In this course, participants will learn how to be better dungeon masters. They'll learn about how to create their own world, the difference between railroading and sandboxing, how to homebrew, and how to run their sessions in ways that they and the players will appreciate. They will be introduced to most aspects of dungeon mastering and will come away with the ability to learn more on their own so they can become true masters of the game.
Topics Covered
While we likely won't have the time to cover all of these, here is a list of topics I would cover thoroughly if we had enough time. A series of followup courses could eventually cover them all, but it is expected that aspiring Dungeon Masters will explore the possibilities on their own.
- What is D&D, and how is it different from video and board games
- Finding and using online tools
- Running monsters/NPCs well
- Use of Alignment and other options (Dael Kingsmill?)
- Session Zero
- Managing players
- Crafting
- Theater of the Mind vs. Figures and Maps
- Using prepackaged content
- Worldbuilding
- Continuing education
- Myths and legends
- Rules and Gameplay
- Learning from the masters
- Homebrewing
- Classes/subclasses
- Spells
- Monsters
- Races
- Backgrounds (including how they differ from Backstories)
- Magic Items
- Creating adventures and encounters
- Creating one-shots