The morning of the tour departure came and went in a flurry of packing, scrambling to get to breakfast (10 minutes before we were scheduled to be on the bus), scarfing down eggs and toast and scalding hot coffee, and meeting the group that would be accompanying us around Great Britain and Ireland. We quickly …
Day One – Travel from Atlanta to London, and then to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
The newlyweds take flight! Arrival in London Mr. and Mrs. Rines of Atlanta, Georgia were proud to say that they were decidedly not normal, thank you very much. Rather than embarking on a serene Caribbean cruise, relaxing at an all-inclusive beach resort, or holing up in a cozy mountain cabin for their honeymoon, they chose …
Incorporating Political Intrigue into Your Campaign
"When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die." So claims Cersei Lannister in A Song of Ice and Fire: A Game of Thrones. It's precisely these high stakes that make political intrigue so entertaining in books, TV, and also, in D&D. Cersei byNatalieAnne24 licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 What is political …
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Motivating Your Players
A lack of player motivation is the root of a whole host of other problems for a DM. It's a concept that we're often unaware of while we're planning sessions, creating a world, and drawing up NPCs. It creeps in and poisons our best efforts, creating games that feel dull at best and railroaded at …
Update and Planned Posts
Hi, all! Wow- it's been a while. For those of you who have stayed with me through the dry spell, thank you! I hope my absence will prove to be worth the wait. Three months ago, I returned as recurring DM for a group that plays D&D online once a week. I am a full-time …
Spicing Up Combat
"I take two swings with my axe." "Okay, roll your attacks." "17 to hit, and... 15 to hit." "All right, 17 hits, roll damage." "12 points of damage." Does the above sound familiar? Yeah, we've all been there. Toward the third or fourth round of combat DM and players alike can become lazy in their …
5 Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Started DMing (Part 2)
WHAM! Brightness burst behind Melthor's eyes. Blood throbbed through the veins in his head. The rough leather grip of the axe handle was familiar through the pain. The axe. The monster. Fighting. Thoughts crawled like insects across his consciousness. Blinking blood from his eyes Melthor swung the heavy weapon toward his foe as a gleaming …
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How Poor Pacing Killed a Campaign
Have you ever quit a book before the end because it just didn't hold your interest anymore? Have you found yourself halfway through a season of a TV show wondering when it was going to "get good"? What about a D&D campaign? Have any games you've been a part of fizzled out without any real …
Creating a Rich Fantasy World
Worldbuilding. A term that represents the process by which a DM creates, populates, and defines the history, geography, political borders, creatures, peoples, religions, economies, and cultures of her or his world. One of the challenges of beginning your tenure as a Dungeon Master is the overwhelming nature of creating your own world from scratch. It's …
5 Things I Wish I Would Have Known Before I Started DMing (Part 1)
Jumping behind the DM’s screen for the first time can feel a little like building an airplane in midair. You’re exposed, you don’t know which part goes where, and there’s no time to stop and ask questions. As a fledgling DM, there are a few things I learned through trial and error that I believe …
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A Girl's Guide to Dungeon Mastering 