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After the Princess Bride movie came out they wrote an amazing book. The good parts version of course. If you are looking for another book to add to your huge pile of books to read, get the book here!

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Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons can be really big and complicated. New players can be easily overwhelmed with all the rules and weird terminology.

If you want your friends or family to role-play with you, it is important to be patient and supportive while teaching new players to learn your game.

Creativity and fun are at their best when the whole group works together.

keep it simple

create a supportive environment

 Let new players tell you (the DM) what they want to try, and you can tell them what checks or rolls they will need to do. Instead of overwhelming new players with all the rules, let them experiment in game, and learn as they go.

Let new players be ok with not knowing all the rules. Let them know that it is okay to make mistakes.

Be open and accepting. Don't condescend or make fun of players who don't know what to do.

Allow new players to make mistakes. Do not judge or criticize a noob mistake. Being critical or judgmental automatically kills the learning process.

 Don't assume the worst in people or new players.

Be welcoming

Most tabletop RPGs are big and complicated and it can be overwhelming for new players. Ease the burden by helping out any way that you can.

A lot of players are new to the game, we should never assume that people know everything.  

Be welcoming, supportive, and inclusive. A group game doesn't work unless you are actively part of the group. If a new player doesn't feel welcome, they aren't going to want to play at all.

review your house rules before Each session

Remember that every dungeon masters play style is different. Every group has different players and a different group dynamic. No two games are ever the same. So don't expect assumptions or behavior to be exactly the same.

Make sure all players who come and go from your table know your house rules and the consequences for their actions.

This might feel harsh at first, but you'll know it's worth it when there are a lot less arguments about how to calculate critical hit damage.

Behavior expectations should be common knowledge.... Things like waiting for your turn. Or rules like don't be a cheater. It is important to talk about this stuff instead of assuming that everyone knows how to behave.

Dungeons and Dragons is supposed to be fun. The more supportive and relaxed environment you create, the more fun everyone at the table will have.

My favorite book on storytelling!

I first learned about this book when I was taking acting classes back in the olden days. Our acting coach wanted us to read this as a way to understand movie story structure and teach us how to understand story and character arcs.

Save The Cat is the modern day hero's journey. It breaks down the foundations of a good story to its simplest form.

A great story can bond with our soul and embed itself with our psyche. A great story can be remembered for generations after it has been told. 

Save The Cat is the decisive recipe for telling a successful and memorable story.

Although the author of Save The Cat focuses on script writing for movies, we can take his advice and apply it to any form of storytelling. Whether it is novel writing, game design or any other form of story. Save The Cat can help.

Saving the cat is a concept that Snyder proposes that needs to happen early in the story. The main character rescues a cat that is stuck in a tree, letting the audience know that the main character is a good guy. The cat is a metaphor.

At the beginning of the live action Sonic The Hedgehog movie, Sonic picks up a turtle on the road before it gets run over by a truck. The save the cat scene can be short but it is important to convey to the audience what type of character they will be dealing with.

When Han Solo shoots first, we immediately understand exactly what type of character he is. That is his 'Save the Cat' moment.

The story foundations that Snyder uses is called the beat sheet. He want us to “beat” out every scene in the story to make sure the story flows well and gets the audience invested. Each beat is a scene in your story. This is my favorite part of the book.

When I first read about the beat sheet I was entranced. This was the breakdown I needed as an actor, a writer, and a dungeon master. 

Save The Cat covers a lot of writing territory. He analyses the type and genre of a story. He poses the idea that there are only 10 types of stories that have ever been told.

Snyder gives advice about the log-line, or the elevator pitch. The pitch is a single sentence that tells the audience what the story is about. If you can’t describe the story with one line, your story might be too complicated. 

Save The cat also helps with complicated scenes that need to be in your narrative. He tells us how to give exposition without it getting boring. He helps us keep track of our rules for magic systems and other mumbo-jumbo.

There is a multitude of advice here for repairing parts of your story that doesn’t flow. 

I love the concepts and advice in Save The Cat, and I will never get bored of re-reading it. Snyders writing makes everything simple, to the point, and comically entertaining.

Combat Tactics For Dungeon Masters.

 By Keith Ammann.

After reading The Monsters Know What They're Doing , I had found what I was missing. This book taught me how to interpret the stats to make the D&D creatures come to life. Now my creatures and boss battles are so much more engaging and dynamic than ever before!

 The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is not a replacement for the D&D monsters manual. You’ll still need the manual and the Players Handbook for game rules. The Monsters Know What They’re Doing focuses on things you won't find in the monsters manual. Keith's focus leans more toward monster's tactics and instincts more than just a block of stats.

 I’ve been DMing for over 15 years now, (started with 3rd edition) and the combat tactics I have learned from this book are greatly appreciated. Most of the information Ammann gives us is pretty new to me. My mind was blown when I first sat down to read The Monsters Know What They're Doing. 

When it comes to monsters, my DM style was completely lazy. I usually ignore most stats, I hate math and numbers, and I never calculate experience points, and I always thought CR was just a guideline.

When preparing, I only ever paid attention to enemy attacks, spells I liked, and special abilities. I rarely thought twice about ability scores, and skills like perception, stealth and the rest. I never thought twice about how goblins actually behave in battle. I just threw them at the players and treated the goblins like low level cannon fodder.

 Boy was I wrong.

Kieth says, “High-strength and high-constitution creatures are brutes that welcome a close-quarters slugfest.” Before now, all I would see is how much damage a monster does.

Ammanns advice gets deeper and more specific. Every section and chapter in the book focuses on a different type of monster; NPCs, undead, dragons, aberrations, constructs, demons and much more. 

I am currently excited to run a vampire in one of my current campaigns. I learned how a vampire would use its spells, and special abilities more tactfully long before a battle even starts. I learned the way it can manipulate other monsters and PCs to its advantage.

I admit that I haven’t read the whole book, I have just skipped around and read about the creatures that I was interested in or was planning on running in an upcoming session.

This Book makes it easy for DM’s to skip around and find the info they need. The organization is great for campaign planning when you don’t have much time.

If you aren’t too familiar with the 5th edition rules, it might get kind of confusing. But I don’t think that would be a problem for most DMs.

I learned and will continue to learn how to run monsters and enemies more effectively than I ever had before. Ammanns’ book is an amazing resource that I will be using for many more years to come. 

A professional dungeon master never stops learning. If you want to improve your encounters, and your game, this book is most definitely for you. I believe every dungeon master could benefit from Keith Ammanns sage advice.

The Monsters Know What They’re Doing is an insightful eye opener that deserves its place on the shelf next to the Dungeon Masters guide. It is essential reading for dungeon masters who want to improve their game.

make it personal

Every encounter Pete has with Doc Ock is also part of his personal story. When our villain decides to rob a bank, he doesn't just go to a random bank in the city. It's at the bank where Pete and Aunt May are visiting. This bring two plot lines together with them trying to get a loan. 

Give your villain a plan, and put your players in the villains path or vise versa. Once the players find out about the villain and are directly in their path, they can decide what to do about the baddie.

This is my favorite way of introducing the big bad and easily moves the plot forward. This is also a good way to set up the baddies in a way that the players see it directly. The players should not know the full extent of the bad guys plans right away, but they'll get a taste of it.

Spider-Man tries to stop Doc Ock, and when he grabs a meat shield, it's not just a random citizen at the bank, it is, of course Aunt May. This is a great example of raising the stakes. It's not just a nameless NPC who could get hurt, but someone your players should care about.

In the spirit of keeping things personal, we have another plot thread about Harry. He blames Spidey for his fathers death and is out to seek justice.

Every person in Peters life is affected by the story. Keeping things personal. 

Doc Ock and Harry end up working together, and theirs plans involve Peter. Once the villain meets your players, they need to start anticipating the players moves if they know the heroes will try to get in their way.

keep Your story moving forward

Just as Peter and MJ start patching things together and things might start going well, is the exact moment that Doc Ock attacks, interrupting their almost kiss.

This is hard to plan as a DM, because the players can be unpredictable. You can always interrupt the players when they are trying to rest or shop. 

Don't interrupt too often though because the players will get sick of it and they'll stop having fun if they can't catch a break. 

This continually raises the stakes if our hero doesn't seem to get a break. In the end, Doc Ock keeps MJ as a prisoner so she doesn't go to the police. Our villain doesn't know that she has a connection to Spidey, but we do, and of course you as the DM will know how to make it personal.

Raising The Stakes

The final battle in Spider-Man 2 is a great example of crafting an exciting and memorable encounter. 

Just defeating the bad guy isn't enough, especially in a boss battle. Spidey has to fight Doc Ock, save Mary Jane, and turn off the reactor all at the same time. 

The stakes are raised again because not only is MJ in danger but the entire city could be destroyed. Give your players lots to do in a boss battle and it will be a lot more interesting. 

You can also create a time limit to put pressure on your players. Deactivate the reactor (magic item, demon summoning etc.) so nobody dies. Spidey is also fighting someone who he knows and respected.

 To make things more exciting, the building they are fighting in is falling down all around them, adding more risk to MJ and our players. Adding danger in the location itself builds a more epic encounter. 

Add traps, puzzles, magic items that could do damage, rough terrain and anything else you can think of to make it more interesting.

Allow Role-Play During Battle

I also love this because they continue to tell the story during battle. Peter takes a turn to try to talk to Ock. He reveals himself and makes it personal to the villain and ultimately MJ. Peter talks Doc Ock out of fighting and it works. 

Give your players chances to talk and role play during their turns instead of just fighting. The bad guys can do this too. They will seem much more realistic and add depth to characters and battles.

Remember to have big plans for the bad guys and put the players in their path. Make sure the bad guys are connected to a player or players in some way. 

Use NPC's that the players care about so we can toy with their emotions by putting them in danger. Add more than one goal to a boss battle. 

Insert something dangerous in the environment for the players to deal with. Encourage players and enemies to role play during battle. 

Be adaptable to your players. 

And above all, have fun!

First of all make sure you have a backstory created and a simple goal for your character to eventually accomplish. Having even a few sentences of your characters backstory and goals is a lot better than nothing at all.

If you are lucky enough to have a session zero, make sure to be utilizing that time.

If you jump into a game and don't have time to prepare a character, that's OK. Characters grow best just like anything else, they need to be nurtured and have time to grow during multiple game sessions. 

It's totally OK to develop your character in game. It happens all the time. Players are always making decisions about their characters during the game. Let them evolve naturally instead of trying to force personality detail right away.

 It's great to be a supporting player, As long as you are consciously making decisions and using your abilities that help out the rest of your party.

The more time you spend with the character and the more encounters you are exposed to, the more you will get to know them.

If you do have a catch-phrase, I would suggest making it reflect you characters goals or alignments. 

Captain America says "I could do this all day." This shows that he will always stand up to bullies and never back down. 

Maybe your catchphrase reflects what you believe in or what you care about. "Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. ... I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come." 

Say something that reflects your goals. "You killed my father, prepare to die."

If you have a simple action ready to go, you'll cut down on the need to perform or think on your feet.

How does your cleric or wizard meditate? How do they cast their spells?

What does your character do when they are standing watch? Does your character have a victory dance they do after they make a kill? Are they obsessed with making sure all the adventuring gear is organized? 

Do they take time to talk to horses or other pets? Is your character always using magic to change their hair color?

Does your character keep a journal? Do they write poems or songs? Are they always doing some kind of research?

Does your character like to whittle or carve wood? Make toys? Forge weapons? Tell stories? Buy low and sell high? Knit sweaters? Make jewelry? Constantly make bets? Flirt? Host parties? Wear costumes?

Making small character choices will prepare you when you need to make more drastic choices.

Use actions that don't disrupt the game flow or stop other players from doing what they want to do.

Simple choices can be made while still be participating in the game. Keep these specific actions prepared and ready to go, any time there is a chance to role-play.