Return of the Lazy DungeonMaster is the Ultimate DM's Guide (Ep.  

It’s still surreal to see my videos mentioned here. Feels like just yesterday I was a total dnd newbie studying up on your videos, Professor! And for anyone reading this, I’ve got a new video about this book coming soon 👍

"Less exposition, more demolition" is my new RPG Mantra.

I love that Sly Flourish is getting props as the Dungeon Master's Dungeon Master.

"Players Don't Care As Much as You Think" and "Players Want To See Their Characters Do Awesome Things" reminds of when I was running 2d20 Conan, pre-pandemic. At the end of the sessions, I always felt like I hadn't run as strong of a game as I wanted. However, the players would tell me, "that was awesome! That really felt very Conan." That made me think maybe I was running it just right, after all.

In re reskinning: As an old blog post once said, "use bears." You can use the same stats for monsters of a same general type--for example, the stats for bears for any large-ish monster with sharp teeth and claws--for years and your players will never be the wiser.

Bob Worldbuilder, Professor Dungeonmaster, Hankerin Ferinale, and Mike Shea. The Masters of the Dungeonverse! Enough collected game running knowledge between them all to make the next generation of gamemasters excellent!

Man, the power of parasocial relationships is real: I was very happy just hearing Professor Dungeonmaster calling Bob Worldbuilder "my colleague". I don't know these people, but they are, in a way, part of my life.

I've been running and playing RPGs for decades, and I found RotLDM probably the most useful book on my shelf. It really made me re-think everything I do, and when I finally implemented the ideas therein, my players definitely noticed. I strongly recommend all DMs get this book.

The tip about using your creative energy to prep the session in front of you made me love dnd again. I was getting burned out constantly planning hours and hours ahead. Big ups Sly Flourish

I interpret "strong start" as something that grips the players, so it is likely combat, but it could be a social interaction or exploration if it is something that will get the player's attention right away

This book is revolutionary. I changed how I play games. no more front loading 100s hours of world building that may never be experienced. one session at a time.

Nice Star Wars reference at the 3 min mark. Very good point about dropping the character into the action and then explaining things in retrospect.

Props for your shout out to Bob! Kindness gentleness, and a find reverence for our hobby is sadly lacking these days in many areas. That's what makes Bob and Grace in their gang so great.

I just gave my DM a copy of this book. It's a classic. I had been away from D&D for a couple of decades and this book has helped me get back into the game and design encounters.

I love seeing RU-vid creators mention and collaborate with each other. Makes for an invigorating ecosystem and helps everyone connect, grow, and learn!

Sliding in a little shade at Phantom Menace, lol! Great video as always, Professor!

Love, love, love your content, Sly Flourish and Matt Coleville for running the game content! All y'all are amazing!

One thing I would like to mention, is that everything you invent is recyclable. so if the players go left instead of right. the stuff you prepared for going right can be uses some other time.

Sorry to make two comments, but I always like how you talk about taking a walk for inspiration. It reminds me of how Beethoven enjoyed walks for inspiration.

Return of the Lazy DungeonMaster was so fundamental in how I run my games. It’s make them day and night better. Also his style of session prep works beautifully with games like Dungeon World. I mean it works with any kind of TTRPG, but when you use his techniques with these prep light style games it seems like it was made for them.

I really got wrapped up in writing all the details in my game back in the day. I spent so much time on details that my players never found out about. Big lesson learned.

One of my favorite books, this and the ICRPG DM's section. Great video

Totally agree with you and Bob World Builder, this is a must have. I also discovered that the Pathfinder Gamemastery Guide is also better than the 5e DMG. And I mean for use with D&D, not for use with Pathfinder.

Highly recommend wax seals. And the letter written in another in-game language. All the stuffs only like $5 at an art supply store. If you get multiple crests & colors, if seals broken etc can all be used. Plus its fun to seal things with wax

One thing I love about this book is that after you read it the first time, (heck, you don't even need to read it first) if you need a refresher, the red section titles are like Cliff Notes for what follows. With that said, the sections are all generally in smaller digestible bits.

The great thing about Mike Shea, and this book, is that it's not just 'general advice' or 'ideas.' This is to the point, direct concrete "do this." And with it you can put a 'good' game on the table in 15 minutes if you gotta. After you get that skeleton of what you need done, I say the Kevin Crawford approach is best. "Prepare what you need, then keeping preparing things as long as you are having fun. Stop preparing things after you *have what you need for the next session* and it isn't fun anymore."

This was the first 3rd party "D&D" product I bought. As you can imagine it cracked the whole game wide open for me and I could see above the maze for the first time. That's when the real fun begins!

Good timing! I just got this book for my son, an aspiring DM, and it will be wrapped for Christmas. And after he reads it, I’ll borrow it! 😄

Professor, thanks for sharing your experience with us! You are such good and genuine speaker, that I fall in love with your passion every time I watch your video (And I think that I am not alone at that type of feeling)!

He’s got a great RU-vid channel and great ideas. I may have to pick this book up soon. The first casualty of the DMs plan is the plan.

When I started DMing the thing that I read that gave me the confidence to start, was something I found online called The Lazy DM Guide or something like that. idk if its the same one but it was full of practical info which the actual DMG is lacking in. I don't think anything I read appeared in this video so maybe it was a different thing. Still this book sounds very useful. The second thing that helped me start was probably Matt Colville's run your first dungeon. Dungeon Craft videos has definitely helped improve my campaign with various mechanics as well. The one I've probably used the most is rolling a d4 as a timer for a problem to occur which has extended to using dice for tracking other things like torches and time of day.

While I understand the reasons behind starting in media-res, I still prefer to start in the opposite side. Maybe because to this day I’m still delighted in the way Fellowship of the ring unfolds. Everything begins friendly, nice, and familiar before the unexpected breaks the harmony. So I tend to begin my sessions in a comfortable, cozy or reassuring scene, before realising the initiating bomb.

Crazy. I'm currently looking through the book and this video pops up in my feed. Talk about timing

I bought the pdf book after watching your review and I really like it. I love your channel full of tips for better game sessions. I am a huge fan of yours from Canada. Greetings and cheers ! Long Live the Dungeon Craft :)

Had the pdf for ages, now have a physical copy and the Audible version that I have been listening too all day. What a weird coincidence that you release a video about this today

I'd really like to bring Sly onto Rollin' Bones someday. Great video as always, Professor!

I like to start strong as well, and generally prefer it to NOT be in a tavern. That cliche is boring and often slow. Not always, but often. My favorite start has been with the PCs on a ship. They're all travelling from wherever was their home to a city where each of them hopes to find their future -- employment, attending a new school of magic, a spouse, etc. This is a great way to explain how a diverse group of people who don't initially know each other come together without it seeming trite. Through SHORT exposition, I explain this, but soon jump into action with the ship being attacked by a sahaugin raiding party. The crew does their best to fend off the attackers, but the PCs quickly realize they're needed to help. The raiding party isn't so large as there is any intent that they'll take over the ship, but they do enough damage that the captain decides to reroute to the closest port, a sleepy fishing village where they will be for a week or more while the ship is being repaired. While in this village, they encounter a mage who has a task for them exploring the countryside for something he needs. They are going to be stuck in this village for at least a week, so why not? But my point of this comment is (1) avoid the taverns for the initial meeting, and (2) introduce some conflict that brings the group of strangers to work together.

2:46 I was preparing a comment using the phrase “in media res” and then you hecking said it. 🤜🏻🤛🏼

Received the book for Christmas, already changed my whole attitude for the better! Ty professor and Mike s

Glad to see more folks talking about this book! Also, regarding your comment on star wars: It actually does start with exposition. Probably one of the most iconic things about star wars is that text crawl that sets the stage. That kind of thing or the lord of the rings style opening can do wonders for immersion, but I guess it isn't necessary in the case of a game since we have other means of investing players. But I think the star wars style simplistic exposition PLUS in medias res is actually the best of both worlds. Starting with an encounter to let everyone act in, with enough context to care about the outcome of it for more than just having your character survive.

Sounds like a good tip book to pick up! Though I will add that being a DM is about balancing and managing your resources. Including understanding what type of DM you are. Then you can really make changes that will make the game better. Like: your make fights interesting, but you're not good at NPC social interactions. Fix: ask a savy friend to step in and run the scene. Like: not really good at the fight scenes. Fix: ask a friendly DM to step in. Like: an NPC group is also racing to the treasure in the background. Fix: IF you run multiple groups intertwine the two groups and have a friendly DM run the other group during their encounter. Abit tricky but doable with phone conferencing and/or Zoom.

Thank you for your top quality content. I am always happy to watch !!

Excellent review PDM, I keep this at my table always, so helpful! 👍

Reskinning has been in my arsenal for forever. I highly recommend.

This is a fun, informative video. I agree that the Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is a useful resource that helps DMs to simplify and streamline game session preparations. Well done PDM!

I learnt more from you Prof then I did at university, thank you. Seriously

You changed my mind! I had thought this was a book about quantum ogres and fudging and storytelling dogma. But your thoughtful review caused me to reconsider and order the book! The guy should pay you commission.

Super solid advice in that book. I've found that some of my best game sessions were the ones where I planned the least and had to improvise the most. And my players didn't even notice.

Thank you for this the kids all got home for the Holiday break ... first game Sunday night ... but this may help for spring break , and a birthday or Father's day gift . Happy Horroridays !

It's a fantastic book. The only 'but' I have is, "if" the DM wants to build out their world go for it. Lonely fun is still fun. I lied, second 'but'. Just cuz you built it doesn't mean they will come and that needs to be okay.

I've been DM'in (on and off) for about 3 or 4 years now. I started using the lazy dungeon master guide a few sessions ago and it's honestly the first time I'm not absolutely stressed out before a game and feeling like I'm not prepared. Especially the secrets & clues helped me so much with being creative and being more focused when roleplaying NPC's.

Great book. I took your advice on it awhile ago and picked it up. A must have for any Dungeon master. Thanks professor !

Love the efficiency of the Lazy DM. I know some folks like more crunch, but this works great for me

Have you ever heard of “The Monsters Know What They’re Doing” by Keith Ammann? It’s not an artwork heavy book, it’s a thick book with walls of text. But I got it from a local bookstore and what I’ve read so far is interesting. It tells you ways to have your monsters do more then attack, attack, and attack without thought.

The Workbook is fantastic. It's a nice one stop shop for ideas, rules, charts, etc. that are useful at the table. I had mine spiral bound.

I play Traveller [ And a little bit of D&D ] but these best known methods / tips/tricks are fantastic for any game system. I agree about running test combat(s) to see how the players stack up. I can add or subtract additional opposing forces to help balance the game play. Also, I have been victim of over developing a world or adventure and then got disappointed when players never got to see all of the stuff I built...so best to start out with a loose framework and only detail what they are interested in. I also think that its a great idea about keeping the clues in a loose list and then you can drop them as needed where the players decide to actually go. I just ordered this and am looking forward to reading this in more detail. Thanks for sharing PDM. - Rick.

This book is 100% the absolute best DnD 3rd party product. It's a DM essential. Lot's of DM's that get burnt out need to hear this advice for sure.

An excellent review of an excellent book. RotLDM is easily the most useful book in my collection of DM guides. And I've got A LOT of them. :)

I love this book and many others similar after buying the pdf version and then arranging it text printed condensed (for personal use) with none of the fluff photos. That way the theater of the mind creative juices sometimes flow better just writing notes brainstorming reacting to someone else's ideas with all sorts of world building ideas. Its Best damn book for the casual lackadasial GM / DM who doesn't want to feel like rpg is a big f-ing burdensome chore and project.

The companion workbook is also excellent. Props to Mike Shea for making life easier and less stressful.

I think it is. Bought this recently and it prepared me for running a session better

Thanks for the recc, Professor. It's a great read!

I recently picked up this book and will use it to plan my next session

This book helped me get out from overpreparing adventures and provided me with good suggestions on how to improvise at the game table. I've also bought The Lazy DM's Workbook, which is also useful, but more in a "things to check frequently during the game" rather than "things to know before creating a campaign/ adventure/ session". Looking forward to Michael Shea's next book, The Lazy DM's Companion, which seems equally interesting.

I appreciate this chapter by chapter format. I feel like I have a much better idea of what I'd be getting with the book than most reviews.

I own that book and just participated in his followup kickstarter a few months back. Great resource.

Yeah I totally agree with the minimalist approach to DM'ing. When I diemed my campaign I barely came to the table with anything prepared. I just had a basic idea of where the characters where had been, I knew what they knew and I knew what their ideas were what they had talked amongst themselves. And a general idea of where I could pepper it information to trigger them to do something. And then I just made the rest up as we played. Often I would just put it in counters. Have them re-encounter NPCs. And sometimes even just have them discover a dungeon totally spur the moment and I'd make the whole thing up as we played. And for planned encounters a basic outline and I would just use a lot of descriptors room to room, sites smells textures and that would be enough for them to spur table talk and from their table talk I would get more ideas and pepper that in with what I was doing and it was all shoot from the hip and live. And my players loved it. Basically outlining a story or just bullet points. Including where things where in the world and just live play it with them. We all had a whole lot of fun. And I save myself a ton of work with this method.

Great video, Prof! When you said you don't give out magic items, is there a reason why, just out of curiosity? I feel I'm leaning towards that, given how simple magic items can unbalance a game quickly.

I do a lot of world building not for my players but simply because I enjoy it. When it's time to prepare for a session, I set the worldbuilding stuff aside. It plays a role in the game but I'm trying to make it a fairly small one. I think exciting quests, dynamic and evolving situations, and thrilling danger are more important than the predominant religion or the governmental structure of the region.

About worldbuilding: I just saw a vid that made a great point: good world building is not about maps, and details of economy, politics, or whether any of those elements are necessarily realistic. Good worldbuilding is about _connections_. Make the the characters the players encounter and the places they go feel connected. Fill in details where needed, but make sure things are connected. This even harkens back to my earliest experiences with dungeon crawling. There is a simple joy in discovering that some passage you are exploring actually connects to some place you've previously been. Dark Souls is full of this kind of map-connection discovery. Players love discovering and seeing how things are connected, especially when there is setup and payoff. Maybe there's an NPC they've heard about, then they meet that NPC and don't immediately realize it is the same person, then later they make the connection. Doesn't have to be some puzzle with clues, just simple pieces they put together. So don't make a massive encyclopedia and overly detailed maps, just sketch out important (and some minor/colorful/support) people, places, objects, events, and the connections between them, that the players will discover and which will determine the consequences (befriend A, become enemy of B. Or A & B are bitter enemies? Play them against each other.) The vid about this was inspired by the show Arcane. You've probably already heard this from many... but to add another voice: you should watch & review Arcane.

Great review, watched over lunch.

You are easily my favorite TTRPG tuber.

I find it so helpful. I backed the recent Kickstarter.

Great advice, thanks. I may go and buy it :)

This, along with Raging Swan’s All That Glitters and Amman’s The Monsters Know What They’re Doing, are basically always open on my desk. I’d start any prospective DM with these three.

DC mentions he remembers Star Wars Episode 4 as Episode 1, before it was retconned to Episode 4. This was new to me, so I did a minimum effort of googling, and he is part right: It was only named Episode 4 in 1981, but at the original release it was simply "Star Wars", never "Episode 1". So at least I learned something new today. Also, maybe I should get this book.

Just purchased this book thank to you! Am trying to become a DM myself!

I might still make that 1000 years of history, just in case.

Delightful, clear and useful book for gaming. I've purchased more to give to my friends.

Fantastic video!!! I'm going to purchase this book because of your strong review of it!!!

I try to run the game I wish I were in. It's served me well so far.

RotLDM is great, I had an entire 3 hour session prepped over the course of a lunch break.

although i agree with pretty much everything on here, i enjoy fleshing out my campaigns, with tons of options for scenes and scenarios etc, yes most of the time the pcs dont go into those prepped areas and that ok because i can just tweak it and maybe it will show up somewhere later, but i enjoy the process and the creativity, it fuels my artistic side and keeps me in the flow for DMing. cheers

Top Tip for avoiding DM burnout .. Have a journal and make notes of what your players say and do. This can be busy work in between book keeping BUT .. your players will provide you with the best hooks the best threads and the best big bad if you just listen to them as they struggle.

I find it hard to believe a fight in dnd gets the blood pumping, even on no initiative rules the battle is still a slog :P

Great episode!

I read that as an ebook earlier this year. It’s an excellent book

I agree. It is a fantastic book. It will change my game prep forever.

Bridge of Teeth Path of Screams is the name of my dental care provider.

Great vid, very useful in itself, but that book defo looks worth getting. Interesting difference in opinion between how to start, always goes to show that as in anything in life, one DM's style works for him while another DM will have something different that they make work just as well.

You know, I always felt like I was the only one out there who put too much stress on himself to try and create that perfect game experience for his players. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

"Star Wars: A New Hope" was not "retconned" to Episode 4; it was always Episode 4. 20th Century Fox were worried that audiences wouldn't understand it being Episode 4 when there were no previous movies (because Hollywood thinks everyone else is stupid). As a result, they made George Lucas remove the "Episode 4: A New Hope" from the title crawl. Later, when George had more control over his own art, because of the success it had, he reinstated the correct title.

Thank you for your videos!

I’ve started several games by asking the players a series of questions with no context, such as, “Away or towards?”, “Person or thing?”, “Day or night?”, “What’s the environment and weather? City? Desert? Jungle? Raining? Sweltering?” I also insert things such as any nemesis, background hooks and so forth. It’s been a very effective way to start. I take the answers and start in media res, such as “You’re running away from bandits with a package, sprinting through the city at night, rain falling in sheets. What do you do next?” Or, “The bounty hunters scream across the desert in their transport with your friend Balo Var in chains, led by your nemesis Ash Intra, blaster fire lancing back at you while you push your speeder to its limits. What do you do next?” I also run games where as PCs retire, other PCs tied to the campaign are played, making the campaign the focus.

Man, I wish I had this kind of advice in 1999. The games I ran and played would have been much better!

Yep, this is a great book. Thx for your honest review.

I'd say that I have another book to buy as I've buy most of what you recommend, but this time I already have it!

Great video! Thanks so much!!!!

i can't wait for all my physical sly flourish kickstarter goodies to come in! pdf's are nice but i want it in my hands!

Yep, 30 years of DMing, these points are outstanding. Index cards with their stats lets you do mysterious rolling against their perception, etc.