I don’t play Dungeons & Dragons. But I like the idea of it. I love the concepts around games in general, even though I don’t consider myself a “gamer”. Rules, goals, mechanics, characters, worlds, and story all fascinate me. There is something about being a Dungeon Master that has snagged me. It’s a topic I’ve researched for parallels I could find useful. Most recently I stubbled across this series of videos on learning the craft, and then this video on planning your first campaign: While I’ve never run a D&D campaign, I have organized other activities that would have benefited from this particular advice. I’ve broken down the ideas form this video I found useful into two categories:
Practical AdviceDigital Notes. This has been a big one for me recently. I have moved most of my writing and note taking into an Apple Notes; using the Second Brain framework. Making them digital makes them searchable, moveable, and at my finger tips at all times. This has been a complete game changer as far as staying organized. When everything goes into the same place I know exactly where to look. I won’t go into the details a second brain here but rather lean on Coleville’s concept of putting everything you need for the campaign into the same digital note or folder. This will make a huge difference if the campaign (or project) takes several weeks or months of planning and organizing. Then you have a place for everything including ideation, maps, notes, characters, monsters, etc all in one place. From a players perspective this makes the DM look like a true Master. It will build trust and structure so the players can let go and just play the game. (There’s so much leadership crossover here). ConceptualEmbrace Ambiguity. You’re not going to know the answers to everything and you don’t have to. It’s better to make friends with ambiguity and the discomfort it brings then to pretend it does’t exist or trying to over-prepare it out of existence (which is impossible).
You’re Going Screw Up. This is s tough one to swallow as this fear is often enough to prevent us from trying in the first place. Like ambiguity we need to get used to the idea that we’re going to mess up and create a practice of getting back on the horse afterwards. This includes owning the mistake. I love his quote, “I was DMing for 10 years before I could be counted on to draw a map with stairs to the second level.” 10 years! - We’re going to screw up for a long time. We Always Over Prepare. I know I just said not to worry about this, but the way he describes over-preparing is not what you’re thinking. It’s not necessary to have every detail planned down to the minute. Most of the time this is will actually hurt you because things are going to change. Knowing the direction and having a plan is most important. The video walks you through prepping for three encounters and over and over again he says, “And what does this mean? I don’t know. I don’t need to know until later. Right now I like the idea so I’m going to go with it.” Not needing to plan every details gives you some leeway to let your mind wonder and get creative. This is a valuable skillset. Plus a lack of structure provides wiggle room for last minute adjustments. Flexibility is key when leading anything and it will help prevent burnout. Even without an intention of ever becoming a Dungeon Master I will continue to learn how. There’s lots of skills here. It’s a great framework for understanding abstract ideas.
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