[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":235},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frunning-the-game":3,"navigation-main":119},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"description":111,"extension":112,"meta":113,"navigation":114,"path":115,"seo":116,"stem":117,"__hash__":118},"wiki\u002Fwiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F2.running-the-game.md","Running the Game",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":98},"minimark",[9,13,18,38,42,47,50,54,57,61,64,68,81,85],[10,11,12],"p",{},"The job is short to describe and long to get good at. You describe a world,\nand you play everyone in it who is not a player character. Nobody is good at\nthis on the first night, and nobody needs to be — it is learnable, and it gets\neasier every session you run.",[14,15,17],"h2",{"id":16},"what-the-job-actually-is","What the Job Actually Is",[10,19,20,21,26,27,31,32,37],{},"Three things, and only three. You describe the world: the room, the weather,\nwhat the guard says back. You play everyone in it who is not at the table —\nevery ",[22,23],"tooltip",{"label":24,"tooltip-key":25},"nonplayer character","rules\u002Fnonplayer-character","\nthe party meets, from the innkeeper to the thing behind the door. And you\ndecide when the outcome is genuinely in doubt, which is the moment a\n",[22,28],{"label":29,"tooltip-key":30},"D20 Test","rules\u002Fd20-test"," is called for. Nothing\nelse is really the job — the rest is how you do those three things well. For\nthe loop from the other side of the table, see\n",[33,34,36],"a",{"href":35},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game","Playing the Game",".",[14,39,41],{"id":40},"three-things-the-job-is-not","Three Things the Job Is Not",[43,44,46],"h3",{"id":45},"you-are-not-their-opponent","You Are Not Their Opponent",[10,48,49],{},"You decide what exists. A DM who wanted the party dead would not need dice to\narrange it — a locked door that never opens, a fall that is simply fatal,\nwould do it in a sentence. The game has no side for you to win, so there is\nnothing to be won by beating the players. Your job is to make the world react\nhonestly to what they do, not to stand against them.",[43,51,53],{"id":52},"you-do-not-need-to-know-every-rule","You Do Not Need to Know Every Rule",[10,55,56],{},"Nobody does, and nobody ever will. When a rule is unclear mid-session, make a\ncall and keep playing. Look it up afterwards if it matters. A wrong ruling\nmade in five seconds costs the table less than a right one made after five\nminutes of flipping pages, and most rulings do not come up again before you\nhave had time to check.",[43,58,60],{"id":59},"you-do-not-need-to-prepare-a-plot","You Do Not Need to Prepare a Plot",[10,62,63],{},"What you prepare is a situation — who wants what, what happens if nobody\nintervenes. What happens after that belongs to the players. A plot assumes\nthey will do the thing you planned for; a situation survives them doing\nsomething else entirely, which they will.",[14,65,67],{"id":66},"adventures-and-campaigns","Adventures and Campaigns",[10,69,70,71,75,76,80],{},"Two scales, and it is worth having the words for them before the rest of this\nchapter uses them. An ",[22,72],{"label":73,"tooltip-key":74},"adventure","rules\u002Fadventure","\nis one arc, start to finish. A ",[22,77],{"label":78,"tooltip-key":79},"campaign","rules\u002Fcampaign","\nis a string of adventures played by the same characters, one after another.\nMost tables run a campaign; you only ever prepare one adventure at a time.",[14,82,84],{"id":83},"where-to-start","Where to Start",[10,86,87,88,92,93,97],{},"Three things, in this order. Read the rest of this chapter — it covers what\nrunning a session actually involves, week to week. Prepare a situation, not a\nplot, for your first session, following\n",[33,89,91],{"href":90},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fpreparing-a-session","Preparing a Session",". And before\nyou sit down to run it, read\n",[33,94,96],{"href":95},"\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fsetting-difficulty","Setting Difficulty"," — it is the\nlast thing to settle before your first roll.",{"title":99,"searchDepth":100,"depth":100,"links":101},"",2,[102,103,109,110],{"id":16,"depth":100,"text":17},{"id":40,"depth":100,"text":41,"children":104},[105,107,108],{"id":45,"depth":106,"text":46},3,{"id":52,"depth":106,"text":53},{"id":59,"depth":106,"text":60},{"id":66,"depth":100,"text":67},{"id":83,"depth":100,"text":84},"What a Dungeon Master actually does, and the three things new DMs think the job is that it is not.","md",{},true,"\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frunning-the-game",{"title":5,"description":111},"wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F2.running-the-game","UEM4zLJy_gh5Z2x37AP-dZFCtJEoFBOE3MHujQLAMIo",[120],{"title":121,"path":122,"stem":123,"children":124},"Wiki","\u002Fwiki","wiki\u002F1.index",[125,126,130,174,204,208],{"title":121,"path":122,"stem":123},{"title":127,"path":128,"stem":129},"Introduction","\u002Fwiki\u002Fintroduction","wiki\u002F2.introduction",{"title":36,"path":35,"stem":131,"children":132},"wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F1.index",[133,134,138,142,146,150,154,158,162,166,170],{"title":36,"path":35,"stem":131},{"title":135,"path":136,"stem":137},"Damage and Healing","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fdamage-and-healing","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F10.damage-and-healing",{"title":139,"path":140,"stem":141},"Conditions","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fconditions","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F11.conditions",{"title":143,"path":144,"stem":145},"Rhythm of Play","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Frhythm-of-play","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F2.rhythm-of-play",{"title":147,"path":148,"stem":149},"The Six Abilities","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fthe-six-abilities","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F3.the-six-abilities",{"title":151,"path":152,"stem":153},"D20 Tests","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fd20-tests","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F4.d20-tests",{"title":155,"path":156,"stem":157},"Proficiency","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fproficiency","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F5.proficiency",{"title":159,"path":160,"stem":161},"Actions","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Factions","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F6.actions",{"title":163,"path":164,"stem":165},"Social Interaction","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fsocial-interaction","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F7.social-interaction",{"title":167,"path":168,"stem":169},"Exploration","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fexploration","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F8.exploration",{"title":171,"path":172,"stem":173},"Combat","\u002Fwiki\u002Fplaying-the-game\u002Fcombat","wiki\u002F3.playing-the-game\u002F9.combat",{"title":175,"path":176,"stem":177,"children":178},"Creating a Character","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F1.index",[179,180,184,188,192,196,200],{"title":175,"path":176,"stem":177},{"title":181,"path":182,"stem":183},"Choosing a Class","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fchoosing-a-class","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F2.choosing-a-class",{"title":185,"path":186,"stem":187},"Origin","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Forigin","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F3.origin",{"title":189,"path":190,"stem":191},"Ability Scores","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fability-scores","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F4.ability-scores",{"title":193,"path":194,"stem":195},"Alignment and Details","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Falignment","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F5.alignment",{"title":197,"path":198,"stem":199},"Equipment","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fequipment","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F6.equipment",{"title":201,"path":202,"stem":203},"Beyond Level 1","\u002Fwiki\u002Fcreating-a-character\u002Fbeyond-level-1","wiki\u002F4.creating-a-character\u002F7.beyond-level-1",{"title":205,"path":206,"stem":207},"Rules Glossary","\u002Fwiki\u002Frules-glossary","wiki\u002F5.rules-glossary",{"title":209,"path":210,"stem":211,"children":212},"Dungeon Mastering","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F1.index",[213,214,215,217,219,223,227,231],{"title":209,"path":210,"stem":211},{"title":5,"path":115,"stem":117},{"title":91,"path":90,"stem":216},"wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F3.preparing-a-session",{"title":96,"path":95,"stem":218},"wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F4.setting-difficulty",{"title":220,"path":221,"stem":222},"Building an Encounter","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fbuilding-an-encounter","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F5.building-an-encounter",{"title":224,"path":225,"stem":226},"Running a Combat","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frunning-a-combat","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F6.running-a-combat",{"title":228,"path":229,"stem":230},"Between Scenes","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Fbetween-scenes","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F7.between-scenes",{"title":232,"path":233,"stem":234},"Rewards","\u002Fwiki\u002Fdungeon-mastering\u002Frewards","wiki\u002F6.dungeon-mastering\u002F8.rewards",1767225600000]