My greatest asset as a DM is my ability to improv. I kinda just could do it from the get-go, but I can appreciate just how crucial it can be and I don't take it for granted. The best feeling is when imrpovised inspiration in the moment leads to the craziest stuff ever. When you prepare, you tend to be in a relatively calm and measured mindset, but in the middle of a session, the old greymatter is jacked up on dopamine, that mindset leads to the craziest ideas and reactions ever. :) The important thing is to remember to write it all down later, so that you don't forget it :P
Writing down my improv notes was something I really had to learn the hard way - it's always the random improvised NPCs that the players suddenly need to check back in on two sessions later 😂
I’ve played D&D for years now as a player. Now starting a campaign as a DM for my 11 yr old daughter AND for friends after relocating to a new state in the US. Just wanted to say thank you! Your videos have been very great, I think I’ve “thumbs up’d” and viewed like 15 of your videos so far. Any topic I’ve wanted, you’ve been showing up in TH-cam! Keep it up, and thanks for playing a role in my new journey! 🎉🎉 🤜🤛
After playing mostly AD&D and Pathfinder for more than 40 years I have been experimenting with "Beyond the Wall" lately. The GM is expected to improvise on the matterial the players invent when they create their characters at the beginning of each session. Rather than be disappointed that it is not all planned out aheadof time, one player told me "It is fun to have you as confused as we are."
This is the most comprehensive advice I've ever heard for actually getting better at improv. Improv has always been my weakest point as a DM and it always comes down to the confidence. Thanks a bunch!
Really appreciate you saying so, mate, thank you! That's great to hear - I really want to try and focus on practical, implementable stuff in my videos, so it's good to know that's coming across.
Pro tip: if you really want to trick the player with when you improve and what you have prepped, flip to a random page of notes or just a blank page and improve from there
Reminds me of how I "read out" my homework at school some times. :D Rolling the dice during improv works, too. Anything you normally do as a DM can be used to mask the few extra seconds you may need to put something together coherently, really.
I've pronounced wyvern, for decades, as you originally did. That's how I heard it pronounced long ago in the earlier days. I'm not asking Vern, "why?" - I'm describing a scaly mythical beast. There's another one with similar pronunciation - "mythical".
Love your videos and i really enjoy your way to give advice. Feels to me like listening to a friend dm on a relaxed evening. Stay as you are man - you are helping a lot!
That's such a nice thing to hear, thank you! One of my big Patreon projects that's coming out later this year is very steampunk-inspired, coincidentally 😁
I always struggle with Improv in my games, and these are some great tips to get more comfortable in an improv zone, just in time to start a new campaign later today! Looking forward to trying these out!
@@TalesArcane Thank you! It's a homebrew world I've wanted to run for a while, and finally taking the step! I like to give a plot and a few side quests usually, but struggle when my players want to do something I don't have any planning for, so this is really helpful! Thank you!
This is really great advice, but I am left with 2 questions: 1) Without doing prep work, How do you improv a Nation / region / town / NPCs to all feel cohesive with each-other? How do you make them all feel like they all make sense and belong in that specific part of the world? I can easily see this becoming very chaotic, weird, and un immersive. 2) At what point do you prioritize enjoying your own content that you wanted to explore as a DM? I totally understand giving attention to what the players wanna do. But my philosophy is a bit different than most DMs in that I want to enjoy the stuff I run too and not just feel like a machine that exists to pump out content that only my players want to play. I think there's a fine balance to be struck. If I wanted to run a dark and political campaign and my players agreed to that in session zero but now they are all clearly wanting a lighthearted anime style grand adventure - what do you then?
Thank you! To the first point, it usually becomes chaotic or immersion-breaking If the DM (a) isn't taking notes as they go along and (b) is overstepping their own level of ability. Rigorous note-taking will help massively when it comes to keeping improv'd elements consistent session to session, and staying within the range of improv one can actually manage is also essential. If a DM finds it overwhelming to improv a village, then a town will definitely be too much (for now, at least!). That's why I'd suggest using small improv zones to test one's own abilities. To the second, this comes down to your own needs as a DM, so sadly there's not much advice I can give. For myself, I'd much rather have a long-running game based on my players' evolving interests than a short-lived campaign where we stick with a genre or theme I enjoy and the players gradually drop out because they're not engaged anymore. But that's just personal preference - the pleasure I get from D&D is telling long-running stories with my players that morph over time, so I'm rarely tied to one specific genre or style.
@@TalesArcane This makes sense, thanks for the reply. I'll def have to start strengthening my improv abilities at a local scale and then expand from there. And I can see how one can gain joy from running a player-driven campaign. Even though I selfishly want to continue the narrative they all initially agreed to play, I am only now realizing that I want this because I do A TON of prep work. It's probably best if I improve my improv abilities, go with the flow, all while finding different ways I can enjoy the new narrative that's being carved out. Anyway, thanks for all the advice you give. There are many DMs on TH-cam who post similar content but I find that your advice is very useful and practical when actually running games at the table. You are very specific with your explanations and examples and it's much appreciated.
As always a wonderful video full of great advice. It took a lot of games of falling on my face to learn how important it is to improv in a session. Just having a small list of names and traits can take a huge burden off a gms shoulders. The rest really is all practice and rolling with the chaos of a pack of murder hobos. Also, it's pronounced "Vern." As a species they are terrible at names and all share the name Vern. The "Wy" was added by travelers who misunderstood the villagers cries of "Why, Vern?" For "Wyvern" when they would witness an attack on a village by a local Vern.
Thanks for this video! I'm a new DM, 11 sessions ran successfully so far. I know you mentioned about you personally prepping environments and such, do you have any sort of videos of what your actual sit down process looks like? I'd love to see what someone thinks when they sit down to prep, and how they actually organize everything. I use One Note, it works out well but I'm always looking for a better way to streamline. I also use the Sly Flourish method of the Lazy Dming, which I feel does work for me but maybe there's something else I need to add on to make it feel more complete.
I haven't done any videos about that specifically, though I've done quite a few long-form vids about the individual aspects of my prep. I've got a game this week, so I will try to do a video based around my prep for that!
Thanks for the video. I always struggle with improvising dialogue. Coming up with words, things to say to spite characters when playing an arrogant character for instance. Do you have any tips on that? And did you make the maps on 2:24 and 2:39 by any chance? Lovely style!
A video on dialogue improv and NPC acting specifically is a great idea! I will get that on the list. Also, yes, I made those maps using Inkarnate (in fact, every background in my video that isn't official D&D book art is one of my Inkarnate maps). I'd highly recommend the website!
@@TalesArcane Awesome! I find that for the important scenes I'm actually writing out dialogues that I want to NPC to say. And that's one of the most time consuming things I do for prepping. I do this because I can't find the right tone of voice for the NPC during the session (or at least that's what I'm afraid of).
Almost every single long-running NPC companion my players decided they really liked and wanted to travel with was a completely improvised character I never thought we'd see again 😅
@@TalesArcane Case in point! 😂 I think there's a certain surge of positive energy improv characters are born with that players really resonate with, so I think there's something for us DM's to learn from if we want players to connect with our pre-made, more plot-relevant NPC's
I don't think it's necessarily terrible to let players know you're improvising. I sometimes even invite them to add details of their own to the world during play. For example, when the PCs come to a new city and I need them to have an informant in the city's criminal underworld, I might ask the party rogue to describe someone they might know in the city. Done right, I think this tactic can give players a greater sense of being invested in the world, and it can make your life as a DM easier, too.
And a second comment because why not ! These were really great pieces of advice. I particularly like the monster manual one. The first time I got the book, almost every page I turned I was thinking "waw ! this could be in this or that scenario..." On a completely different line : Do you ever plan on streaming one of your campaign or uploading recorded sessions ? I would love to see you dming at a table (or in a VTT).
This is a very timely comment, because yes, I do plan to upload some games! I'm actually in the process of recording them at the moment - or rather, the process of battling with various pieces of tech and software to try and get them up to a standard where I'm happy to post. But yeah, that's coming - should have some games on the channel in the coming months.
Every DM is different (on the off chance you see this, Tales Arcane, this is not a dig. Your improv zones is absolutely a good idea) so, for me personally, I can come up with race, background, alignment, goals etc etc etc very quickly for npcs, or history, aesthetic, etc etc for businesses and other locations on the spot with ease. Naming them, however at the same moment and I'll stumble with something not great. So, for new DMs, if the names remain difficult, i come up with a list of names and stop there. I'll fill everything else in when the party reaches the improv zone.
It’s pronounced wyvern. 😉 Seriously, though, great stuff as always. I’d say this is the best improv-related video I’ve ever seen. I need to practice mine a bit more. As it is, my players are currently in a town where I have prepped exactly 4 NPCs, and they have at least laid eyes on all 4 of them. It also has been recently taken over by a necromancer, so they’re considering trying to liberate the whole town themselves, though it would be their own side-quest. I still have time to prep for this, but any further advise when it comes to improving entire encounters?
I LOVE a quest where players have to liberate a town from the inside - fomenting rebellion, taking out the ruler's informants... It's so much fun. Really glad to hear you enjoyed the video, too! When it comes to improvising a whole encounter, I find the best place to start is with very player-led encounters. If my players are traveling on a quiet road, they might find an empty wagon with some bloodstains on it. I have no idea who was in the wagon or who attacked it, but I'll just sit back and let the players spend time searching and investigating, and as they do I can listen to what they're theorising and respond. They start searching the nearby bushes to see if anyone was lying in wait? I guess someone was!...and so on. Just create open-ended situations, with relatively low stakes, and see where the players take it.
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Literally the exact video I wanted to see - your content is literally perfect for aspiring DMs - gonna watch now
Hey, that makes me so happy to hear! Really hope the video was useful. Good luck with your improvisation!
My greatest asset as a DM is my ability to improv. I kinda just could do it from the get-go, but I can appreciate just how crucial it can be and I don't take it for granted. The best feeling is when imrpovised inspiration in the moment leads to the craziest stuff ever. When you prepare, you tend to be in a relatively calm and measured mindset, but in the middle of a session, the old greymatter is jacked up on dopamine, that mindset leads to the craziest ideas and reactions ever. :)
The important thing is to remember to write it all down later, so that you don't forget it :P
Writing down my improv notes was something I really had to learn the hard way - it's always the random improvised NPCs that the players suddenly need to check back in on two sessions later 😂
I was away from DMing for three years and your content has helped me regain a focus of what I could do all that time ago. Thank you, man.
Warms my heart to read that, mate, thank you! Good luck with all the games to come - once a DM, always a DM 💪
Me when I sit down to prep: “I got nothing.”
Me mid session: “the font of creativity is flowing!!!”
Complete otherside of me xD
I’ve played D&D for years now as a player. Now starting a campaign as a DM for my 11 yr old daughter AND for friends after relocating to a new state in the US. Just wanted to say thank you! Your videos have been very great, I think I’ve “thumbs up’d” and viewed like 15 of your videos so far. Any topic I’ve wanted, you’ve been showing up in TH-cam! Keep it up, and thanks for playing a role in my new journey! 🎉🎉 🤜🤛
After playing mostly AD&D and Pathfinder for more than 40 years I have been experimenting with "Beyond the Wall" lately. The GM is expected to improvise on the matterial the players invent when they create their characters at the beginning of each session. Rather than be disappointed that it is not all planned out aheadof time, one player told me "It is fun to have you as confused as we are."
This is exactly what so many DMs need - including me. Great video as always!
Thanks for the kind words! I definitely think improv takes DMing to a whole new level of fun - glad the tips are useful!
This is the most comprehensive advice I've ever heard for actually getting better at improv. Improv has always been my weakest point as a DM and it always comes down to the confidence. Thanks a bunch!
Really appreciate you saying so, mate, thank you! That's great to hear - I really want to try and focus on practical, implementable stuff in my videos, so it's good to know that's coming across.
Pro tip: if you really want to trick the player with when you improve and what you have prepped, flip to a random page of notes or just a blank page and improve from there
This is 100% true 😂
Reminds me of how I "read out" my homework at school some times. :D
Rolling the dice during improv works, too. Anything you normally do as a DM can be used to mask the few extra seconds you may need to put something together coherently, really.
This is a great video! As someone who’s not great at thinking on the fly and aspires to DM one day, these tips are very useful. Keep up the great work
I've pronounced wyvern, for decades, as you originally did. That's how I heard it pronounced long ago in the earlier days. I'm not asking Vern, "why?" - I'm describing a scaly mythical beast. There's another one with similar pronunciation - "mythical".
Love your videos and i really enjoy your way to give advice. Feels to me like listening to a friend dm on a relaxed evening. Stay as you are man - you are helping a lot!
Awesome and Helpful!
Thank you for this !
Man there is something gentleman-y about your voice that gives you a steampunk vibe
That's such a nice thing to hear, thank you! One of my big Patreon projects that's coming out later this year is very steampunk-inspired, coincidentally 😁
I always struggle with Improv in my games, and these are some great tips to get more comfortable in an improv zone, just in time to start a new campaign later today! Looking forward to trying these out!
Starting a new campaign TODAY? That's so exciting! Good luck!
@@TalesArcane Thank you! It's a homebrew world I've wanted to run for a while, and finally taking the step! I like to give a plot and a few side quests usually, but struggle when my players want to do something I don't have any planning for, so this is really helpful! Thank you!
This is really great advice, but I am left with 2 questions:
1) Without doing prep work, How do you improv a Nation / region / town / NPCs to all feel cohesive with each-other? How do you make them all feel like they all make sense and belong in that specific part of the world? I can easily see this becoming very chaotic, weird, and un immersive.
2) At what point do you prioritize enjoying your own content that you wanted to explore as a DM? I totally understand giving attention to what the players wanna do. But my philosophy is a bit different than most DMs in that I want to enjoy the stuff I run too and not just feel like a machine that exists to pump out content that only my players want to play. I think there's a fine balance to be struck. If I wanted to run a dark and political campaign and my players agreed to that in session zero but now they are all clearly wanting a lighthearted anime style grand adventure - what do you then?
Thank you! To the first point, it usually becomes chaotic or immersion-breaking If the DM (a) isn't taking notes as they go along and (b) is overstepping their own level of ability. Rigorous note-taking will help massively when it comes to keeping improv'd elements consistent session to session, and staying within the range of improv one can actually manage is also essential. If a DM finds it overwhelming to improv a village, then a town will definitely be too much (for now, at least!). That's why I'd suggest using small improv zones to test one's own abilities.
To the second, this comes down to your own needs as a DM, so sadly there's not much advice I can give. For myself, I'd much rather have a long-running game based on my players' evolving interests than a short-lived campaign where we stick with a genre or theme I enjoy and the players gradually drop out because they're not engaged anymore. But that's just personal preference - the pleasure I get from D&D is telling long-running stories with my players that morph over time, so I'm rarely tied to one specific genre or style.
@@TalesArcane This makes sense, thanks for the reply. I'll def have to start strengthening my improv abilities at a local scale and then expand from there.
And I can see how one can gain joy from running a player-driven campaign. Even though I selfishly want to continue the narrative they all initially agreed to play, I am only now realizing that I want this because I do A TON of prep work. It's probably best if I improve my improv abilities, go with the flow, all while finding different ways I can enjoy the new narrative that's being carved out.
Anyway, thanks for all the advice you give. There are many DMs on TH-cam who post similar content but I find that your advice is very useful and practical when actually running games at the table. You are very specific with your explanations and examples and it's much appreciated.
Love this
A crucial skill to have if you are DMing Strixhaven!
You're absolutely right! Starting my Strixhaven campaign in July, so I'm expecting a lot of improvisational hijinks 😅
@@TalesArcane I've been DMing it for a few months or so now and it's so fun but you def have to be light on your feet, so to speak!
As always a wonderful video full of great advice. It took a lot of games of falling on my face to learn how important it is to improv in a session. Just having a small list of names and traits can take a huge burden off a gms shoulders. The rest really is all practice and rolling with the chaos of a pack of murder hobos.
Also, it's pronounced "Vern." As a species they are terrible at names and all share the name Vern. The "Wy" was added by travelers who misunderstood the villagers cries of "Why, Vern?" For "Wyvern" when they would witness an attack on a village by a local Vern.
Finally someone is sharing the forbidden Vern lore!
Yaaaay long format videoooo 💃
My favorite kind of content! 😁
Thanks for this video! I'm a new DM, 11 sessions ran successfully so far. I know you mentioned about you personally prepping environments and such, do you have any sort of videos of what your actual sit down process looks like? I'd love to see what someone thinks when they sit down to prep, and how they actually organize everything.
I use One Note, it works out well but I'm always looking for a better way to streamline. I also use the Sly Flourish method of the Lazy Dming, which I feel does work for me but maybe there's something else I need to add on to make it feel more complete.
I haven't done any videos about that specifically, though I've done quite a few long-form vids about the individual aspects of my prep. I've got a game this week, so I will try to do a video based around my prep for that!
@@TalesArcane thanks for the reply! I think that would be amazing, I haven't found too many videos that really show you how someone handles the prep
Good stuff!
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Thanks for the video. I always struggle with improvising dialogue. Coming up with words, things to say to spite characters when playing an arrogant character for instance. Do you have any tips on that? And did you make the maps on 2:24 and 2:39 by any chance? Lovely style!
A video on dialogue improv and NPC acting specifically is a great idea! I will get that on the list. Also, yes, I made those maps using Inkarnate (in fact, every background in my video that isn't official D&D book art is one of my Inkarnate maps). I'd highly recommend the website!
@@TalesArcane Awesome! I find that for the important scenes I'm actually writing out dialogues that I want to NPC to say. And that's one of the most time consuming things I do for prepping. I do this because I can't find the right tone of voice for the NPC during the session (or at least that's what I'm afraid of).
Improv characters often end up as player favorites. Don't be scared of them, fellow DMs! :D
Almost every single long-running NPC companion my players decided they really liked and wanted to travel with was a completely improvised character I never thought we'd see again 😅
@@TalesArcane Case in point! 😂
I think there's a certain surge of positive energy improv characters are born with that players really resonate with, so I think there's something for us DM's to learn from if we want players to connect with our pre-made, more plot-relevant NPC's
I don't think it's necessarily terrible to let players know you're improvising. I sometimes even invite them to add details of their own to the world during play. For example, when the PCs come to a new city and I need them to have an informant in the city's criminal underworld, I might ask the party rogue to describe someone they might know in the city. Done right, I think this tactic can give players a greater sense of being invested in the world, and it can make your life as a DM easier, too.
And a second comment because why not ! These were really great pieces of advice. I particularly like the monster manual one. The first time I got the book, almost every page I turned I was thinking "waw ! this could be in this or that scenario..."
On a completely different line : Do you ever plan on streaming one of your campaign or uploading recorded sessions ? I would love to see you dming at a table (or in a VTT).
This is a very timely comment, because yes, I do plan to upload some games! I'm actually in the process of recording them at the moment - or rather, the process of battling with various pieces of tech and software to try and get them up to a standard where I'm happy to post. But yeah, that's coming - should have some games on the channel in the coming months.
Woooohooo that's really great news 🥳 looking forward to watch or listen to it!
Every DM is different (on the off chance you see this, Tales Arcane, this is not a dig. Your improv zones is absolutely a good idea) so, for me personally, I can come up with race, background, alignment, goals etc etc etc very quickly for npcs, or history, aesthetic, etc etc for businesses and other locations on the spot with ease. Naming them, however at the same moment and I'll stumble with something not great.
So, for new DMs, if the names remain difficult, i come up with a list of names and stop there.
I'll fill everything else in when the party reaches the improv zone.
🎉 Patreon: www.patreon.com/talesarcane
It’s pronounced wyvern. 😉
Seriously, though, great stuff as always. I’d say this is the best improv-related video I’ve ever seen. I need to practice mine a bit more. As it is, my players are currently in a town where I have prepped exactly 4 NPCs, and they have at least laid eyes on all 4 of them. It also has been recently taken over by a necromancer, so they’re considering trying to liberate the whole town themselves, though it would be their own side-quest. I still have time to prep for this, but any further advise when it comes to improving entire encounters?
I LOVE a quest where players have to liberate a town from the inside - fomenting rebellion, taking out the ruler's informants... It's so much fun. Really glad to hear you enjoyed the video, too!
When it comes to improvising a whole encounter, I find the best place to start is with very player-led encounters. If my players are traveling on a quiet road, they might find an empty wagon with some bloodstains on it. I have no idea who was in the wagon or who attacked it, but I'll just sit back and let the players spend time searching and investigating, and as they do I can listen to what they're theorising and respond. They start searching the nearby bushes to see if anyone was lying in wait? I guess someone was!...and so on. Just create open-ended situations, with relatively low stakes, and see where the players take it.
Obviously it's pronounced Wyvern.
And besides, it's wyyyyvern, not wyveeerrnn...