becomingDM

Not only does adding illness and disease to you game provide additional flavor, it can provide a challenge by temporarily impacting the abilities of characters, especially higher level ones.  In the first part of this episode on Illness and Disease, John and Danielle talk about how to justify disease in a world with magic, the types of disease, and start talking about how to implement them into your game!

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It's episode 100!!!  Join John and Danielle as they take a look behind the scenes of the first 100 episodes of the show.  You can find out how the show actually got started, how Danielle was selected to be co-host and you can even get a look into the gear that's used to record the show.  Thank you to all of the listeners that have joined us for this ride, we're excited to reach this milestone and plan to continue recording new cont...

Throughout the course of your game you will have players that will occasionally not show up from time to time.  Preparing for handling those missing players and how the character, story, and treasure experience changes as a result are really important to define before this happens so players and DM are all on the same page with what to expect.  In this episode of becomingDM John and Danielle go through some of the questions that yo...

Chases!  Whether the party is trying to get away from the town guard or trying to prevent an enemy from escaping they can add a sense of excitement to the game.  But how do you make a chase more exciting for everyone at the table?  In this episode of becomingDM John and Danielle talk about the as written rules for chases in both D&D as well as Pathfinder 1st edition.  Additionally, they provide suggestions on how to take those ...

Do you find yourself wanting to encourage certain behaviors in players?  Whether it's roleplaying, heroics, or something different adding the Inspiration optional rule to your game may be just what you're looking for.  Join us as John and Danielle talk through on the episode requested by listener Ryan Ross!  We talk about some of the official rules as well as tips and tricks that we have for implementing it and customizing it for a...

Part 2 is here!  If you were waiting for the second half of our episode on running games for large groups, this is it!  Join Danielle, John, and Robert as they continue the discussion and touch on skill checks, combat, and more for large parties at the table.  Also learn why Danielle is a monster and John is a slacker!

Don't forget that as we get closer to episode 100 we are giving away prize packs!  There are three easy ways to en...

Our episode about running games for large groups was so large we had to split it into two parts!  In the first part of this discussion, Robert Spann joins John and Danielle to talk about whether you really need to have such a large group and some tips and tricks to keep players engaged if you have a large group at your table.  Don't forget our contest as we go to 100 where you can win some fantastic prizes.  Make sure to check out ...

Heists can be a great way to add a sense of intrigue.  But how do you add them to your game in a meaningful way?  And how do you do so without it ending up being "the rogue show".  John and Danielle talk about working backwards from the objective to plan out a heist adventure for your table.

And don't forget, we are counting down to episode 100!  If you would like to learn more about the prizes we are giving away and how to enter, ...

Join us as John and Danielle discuss this topic that was suggested by listener Robert Spann!

If you're getting new players to your table, they probably don't know or understand the differences between the various classes that they can choose from.  In this episode, we discuss different strategies and techniques to help players settle on a choice while still having it be their decision.  Join us!

Have you got an idea like Robert did...

At some point you may need to end your campaign.  Maybe you've come to the logical conclusion of the story for these characters, maybe people are needing to move away.  Whatever the reason, how you end your game can have a big impact on how people look back on the game and you as a DM.  Join John and Danielle in this episode as they talk about some of the questions to ask when a game is ending and some strategies to use to make the...

If you think about the world that your characters are moving through, there is probably some sort of legal structure that says what is allowed and what's not allowed. Within communities of the world there may be a moral structure that is in line with or counter to the laws of the land.  In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about defining laws and moral structures for your game to add depth and flavor to the experie...

Are there large armies clashing in your world? If so, then eventually you may have the party getting involved with fighting them, so knowing how to run large scale combat is a useful skill for DMs.  In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about some options for how to run large scale combat scenarios and what to consider before you get yourself into this fun situation.  Join us!

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Sometimes you don't have time to create a map for your combat encounters.  Sometimes the players do something unexpected and get into a fight that you weren't prepared to put on the table in front of you.  Sometimes you just don't have enough space to run the combat that you would like with minis and everything.  Whatever the reason, running theater of the mind combat is a great way to add a different perspective to you game.  Join...

Are you finding that you have trouble scheduling games with your group and no one seems to be available at the same time?  Or maybe you don't have the time to dedicate to a single long session.  If that's the case, consider running play by post games.  In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about the benefits and challenges of pbp as well as things to consider if you're getting involved in a pbp game.

We'd love to he...

There is a lot of stuff that happens in your games every session.  If you don't stay on top of managing your campaign, you could end up with players asking to revisit an NPC that you haven't thought about in months and don't really remember anything about.  In this episode of becomingDM, John and Danielle talk about what sorts of things you might want to include in your campaign management as well as three common ways of performing...