Dungeon Mastering

Every table needs one person who is not playing a character — describing the world, voicing everyone in it, and calling for a roll when the outcome is genuinely in doubt. That person is the Dungeon Master. Nobody is good at it on the first night, and this chapter is the path to getting good at it.

• Running the Game — what the job actually is, and the three things it is not.
• Preparing a Session — prepare situations, not scripts.
• Setting Difficulty — when to call for a roll, and what number to put on it.
• Building an Encounter — the XP budget, and the levers that move difficulty further.
• Running a Combat — stat blocks, monster turns, and ending a fight at the right time.
• Between Scenes — travel, light, hazards and what the rests do to your pacing.
• Rewards — levelling, treasure and magic items.

If you have never run a game, read Running the Game and Setting Difficulty and start — the rest keeps. If you have never played, read Playing the Game first, because you cannot run what you have not seen.

Terms with a dashed underline open their full definition from the Rules Glossary; monsters live in the database rather than here.