Sec 06

APPENDIX A: LAZY DUNGEON MASTER TOOLKIT

Use these lists either directly or as examples to build your own lists . Print them out and keep them tucked in your DM kit to help you improvise.

20 Adventure Seeds

1. Dwarven explorers uncover a mad wizard’s vault.
2. Undead attack an old monastery protecting an evil artifact .
3. An isolated village seeks heroes to defend it from monstrous attackers.
4. Hobgoblin slavers allied with a demon-blooded dragon terrorize local farmsteads.
5. A powerful noble family seeks vengeance for a slain criminal son.
6. Orc raiders enslaved dwarves to dig into an ancient dark elf ruin.
7. A fledgling apprentice releases a demon who begins building a fiendish army.
8. A corrupt warlord harries a poor village with a hired band of rogues.
9. A supernatural plague from a forgotten elven ruin turns local villagers into ghouls.
10. A floating keep from an alternate world crashes into a nearby wild forest.
11. A thieves guild threatens to release a hallucinogen into a city’s water supply.
12. Forbidden knowledge revealed in an old book brings powerful justicars who plan to wipe out everyone in the town.
13. The corpse of an old god infested with devils appears embedded within a nearby mountain.
14. The death of a hill giant lord’s son brings down the lord’s goblinoid army onto a nearby walled city.
15. A king finds a hidden door within his keep that leads to a vast multi-leveled labyrinth.
16. A kobold witch-doctor discovers a powerful artifact that sways inhuman armies to his service.
17. A band of mercenaries starts a war between two feuding cities.
18. An evil priest becomes filled with terrible power and unleashes charismatic cultists across the land.
19. A fallen hero’s father frames local adventurers, while allying with wilderness tribes to increase terror.
20. Recent foresting expansions upset a nearby swamp full of lizard-men and their black dragon god-king.

20 Movie-Inspired Quests

1. Hunt down a powerful beast never seen in this area before (Jaws).
2. Find an ancient buried artifact before an evil army does (Raiders of the Lost Ark) .
3. Find a lost treasure to negotiate a hostage rescue (Romancing the Stone).
4. Hunt down constructs that believe they are human (Blade Runner).
5. Protect a young girl who holds the fate of a kingdom in her mind (Firefly).
6. Seek revenge upon the cult that wiped out a whole village (Conan the Barbarian).
7. Drop behind enemy lines to destroy a bridge (Bridge over the River Kwai).
8. Hunt down a rogue general now seen as a god by an army of goblinoids (Apocalypse Now).
9. Seek revenge on rogue bandits who accosted a bar wench (Unforgiven).
10. Find the last surviving brother of five in the middle of a war (Saving Private Ryan).
11. Take revenge on the orc tribe that murdered a young girl’s father (True Grit).
12. Protect a village from a band of monstrous brigands (Seven Samurai).
13. Save a village from two warring bandit tribes (Yojimbo).
14. Find a lost treasure before two other parties find it (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly).
15. Imprison or slay a powerful demon trapped within a keep (The Keep).
16. Destroy an ancient artifact containing the soul of a demon prince (The Prince of Darkness).
17. Hunt down and destroy a shapeshifting monster released from an ancient buried vessel (The Thing).
18. Kill the gang of assassins who left you for dead (Kill Bill).
19. Kidnap or rescue an unborn heir (The Way of the Gun).
20. Steal an artifact from the most powerful bank in the city (Heat).

20 NPC Character Frameworks

1. Belloq (Raiders of the Lost Ark).
2. Han Solo (Star Wars).
3. Yu Shu Lien (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
4. Dolores Claiborne (Dolores Claiborne).
5. Tom Hagen (The Godfather).
6. Sherif Ali (Lawrence of Arabia).
7. Dick Hallorann (The Shining).
8. Sgt. Dignam (The Departed).
9. Sgt. Apone (Aliens).
10. Little Bill Daggett (Unforgiven).
11. Jean Lundegaard (Fargo).
12. Chuckie Sullivan (Good Will Hunting).
13. Robert “Bobby Elvis” Munson (Sons of Anarchy).
14. Chief Tyrol (Battlestar Galactica).
15. Calamity Jane (Deadwood).
16. Mike Ehrmantraut (Breaking Bad).
17. Rupert Giles (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).
18. Titus Pullo (Rome).
19. Lorne (Angel).
20. Sir Francis Walsingham (Elizabeth).

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APPENDIX B: THE DUNGEON MASTER SURVEY

Between April and June 2012, 817 dungeon masters were surveyed regarding their preparation techniques .

Tabulated Preparation Results (470 Weekly DMs)

Activity	None	<30 min	30m-1h	1-2 hrs	>2 hrs
Combat Encounter Design	19%	42%	24%	11%	4%
Non-Combat Design	16%	50%	20%	12%	2%
Battle Map Prep	37%	41%	14%	5%	3%
Monster Design	27%	35%	19%	14%	5%
NPC Development	14%	52%	20%	12%	2%
World Building	17%	26%	12%	14%	31%
Experience and Loot	40%	47%	9%	4%	0%
Props and Handouts	31%	46%	13%	7%	1%

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APPENDIX C: DM QUESTIONNAIRE (SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS)

TEOS ABADIA

Teos spends at least one hour of prep for each 4-hour game linking the story to the goals/backstory of 1-2 PCs. He believes the least positive effect comes from custom extensive world building, as few players benefit from that depth.

DAVE “THE GAME” CHALKER

Dave finds that brainstorming and outlining are the most effective activities, while pre-scripting and trying to be funny fall flat . He recommends meeting players halfway and taking ideas from everything you consume.

MICHAEL MALLEN

Michael notes that “the worst session I have ever run was one of the sessions I felt most prepared to run”. He warns against the false sense of security that comes from over-planning, as players will always find an option you never anticipated .

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael E. Shea is a writer, gamer, and technologist who created Sly Flourish. He has been playing D&D since 1987. He thanks his wife Michelle and his gaming groups for testing these ideas.

“I don’t write books to make money, I make money to write more books.” — Walt Disney (quoted by Mike Shea).