Bypassing the hard part of DMing (making your printer do the right thing) by getting large-format prints made at Staples 🫠
#dnd #dnd5e #DMInspiration #dmprep

All in a day's work! Map and minis for the Palace of Heart's Desire 🧚‍♀️🏰

#wildbeyondthewitchlight #ttrpg #dmprep

Welp, learned a lot from accidentally TPKing the party last session, such as: don't do it if you can avoid it.

More seriously: Telegraph high-level enemies better, and make their intentions clearer if it's not to fight. Also, pointless hopeless fights aren't fun and give you a lot of extra work (I came up with a story reason for them to be taken prisoner instead, but helping players create new characters would be a lot of work too)

#DMPrep #DMProblems #dnd #dnd5e #ttrpg

Finally figured out a format for NPC index cards that works for me. But on the other hand, I also have all of that info (and more -- index cards can only fit so much) on my tablet. Choices, choices 🤔

#dnd #dnd5e #DMPrep #DMProblems

Being a DM for a dnd game can involve a lot of different parts. Which of the following do you enjoy the least?
Bonus for commenting on what you do to avoid it?
#dnd #dnd5e #ttrpg #dmadvice #DMprep

@slyflourish For in-person play: flat glass cabochons are cheap (e.g. $0.25 each), available at many hobby/craft stores, very durable, and you can write on them with wet- or dry-erase markers, or glue/tape art on their underside for a more polished look.
#DMPrep #DMInspiration

Why is the hardest part of DMing always getting my printer to do the right thing?! 🤬

#DMPrep #DMProblems #PrintersAreChaoticEvil #BBEG

@pinkdicegm I'm getting a games "corner" going in my basement too. Right now, I'm focusing on the basics, but once I've got that, my first ambiance upgrade is going to be acoustics. Gotta get some carpeting, maybe drapes or felt for the walls. Although maybe these echoes would be suitable when dungeon delving 😅
#DMPrep

Session one went to like 4.5h, but we all (players and characters) both survived and had a good time.

I now feel like I've dug myself into a massive hole here... There's plot threads going all over, and I have no idea where any of them lead. This is extremely uncomfortable!

#DMProblems #DMPrep #dnd #dnd5e

Still to do: determine a pay scale for missions their patrons will hire them for, write my read-aloud text for introducing several locations, and incorporate characters better into the world.

#dnd #dnd5e #DMprep #CampaignPrep

Prep for session one is going really well, actually!

Still waiting on backstory from a couple players, but it looks like there's a fairly organic way for the adventurers to meet, get thrown together into a party, and start their first mission! Plenty of secrets and clues to drop too. The players have done so well preparing their character concepts.

#dnd #dnd5e #DMPrep #CampaignPrep

Love scene_four's idea of doors/curtain to manage that before-game time. "Doors open at 6, curtain at 6:30" manages expectations about when to arrive, gives explicit room for preparing/decompressing/chatting, and a clear idea of when the game will begin. Definitely going to try this with my new group.
#dnd #dnd5e #ttrpg #DMInspiration #DMPrep #DMProblems

Finally rolled the dice to pick a #worldbuiding/note taking service, and picked... #LegendKeeper! Seems fine so far. Placing pins on a map that link to location descriptions is working well!
#DMPrep #DnD #dnd5e #DnD5eCampaign

If you've done stuff like this before, do you let your players discover it, or explain it beforehand?
#dnd #dnd5e #dmprep

Personally, I think the standout idea was adding some simple mechanics for movement on the frozen pond. Villagers have cleared it for skating, so it's nice and smooth. If you're already moving when you get to the pond, your remaining movement is doubled as you slide across, thanks to your running start. But if you start from a standstill, or try to get up from prone, it's difficult terrain. Added a little bit of something interesting without being complicated.
#dnd #dnd5e #dmprep

The DM screen is being delivered tomorrow, and I already have some customizations ready to tack on. #ShitIsGettingReal #DMPrep #dnd5e (Thanks to #homebrewery for making it easy!)

#NoteToSelf You can remove the parchment background and footer on #homebrewery with this #CSS snippet:

.page { background-color: #fff; background-blend-mode:overlay; }
.page:after { background-image: none; }

#DMPrep #dnd5e

Are there any good options for a blank battle map (grid or hex is fine) that can take *dry* erase markers? Bonus points if it lays flat -- actually flat -- once unfolded/unrolled. I already have a ton of great dry erase markers for other purposes, so buying a mat that can make use of them would be great.

#DnD #dnd5e #battlemap #encountermaps #dmprep #DMProblems

The hardest part of DMing so far: getting my computer to print map images at the right scale, across many sheets of paper. It just sent a print job to the printer with 20 pages -- seems like a lot, I figured 12 pages, but ok -- and then proceeded to give me a tiny map on one page, plus 19 pages of nothing.

...

So I'm going to draw the map with wet-erase on a blank grid.

#DnD #dnd5e #DMprep #computerslol

No time to really dive in, but I haven't posted one of these in a while. #ttrpg #DMPrep