Torching the whole party with a dragon's breath weapon is one of the most fun moments as a Dungeon Master. How can we tweak this rule to have greater control over its power and establish ludonarrative harmony?
Breath Weapon Dice Pools
Category: DM Tips
Speak Your Secrets
Metagaming is one issue we encounter in tabletop RPGs. Players have their characters act on player knowledge that their character does not possess. A DM's defense against this is to gently remind the player to act within the confines of character knowledge. This can lead to an overcorrection where every time a single PC finds out information, the other players ask "do you tell us that?" Any time a strange routine like this becomes habitual, we should streamline the process.
How Often Do Critical Hits Underperform?
Critical Hits are often the subject of homebrew rules. Driven by the perception that critical hits frequently underperform, these homebrew rules juice up the damage of critical hits to a more impressive level. They're often implemented after a player waits 20 rolls (on average) to score a critical hit that lands with a thud. But, is this underperformance a reflection of perception or reality?
Player Screen
Why do we only use one side of the DM screen? Make use of the player's side to your DM screen to keep your D&D sessions running smoothly!
Shield Master Unleashed
Can we rewrite the Shield Master feat to fix its fiddly action economy?
Schrödinger’s Orcs
This is my dirtiest DM secret: I don't fudge dice. I fudge entire monsters. This DMing tip can help you manage the tide of combat to dramatic conclusions.
How To Run A Sandbox
How do you run a sandbox without being completely overwhelmed by the expansiveness? Let's tackle this by dividing it into two sections: planning the sandbox and running the sandbox.
Conditions Chart by Effect
I've digested the Conditions into their various effects: ability checks, attack rolls, attacks against, movement, special attributes (generally aimed at limiting spellcaster efficacy), and what causes them to end. I've also marked an asterisk on the conditions that have incapacitated as a sub-condition.
Druid Wild Shape Options by CR
If you run Druids by-the-book, then they can only Wild Shape into a limited number of forms that the Druid has seen: DMs have a lot of control over Wild Shape. Since the Druid doesn't get Wild Shape until Level 2, you aren't committed to allowing the player a certain number of Wild Shape options … Continue reading Druid Wild Shape Options by CR
Passive Skills vs. Reliable Talent
Reliable Talent makes all your skills passive. In order to see what you're really getting from this class feature, you need to find out what skills already function passively, and what skills only function actively. We'll examine passive skill treatment in the rules and analyze where each skill should fall.
