Hey! Your support also helps my anxiety, if we're honest, so consider being a member to help out! ua-cam.com/channels/XwR-xgjuzeaJ4xGY0d9uGg.htmljoin Or just leave comment down here! That also does wonders against the true evil of this campaign: the UA-cam algorithm. Thank you! ❤❤
I had my anxiety pretty squared away until about 6 months ago when twice in a row the players fled from my plot hooks with a desperate fear despite saying the combats hadn't felt challenging. They left a players home island to the mercy of an aboleth and never looked back, after that sitting down for prep got a lot harder.
Ooof! That IS rough! It might be a good idea to have a conversation with your players to dive into that more because there seems to be a disconnect there that needs cleared up.
My solution to weekly prepping concerns is planning way, way way ahead. One of my standards is that I have a true open world. Players can go absolutely anywhere, any city, any forest, cave, swamp, tomb etc. So for a campaign I'm running, my players on on Session 7, but I have maybe 40-50 sessions of content prepared. Then what happens is every week is a response to suit the consequences of what they've done. But basically I don't really need to prep at all anymore (minimally) So when play time comes, the only potential source of anxiety is remembering the details of each scenario that I've made. I also have a list of long rest encounters ready to rock at any point, and maybe 10 mini adventures that they might stumble upon in their travels. "You stumble upon the ruins of a mansion in the woods" or "You see a well covered in moss...". If I feel like the campaign needs a diversion, I will make sure one of those happens. I think also having a clear idea where the central narrative is moving is critical (presuming homebrew). In my own campaign, I know something big will happen on the next full moon (20 days away). I ask myself "What is the big bad guy doing" during these 20 days, because he has his own diabolical plan right? I think part of removing *logical* anxiety is just being highly prepared.
That's one way for sure. I typically prep about 2 sessions in advance, with a general outline of the main plot all the way to the conclusion. Things might change, but 2 sessions still gives me room to pivot and I find I still have to add things in response to the chaos of my players anyway. But knowing I have some encounters and things prepared keeps the anxiety down for me. Thank you for sharing!
I love this list, thanks for compiling it! Some things I do, some things I can definitely do more of. Oh, to find the time to D&D with a toddler! Could always use more time. A few things to suggest - 1.) Seek positive player feedback. My players are also my closest friends, so hearing their affirmation is definitely uplifting. 2.) Have a list of resources to take inspiration from! I have a playlist that helps keep my mind in the zone, or a pinterest board I add to regularly, or creators I follow that give awesome tips and ideas that help give me a little spark back! 3.) Food. I like to prep myself a snack and drinks before going into a session. 4.) Something to fidget with during the session. I find that having something in my hands helps to keep my focus, making me more confident in my ability to effectively deliver. A lot of the time I take notes, or have a doodle pad while players roleplay for a bit, or have a fidget toy like a pen or or something. Thanks for the awesome content, have an awesome weekend!
Great advice! I've done most of these when I was first DMing. A few things that helped me out most was 1. find a safe table that understood I was new and worked with me through learning and making mistakes 2. Once in a long while hold a one shot for strangers at the local gaming store. I (found a great table I joined later on this way) 3. Just jump in and try. Practice can reduce some anxiety on the long runs. 4. Celebrate your successes as a DM. Realizing what I did right gave me bits of confidence that built up over time.
One thing my players enjoyed was having them generate the random encounters, then rolling to see whose encounter is used. One had an idea for a Freaky Friday, so I removed it from he random table and made it a plot point when they used a portal made by an amateur wizard
Minimizing prep time helps immensely. I can't recommend Sly Fourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master enough. It's really short, practical advice for prepping a game. Unlike the DM it gives you the actual steps to follow, and really min-maxes your time. You can feel prepared for a session with minimal effort and gives you confidence that you're ready to go.
If you need a break want to keep playing check out pre-written adventures. The classic modules, Dungeon magazine, threshold magazine, DM's guild you get to use assets already made for you and for some of the more classic stuff you get to see how the old Masters made their adventure. There's a reason why we still talk about the old stuff. Because a lot of it has really stood the test of time. Then plunder those ideas for your own just like you were looting a dragon's horde
@@CantripsMedia My best suggestion for overcoming DM anxiety is just overwhelming arrogance. It's worked for me for decades, if you're just better than everyone else then you have nothing to fear. I highly recommend it
I regularly watch Rustage's Campaigns and its literally just a few anime youtubers, an author and rappers playing dnd having a shit ton of fun, just a bunch of guys honestly Crit role or anything else doesnt really fill my crave for more.. i dont know why, maybe its because of natural relationships (i dont remember if crit role group are like actual friends or Not, but it definitely feels very different, best example would be isekai D&D EP34 the first minute) I hope i can find something with a similar charm soon >~> And finally start my own campaign.. but i really shouldnt try to build my own entire world for my First time dm.... buttttt im gonna do it anyway, oneday
Yeah playing a module or even just the starter box is best otherwise you'll get overwhelmed with all the details and I can see never playing because of that. You can always start with a module and then mold it into your own world (that's usually easier) or stop the adventure module once you feel comfortable and start over with your own world. I think that's the best course of action for a new DM
Critical Role is definitely a group of longtime friends, they have campaigns going back way before they had a youtube channel. What might be turning you off is the high production value of it? It's not the gritty "in your basement with friends" vibe, it's in a constructed set with professional equipment. Not for everyone.
O UA-cam Overlords, may this humble comment soothe the Great Algorithm, raising this video’s divine wisdom to the masses trapped in the darkness of their own hellscape!
Hey! Your support also helps my anxiety, if we're honest, so consider being a member to help out! ua-cam.com/channels/XwR-xgjuzeaJ4xGY0d9uGg.htmljoin
Or just leave comment down here! That also does wonders against the true evil of this campaign: the UA-cam algorithm. Thank you! ❤❤
I misread the title as “How I kill DMs every session”
Well there are a lot of DMs who play in my games hahaha
Really great tips! There’s not enough content talking about this sort of thing when it comes to GMing so I appreciate this video a lot
Awe I'm glad it was helpful!! 😁
I had my anxiety pretty squared away until about 6 months ago when twice in a row the players fled from my plot hooks with a desperate fear despite saying the combats hadn't felt challenging. They left a players home island to the mercy of an aboleth and never looked back, after that sitting down for prep got a lot harder.
Ooof! That IS rough! It might be a good idea to have a conversation with your players to dive into that more because there seems to be a disconnect there that needs cleared up.
My solution to weekly prepping concerns is planning way, way way ahead. One of my standards is that I have a true open world. Players can go absolutely anywhere, any city, any forest, cave, swamp, tomb etc. So for a campaign I'm running, my players on on Session 7, but I have maybe 40-50 sessions of content prepared. Then what happens is every week is a response to suit the consequences of what they've done. But basically I don't really need to prep at all anymore (minimally)
So when play time comes, the only potential source of anxiety is remembering the details of each scenario that I've made.
I also have a list of long rest encounters ready to rock at any point, and maybe 10 mini adventures that they might stumble upon in their travels. "You stumble upon the ruins of a mansion in the woods" or "You see a well covered in moss...". If I feel like the campaign needs a diversion, I will make sure one of those happens.
I think also having a clear idea where the central narrative is moving is critical (presuming homebrew). In my own campaign, I know something big will happen on the next full moon (20 days away). I ask myself "What is the big bad guy doing" during these 20 days, because he has his own diabolical plan right?
I think part of removing *logical* anxiety is just being highly prepared.
That's one way for sure. I typically prep about 2 sessions in advance, with a general outline of the main plot all the way to the conclusion. Things might change, but 2 sessions still gives me room to pivot and I find I still have to add things in response to the chaos of my players anyway. But knowing I have some encounters and things prepared keeps the anxiety down for me. Thank you for sharing!
I love this list, thanks for compiling it! Some things I do, some things I can definitely do more of. Oh, to find the time to D&D with a toddler! Could always use more time.
A few things to suggest -
1.) Seek positive player feedback. My players are also my closest friends, so hearing their affirmation is definitely uplifting.
2.) Have a list of resources to take inspiration from! I have a playlist that helps keep my mind in the zone, or a pinterest board I add to regularly, or creators I follow that give awesome tips and ideas that help give me a little spark back!
3.) Food. I like to prep myself a snack and drinks before going into a session.
4.) Something to fidget with during the session. I find that having something in my hands helps to keep my focus, making me more confident in my ability to effectively deliver. A lot of the time I take notes, or have a doodle pad while players roleplay for a bit, or have a fidget toy like a pen or or something.
Thanks for the awesome content, have an awesome weekend!
All great things to add. Thanks for sharing!
Great advice! I've done most of these when I was first DMing. A few things that helped me out most was 1. find a safe table that understood I was new and worked with me through learning and making mistakes 2. Once in a long while hold a one shot for strangers at the local gaming store. I (found a great table I joined later on this way) 3. Just jump in and try. Practice can reduce some anxiety on the long runs. 4. Celebrate your successes as a DM. Realizing what I did right gave me bits of confidence that built up over time.
All great tips! Thank you for sharing!
One thing my players enjoyed was having them generate the random encounters, then rolling to see whose encounter is used. One had an idea for a Freaky Friday, so I removed it from he random table and made it a plot point when they used a portal made by an amateur wizard
That's pretty cool!!
Great video! So much good information. We are so alike 😅 I also panic so much!
Haha oh yeah. The panic is real. Once the flow gets going it's fine though hahaha. But that first bit gets me every time
Minimizing prep time helps immensely. I can't recommend Sly Fourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master enough. It's really short, practical advice for prepping a game. Unlike the DM it gives you the actual steps to follow, and really min-maxes your time. You can feel prepared for a session with minimal effort and gives you confidence that you're ready to go.
I've definitely recommended that book in other videos. It's a must have!
If you need a break want to keep playing check out pre-written adventures. The classic modules, Dungeon magazine, threshold magazine, DM's guild you get to use assets already made for you and for some of the more classic stuff you get to see how the old Masters made their adventure. There's a reason why we still talk about the old stuff. Because a lot of it has really stood the test of time. Then plunder those ideas for your own just like you were looting a dragon's horde
All great places to look! Thanks for the comment!
@@CantripsMedia My best suggestion for overcoming DM anxiety is just overwhelming arrogance. It's worked for me for decades, if you're just better than everyone else then you have nothing to fear. I highly recommend it
Great video, thank you so much! 🥰
So glad you liked it!
I regularly watch Rustage's Campaigns and its literally just a few anime youtubers, an author and rappers playing dnd having a shit ton of fun, just a bunch of guys
honestly Crit role or anything else doesnt really fill my crave for more.. i dont know why, maybe its because of natural relationships (i dont remember if crit role group are like actual friends or Not, but it definitely feels very different, best example would be isekai D&D EP34 the first minute)
I hope i can find something with a similar charm soon >~>
And finally start my own campaign.. but i really shouldnt try to build my own entire world for my First time dm.... buttttt im gonna do it anyway, oneday
Yeah playing a module or even just the starter box is best otherwise you'll get overwhelmed with all the details and I can see never playing because of that. You can always start with a module and then mold it into your own world (that's usually easier) or stop the adventure module once you feel comfortable and start over with your own world. I think that's the best course of action for a new DM
Critical Role is definitely a group of longtime friends, they have campaigns going back way before they had a youtube channel. What might be turning you off is the high production value of it? It's not the gritty "in your basement with friends" vibe, it's in a constructed set with professional equipment. Not for everyone.
My dm panic goes away when my players cancel day of
Although it gets worse when they *dont* cancel for once 😅
Hahaha. Typically it's all fine for me once we start playing but it can be 30 minutes in before the anxiety subsides for me haha
O UA-cam Overlords, may this humble comment soothe the Great Algorithm, raising this video’s divine wisdom to the masses trapped in the darkness of their own hellscape!
I now need a warlock whose patron is a UA-cam overlord. That's immediately what I thought after reading this comment hahaha