XVIII. LAZY TREASURE AND EXPERIENCE
The ideas behind lazy treasure and experience preparation let you instead focus on aspects of your game that help it come alive.
Level PCs when it fits the story
The easiest method of calculating and rewarding experience is simply to ignore it and level the PCs as the story determines it. Increase character levels every two or three games when your PCs complete a major accomplishment or finish a large quest.
Effort-based experience rewards
If story-based leveling isn’t for you, determine how much experience a single PC might get for an easy, normal, or hard challenge. Reward them for the effort they actually faced in a given situation.
Treasure: Setting the right baseline
In some editions, you must reward a baseline of magical items to keep bonuses in line with monster math.
- Inherent Bonuses: In 4th edition, using inherent bonuses is the easiest way to ensure the group doesn’t fall behind the power curve.
- Generic Items: Let players purchase generic magic items for base bonuses so they can keep up by spending gold.
Random treasure and wish lists
- Random Distribution: Use random loot tables to add spice and unknown items to the game.
- Wish Lists: Ask players for a list of ten items they want and use that as a random loot list.
XIX. USING PUBLISHED MATERIAL
Published books can be a great help or a great detriment. They give you professionally designed material you can reskin right at the table.
Inspiration, not gospel
Remember that you have full authority to use these works however you wish. You should not feel obligated to run material “as written”. Use them as inspiration and models.
Problems with published adventures
Published adventures can be too generic, take away your ability to build your own story, and often take more time to hack than building your own adventure.
XX. DELEGATION
Delegation saves you time and builds a bigger commitment in your players to the operation of the game.
What to delegate:
- Initiative: Assign a player to call for rolls, manage the turn arrangement, and act as the caller for turns.
- Monster Damage: Give a handheld whiteboard to a player to track damage on monsters.
- Rules Moderation: Employ your “rules lawyer” as an official interpreter of disputes.
- Storytelling: Let players describe the insides of an inn or the history of their magic items.
XXI. IMPROVING IMPROVISATION
The better you can improvise, the less you need to prepare. Improvisation is the key trait that helps you build a game that lives and breathes.
Techniques for the Table:
- Relax: Your players want to have fun, not a Stanley Kubrick production.
- “Yes, and…”: This is the cornerstone of improvisation. Include player ideas and build off of them.
- Act as if: If you feel nervous, act as if you are relaxed. Your behavior guides the table.
- Go with humor: Don’t shut down player humor; build off of it.
- Practice: The only way to get better is to actually improvise again and again.
XXII. IMMERSE YOURSELF IN FICTION
Immersing yourself in fiction rebuilds your mind and fills it with ideas, character portraits, and environments. The more characters you are exposed to, the more you can draw upon when you need them. Use audiobooks, movies, and TV shows to absorb great dialogue and character types.
XXIII. TAKE WHAT WORKS
The way of the lazy dungeon master isn’t a “right way”; it’s a set of ideas to help you gain efficiency. Consider anything that gets you closer to the goal of an enjoyable game and omit anything that does not.
Now get out there, relax, and build a great game.