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Is It Fun Being A DM?

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Players interested in becoming dungeon masters often have one simple question: is it fun to DM? There are quite a few different responsibilities that DMs take on, and the gameplay inherently changes from being a normal player in a campaign. Weighing the pros and cons of the position is important for anyone deciding to make the switch, whether just once or for most of their gaming needs.

Is it fun being a DM? Many people say yes. While there is an increase in responsibility, there is also an increase in creativity and control. In addition, you get to raise the rest of the group’s fun levels and provide great, memorable moments.

While being a “forever DM” may not be for everyone, there is something in the position that can appeal to any and everyone who wants to try!

DMs Have Fun When Players Have Fun

One core tenant you may hear tossed around often is that DMs have fun when players are having fun. This is definitely true! One of the key responsibilities of a dungeon master is ensuring that everyone at the table is having a great and engaging time. 

While it is vital to ensure your players are having fun, be sure you are as well! It can be easy to overlook your own fun and warp your own methods to fit others. At the end of every session, the goal is for everyone involved – dungeon master or otherwise – to have had fun. No one player is more important than the others.

Creating Player Fun

Knowing that a DMs enjoyment of the game is often tied to their player’s enjoyment, it is important to figure out how to make players have fun. It can be a daunting task but a few simple tricks can help tremendously.

Some ways to create player fun include:

  • Balanced Play – spread focus around the table so that all players get a chance in the spotlight.
  • Engaging Characters – provide NPCs and enemies that players will want to talk or interact with.
  • Keeping Open Communication – ask your players what they want to see! Then, incorporate it into the game as you see fit.
  • Set Expectations – before starting play, talk to your players about the type of campaign everyone is expecting. This will align their characters with the tone of the game and ensure that nobody is blindsided (too much!) by any events.

There are quite a few other tips and tricks out there for making a fun game as a dungeon master, but following these few should help you hit the ground running. Ultimately, the best way to DM is going to depend on how you like the game, as well as how your players prefer to experience DnD.

Communication and learning your player’s habits are the two most important parts of creating player fun. For instance, if your group tends to get disinterested in combat but loves chatting up the townsfolk, include more opportunities for them to do what they love. Games will run smoother and keep players more engaged.

Keeping Your Own Expectations

While keeping in mind your player’s fun, it can be easy to lose your own enjoyment of the game. This should be avoided at all costs. A DM who is no longer enjoying dungeon mastering will simply not create fun games for anyone, least of all themselves.

When communicating with your players about what their expectations for the game are, be sure to include your own as well! If you want to run a game heavy with political intrigue but the group is more interested in a classic dungeon crawl, it may not be a good fit.

Walking away from a group that does not align with how you want to play the game is perfectly OK. You have just as much a right to enjoy the game as traditional players do. More opportunities will come!

Of course, compromise is great as well. Mixing playstyles to appease everyone in a group is often the best way to go about things, assuming general philosophies align. Commonly, this will happen as the player’s expectations around the campaign or characters grow. Give yourself the room to change things to match what players want, assuming it does not veer too far from your initial thoughts!

Working To Make Players Feel Awesome

The player characters in DnD, and most roleplaying systems, are heroes. The players should feel like it! One of the main jobs of a dungeon master, beyond the rules and running NPCs and other technical aspects, is making players feel awesome.

Especially as campaigns stretch on, players will grow attached to their characters. In addition, the characters will grow into incredible forces in their own right, able to cast ridiculous spells or strike down hordes of enemies in one blow. Let the players feel how awesome their characters are. This will help them to love their character even more, and make play more fun for everyone.

Vital to this idea is creating memorable moments and opportunities for players to shine.

Creating Epic Moments

DnD is a game fraught with moments and scenes across a variety of emotions. The tension of battle, the happiness of taverns, and the sadness of death are common across almost any DnD campaign. Moments of incredible feats, however, can often be overlooked or forgotten by new DMs.

Providing moments for players to do epic things with their characters makes the whole table have more fun. To many players, nothing feels better than getting the final blow on the big bad villain or saving a comrade at the last possible second. When they succeed, it becomes a story to be told over and over again, both in character and out of game. When they fail, these moments define characters and push the heroes on to greater heights.

To create epic moments in your campaign, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Let The Stakes Be High – memorable moments come about from the tension of failure. Don’t hold punches here!
  • Give Players The Final Say – Did a player just get the final blow on the villain? Roll incredibly well on an intimidation check? Let players describe their success so they feel more attached to the action.
  • Create Setpieces – Combat can always be improved by interesting terrain. Maybe the villain has a captive over a pit of lava, or magical rifts keep opening underneath the floor. Be creative!

All of these come back to the same main point: The easiest way to create epic moments in your campaign is to create environments where they can happen. Especially around epic moments their character will have, players should be the ones dictating what happens. Provide just enough stakes and fodder to feed their imagination and let them run wild.

Let Them Fail

Players should feel awesome because their characters are awesome. Still, DnD is a game of chance, and failure should always be a possibility. Across almost any good story, the heroes fail. This shortcoming drives them forward and makes the epic moments in the future even better.

To keep players on their toes and allow dramatic tension to run, do not always save the characters. If a noble dragon starts swooping down and saving them every time they are in over their heads, players will stop considering any threat too large. When assured they will be victorious, gameplay can become dull.

This does not mean purposely lead your players to ruin. Rather, if the dice fall as they may and the villain gets away, let it play out. Just because the characters lost one battle does not, most of the time, mean the campaign is over. Create scenarios for what happens now that the villain is ahead. What consequences are wreaked upon the world? These developments are now what the players need to deal with.

Making players feel awesome means creating epic moments, and this includes moments of severe loss. Keeping dramatic tension increases almost any player’s fun in-game, including the dungeon masters!

So, is it fun to be the DM?

Do I have fun being the DM?

ABSOLUTELY!

If you are creative and interested in making something awesome for your friends to enjoy, then you will too!

Until next time, my friends,

May your game have advantage!

-Halfling Hannah

Want to Support Halfling Hobbies?

Check out the Trinket Shop!

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Is DMing Hard? Here’s What You Need to Know

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Lots of new players to DnD are interested in becoming a dungeon master but are afraid of the seemingly heightened responsibilities. Dungeon mastering, or DMing, can often be seen as hard and cumbersome when the reality could be much nicer. While a learning curve is definitely required, DMing can be a satisfying and creative way to play DnD.

Is DMing Hard? No, although there is an increase in responsibility. Anyone can be a DM, it just requires more preparation outside of the game and a mindful eye in-game to ensure a smooth experience.

There are lots of tools, hacks, and tips that can make DMing a fun, easy part of the DnD process.

Adventures vs. Homebrew

One of the most time consuming and possibly difficult parts of being a dungeon master is creating the adventures the party will go on. As the crux of play, nailing the story and connecting epic moments is an essential skill for any dungeon master. 

There are two options available for dungeon masters to help tell a story at their table: premade adventures, or homebrew. Premade adventures are either published officially from Wizards of the Coast, the makers of DnD, or bought online from independent sellers. Homebrew is material that you, as the dungeon master, come up with yourself to run in-game. Both have pros and cons.

Premade Adventures

Premade adventures are a promising first step into dungeon mastering, as they handle many of the common hiccups that new DMs face. 

Adventures cover everything from NPC creation, story, treasure, all the way to combat. In addition, they are great for new dungeon masters to look at to get a sense of how to pace a story in DnD. Even experienced dungeon masters who are less interested in telling their own stories and more interested in experiencing the story of their players will often use adventures.

Some of the pros of using premade adventures are:

  • Story is provided
  • Combat is balanced and planned
  • Less prep work out of game is required
  • Loot, NPCs, and many details are all well thought out

Of course, adventures are not without faults. Some common complaints about running premade adventures are:

  • A lack of creative control for DMs
  • Prep work is still required to tweak the game to your table
  • The stories available may not interest your group
  • Players may feel locked into the story, rather than being able to freely do what they want in the game world

A good rule of thumb for deciding between a premade adventure and homebrew is this: if you are willing to put in extra time and care deeply about creative control or telling a specific story, homebrew may be best for you. If you want to run a great game with minimal extra work where the details of DMing are handled, adventures cannot be beaten.

Especially for new dungeon masters, at least starting with a premade adventure is highly recommended. You can always leave the story behind later on and adapt it as you like. 

Homebrew

Homebrew adventures in DnD can be a great way to tell a personal story with your friends and create unique situations. Fantastic for those who want more creative control or who care to tweak the gritty details of game mechanics, homebrew is a common choice in playing DnD.

When you run a homebrew campaign, most parts of the game will come from your head. This means that you must balance story, game mechanics, combat, loot, NPCs, and everything else. It can be overwhelming for new players but is highly rewarding for some.

If this sounds overwhelming, don’t worry! There are plenty of tools available for helping to create a homebrew campaign, both online and in officially published books like the Dungeon Master’s Guide. 

Some of the pros of running a homebrew campaign are:

  • Total creative freedom
  • Tailoring the story to fit your player’s interests or character’s backstories
  • Adjusting combat, loot, and treasure as you see fit
  • Creating lovable and interesting NPCs

Not everything is great for homebrew campaigns either, however. Some of the cons are:

  • A dramatic increase in prep time compared to premade adventures
  • If you lose your creative drive, the story will stagnate and players could lose interest
  • Handling every part of creating a campaign means spending time even on the less interesting parts
  • If players are not interested in the game, you are more likely to take it personally

Creating a homebrew campaign can be one of the most rewarding parts of playing DnD for many dungeon masters. However, it is important to consider the extra time required and your group’s investment in the game. 

Keeping Track of Characters

Keeping track of characters, both PCs and NPCs, can be one of the most challenging parts of being a DM. Luckily, this is a skill that gets better with time. However, to hit the ground running and expedite the process, there are some tips to keep in mind.

The methods used in tracking characters will change dramatically depending on a few factors, including:

  • Is this character a PC or NPC?
  • How often do they pop up?
  • Are they a villain, hero, or in between?
  • Do they have a unique quality to them?

Taking the time to come up with answers to all of these questions will help you track characters, keep NPCs separate, and have notes to look back on in the future.

Truthfully, it is impossible to plan every NPC your party may come in contact with. As players enter large cities or even small towns, the number of characters simply becomes too much. To remedy this, only track and plan out important NPCs or characters you expect your party to interact with. For the others, use tables or come up with it on the fly.

Tracking NPCs

Keeping track of NPCs is a task that can quickly grow unwieldy without some serious organization. Due to how many NPCs a party will meet in any given session, it is best to create a system early on. That way, you can always reference back in case you have forgotten details about a character.

Good information to track about an NPC could include:

  • Their position or occupation
  • How or when the party met them
  • Their main goal
  • Any defining features, such as a funny voice or large scar
  • Their opinion of the party

Any more information than that can make tracking NPCs tedious, and much of it will probably be unimportant anyway. Stick to tracking just enough information to remind yourself of the details. 

Writing down this information can be done in a variety of ways, so choose one that works best for you. Some DMs swear by making index cards for characters, while others use spreadsheets or just list them in a notebook. This organization system will only be used by you, so make it work for that purpose.

Tracking PCs

Tracking your player characters is often something that does not need much attention to detail. Your players should keep their own character’s statistics, spells, and equipment tracked. Talk with your players to ensure that this is happening.

Even with players doing the bulk of the work here, it is still important for you to have some information about the characters on hand. The amount you will want at all times depends on your style, so do not be afraid to modify what you track if you feel it is too much or too little information.

Common things to track about PCs are:

  • Passive perception
  • Total health
  • Magical items
  • Spells
  • Gold

It is important to not get bogged down in the details here. If your players are turning to you to ask how much gold they have, or where that magical item is, consider talking with them about the responsibilities you already have and encourage them to track their own character better.

Combat

Combat is often one of the most challenging areas to run for a new dungeon master. Luckily, some tips and tricks can make the process a whole lot easier.

If you are running a premade adventure, you do not need to worry about balancing combat as that has been done for you. However, in a homebrew campaign, it is important to consider your party’s level and what threats they can handle. One of the best tools to do this is DnDBeyonds encounter builder, where you can put the total level of your party into a system that calculates how deadly different combat encounters will be.

When running combat encounters, remember to make them interesting. Otherwise, combat will grow stale and turn into a slog of trying to simply reduce hit points to zero. Ways to make combat interesting include:

  • Environmental hazards
  • Multiple factions fighting each other
  • An alternative goal while combat is happening (catch a thief while his friends fight you off)
  • An interesting mix of creatures with various abilities

All of these serve to turn combat from a slugfest into an interesting and challenging encounter. 

In addition, remember that many creatures are intelligent. Consider their goals in engaging in combat with the party. Are they hungry beasts looking for a meal? Bandits looking for some quick gold? A vampire, toying with them while her final plan finishes materializing in the background? The way each of these creatures fights will be different from the other because their goals are different. Accounting for this will allow combat to not feel the same every time.

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How To Be More Descriptive In DnD (With Examples!)

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Descriptions in DnD are vital for engaging players and ensuring that the game is run smoothly. They are a key part of how your players will engage with the world. Being descriptive can be tough without a few key pieces of advice.

There are a few important steps to follow to ensure you are being descriptive enough for you players to understanding the world they are in without becoming boring. These are:

  • Don’t talk for too long
  • Engage as many senses as possible. Sight, Smell, and Touch are the common three
  • State events as they unfold
  • Be clear

When combined, these tips should make your descriptions more accurate, easier for players to parse, and more engaging.

The Importance Of Descriptions In DnD

Descriptions in DnD are one of the most important parts of play. These are how players get insight into the game world, from locations as large as mountain ranges to as small as dungeon rooms. 

Descriptions dictate the environment to the players so that the characters can react. Without descriptions, or even with lackluster ones, players may get confused or not react as their character would.

When a description is clear but not overly detailed, players will naturally engage with it more and become invested in the scene. When descriptions are lacking, the game world feels static and unengaging, making your players much less interested in the outcome.

Tips For Making Great Descriptions

Once you are aware of how important descriptions are, it is important to make sure you are making the best ones possible. There are no hard rules for creating descriptions, but some universal tips can help quite a bit.

Remember that descriptions will come up both as planned locations, or on the fly explanation. If you feel pressured in the moment and not fully comfortable explaining, the same tips apply. Don’t worry! The goal of the game is to have fun.

Here are some tips to remember when creating descriptions:

  • Engage the senses. Describe more than just one sense.
  • Don’t talk for too long. Players will often toon out. A few sentences should cover almost everything.
  • If there is any action occurring, be sure to explain it. Players will become frustrated if they plan around the scene being static and the rug is suddenly pulled out from under them

Keeping those few rules in mind should make every description worthwhile and engaging. As you grow more accustomed to describing locations and scenes, your own natural style will begin to shine through and you will realize what keeps your players most in the loop.

Here is an example where a description hits all of these key points:

Walking through the carnival grounds, you hear infectious laughter as children play the various games. The smell of fruit and sugar wafts through the air as the workers peddle their foods, and up ahead the big tent looms over the rest of the ensemble. A woman on stilts painted as an ogre waves as she walks by. 

This way, the various senses are engaged, action is taking place, and players get a feel for the whole event. In addition, it is short enough to keep their attention.

Description Length

The length of various descriptions also has a significant impact on how effective they are. Too short, and players will be left with questions that can grind gameplay to a halt. Too long and players will zone out and need to be reminded later on.

A sweet spot for description lengths is between 3 to 5 sentences. Adapt this as necessary if a scene is highly complicated or an object is very simple, just always be aware of the player’s attention spans.

When in doubt about a description length, cut it a bit shorter. It is important to leave some aspects up to the player’s imagination, letting their mind work. They can come up with fantastic ideas that you adapt into the world as well!

The Problem With Bad Descriptions

Bad descriptions are often the bane of new players and dungeon masters. They can transform an epic moment into a dull one, break immersion, and cause quite a few questions to pop up.

As a dungeon master, picture this: You’ve envisioned a perfect final boss room. In your mind’s eye you know every detail and smell, every darkened corner. As you describe it to your players, eager to take on the boss after many sessions, the scene becomes lost in translation. Your players grow confused and unsure and the dramatic tension is lost.

This is the main issue with bad descriptions. They rip players and dungeon masters out of the moment so that questions can be answered and corrections made. Now, some of that happening is inevitable. It is a game that takes place almost entirely in a collective imagination, after all. Descriptions work best when they do not remind players of that, however.

Transforming Bad Descriptions Into Great Ones

Looking at examples is the best way to tell the differences between bad descriptions and great ones. Transforming bad descriptions does not take a lot of time so long as some basic rules are remembered.

The way to salvage a bad description is the same way to make a good description. Whenever possible, indulge the senses, keep it short, and describe the action. As an example, look at this description of a classic dungeon room:

You walk into a small, stone room. There are three beds and two bandits sleeping. Dim light bounces off the walls.

This description is fine, and sets the scene. Players will understand the basics of what is happening but will not be sucked into the action. To fix this, simply add some more sensory descriptions and add some actions. Now, it looks like this:

You walk into a small, gray stone room smelling of dirt and old leather. Ahead, three beds sit tight against the wall. Two bandits snore loudly as the dim light from the torches bounces off the walls. One shifts in bed and grumbles to himself.

With this change, three senses are now included. Sight, describing the room. Smell, so that players can get a sense of the maintenance here. Sound, as the bandits snoring confirms they are asleep. It is a longer description, but still does not drone on so long as to let players lose focus. Very few questions will need to be asked of the scene, as well, letting gameplay immediately happen.

Engaging The Senses

Engaging the senses is one of the best and easiest ways to dramatically enhance DnD descriptions. The more avenues players have to connect with the gameworld, the more they will be able to imagine it in their mind.

Different players naturally will connect more with different senses. That is what makes this such a strong technique. While a few of your players may connect most with the visual descriptions, some may imagine the game much clearer in their mind once they know the soundscape.

The five basic senses are:

  1. Touch
  2. Sight
  3. Hearing
  4. Smell
  5. Taste

Each of these can be used effectively to make great descriptions. Commonly, new dungeon masters will only describe scenes in terms of sight. While that is arguably the most important, consider what is most important in a description. 

If players are entering a pie eating contest or at a carnival, be sure to include the tastes of the food as well, or the smells of the carnival foods.

When characters are deep underground and using the walls for navigation, provide a description for the rough stone or slick, gooey slime that covers it.

Providing descriptions of hearing is always appreciated and can really set a mood. If the characters are engaging in a raucous street fight, the sound of urchins coming and cheering on will grip players in the scene. Conversely, sneaking into a goblin camp late at night and hearing the slight shuffle of armor can create significant tension.

Whenever you are providing a description, try to touch on three different senses. This will allow players to easily find something to connect with or focus on without getting bogged down by length. If players have questions about a scene or description once the initial explanation is done, providing the scene through another sense is a great way to get them to understand more clearly. 

For example, when the players enter a quaint bakery, the description could be:

The small framed door makes you lean down as you enter into the bakery. The smell of freshly baked cookies immediately wafts to you, and you see a plump gnome humming quietly to herself as she takes another rack out of the oven. She notices you and smiles. 

Here, sight, smell, and sound are all engaged. This encounter could also easily lead to touch and taste being described if the players decide to eat any food. 

While parts of Dungeons and Dragons are played with maps and miniatures, your players will mostly engage in your world through you description of it. You world lives and dies with you. Descriptions are vitally important for players to understand options, engage with the story, and join in the collective imagination that is D&D.

Keep painting your world, DM! We will be right here to help you do it.

Until next time, my friends,

May your game have advantage!

-Halfling Hannah

Want to Support Halfling Hobbies?

Check out the Trinket Shop!

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Here is Why a Dungeon Master CANNOT Have a Character

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Dungeons and Dragons has been a popular table-top adventure game for years. Each game includes a Dungeon Master that plans the entire world for the characters involved. But have you ever wondered why the Dungeon Master doesn’t typically have a character in the party along with the other player characters? 

Dungeon masters can’t have a character in Dungeons and Dragons because it sets up a conflict of interest for the dungeon master. Since the dungeon master has prior knowledge of what will occur in a campaign, any character the dungeon master runs has meta-knowledge that puts them at an advantage.  

Even though it is not common for Dungeon Masters to have a character to play, they still sometimes manage to insert themselves into the narrative of a D&D campaign. Keep reading to find out more about why DMs don’t usually roll a character and why they sometimes do. 

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Reasons Why Dungeon Masters Shouldn’t Play Their Own Character

There are several good reasons why it is not a good idea to have the Dungeon Master of your D&D campaign roll their own player character. Here are some of the things that your D&D group needs to consider: 

  • The Dungeon Master has the entire world to play with. In most cases, a Dungeon Master doesn’t roll a character simply because the Dungeon Master has way too many other aspects of the campaign to keep up with. It is hard enough for a Dungeon Master to consistently generate high-quality material for a D&D campaign without the added stress of rolling a character, too.
  • A Dungeon Master Player Character (DMPC) is challenging to pull off. Because the DM has so much power over the entire campaign, it is very easy for a DM to accidentally “meta” the game or give himself handicaps simply because of the prior knowledge of the campaign the DM already possesses. DMPCs are only recommended for advanced Dungeon Masters who are familiar with the concept of “metagaming.”
  • If a DMPC is played fairly, it’s nothing more than a weaker version of a Non-Playable Character (NPC). There’s not much point in running a player character as a DM when you can easily commandeer any of the NPCs that are running in your campaign. There are no advantages to running a DMPC that won’t ultimately lead to immersion-breaking and cheating. A DMPC is just a hamstrung NPC.
  • In most cases, a DMPC is unnecessary. Unless the D&D group is tiny, there should be plenty of other player characters in the party already without the Dungeon Master having to roll one, too. The only time when a DMPC might be necessary is if there aren’t enough people to play the campaign effectively without help.
  • Being a Dungeon Master is hard enough on its own. Unless you are very experienced in running D&D campaigns, being a DM requires tons of mental and creative resources in every single session—so much so that you’ll be doing good just to keep your campaign on the rails, much less keep up with your own character.
  • There is a serious lack of conflict. The biggest problem with running a DMPC is that it’s the equivalent of a player character getting to read through the entire campaign’s plot before starting. If the Dungeon Master uses his PC to act on secret DM knowledge, he is breaking the game. If the PC is played passively by the DM to avoid railroading the campaign for other players, it’s just an NPC with worse stats.
  • It’s too easy to steal the limelight. Since the DM is already responsible for creating the campaign, rolling a character can make it too easy for a DM to dovetail his PC into the most exciting parts of the campaign by using meta knowledge, leaving the scraps for the rest of the player characters. Too many DMPCs devolve into blatant Mary Sues or fictional versions of the overly perfect people who annoy you in real life. 

Can a Dungeon Master Play a Character?

Technically, there are no rules against a Dungeon Master playing a character in a campaign. However, most D&D veterans highly discourage it because traditional tagalong DM NPCs that group up with the party are just as useful and not as game-breaking as a full DMPC. 

In most cases, a Dungeon Master running an NPC is a much better option that allows the DM to play a character with the rest of the party while also maintaining a clear division between the knowledge of the player characters and the knowledge of the Dungeon Master to keep meta-gaming to a minimum. 

Another significant advantage of NPCs is that they can be added into the party and dropped at will depending on the context of the campaign, which allows the Dungeon Master to cycle through several characters rather than being locked into one player character. 

Dungeon Masters can have characters, but having them run their own player characters can add way too many complications to a campaign run and can ultimately break the game in some cases. 

Alternative Strategies to Rolling a Dungeon Master Player Character

If you’re a Dungeon Master and find yourself itching to have a character in a campaign, there are some alternative strategies you can use to get satisfaction without ruining your campaign with an overly powerful DMPC. 

Here are some tips for incorporating yourself as a character when you’re the Dungeon Master: 

  • Go nuts with NPCs. The great thing about being a Dungeon Master is that you aren’t just limited to your player character—you can generate every other character on the board, from the pimpled busboy at the tavern to the eccentric town magistrate. Colorful NPCs can let Dungeon Masters get their urge to play out while still reserving player action for the players.
  • Take turns being the DM. It can get boring for one person in a D&D group to continually be the Dungeon Master, even if they enjoy the role and are used to doing it most of the time. Taking turns being the Dungeon Master not only allows less-experienced DMs to gain much-needed campaign practice, but it also gives the group’s regular DM a chance to relax and roll a PC. 
  • Roll an NPC tagalong. An excellent way for DMs to participate in a party’s adventures firsthand without investing in a player character is to roll an NPC (a hireling or an escort of some kind) and have them join the party temporarily. Not only is this a good way for DMs to experiment with a variety of different NPCs, but it can also give the DM a way to communicate hints to the party directly through a character in dungeons and other encounters.
  • Roll a recurring NPC. A recurring NPC is an NPC controlled by the DM that may turn up in several campaigns and may even spend the entire campaign with the party, making them effectively similar to a DMPC. However, as with DMPCs, it can be challenging to run an effective recurring NPC without using meta-knowledge or breaking immersion for the other players. An advantage of NPCs is that they can be written out of campaign scenes when necessary.
  • Take over another player’s PC on occasion. It never fails that someone will miss a D&D session for this or that obligation every once in a while, and unless other arrangements are made, this can bring a campaign to a grinding halt. With permission, a DM can temporarily play a player character in an absent player’s stead so that the campaign can continue without delays. 

There are several ways that Dungeon Masters can exercise their creativity when creating characters without having their own player character in the campaign. These methods offer DMs the best of both worlds—the opportunity to interact as a character and the detachment to avoid meta-gaming.  

Dungeon Master Player Characters Aren’t Worth the Trouble

If you’re trying to run an excellent D&D campaign as a Dungeon Master, it’s a good idea to try and throw the bulk of your energy into generating the campaign itself rather than trying to juggle your player character as part of the group. The chance of meta-gaming is too high, and while they can sometimes work, DMPCs are much more likely to ruin a campaign than they are to enhance one. 

Sources:
https://thealpinedm.com/metagaming-101/
https://www.geeknative.com/70184/can-the-dungeon-master-have-a-player-character/
https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/7qze0f/can_dm_play_a_character_in_the_party/
https://www.quora.com/Can-the-dungeon-master-have-a-player-character
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/137643/can-the-dungeon-master-have-a-player-character

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Understanding Your Players: “Urchin” Background

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Dungeons and Dragons 5e offers a variety of player backgrounds. One of the most common choices players may make is the “urchin” background, someone who grew up alone and poor. A character’s background choice can say a lot about the character they will play.

What is the urchin background? The urchin background means the character grew up alone and poor, learning street skills and developing knowledge of cities. This character survived despite the odds to become the person they are today.

With the basic definition, it is important to break into some specifics with your players about how their background fits them specifically and the events that shaped them the most.

What is an Urchin?

An urchin, specifically in Dungeons and Dragons, is someone who was abandoned early in life and forced to fend and provide for themself. Another key aspect of urchins is their place in a city, as fifth edition rewards players who choose this background with a feature allowing faster travel in cities.

Often, urchins have led a rough and tumble life, toeing and occasionally brazenly crossing the line into criminal activity. In addition, urchins often need to stay out of the way and in the shadows, resulting in skill increases to sleight of hand and stealth.

Due to growing up with few friends and even fewer things to share with them, urchins may often distrust people or stow away food and trinkets for themselves.

What Led To Being An Urchin?

A character can become an urchin at any point in their life, although often it happens in early childhood. Consult with your players about what led them to become an urchin in the first place. Some questions to consider with your player may be:

  • Did their parents abandon them, or were they tragically taken away? 
  • Does the character have any memory of their parents? 
  • How old were they when they were left on the streets?
  • How does the character view others who did not grow up poor?

There are many other questions that can and should come up as more of a player’s backstory is established. The recommended personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws in the Player’s Handbook are a great tool to use to understand more about what an urchin is.

Why are They Poor? 

An important question for all urchins to answer is what led them to poverty. Often, this could be a simple, unavoidable tragedy like their parent’s being killed at a young age. One of the few absolute tenants of the urchin background is experiencing desperate poverty. Answering that question will establish quite a bit about a player’s character.

In addition, establishing a character’s views on growing up poor will help ground their goals and beliefs around any people that may in a similar situation in the game. 

The Path To Poverty

As quickly stated, a variety of events can lead to a character growing up poor and abandoned. Especially with the city background, there is a good chance the character has met or dealt with many others who were in better situations than them. 

Creating quick answers to questions such as why the character was not previously helped, what led to being an urchin in the first place, and how they have plotted their escape from poverty will do wonders for establishing your player’s background.

Some common paths to poverty for an urchin are:

  • They were tricked at a young age and taken from their parents
  • Their parents died, leaving no one to care for them
  • They ran away from home and struggled for some time
  • They were born into an orphanage that was abandoned, having no knowledge of their parents

Of course, there are many more. Encourage your players to think about the path even before the backstory to create a more well-rounded character.

How Did Poverty Shape Them?

Due to the extreme conditions of growing up in a city that rarely if ever showed love, most characters with the urchin background are going to have strong feelings on poverty and wealth dichotomy. 

Working with players to establish their character’s views on wealth can be a great way to set goals and find driving forces for them to act in-game. Questions to consider when choosing the urchin background include:

  • Does the character want to help those around them or only themself?
  • Does the character believe all people are equal, or that the rich need to be taken down?
  • How willing is the character to share what little they may have?

Questions like this will help take the quickly establishing backstory and bring it mechanically into the game, making players feel like their choices and character story matter.

What Can an Urchin Do? 

Due to fending for themselves, urchins in Dungeons and Dragons are given a skillset that revolves heavily around getting things for themselves.

Mechanically, what an urchin can do is very plainly explained in the Player’s Handbook. They gain proficiencies in sleight of hand, stealth, a disguise kit, and thieves’ tools. They also have some equipment that is reminiscent of growing up on city streets, including a small knife, a memento, a small amount of money, and a few other things.

Urchins also have significant knowledge of cities, being able to travel faster than others in any city. This makes them a great choice in games where large cities are expected to be visited often, or where subterfuge and stealth are going to be common approaches.

The urchin backgrounds additions to sleight of hand and thieves’ tools may not be appreciated in a campaign meant to revolve around good characters, however. Stealing, especially from other players, can occasionally grate against other player’s idea of a fun time, so it is important to discuss how acceptable it will be in the game.

Players are encouraged to personalize the equipment and traits of an urchin even more so that they connect with the character. All of the gained proficiencies suggest that urchins stay to the shadows and out of people’s way, often pretending to be what they are not if they get caught. Of course, playing your urchin this was is not a requirement, but could be a great jumping point for establishing a character’s personality.

Urchins are given a great set of tools to encourage play that suggests the character lived on the streets alone, while not forcing stereotypes or closing off other options. Mechanically, they fit very well with the rogue class but that is not a requirement.

Ideas to Help Your Players Develop An Urchin Backstory

Throughout this piece, there have been small tips and tricks for dungeon masters to use to help players develop an urchin backstory. Here are a few more, as well as a small consolidation of tips:

  1. Help players develop why their character is an urchin
  2. Establish how the character feels about growing up in poverty
  3. What goals does the character have, given their urchin backstory?
  4. What are some events that happened while they were an urchin that gave them the skills they have now?

There are many more questions that can be asked of players to help create a great backstory for urchins. However, be sure to leave room in the backstory for things to change in the future. Backstories exist so that the character being played can be tied to the world and have goals for current play. Spending too much time on the details can detract from that and make a player feel like their character will not have any development.

As the DM, you should use these questions to better understand the character and how you can present challenges that play to both that character’s strengths and weaknesses.

Backgrounds are important! They are what have forged your PCs personalities. Make sure you know what your players’ backgrounds are and use them as much as possible in your game.

Until next time,

May your game have advantage, my friends!

Halfling Hannah

Want to Support Halfling Hobbies? Check out our Trinket Shop!

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How To Use Vampires In Your D&D 5e Campaign

Written by Halfling Hannah in Tips & Tricks

Vampires are one of the most widely recognized and feared monsters in Dungeons and Dragons. They are an often lethal combination of speed, intelligence, and power and can easily be the final boss of an arc or even a whole campaign. With how complex they can be, shaping vampires in your campaign can be a difficult process. Here are some basic tips on how to use vampires in your D&D 5e Campaign:
  • Make them powerful and intelligent
  • Give them a lair or stronghold
  • Figure out the vampire hierarchy
  • Decide on their larger goal
Covering those bases will help ensure that your players feel like the vampire is an actual threat that must be dealt with instead of a tired cliche that must be tolerated. Still, there is significantly more to be said about making them into the incredible undead threats that they are. Before we get going, if you are thinking about using vampires in your campaign, you will need some miniatures! Check out our friends at Noble Knight Games and get your minis from a real store!

Understanding Vampire Lore

Vampire lore in Dungeons and Dragons is somewhat unique compared to the classic interpretations of undead lords that are often shown in media. The basics are still the same, though. Vampires are undead creatures who feed on the living by drinking their blood. They are immortal, as they cannot die of old age, and have some common weaknesses such as sunlight and running water. Mechanically, they have quite a few more features that will be covered later. For now, it is important to take a look at the lore of vampires and see how they came to be in the Dungeons and Dragons universes. As a quick note before explaining the history, remember that, in your home games, you can take as much or as little of this history as you would like! Be sure to change the history to fit the type of story you want to tell.

Changes In Vampires

When someone becomes a vampire, they may not lose all of their memories from life. This, however, may often end up being an additional curse. Vampire spawn eventually lose all happy emotions they may have experienced while alive. Friendship is replaced by envy, love may turn into obsession, and life’s pleasures turn into bitter reminders of what has been lost. Often, vampires will fixate on something or someone that reminds them of what has been lost. A vampire who was young and gifted may focus on a child, given their symbolism of youth and potential. Perhaps a vampire who was poor in life becomes obsessed with collecting riches and living undeath in excess.

What Makes A Vampire

Only a vampire can create more vampires, turning them into a spawn by biting them. These spawn are weaker than a fully independent vampire but still certainly a threat to be careful around.  Vampire spawn must listen to and obey the commands of the vampire that created them. They also cannot create more vampires. Vampire spawn can win their freedom, so to speak, when their creator allows them to draw blood from its own body. Spawn also become free when their creator dies.  By the very nature of this chain of command, there is a hierarchy that must exist for vampires. While lords will almost always remain independent of each other, families around those lords tend to crop up and become threats.

Strahd Von Zarovich

Strahd Von Zarovich is the original vampire, spawning all others. This is stated in the Monster Manual, although left to some debate. Even if you decide Strahd is not the first vampire in your game’s lore, he is an essential piece of the Dungeons and Dragons vampire puzzle and an interesting vampire in his own right. His story is a particularly vile and sad one, great conditions for creating any vampire. Strahd was a great warrior and strategist when he was alive, fighting often for his people. Eventually, after years of service, he moved to the valley of Barovia and built his castle, named Castle Ravenloft. His much younger and more handsome brother, Sergei, eventually came and lived with him as a sort of advisor. As always happens with vampires, Strahd became jealous of his younger brother’s looks and potential, eventually souring the entire relationship with hate. Strahd’s betrothed, Tatyana, turned to Sergei and planned to marry him instead, the final nail in the proverbial coffin.  Strahd, now fully enraptured with hate and anger, made a pact with some unknown dark force that made him immortal. He then went to the wedding between his brother and previous love, confronting and killing his brother. His love then ran away and flung herself from the towering walls of Castle Ravenloft. For his despicable actions, Strahd was then turned on by his men who sought to kill him. However, they could not – Strahd’s turn into a vampire was complete.  How Strahd went on to sire more vampire lords and spawn is never made clear, so starting with his origin story is a great way to get more vampires into your own campaign. The story of Strahd and the valley of Barovia was also made into an adventure by Wizards of the Coast for D&D 5e, titled Curse Of Strahd. You can find the digital version here at dndbeyond if you want to see more of Strahd’s story or get even more great vampire advice.

Types of Vampires (Lords vs. Spawn) 

In Dungeons and Dragons, there are two main types of vampires. A few modified versions have been added in other sourcebooks which will also be briefly discussed, but they are often specific to a setting such as Ravnica.  The two main versions of vampires that exist in D&D are vampire lords and vampire spawn. The differences between these two types of vampire can be quite large, though both are very powerful. Here are some of the key differences:
  • Vampire lords can create new vampires. Spawn cannot.
  • Vampire spawn must obey the commands of their own lord.
  • Vampire lords often have their own lair.
  • Vampire lords may have the ability to cast spells or wield powerful weapons.

Vampire Lords

Vampire lords are simply called vampires in D&D 5e. They are extremely powerful and are often what people think of when considering vampires. Vampires in D&D 5e are legendary creatures, meaning they can take extra actions that other creatures could not. If you aren’t sure how to use these Legendary Actions, make sure to read my post all about them! They are meant to be powerful, final bosses of arcs or campaigns. Due to this, they have an enormous range of abilities and options to try and kill or convert the player’s characters into vampire spawn.
There are a few defining traits that vampires have over their created spawn, as noted above. Key among these is the vampire’s ability to create new vampires. Because of this, and the implicit control vampires have over their spawn, it would be rare to fight a full vampire without a couple of additional spawns around to turn the tide in their favor. Another vital bonus that vampires have over their fledglings is the ability to charm humanoids into being on their side. Ultimately, this can allow vampires to get away with crimes if there is a witness or even charm a king into supporting the vampire’s plans. Vampire lords also come in two variants; a vampire spellcaster, and a vampire warrior. Think of these as vampires which were highly trained at either of those schools in life, transferring their skill into undeath. They are even more powerful than a traditional vampire!

Vampire Spawn

Despite being significantly weaker than a full vampire, vampire spawn are still a force to be reckoned with, especially in the lower levels of play. A single vampire spawn could have enough power to fully devour a whole town, if their vampire lord allowed them to. The power relationship between a vampire spawn and its master is the most essential quality to understand about them. While some lords may allow the spawn to act fairly independently, a spawn is never allowed the final say. Vampire spawn are also weaker across the board, losing their shapeshifting and charm abilities and generally doing less damage. When utilizing vampire spawn, consider the hierarchy of power at play. Does the vampire lord allow these spawn relative freedom, or does the lord keep them on a tight leash? Does all feeding happen independently or must sacrifices be brought back to the lair? Answering questions such as these will help vampire spawn feel more alive than just weaker vampires.

Vampire Features

Vampires in D&D 5e are powerful creatures of the night, capable of bringing ruin to whole kingdoms if allowed to operate unchecked. The features and abilities vampires are given supports this power.  While some of the features vampires have are standard across all fiction, D&D provides some interesting additions that can make playing a vampire villain even more engaging than you might have thought.

Positive Vampire Abilities

A full vampire’s list of abilities can be overwhelming to new dungeon masters or people unaccustomed to running monsters with a host of abilities. To make it a bit easier, here are some of the more important or easy to forget positive abilities:
  • Vampires can shapeshift into mist or a bat when not in direct sunlight
  • They can charm people for 24 hours, turning enemies into allies
  • Vampires can summon swarms of wolfs, rats, and bats once per day
  • Vampires regenerate hitpoints every turn when not in sunlight or running water, making them incredibly hardy
  • They must be killed in their coffin, otherwise they will come back to life
As you can see, the list of positive attributes a vampire has is tremendous, and that is to say nothing of the incredible power they have when actually dealing damage. In addition, they get further power or control when in their lair, physically shaping the area around their resting place. Be sure to use all of these abilities to their potential when playing as a vampire – remember, they are intelligent creatures!

Negative Vampire Attributes

Of course, there have to be a few negative attributes to vampires after all of the bonuses they receive. These are attributes that your players will and should try to use against the vampire if they have any hope of defeating it:
  • Vampires cannot enter a home without an explicit invitation
  • They are weak to running water, losing some of their abilities and taking damage when in it
  • They are extremely weak to sunlight, taking damage and even attacking and defending with disadvantage when in it. 
  • A stake to the heart while the vampire is sleeping will paralyze it until the stake is removed.
These negative attributes may seem fairly steep, and they certainly can be if your players take full advantage; however, it is important to remember that vampires are intelligent and aware of their shortcomings. As such, they will most likely do everything in their power to limit how many of these can be utilized against it.  To cover for these, a vampire may spread lies throughout a region that it cannot be harmed by water, or have magical darkness spells around its lair. Be creative!

Avoiding the Cliche

While vampires are meant to be fearsome and incredible opponents, it can be easy to fall into tropes and cliches while attempting to utilize them. While this is not inherently a bad thing, your players viewing the vampire as a joke may break the image you are trying to give your vampires and make play more difficult. There are a few steps you can take to ensure that your players respect the vampire as a threat while ensuring that your monster feels unique:
  • Make them deadly – a vampire should follow through on threats. Otherwise, it could seem like the vampire is not utilizing its full potential.
  • Give the vampire a backstory – often, the cliche around vampires is them living in a brooding castle all alone, dark and angry at the world. Give your vampire a unique backstory and the whole cliche can be avoided easily! For instance, what if the vampire was the leader of a traveling circus troupe? 
  • Define their personality – Consider what is classically considered the vampire cliche when defining a personality for your villain. Then, flip a few of the common denominators on their head. Rather than lusting after human flesh, maybe the vampire wants to rid themself of the need for blood in the first place. Perhaps the vampire is amicable and goes into public often, with people viewing them as a good person until the dreaded secret is revealed.

Undead Monsters to Use with Vampires

In various fiction, vampires have been called “Lords Of The Undead”. While D&D 5e doesn’t give that as a title, pairing vampires with other undead monsters is a great way to get a group of fearsome villains together for a final boss or set-piece. When considering undead monsters to pair with a vampire, consider these things:
  • Vampires want to control – the other monsters should listen to the vampire
  • The other undead should not need to feed – normally, a vampire may only share blood with its spawn (if at all)
  • The other monsters need to be weaker – the vampire should not feel threatened by them
Ultimately, vampires need a firm hierarchy with them at the top. The supporting cast of undead monsters should support this order and most likely be below even the vampire’s spawn. Here are some undead that vampires could utilize.

Skeletons

While vampires traditionally do not have the ability to raise skeletons, it is not out of the realm of possibility. Some vampires keep spellcasting abilities they had in life. If your vampire was once a great wizard, consider allowing for them to have raised skeletons to fight alongside it.  Skeletons are great for any vampire that needs a large number of undead mobs. While they are not powerful, skeletons are enough to keep any normal person in a D&D world in line or to wage war with.

Ghouls & Ghasts

Ghouls and ghasts are undead that feast on corpses. They tend to travel in packs, swarming enemies to bring them down and then eating the bodies. A vampire could easily use ghouls to clean up victims after blood has been drained, or for some more powerful bottom ranks. Ghasts are intelligent as well and may seek to work with a vampire if one is in the region. This would allow the ghasts to continue feasting while ensuring that they do not incur the wrath of the much stronger vampire, so it is a win-win.  Looking for some more creative options to back up your Vampire Lord? I have a whole list of unique and fun undead creatures for your campaign! (And there’s not a zombie in the bunch!)

Teasing a Vampire Final Boss

By now you have probably gathered that a vampire can be used to great effect as the final boss of a campaign. They can have far-reaching effects even before the players know they are dealing with a vampire, offer great utility to make the final boss fight interesting, and have enough weaknesses that the players could enter into the final fight with a surprise upper-hand.  Armed with all of that knowledge, how do you tease the players with a vampire final boss? When teasing a vampire final boss, consider the vampire’s goals and actions. Due to how powerful vampires are, they can have highly ambitious goals. Maybe they want to find an ancient lost civilization or turn a whole kingdom into their spawn. Once a goal has been set, the vampire’s actions will do much of the teasing. Due to the scope of the vampire’s goals, the players should hear about the effects of their efforts long before ever meeting the vampire. For instance, if the vampire’s goal is to convert a kingdom, players should hear of rising vampire attacks or a larger number of wolves in that kingdom. The vampire’s actions should leave crumbs that the players can use as a trail. 

 Tips for Using Vampires

Vampires are complex monsters with a toolkit so large that it is easy to forget about all they can do. Throughout this article, tips for using vampires to their fullest and making them deadly, terrifying enemies have been laid throughout.  For a quick reference and recap, here is a shortened list of tips for using vampires to maximum effectiveness:
  • Vampires are intelligent – This is a centuries-old monster we are talking about here! Your players should be afraid to fight a vampire
  • Vampires have underlings – vampire spawn and other undead should be weakening the vampire’s enemies long before the big one has to actually step in
  • Vampires should have lofty goals – they have until the end of time to achieve their goals, so make them big! The effects of them going after their goal is what will tip off the players to them
  • Vampires are charming – they will probably turn allies against each other to gain an upper hand
Utilizing these tips and more, you should have a great vampire as a main villain that is sure to provide fun and engaging gameplay for both yourself and your players! It really is a shame vampires have become a cliche shadow of their former selves. These monsters are intelligent, ancient, powerful, and brutal. What they need is a few good DMs to bring them back! And I have a feeling you just might be the one. Happy hunting! Until next time, May your game have advantage, my friends!
Halfling Hannah

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