Secrets of D&D Dungeon Mastering with Chris Perkins

Chris Perkins (Principal Game Design Architect, Dungeons & Dragons), Dungeon Master extraordinaire is here to answer, “How do you do THAT?!” and give you advice on how to level up your DM game! All are welcome, from the DM-curious to experts!

[ericdonarski]

Longform content with Chris Perkins is the best present I could ever ask for. Thank you for this!

[wouldcanoe]

Chris is one of the three people that ultimately inspired me to get into DMing, because when he was running DCA he would occasionally pick up the rule book itself and look for clarification. Proving everybody makes mistakes or forgets some rules.

[pig.sensei]

"Saying 'no, you can't' is just as valid as saying 'yes, you can'"

"Dumping a player is always an option. You can have friends who're not fun to play D&D with."

Simple but powerful advice from the DM himself.

[ericpeirce]

My favorite idea for a Gelatinous Cube that I haven't used is to have a few Mimics inside. A group of Mimics, each disguised as a different object, using the cube to travel to other areas of the dungeon. Since they are immune to acid, they won't be harmed and if the players "notice" that the items seem unharmed, they may even assume they are magical objects.

[SockimusPrime]

A lot of what I learned about pacing in Roleplaying Games I learned from watching Chris run Dice, Camera, Action, especially since those were 2 hour sessions, so they had to be tight.

The players would usually start off with some freedom to make their own plans, then somewhere in the 30-60 minute mark, something would happen and inject chaos, whether it was an ambush, or a new NPC showing up, or some other unexpected element that changed the course of the game and injected a little chaos. I call that the "Tilt", and I actively plan for it in my games. I don't know when it will happen, but I'll use it if the game is dragging or I just need to switch things up.

I also noticed that if the players spent too long discussing plans or waffling on a decision, Chris would interject with something like, "Paultin, you or "Evelyn, make a perception check...." It's such a simple trick, but it immediately snaps the players' attention back to "in character", as they realize that things are still happening around them while they've been plotting.

[GO_EZ]

*50* minutes of Chris Perkins? Christmas came early!!
I can honestly listen to him talk about anything D&D without end, so thanks a lot for doing this video

[BryanCGough]

Crediting the artists at the end of the live stream was extremely classy. Thank you for doing this!

[RobertManzano]

Getting better at DMing by watching other DMs seems like such a rich way to continue DnD as a tradition, passing lessons down from one DM to another.

[CaseyWilkesmusic]

This is easily the most helpful advice given directly by WotC. It’s about dang time

[azzaelulbrinter]

I normally can't stand watching other people play D&D, but Chris Perkins is the only exception. Loved his Descent into Avernus One-Shot, teached me how to be malevolent in a cool way.

[joaozanutto]

I am going to be a DM for the first time... can't wait to learn some tips from the master Perkins ❤❤❤

[HeyThisIsBrian]

God I’ve missed Chris. The robot chicken game where he added dm commentary was one of the first pieces of D&D content that got me hooked. I hope he does another dice camera action type series soon.

[dylanramsey]

I wish Chris's old DM's Experience articles from 4e were more easily accessible, because so many of the tips in this video are right there, complete with examples in play from his own campaigns--how he preps sessions, what to do when a player hogs the spotlight, making characters (especially villains) cool and memorable, etc. They're awesome stuff!

[kalipassion]

D&D this is brilliant this is where Perkins shines above all. I love this. Definitely sending this to ppl who are interested in ttrpg.

[Aavarius]

Long form, practical discussion with Chris and Jeremy is the best content. Hands down.

[xombiemike]

Man I miss Chris. I miss the DCA days and Ravenloft nights.

[CooperAATE]

My table voted on the timer, and it's helped A LOT to keep combat moving. Different strokes, and all that.

[mammonclarke]

I would love the chance to play a campaign at Chris Perkins' table. Of all the "celebrity" DMs out there, he is by far my favorite.

[Belly]

Definitely a great move getting Chris back on to talk hobby. It's really key to keep key ambassadors in the public eye to stop the faceless corporate element overshadowing the hobby space

[davidchelazzi]

Precious video for both new and experienced DMs to get quality game time! Chris is a legendary DM, of course, at the same time very humble and wise.