The Only Book A Dungeon Master Needs

Professor DM Reviews Justin Alexander's book So You Want to be A Game Master. (Ep. 358)

[toddpickens]

Ordered. Exactly what I've been looking for for my nephew. He's reached that age where he's too cool for school, and doesn't want to listen to his uncle.

[miamiasma]

My husband watched this review when I was struggling to find him a gift. One "hint" later and now it is under the tree waiting for him. Thank you!

[CharlesClemens]

30+ years running games and I still think I have plenty to learn. Getting this book today!!

[JKevinCarrier]

"Default to YES" is indeed very powerful. That's definitely something I could improve on.
Critical Role does take way too long for initiative. I don't understand the need to gather up everyone's initiative score and put it into a list. Apparently, it's a common practice, but I'd never seen it before CR. Here's how we do it:
The players roll their initiative, and the DM rolls for the monsters.
DM: "Ok, first Goblin is going on 12. Anyone beat a 12?".
Player pipes up, "Yeah, I got a 15!"
DM: "Awesome. Take your shot." [Player goes]
DM: "Anyone else before 12? No? Ok, the Goblin does blah blah blah. Next Goblin is up on 8. Anyone before that?"
And so on down the line. Everyone keeps track of their own initiative score, no "master list" required.

[HeckleJeckle]

Another issue I have with the "I can't wait to get to X level" idea is...
You can always just START at a higher level! Ignoring game balance/etc, IF you as the GM honestly feel that the game won't "start" until a higher level than just start your game at that level.
Now there are problems with this mentality, but it is strange that a lot of people tend to not realize this simple point.
A TTRPG is not a Video Game. You don't have to start out a level 1.

[Voltzila]

That's one thing I have slowly come to learn is players will often have really neat ideas and allowing those is an easy way to let them have some fun as well as way to spice up your narrative.

[redlirh]

"Roll Initiative Last" had me jumping out of my chair and pacing the room in excitement. That is so brilliant!

[Delmworks]

When I heard who wrote it in went for it immediately. Between the Alexandrian and sly flourish I learned about 90% of what I needed to know to DM.

[sebastianstark]

I've used the "just say yes" guideline for a very long time. It really does help with player engagement and keeps the game going forward.

[Hellnikko]

I also pre-ordered this book and it has been hands down the best thing I've read in a long time. And I'm not even half way! The dungeon making was absolutely incredible. I can't wait to finish this!

[jasonGamesMaster]

I preordered my copy, and I've been reading it off and on since. I've got 20 years under my belt, and a lot of what I'm reading is stuff I've figured out already, but having it laid out in this way has helped me sort of order it in my mind better. Definitely recommend, even for folks that have been at it for a minute

Edit: and I don't play D&D of any variety, btw. This is not just for class/level games, but it is for trad games. I run RuneQuest, Traveller, and (new) World of Darkness, and other than the first (lengthy) chapter, this book is not just system agnostic but also genre agnostic

[holisticdm]

Oooh. I've always been a huge fan of the Lazy DMs guide but this seems great for the game design side of the craft. I need the storytelling philosophy book on TTRPGs too, I don't see enough other channels talking about exactly how to use storytelling to really grip our players!

[jimmyrepine]

Initiative takes me less than minute, 5 players. Old school, been doing it for 40 years. I have a premade sheet with the players names in order they are around the table, and go around in order asking what their initiative is. THAT being said.... I am really intrigued by the idea of having pre-rolled initiative. Completely with Prof on the flow aspect- it feels better. Going to try it.

[MrBrauk]

It was worth the wait. As an experienced GM, I’m pleasantly surprised at how much I'm learning, even in the chapters/sections I thought I knew well. A well-organized treasure trove of knowledge. Gifted my brother a copy too!

[rakedos]

Mr Alexander got me hooked on his blog with the 2 FANTASTIC articles titled "Hexcrawl" and "Xandering the Dungeon"!
His Hexcrawl system is so elegant and complete. I really liked it! It's brilliant!

[scottmckay]

Knew what book it'd be before I even clicked knew I'd get that book purely based off how excellent the Alexandrian is. Still to read just finished XDM so now on to this

[MalakyoftheOSR]

The guy behind The Alexandria....yup, it just made my must buy list.

[chrishousenick]

Have you ever read or reviewed any of the books in his series "The Monsters Know What They Are Doing"? It gives good insights into how to better run monsters based on their attribute scores and types that is really useful, especially for newer game masters and for monsters that are less commonly run.

[jkhazraji]

The best game for Social Encounters is a game called Good Society, the Jane Austen RPG. It's fantastic.

[liamcage]

I have been a DM/GM since 1980 and I still welcome new ideas on how to do the role better. The game has evolved as well as the players so new approaches to keep the game fresh are always needed.