Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
Other
returnofthelazydm
Michael E. Shea
Homebrew v1.0.0
Table of Contents
About This Book
Preparing For Your Game
- Chapter 1: The Way of the Lazy Dungeon Master
- Chapter 2: The Lazy Dungeon Master's Checklist
- Review the Characters
- Create a Strong Start
- Outline Potential Scenes
- Define Secrets and Clues
- Develop Fantastic Locations
- Outline Important NPCs
- Choose Relevant Monsters
- Select Magic Item Rewards
- A Loose Outline to Get Comfortable
- The Lazy Dungeon Master's Checklist with Published Adventures
- The Lazy Dungeon Master and Online Play
- An Ongoing Example: "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Chapter 3: Review the Characters
- Keeping Track of the Characters
- Can You Remember Their Names?
- Chapter 4: Create a Strong Start
- What's Happening?
- What's the Point?
- Where's the Action?
- Start with Combat
- Ten Examples of a Strong Start
- Strong Starts in the Middle of Adventures
- A Strong Start for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Creating a Stong Start
- Chapter 5: Outline Potential Scenes
- A Primary Purpose of Peace of Mind
- Be Prepared to Throw It Away
- Examples Scenes for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Outlining Potential Scenes
- Chapter 6: Define Secrets and Clues
- Anatomy of Secrets and Clues
- Abstract from People, Places, and Things
- Write Down Ten Secrets Per Session
- Secrets Aren't Always Revealed
- Secrets Only Become Real When Revealed
- Unrefined Quests
- Ten Example Secrets
- Checklist for Defining Secrets and Clues
- Chapter 7: Develop Fantastic Locations
- What is a Fantastic Location?
- Start with an Evocative Name
- Location Aspects
- What Makes a Location Fantastic?
- How Many Locations?
- Ten Fantastic Locations
- Building Fantastic Locations from the Character's Backgrounds
- Building Fantastic Dungeons
- Fantastic Locations for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Developing Fantastic Locations
- Chapter 8: Outline Important NPCs
- Focus on Primary NPCs
- Keep NPC Outlines Brief
- Choose a Character Archetype from Popular Fiction
- Switch Genders
- Avoid Stereotypes
- Be Prepared to Throw NPCs Away
- Skip This Step
- NPCs for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Outlining Important NPCs
- Chapter 9: Choose Relevant monsters
- Read Up on Your Monsters
- Think of Challenge Ratings as a Loose Guage
- Prepare to Improvise Combat Encounters
- Prepare Boss Fights
- Choosing Monsters for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Choosing Relevant Monsters
- Chapter 10: Select Magic Item Rewards
- The Loose Wish List
- Choosing Items Randomly
- Tying Magic Items to the Story
- Magic Items for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Checklist for Selecting Magic Item Rewards
- Chapter 11: Our Preparation Notes So Far
- The Strong Start
- Potential Scenes
- Secrets and Clues
- Fantastic Locations
- NPCs
- Monsters
- Magic Items
- Review Your Notes Before the Game
- Chapter 12: Reduce the Checklist
- So Why These Three Steps?
- What Gets Lost?
- Reducing Through Experience
- Checklist of Reducing the Checklist
- Chapter 13: Other High-Value Preparation Activities
- Handouts
- Maps
- Artwork
- Music
- Checklist for other High-Value Preparation Activities
- Chapter 14: The Lazy Dungeon Master's Toolkit
- The GM's Notebook
- Campaign Worksheet
- Curated Random Name List
- 3×5 Index Cards
- Initiative Cards
- GM Screens or Cheat Sheets
- Dry-Erase Flip Mat
- Published Books and Adventures
- Miniatures, Maps, and Terrain
- Get Rid of What Isn't Useful
- Checklist for the Lazy Dungeon Master's Toolkit
- Chapter 15: Reskinning
- Reskinning Monsters
- Reskinning Dungeons
- Reskinning Worlds
- Mash-Ups
- Your License to Be Inspired
- Checklist for Reskinning
- Chapter 16: Building a Lazy Campaign
- Develop the Spiral Campaign
- Build the Campaign Hook
- State the Six Truths of Your World
- Define Fronts
- Example Fronts for "The Scourge of Volixus"
- Steering the Mind Away from "What Might Happen?
- Checklist for Lazy Campaign Preparation
- Chapter 17: Running Session Zero
- Describe the World
- Manage Expectations for the Campaign
- Tie Characters Together
- Tying Characters to a Single Faction
- Guide Characters Toward Cooperative Adventure
- Run a Quick Adventure
- Checklist for Running Session Zero
Running Your Game
- Chapter 18: Top Traits of Good GMs
- Relax
- Trust Your Tools
- Sharpen Your Skills
- Checklist for Flexibility, Creativity, and Improvisation
- Chapter 19: Summarizing the Previous Session
- Give the Players Free Reign
- Fill in Missing Information
- Checklist for Asking Players to Summarize the Previous Session
- Chapter 20: Three Tricks for Group Storytelling
- "Describe Your Killing Blow"
- "What's an Interesting Physical Characteristic of this Monster?"
- "What's an Interesting Characteristic of this Tavern?"
- "What Happens Along Your Journey?"
- Taking Baby Steps Into Improvisation and Group World Building
- Checklist for Group Storytelling
- Chapter 21: Improvising NPCs
- Choose A Name
- Put Yourself into the Mind of the NPC
- Apply an Existing Stat Block
- Using Your NPC Preparation Ideas for Improvisation
- A Deeper Topic
- Checklist for Running NPCs
- Chapter 22: Improvising Scenes and Situations
- Imagine a Living World
- Let the World React to the Characters
- Example: The Fortress of Grayspire
- Checklist for Building Scenes and Situations
- Chapter 23: Using Multiple Combat Styles
- Running Theater-of-the-Mind Combat
- Running Tactical Gridded Combat
- A Hybrid Approach: The Abstract Map
- Using the Right Tool for the Job
- Checklist for Using Multiple Combat Styles
- Chapter 24: Maintaining the Pace
- "What Do You Do?"
- Clarify Choices
- Maintain Beats of Action and Relaxation
- Understanding Upward and Downward Beats
- Improvising Beats
- Checklist for Maintaining the Pace
Thinking About Your Game
- Chapter 25: Priming the GM's Brain
- Priming with Books, Movies, Games, and TV shows
- Books
- Movies
- TV Shows
- Video Games
- Comics
- Reading RPG Sourcebooks and Adventures
- Tips for Priming the GM's Brain
- Chapter 26: Conducting GM Brain Exercises
- What are the Names and Backgrounds of the Characters?
- What are the Villains and NPCs Doing Right Now?
- What Fronts Are On the Move?
- Running Through the Lazy Dungeon Master's Checklist
- Tips for Conducting GM Brain Exercises
- Chapter 27: Embracing the GM's Truths
- Everyone's Here to Have Fun
- Players Don't Care as Much as You Think
- Players Want to See Their Characters Do Awesome Things
- You are Not the Enemy
- Players Love Breaking the Game
- Tips for Embracing the GM's Truths
- Chapter 28: Lazy Dungeon Master
- Tricks
- Award Levels instead of Experience Points
- Improvise Ability and Skill Checks
- Skip Initiative and Take Turns Around the Table
- Delegate Initiative Tracking and Other Tasks
- Use Static Monster Damage
- Assign a Rules Lawyer
- Run Low-Level Campaigns
- Checklist for Lazy Dungeon Master Tricks
- Chapter 29: Final Thoughts—Developing Your Own Style
Appendices
- The 2016 Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master Survey
- Frequency of Games
- Length of Games
- Preparation Time
- Other Results
- Primary Game Play Locations
- Campaign Worlds
- Combat Style
- Time Spent on Preparation Activities
- Story and Adventures
- Campaign and World Building
- Combat Encounters
- NPC Development
- Exploration and Roleplay
- Treasure and Magic Items
- Props and Handouts
- Facebook Dungeon Master Survey Results
- References and Additional Reading
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