How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

Justin Lewis
  • 4.7 (52)
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  • Daily

Learn how to be a better DM (Dungeon Master) so you can tell better stories for yourself and your friends. Learn things like how to start a campaign, how to create realistic NPCs, how to move the plot along, and how and why to use session 0's for your party. Join hosts Justin Lewis, Cayden Ottley and Tanner Weyland as they distill all the DM tips, tools and resources for the beginner DM, for the DM with a few years of experience and for the Forever DM who's been playing for 20 years. If you're sick of searching for things like, "How to create a homebrew DND campaign?", click the play button and listen to become the best dungeon master you ever could be! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster Discord Server: https://discord.gg/g77qt8quM2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@session0studios YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@session0studios Professional Dungeon Master Services: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ DM Coaching: https://session0studios.com/coaching/

  1. 1d ago

    The 5 Mechanics You Actually Need to DM Your First Session

    New to Dungeons and Dragons and nervous about running your first game? These are the five D&D rules every beginner Dungeon Master actually needs, enough to cover about 90% of what happens at the table. You'll learn how checks and DCs work, how to read a character sheet, how initiative and combat flow, and what to do when you hit a rule you don't know. Want more help leveling up as a DM? Grab the Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter Topics covered: how to DM D&D for beginners, D&D 5e basic rules, ability checks and difficulty class (DC) ranges, ability scores and modifiers, proficiency bonus and skills, initiative and combat rounds, attack rolls, armor class, damage rolls and hit points, spell attacks and saving throws, advantage and disadvantage, and how to make a ruling when you don't know the rule. This episode is for new and DM-curious Dungeon Masters who keep hearing that they don't need to know the rules and want something more useful. Join the waitlist for Winter's Eve, our January 29 to 31, 2027 live D&D cabin weekend with a professional Dungeon Master in the Sundance and Midway, Utah area: https://session0studios.com/encounter-excursions/winters-eve/ Thanks for listening to today's show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff: * Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith * Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ * Dungeon Master Coaching: https://session0studios.com/coaching * Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord * Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon * Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

  2. Oct 22

    Getting a Never Nerd to Play D&D

    We all have that person in our life who doesn't ever plan to play D&D, even though we'd love to play with them! It's frustrating, and it often feels like an insurmountable barrier to having a good time with someone you care about... but not today! In this episode, Tanner talks about how to make D&D more approachable for a Never Nerd, how to be genuine and empathetic in proposing it, and much more.

  3. Oct 15

    Balanced Encounters Are a Myth: Here's What Actually Matters

    Balanced encounters are a myth, and chasing them is costing your D&D table its best moments. Learn why Dungeon Masters should stop balancing encounters and what to build instead. You'll get a simple replacement for CR math (motivations, back pocket end states, and telegraphing) plus a true story of an encounter that went wildly off script. Want more DM tools in your inbox? Grab the Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter Topics covered in this episode: where the idea of balancing encounters comes from (the 2014 Dungeon Master's Guide and challenge rating), why CR-based encounter balance fails in real play, why a fair fight means you under-planned, how balanced encounters kill epic moments and funnel players into combat as the only solution, why TPKs actually happen and how to prevent bad ones, and a practical D&D encounter design method: build living scenes, double down on conflict and motivation, prepare back pocket end states, telegraph danger, let encounters evolve, and simplify your prep. We also announce Encounters Excursions, our new D&D retreat experience that blends tabletop sessions with real world activities. Join the waitlist for the first event, Winter's Eve: https://session0studios.com/encounter-excursions/winters-eve This episode is for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters looking for D&D encounter design tips, 5e encounter building without CR math, how to avoid a total party kill, how to run non-combat encounters, how to make combat more creative, and how to run living, reactive scenes that your players remember for years. Thanks for listening to today's show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff: Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmithHire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/Dungeon Master Coaching: https://session0studios.com/coachingDiscord: http://session0studios.com/discordPatreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonDungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

  4. Oct 3

    Episode 1 - Well… We’re in Hell. || The Pact & Boon

    Welcome to the World of Calignos. This is the first episode of The Pact and Boon, and we find our heroes in the Prison of Mentiri within the City of Dis in the 2 levels of the 9 hells... A great place to start. Mentiri is hot, the food is terrible and our heroes are a little less than heroic. Each of our characters, Joland, Wolfgang and Alon, find themselves in difficult circumstances, some, falling from great heights while others are protecting helpless innocents. Let's see if our adventurers can survive in the 9 hells.... Mentioned in this episode: Leave Us a 5 Star Rating Thanks for listening to our show! We are so grateful for your support. If you like listening to our shenanigans, tell the world about it. Leave us a rating and a review to help give our show some credibility. Even just a quick 5 star review helps. Leave a Rating Discord Brought to you by Session 0 Studios For more information, visit session0studios.com

  5. Oct 1

    Don’t Balance Encounters: The DICE Framework for Effective Encounter Design

    Stop balancing D&D encounters and start engineering them. This episode gives Dungeon Masters a simple four-part framework, DICE, for building unique encounters on demand, no math required. You'll learn the four parts of every encounter (Doing, Incentive, Conflict, Effect), see the math behind why you'll never run out of ideas, and watch a brand new encounter get built live from a random combination. Want more encounter design tools in your inbox? Grab the Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter Topics covered in this episode: why encounter balance is overrated and often wastes prep time, what actually defines an encounter versus a non-event, the role of approach and avoidance motivation (a real psychological theory) in game design, and a full breakdown of the DICE framework for building D&D encounters: Doing (the verb, like Get, Avoid, Destroy, Preserve, Convince, or Build), Incentive (what's at stake, like a person, item, place, reputation, or piece of knowledge), Conflict (what's standing in the way), and Effect (the feel the encounter produces at the table, which falls directly out of the other three). You'll also hear the math behind just how many unique encounters this framework can generate, and watch a brand new encounter, called Out of Control, get built live and unscripted from a randomly generated combination. This episode is for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters looking for D&D encounter design tips, 5e encounter ideas beyond combat, TTRPG game design frameworks, social encounter ideas, chase and puzzle encounter design, and ways to build more varied, less combat-only encounters without spending hours balancing stat blocks. Thanks for listening to today's show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff: Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmithHire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/Discord: http://session0studios.com/discordPatreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonDungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

  6. Sep 17

    Session 0 Isn’t Step 1: How to Prepare Your D&D Players Before Session Zero

    Most DMs treat session zero as step one. It's not — it's where prep pays off. Professional DM Justin Lewis breaks down five conversations to have with your D&D players before session zero ever starts. From setting expectations to building real excitement to a player brief people actually reread, this is a practical guide to getting your table ready before the dice hit the table. For more, grab the Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter Covers: what session zero actually is, setting player expectations one-on-one, the DM/player promise, building excitement with new and experienced players, onboarding brand-new TTRPG players, writing a player brief, setting table norms and culture ahead of time, sending backstory and character questions before session zero, and a real story of a DM breaking his own promise mid-campaign in Out of the Abyss. Useful for D&D 5e groups, homebrew campaigns, and any tabletop RPG table looking to run a better session zero. Thanks for listening to today's show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff: * Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith * Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ * Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord * Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon * Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

  7. Sep 3

    Stop Blaming Your Players. Start Coaching Your Table

    In this episode, I’m breaking down the three levers every DM has to fix frustrating table behavior without turning into the bad guy: structural changes to your game, direct asks you’re probably avoiding, and the mindset shifts that matter more than either one. If you’ve ever resented your players without knowing how to say so, this one’s for you. Thanks for listening to today’s show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff: Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

  8. Aug 27

    How to Quickly Build an Interesting Combat Encounter

    Is it possible to build a combat encounter quickly while also making it interesting? After all, most quickly-planned encounters end up just being a bunch of random enemies thrown at the players. But that's not as interesting as an encounter that has a concept, unique terrains, and monsters to match (which is the formula Tanner will be exploring in today's episode). Let's roll initiative!

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Learn how to be a better DM (Dungeon Master) so you can tell better stories for yourself and your friends. Learn things like how to start a campaign, how to create realistic NPCs, how to move the plot along, and how and why to use session 0's for your party. Join hosts Justin Lewis, Cayden Ottley and Tanner Weyland as they distill all the DM tips, tools and resources for the beginner DM, for the DM with a few years of experience and for the Forever DM who's been playing for 20 years. If you're sick of searching for things like, "How to create a homebrew DND campaign?", click the play button and listen to become the best dungeon master you ever could be! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster Discord Server: https://discord.gg/g77qt8quM2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@session0studios YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@session0studios Professional Dungeon Master Services: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ DM Coaching: https://session0studios.com/coaching/

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