Here are six tips I learned from running my first D&D campaign. What did you learn from running your first campaign? Have an arrival time and a start time This allows everyone to hang out and chat a bit before the game starts. I like to use this time to ensure snacks and food are ready, and to remind the players to look over their character sheet and ask me any questions. Give the players a chance to add to the world every session Ask the players questions that allow them to create and add to the world. Let them describe their new outfits, how they kill the final enemy, or even how they kn ..read more

If you’re like me you have a hard time coming up with names off the top of your head. So I put together a Page of Names that has over 100 names for you to use. Feel free to use these in the middle of a session, or while you are planning. Not only are they useful for D&D, but also for other TTRPGs like Shadowdark, Tales of the Valiant, and Daggerheart. Ko-fi members have access to pdf and print friendly versions too. ko-fi.com/craigofinspiration Related Posts d100 Magical Trinkets and Relics d100 Questions to Get To Know Your PCs Three-Point Planning, or How to Session Prep Like ..read more

A question I see often from new dungeon masters is: where do I start with worldbuilding? When you are sitting down to play a game around the table it helps to focus on the characters and build out from there. Locations, NPCs, and even religions can vary depending on the player characters. If there are no paladins or clerics, do you really need to flesh out every god and their religion? Likewise, if there are no rogues you may not have to have many details on the local thieves guild. However, if you are creating a world outside of a campaign then go where your heart desires. Wherever you decide ..read more

There are many ways to handle initiative in D&D and TTRPGs in general. It took me some time but I finally found a method that works for me. I know this won’t work for everyone but at least I hope it inspires you. Let me know what you think. So the first thing I do before the session even starts is determine the initiative I’m going to use for the monsters. Depending on the combat I’ll use their DEX score, 10 + DEX mod, or at intervals of 15, 10, and 5. For short combats, or combats I’m not expecting, I’ll roll initiative at the table. As we get the session going I will ask the players for ..read more

I wanted to put together a list of a bunch of tabletop games with short descriptions for each. Well, I found about 100 of them. It’s in alphabetical order, no preference indicated. Just because it’s not on here doesn’t mean it’s not a good game. If I missed any games please let me know in the comments! Please enjoy and share with others. .dungeon – virtual fantasy world 13th Age – seek your fortunes in the Dragon Empire Advanced Lovers & Lesbians – draw your sword and bear your heart Alice is Missing – a silent storytelling game Alien RPG – sci-fi body horror Apocalypse World – gritty nar ..read more

One of my goals when I’m planning a session for a long-term campaign is to make each session different from the last one. What I don’t mean by this is to make every session in the campaign completely different from each other. What I mean is to rotate between the focus on each of the three pillars of play – exploration, role play, and combat. If I have a big combat at the end of a session, the next session is going to start with role play and exploration, especially if it was a big bad involved. The next session is going to be relaxing in town, then getting the quest at the end. For me, this ..read more

Goblins and Giant Rats are a staple of roleplaying games, but let’s shake them up a bit shall we? Here you will find a d20 list of monster mutations, twelve level 2 goblin character sheets, and an adventure showcasing both. Also included is my Roll Your Own Goblin Tribe supplement. Helping Granny Gnawtooth adventure pdf helping-granny-gnawtooth-ver4Download Roll Your Own Goblin Tribe pdf build-a-goblin-tribeDownload 12 Pre-Made Lvl 2 Goblin PCs (spell cards included) goblin-pre-made-pcsDownload All of these docs in one zip file helping-granny-gnawtooth-dec23Download The pre-made goblins ..read more

Welcome to a new series called Perception Check where I will be breaking down answers from many Dungeon Masters on how they handle various parts of running the game. Over on Threads, I ask a daily question and usually, I get many amazing answers from dungeon and game masters all over. Here I will be presenting answers to a question along with some data analysis and personal insights.  How do you make sure the players are picking up the clues you’re putting down?  My Answer Like others have said, the three-clue rule from the Alexandrian is really helpful in this situation. If the info ..read more

I believe one of the best gifts you can give any time of the year is the gift of TTRPGs. With a starter set or player’s handbook, you are giving somebody the gift of infinite stories. Growing the hobby means new players and new dungeon masters. The holiday season is also a great time to get new people on both sides of the table. So whether you sense a young dungeon master in the making, need a cool donation for your local school/library, or want to expand someone’s horizons here are some of the best TTRPG starter sets and where to find them. D&D Starter Set: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle http ..read more

Sly Flourish’s The Lazy DM’s Companion by Michael E. Shea pdf – $9.99, book and pdf – $24.99 The Lazy DM's Companion What more can be said about this book from Sly Flourish. Many have already called it the best third-party dungeon master’s guide. What I can tell you is that I use the information presented in every session that I run. The 8 Steps of session planning have helped me run better games on both sides of the table. Using this system I know what needs to be prepared and how to use it during the session. For me, the random tables, adventure builders, and guidelines for various styles o ..read more