://blogofholding.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/monsterrules.pdf), which is explained in this blog. (http://blogofholding.com/?p=7338) It took me a while to figure out the "damage budget" idea, but it's essentially just the average damage your creature is supposed to deal each round.
Managing Your Economy
I don't know which sucks more, being a player who has too much money, or being a player who has too little money. I like to use Sane Magic Item Prices (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?424243-Sane-Magic-Item-Prices) as a reference point, and then aim to give my players around 100gp-200gp times their level, and a handful of consumables, each session. The numbers you use aren't important, but having some formula or just writing it down is. That means you can tweak these numbers between sessiosn and between campaigns, and slowly tune it what you find gives the best player experience.
Extra Effort
Every little bit of extra effort is immediately noticed by your players. Each DM has their strong side. My friend excels at world building and using religion and deities to embellish his fantasy setting. I like printouts. I feel that the more physical resources the players have, the more immersed they're likely to become. My two favourite techniques are Character Tents (https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CV1nH-9WUAAl3H2.png) to track initative with (I just hang them on my DM screen), and making a playing-sized printout of each consumable and magic item. My players once told me that "potions that are just on a list on someone's character sheet are easiliy forgotten about". After I started printing out potions and scrolls, they become used much more frequently!
Adventure Modules
I like making my own campaigns. But it is much easier to build it AROUND something. Adventures like Wolves of Welton are short, easy to prepare, and allows you to create a whole world without having to worry about the small details.
Tips and Tricks
- Inspiration can be used to add or alter minor details in the player's environment. This gives the player more power over constructing his own fantasy. Want to swing from a chandalier, but there isn't one? Use your inspiration! Rogues tend to use this a lot to add stuff to hide behind.
- Once per sessions my players can declare "Hey, I know that guy!". It's been really fun, and makes the players feel like their characters are an established part of the world. I have had to say no two times, when they try to use it on a story-villain, but apart from that it has been a blast.
- Get your players used to explaining what they want to do, how they want to do it, and why. Instead of "Can I roll perception in this room?" try "I want to go through his desk, bit by bit, to try to find notable documents, clues or hidden compartments". Using the latter I might not even ask for a roll!