Sec 02

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREPARING FOR YOUR GAME (5)

• Chapter 1: The Way of the Lazy Dungeon Master (7)
• Chapter 2: The Lazy Dungeon Master’s Checklist (9)
• Chapter 3: Review the Characters (12)
• Chapter 4: Create a Strong Start (14)
• Chapter 5: Outline Potential Scenes (18)
• Chapter 6: Define Secrets and Clues (20)
• Chapter 7: Develop Fantastic Locations (23)
• Chapter 8: Outline Important NPCs (27)
• Chapter 9: Choose Relevant Monsters (30)
• Chapter 10: Select Magic Item Rewards (33)
• Chapter 11: Our Preparation Notes So Far (35)
• Chapter 12: Reduce the Checklist (37)
• Chapter 13: Other High-Value Preparation Activities (39)
• Chapter 14: The Lazy Dungeon Master’s Toolkit (41)
• Chapter 15: Reskinning (44)
• Chapter 16: Building a Lazy Campaign (47)
• Chapter 17: Running Session Zero (50)

RUNNING YOUR GAME (53)

• Chapter 18: Top Traits of Good GMs (55)
• Chapter 19: Summarizing the Previous Session (57)
• Chapter 20: Three Tricks for Group Storytelling (59)
• Chapter 21: Improvising NPCs (62)
• Chapter 22: Improvising Scenes and Situations (64)
• Chapter 23: Using Multiple Combat Styles (66)
• Chapter 24: Maintaining the Pace (69)

THINKING ABOUT YOUR GAME (73)

• Chapter 25: Priming the GM’s Brain (75)
• Chapter 26: Conducting GM Brain Exercises (78)
• Chapter 27: Embracing the GM’s Truths (80)
• Chapter 28: Lazy Dungeon Master Tricks (83)
• Chapter 29: Final Thoughts—Developing Your Own Style (86)

APPENDICES (88)

• The 2016 Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master Survey (88)
• Facebook Dungeon Master Survey Results (90)
• References and Additional Reading (92)

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PART 1: PREPARING FOR YOUR GAME

CHAPTER 1: THE WAY OF THE LAZY DUNGEON MASTER

Prepare what benefits your game.

Those five words represent the core philosophy of the Lazy Dungeon Master. Our goal is to learn what parts of our RPG preparation and execution bring the most fun to our games. Our goal is to understand what benefits our games, and to separate that from what offers little value for the energy we spend in preparation.

The way of the Lazy Dungeon Master begins with a simple initial idea: We can spend less time preparing for our RPGs and still run great games. By boiling our preparation down to only the things that matter the most, we can save considerable time.

A DEEPER HYPOTHESIS

While exploring this idea, I found another potentially deeper hypothesis: The less we prepare, the better our games will be. Many Gamemasters—including experts and professionals—have found this to be true.

Clearly, though, this idea works only up to a point. We can’t take this notion to its mathematical conclusion of “Prepare nothing, and your game will be infinitely more fun”. Some game preparation is required to run a great game. The 2016 Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master survey showed that only 2 percent of 6,600 DMs spent no time at all preparing.

THE MANTRA IN PRACTICE

Prepare what benefits your game, and omit what does not. This second part can be hard, as we are often rooted in our old ways. We don’t have to make a big plunge into abandoning everything. Instead, we can run small experiments:

• We don’t have to throw away miniatures to try “theater of the mind”.
• We don’t have to get rid of 3D terrain to try a single blank poster map.
• We don’t have to toss out a three-ring binder of world-building to try spiral campaign development.

Trying out a new idea or removing a preparation step doesn’t mean we have to do so forever. We just might give it a try for a game or two and see how it feels.

A SYSTEM FOR SAVING TIME

Using the game preparation checklist in this book takes about fifteen to thirty minutes for a four-hour game. Whether you’re looking for ways to refine your prep or seeking a system that saves time, this book has ideas that might resonate. Let’s dig in.