3 things holding you back as a game master 

You, too, can be a witch with an unnatural command of your worldbuilding information! Sign up for World Anvil free at worldanvil.com/ginny, and use code "GINNY" to take 51% off any annual membership once you fall in love with it (or you could try having congress with the devil... it's up to you, really.) #sponsored

I've been a DM/GM since I was in 7th grade in 1980... you never stop working to learn/improve and have more fun.

The "Yes, And" and "No,But" is going into the session Zero handout. Thanks Ginny

Big respect for how much effort she puts into the sponsor ads. Most creators I'll hear "today's sponsor" and immediately skip 60 seconds, but Ginny's I gladly watch every moment. Or even feel like I'm missing out if I do miss part of it. Seriously, well done

Your ads always crack me up - when I realized the nose was a cone of serger thread and the cape was a pair of pants I LOST it

The game I'm currently running is in a homebrew setting. It's a bunch of islands floating through space magically tied to each other. This civilization is the only one the characters know about, and new islands float by and get captured by the civilization. Basically it means I don't have to be consistent about geography (it's always changing) and I can drop literally any dungeon into the world (a new island is floating by and your party is the closest, go explore it). The party wants to visit the market I invented in session 2? Oh look at that, your current island will pass it in a few hours, no need for a long travel time. The party wants to visit a location I made up on the spot and haven't figured out? Sorry that's not nearby, you'll need to hop through these other islands to get through it.

Honestly, as long as your group leave the table talking about how great that was… you’re doing fine 👍🏻

Anybody else noticed the shift in this video from DnD-content to the phrasing of tabletop-roleplay ? I think its a wise move to open yourself up to a broader community now with daggerheart and other systems coming back to the public mind. I like it.

About the worldbuilding - don't try to detail the entire world at the beginning of you planning the campaign. That will just burn you out before you even start playing. Try to roughly outline the parts of the world you might be using later or you might need to refference and focus on detailing the part of the world where the adventure currently is happening. That way you can gradually expand your world by adding little bits without having to plan out every little detail right away.

The biggest thing I found that made me a better GM was finding the right party of players for the game I want to run. I put so much more excitement and passion into the game because it's the style and dynamic that I enjoy. The whole "find the right party for you" also applies to the GM

I'm going to be going my first session on Sunday ahhh. We're doing a one shot I found and hopefully it'll be a fun time! I'm excited and nervous and just want everyone to have some fun.

I was waiting for "She turned me into a newt! I got better." during the sponsor segment. I thought that was a take on Monty Python And The Holy Grail lol.

"who's your favourite dnd youtuber?" "Oh that's easy, ginny di" "Really? What makes her so special?" "She makes momty python references in her sponser segments"

Item #1 is huge because every time I listen to Worlds Beyond Number, there’s dual voices in my head saying: “Oh my god this is the greatest dungeons and dragons I’ve ever heard in my life” and “DONT COMPARE, YOU FOOL”

🎶 "Everything must be perfect Everything must be perfect Everything must be perfect, perfect! That's why everything, every last little thing Every single tiny microscopic little thing must go... According to plan!" 🎶

Long time GM. I learned ad&d 2nd ed (yes, i'm that old) about the same time I became a licensed FIFA referee. I feel the GM's MOST important job at the table is to manage flow and pacing. Making sure all players feel engaged, knowing when to increase/decrease tension, and rewarding success are more important than exact rules (make a call and look it up later) or having fancy maps/descriptions/npc's. When you are not running a game, read and watch film/tv in a similar vein of the type of game you are running. This helps with visualization and generating dialogue. Prep is useful, but plans rarely survive contact with players, so have an objective and be willing to change those plans to achieve said objective.

This unironically helped me with life. I am stuck right now, not knowing what job to take and feeling like I mess up all the time. And I guess this shows me I gotta do what I am good at, what I like to do. And not be angry that I can´t do what others do, when I can do what others can´t.

stars and wishes was massive. my group has taken to talking about the session for a full 30 minutes afterward; discussing things we enjoyed, things that bothered us, and it even got more shy/anxious ppl to talk ab things they were uncomfortable with. i think talking about wat u didnt like ab a session openly is important, since ppl dont often advocate for themselves

The effort you put in to the ads is on a par with Pointy Hat and I love it.

I definitely relate to being overwhelmed by vast worldbuilding. I dropped multiple campaigns due to burnout from trying to build sprawling cities and complex factions. After 5 years of on and off DMing, I've finally built a campaign that is heavy on npc interactions and relationships. It also takes place in a small town, and a bit of the feywild. A benefit of most of it taking place in the feywild is nothing has to be consistent or logical. On the topic of communication, I also gave away the first session twist and plothook, because it's more important that my players make npcs who are invested in the adventure, then to surprise my players session 1.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for talking about "No, but..." "Yes, and..." is perfect for creating wild improv, but can be horrible for working within situations that have limitations either by design or by requirement.

As a small addendum to point #2, Matt Mercer's "You can certainly try..." is a great tool that can be either 'yes and' OR 'No, but' and you don't have to tell your players which one you're using until they decided if they want to risk it. I love it as a way to ramp up tension for my players without cutting them off from their fun/crazy ideas.

This is really good advice. Sometimes I have the habit of shooting down Player creativity because it's not in the rules. As time has passed, I really like seeing how creative players can be.

"Stars and wishes". along with "lines and veils"....... goram, these both are some great RPG advice!.

I'm a two-decade Default-DM. Thrown into the role because I was the oldest in my friend group in our late teens, and I had a natural flair for storytelling and applying creativity (I blame constantly reading fantasy/sci-fi). I absolutely love your videos. The pleasant delivery, inclusive tone, and well-researched topics and points are always a hit. I don't think ive ever watched one of your videos without at least one take-away. Keep up the amazing work! Side note: I'm 100% the perpetual stress-ball DM with delusions of grandeur, who overshoots his ability to world build and create fully-fleshed NPCs with countless branching story arcs. In reality, I'm usually spitballing plot points and NPC names and story arcs at the table because work/life happened and I didn't get the time to prep. I almost always get great feedback, but find it so hard to shake the imposter syndrome and feel like I'll never be a good DM. Your videos make me feel like, I might be doing just fine.

The hardest thing with that last one is that you're not the only one in the conversation and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, your players don't seem to hear a word you say, because they are the ones with the poor communication skills. You can offer up the opportunity to talk above table until you are blue in the face, if your players don't take it, there's only so much you can do.

The sponsors break is always a joy. GINNY YOU'RE SO GOOD AT THIS !!!! WHY?!?! HOW?!?!?!

Even as a long time GM these are lessens that I like to remind myself of every time I play. My worst sessions and biggest mistakes over the years were almost always the result of me thinking I'd finally mastered GMing and I had nothing else to learn. It turns out staying humble and focusing on the basics is actually the best way to approach this hobby.

Another Forever DM here. You, Ginny, are probably (at most) half my age, but stil are an inspiration to me. There is so much truth and comfort in what you say here. Thank you for the permission to be human. I needed it.

The Video has the expected fantastic quality, but I just have to say FOREST GREEN LOOKS SO GOOD ON YOU, THAT SWEATER LOOKS GORGEOUS

OH! It's Wednesday. New Ginny! Yay!

I actually love world building~ It's a great way to make your homebrew setting more interesting, but something that can make players truly invested in it is if they help carve out their own little space in it with their characters. Matt Mercer does this too. Ask your players what kind of characters they want to play and then give them suggestions on where they could be from in your setting, then collaborate with them to add more details or have them ask you questions to help develop and detail the region. Sometimes this helps spark some details that actually make your setting better than if you were just making it all yourself.

I appreciate bringing up the no but rule. I know DMs who let some players do whatever they want, but that frustrates the other players who are not trying to take advantage and change rules because now one player is allowed to cast two leveled spells per turn and use a one time per rest feature one time per turn and let their spells' damage happen when the creature enters the aoe and when they leave and so on and so on. Rule of cool isn't always cool when it just makes one player 5 times more powerful than everyone else.

One other thing I realized that was holding me back for a while: Not correcting course. Similar to poor communication, but sometimes nobody is at fault. Don't panic and double down or persist in something players don't want. If you want my example, WoT down below. I'm a "fresh" DM and "new" players (we've been in our first campaign for nearly 10 months now). I followed a lot of similar advice to try and ensure that they would love this hobby like I would and we'd make so many amazing memories together. It was mostly working. Session 0, asking for what they wanted, clarifications, personal help, math help. The whole thing. What I didn't do? Pay attention to their actions. All three of them were building their characters, looking over feats, spells, starting gear, and working with me about their backgrounds and homes. They all fell in love with a few classes, made their pick, and talked about all the cool stuff they'd do. I assumed they wanted a lot of combat (since they picked extremely offensive options for the most part and talked a ton about their builds). I prepared a campaign with a decent story and a few generic NPCs with some more writing on the villains. I prepared for combat, dungeons, and a decent chance of player fatality (even if I was going to try and help keep them alive for a first run). Is that what they wanted? Not really. They were becoming frustrated at the encounters, the math, getting bored with dungeon puzzles, and rarely touched some of their abilities. That's not to say that they hated most of the exploration or combat... but then I realized what really was driving them. While they enjoyed some puzzles or new enemies, they wanted to roleplay. They fell in love with the story and characters. The small secrets, twists, reveals, and bigger scenes, settings, themes, and moments of acting really spoke to them. They were sad when I cut short a segment of the plot and handwaved something because it would be a scene for about 5 minutes of them doing nothing but hearing NPCs talk. Once I had a session where they pretty much spent the entire time acting in character at campsite all day and asking bigger questions of them as characters and their goals... they said it was one of the best sessions they've had. I was very lucky they put up with me taking about 7 months to realize what they really wanted. Don't take player patience for granted. I'm lucky I have some incredibly understanding players.

One thing that I think is really good about Stars and Wishes is that everyone, *including the GM* offers up a star and a wish. This helps solidify the fact that, well, the GM is a player too! It helps to make it feel more like a group of people talking about a game they enjoyed rather than a group of players *requesting* things from the GM. I think it releases some of the pressure from a GM since they can still have things they want to see as well!

"That's a feature, not a bug." Dang, I needed to hear that. My type of GMing is my type, and that's fine. I didn't realise how badly I needed that reminder. Thanks Ginny!

Wonderful video! One important note to some viewers is that in Ginnys "No, but" example is that the No wasn't "that type of salve doesn't exists" but rather No to the time scope. In that sense it's still a "yes" in terms of collaborative storytelling since you accept their addition to the world. Of course there are times where saying No to players addition is fully warranted but then one should offer alternatives.

With regards to “yes and / no but”, what often helps is asking what the result is that the player wants to achieve. And then help them within your setting and rules to get there, or as close as possible.

I'm so happy that you mentioned the "no but" principal. "Yes and" gets treated too much like a "the customer is always right" type of thing.

I am 65 years old, DMing since the 1980's, and I decided recently just to try to relax, create a more open experience for my players. It has been hard, but I enjoy it. And I learned from this video. Never too old to learn new stuff! Thank you

Thanks so much! These are things I've recently noticed about myself, and it's so nice to be reassured that I'm on the right path❗️

TTRPG shows not only have full time GMs, but a full team of people: tracking lore/painting/building sets/etc I love those shows but don't let yourself compare your own work to that team ❤️

"Oh man I can't even pretend to be that self confident" Oh that hit home so hard

This was so positive. Thanks for the upload!

Its insane how timely this advice is...both for dming and for music, perfectionism and unrealistic expectations have been wrecking my groove

I love how your videos are helpful for roleplaying games in general. You often offer a lot of advice that is not exclusive to 5E, but just tabletops. As a Pathfinder 1E player in a world dominated by 5E, I appreciate this.

This is a great video! I have to ponder on it myself too! Always preppin' and then always progressing!

I found this video so helpful in both providing new ideas and ways of thinking, but also in reinforcement for those things I feel I already do ok or have been working to change. Thank you!

Our DM does stars and wishes at the end of each session and it helps our communication a lot. I often get so many ideas what I want my character to learn or do when I listen to the others wishes and if someone brings up an issue we can brainstorm a solution together. I highly recommend it, often your players dont even think about these things unless you ask them directly

Love this reflection on communication. What a great breakdown. Thanks for the crystallized thoughts

Love this kind of content from you, and it always seems to hit just right. Thanks, and keep it up.

I love all your videos Ginny. Your advice is great, your music is fun, and your skits are funny. Keep pushing your limits and you comfort zone. THanks.

I’m actually working on my first campaign right now and needed some inspiration. I have heard the don’t over prepare tip a lot and was glad for your insight on that; a few days ago. I have also been going back and watching a lot of other videos you did like a year ago on similar topics. Anyways long story long. Thanks! It’s been a lot of help ❤

Thanks for sharing! I love how upbeat and accessible your channel is. I find my weakest point is the technical side of RPGs - rules and combat. My strengths are definitely roleplaying and character and world development. We never stop learning!

We practice the illusion of communication on a daily basis. Our game days are no different. Got to ask questions and then listen. As a foot note, once went to a seminar on team work and table crashed at lunch (why sit with the same group you work with, get out and learn about others!). I will never forget sitting at a table with people from a farm machinery company and hearing, "IF only I could get the designer of the grain hopper to talk to the structures designer before they started." Keep practicing.....

Another great video. Thank you for all your content. As a long time GM, I always like hearing your take on things.

Fantastic advice, as per usual, Ginny!

I’m a new-ish dm who just listened to your interview on 3BH, and I wanted to tell you how much your content has helped me! Especially when it comes to combat and character conversations. You’re the best!!

Great as always! Love hearing your insights

Thanks for another great video Ginny!

As a 45yr old who has come back to D&D after years, it is so weird seeing it popular and having whole followed channels of games and guides. Roll on!

This is a wonderful video, and I really liked the style comparison and celebrity DMs not necessarily fitting the things you may love to run in a game.

I know this was mostly a side comment but one thing I like to do for worldbuilding (which kind of leads into some stuff you talked about in the next section of the video) is involving the players in building the world! I've been doing non-dnd games lately so it can be a little difficult to worldbuild when there isn't much lore and too much variety in other ttrpgs, so I come up with a very basic setting and then ask the players to build on it and make suggestions. Like for example, right now I'm running a Thirsty Sword Lesbians campaign. I pretty much decided that it would be set in a boarding school, then the players all took turns giving their thoughts and ideas during session zero of what the world looked like, who the NPCs were, and different events we could do in the campaign. It ended up really helping when coming up with ideas for the world and future session ideas (VERY excited for our Weekend Mall Roller Derby session)

Just wanted to say I've been finding all your videos so helpful- I'm running my first session in a couple months (as a podcast for a school project- very ambitious ikr) and every piece of DM advice has been so so good

Thank you Ginny. I always appreciate your videos.

This video is SO helpful. No matter how many times you hear a piece of advice sometimes it'll only stick once you have/hear a proper conversation about it. That's what it felt like hearing the Unrealistic Expectations section of this video. I realized that I was trying to make something that was too big for me to handle right now and that I should tone it down. Also, the part where you touched on finding/running a game that's right for you made me realize that the games I'm running right now aren't the games that are the most fun for me. I still like them but the world (I say world but it isn't on the scale of an actual world) I'm making is too complex and I'm not giving myself enough time to fill it with stuff that would be fun for me to run and for my players to experience, because it's just too big for the amount of time I have right now. I'd love to see a video discussing tips and tricks you can use to try and keep your "world" manageable but this video is still really helpful and I'm definitely going to use these tips in my own games!

I love your videos, they're very helpful and you're making them with such a sweet flavour. Thank you so much! Sunny greetings from Switzerland

Excellent advice, especially the advice about communication skills! Improving communication is definitely the fastest way to improve your roleplaying experience.

Great advice! Love your videos Ginny!

I'm pretty confident in myself as a game master, but it's always good to look out for more advice to take what we think can help us improve!

So many great ideas and reminders here. Excellent video! Also I loved the ad interruption, it caught me off guard in a really fun way.

I love all of Ginny Di's content. I always watch them when they are released and never scoll past them. I clicked the subscription bell and changed to "all" so I get all her wonderful content (Thank you Professor Dungeon Master for teaching me about youtube) ;)

Great ideas. By next session I plan to have completely overcome my tendancy towards unrealistic expectations.

Oooooo, the Stars & Wishes idea sounds really good! I've been DMing for years and still struggle to make sure I'm making a game everyone enjoys, this will help a lot!

I love the "stars and wishes" idea! Definitely going to try it next session.

Man! Your videos are just so good! This is absolutely wonderful advice. I really like the stars and wishes idea!

Nice tips. Love the videos.

Awesome content, thanks for a fresh perspective on elements/mechanisms that make the experience more dynamic and engaging for everyone.

Wow - what a great video! I've watched a lot of videos on this topic, but this was well laid out, and the examples for solving the problems and moving forward were right on point. I really appreciate the "it's everyone's story" part. When I ran a 5-session game, I loved not knowing how it was going to end, or which side quests they were select to give them different advantages in the end encounter (which could have been a battle, or not). Love your content!

Good information. I recall you mentioning "stars and wishes" in an earlier video, and I've used that concept in social situations outside of gaming.

A never-ending source of fantastic advice and perspective. Thanks as always, G!

another banger from ginny di as always!!!! started my own call of cthulhu campaign recently and it's going super well! I have interwoven each player's backstory so they all intrinsically connect to the overarching story and man oh man it's my favourite game to play. my players will have the most tense discussions in character and it's incredible!!! your tips ring so true about yes anding and communicating, setting the mood for this campaign was really necessary for me.

Love this! Thanks for the suggestions

I’ve heard of stars and wishes before! Except we called them “roses and thorns”. Nice to see people spreading really good ideas. Honestly the idea of a cool down after session is just useful. I remember first encountering it through larp when most of the players would go for dinner after game and informally chat about the game, come up with “downtime” actions (what you’re doing between sessions) and generally decompress. I think this comment is mostly for engagement and to riff on what you said. That is to say I love these ideas even if I’ve heard them before. 😁

One thing I found that really boosted my skills was learning to lean on my players when it came to worldbuilding. Most players will need help getting started but when everyone is in the zone it is amazing! I'm a big fan of player agency now.

Hey Ginny as always great episode advice. One comments tools like stars and wishes are very dependant on the group. My longest running group, I dont think it would work out with, just attitudes. What I do as a semi alternative is I draw up a synopsis of each session, highlighting the funny moments etc, and invite discourse on what I missed, or wasnt accurate on. It also helps me to reflect and kind of take that shaky aim for where I 'think' the next session takes us.

Took me waaaay too long to figure out point 1 for myself 😆 A great vieeo! Thank you! (Also your sponsor sections are the best!!!)

Communication is critical. Don't be the DM where the players are always having to ask you what's happening after interminable silences.

love the Stars & Wishes concept. I'm going to adopt that.

Thank you for another great video!

Good vid. In addition to communication outside of sessions, develop the ability to read your table *during* a session. You can learn what's enjoyable for different people by observing them and gauging their engagement with the various things that happen in the session.

I liked it specifically for the world anvil advertisement. Amazing content on it's own, the advert is the cherry on top. Thank you.

Amazing advice, Ginny! I really like the Stars and Wishes feedback idea, I want to incorporate it into my current table. May your rolls always be natural!

I love all of these tips and as a brand new DM who is trying to figure out ways to improve, this was super helpful!! Thanks for breaking things down and making it all a little less overwhelming! 😅

I love ALL videos by Ginny Di!

Thank you! That. Was. Brilliant!

OMG!!! Love the "Monty Python and The Quest for The Holy Grail" reference. These skits are what make me stick through the ads. So fun!

Always the right advice at the right time. I love you Ginny D

Good video. The ad integration was entertaining.

Excellent video, Ginny. I always learn from you and appreciate what you do for our community. Thank you so very much, beautiful person.