Taking 20 Podcast - Ep 242 - Back to Basics - Just One Thing

Episode Date: November 17, 2024

It is easy to lose heart when you see these amazing DMs that put out content.  However, in this episode, there is a single piece of advice that can help you improve as a DM and to make everything that’s part of your campaign even better.   #pf2e #Pathfinder #gmtips #dmtips #dnd #JustOneThing

This week on the Taking20 Podcast. Since improvement is usually gradual and rarely a quantum leap, I want you to remember three words of advice. Just three words that can apply no matter where you are on your GM or player journey. Thank you for listening to the Taking20 Podcast, Episode 242, a back to basics episode for DMs about making your game better by remembering just one thing. I want to thank this week's sponsor, Records. You know the big round discs that can play music?

I have a few records in a dedicated place to store them. That shelf is their vinyl resting place. Do you have any ideas for future episodes of the podcast? If so, please consider sending them to me via direct message on social media like Instagram or Facebook or via email. Feedback at taking20podcast.com. Many of us have listened to the live plays and let's plays that get published from some of the greatest DMs of our time. The Debra Ann Walls, the Matthew Mercers, Matt Colvill's, Brennan Lee Mulligan's, Abria Iyengar, who I haven't mentioned nearly enough on this podcast. She does some amazing stuff. We all want to be one of those great DMs who can craft amazing situations and memorable NPCs to the delight of our players. But there's something to remember about these amazing DMs.

They've been behind the screen for a long time. Their skills have been honed and their craft has advanced gradually over time until they are the, sorry to say this, wizards of RPGs that we see them as now. As an MCU nerd, I'm reminded of an exchange between Dr. Strange and the Ancient One when Strange asked how he gets from here to there, or another way of saying it, how can he go from knowing little to nothing about magic to being able to wield it as effectively as

the Ancient One does? She asked him how he learned to reattach severed nerves and put human spines back together bone by bone, and his response? Study and practice. With that, let me start by saying you probably won't leap in skill from where you are to Anthony Birch of Dungeons and Daddies. He has years of DMing and writing experience. He's written comic books, he was a writer on Borderlands 2, and a bunch of other

stuff. So to put it in Dr. Strange terms, he and the others have years of study and practice. But I want to emphasize one important point for this episode. Do not lose hope. Do not refuse to start walking a path just because it's a long one. As I've told my son many, many times, the first step to being great at something is sucking at it and then sticking with it. Since improvement is usually gradual and rarely a quantum leap,

I want you to remember three words of advice. Just three words that can apply no matter where you are on your GM or player journey. From the new DM who's never run a session before, all the way up to the Matthew Mergers of the world. The three words you need to remember, just one thing. Okay, Jeremy, what's just the one thing in three words? No, no, that's it, just one thing.

What one thing? That's up to you, depends on what that one thing is. Well, how can I apply the one thing if you won't tell me what it is? No, no, no, the advice is just one thing. You know, shit, let me start over. Remember the three words, just one thing. Those three words will have various meanings depending on where you are in your DM journey.

Let's start with your growth as a DM. How do you get from here to there? Study and practice. And what do you practice? Start with just one thing. As you're prepping the next game session, whether it's your first session or your 10,000th, focus on being better at just one thing for that session.

Take a look where you are and where you think you need improvement. Pick one thing and focus on that one thing. Learn, read, listen, find some tips, listen to some podcasts, or get some guidance on how to do that one thing better and then try to improve. What kinds of things could I be talking about that might need improvement for all of us? Scene descriptions, having materials prepped properly before the session and at your fingertips,

NPC characterization, organization, tying in backstories, having lore for an area, the possibilities are almost endless. And chances are, if we're all honest with ourselves, we can think of an area where we want to improve. Imagine trying to improve all of those things at once. I'm not going to say impossible, but it probably isn't easy. You'll have a higher chance of success by focusing on improving one thing at a time. To quote the great Ron Swanson, never half-ass two things, whole-ass one thing. So focus on

one thing at a time. Me? I want to improve the distinction of my NPCs and keep them consistent session to session. It's an area I'm working on because in the excitement of DMing sometimes my NPCs will blend together into this gumbo or boya base of characteristics that makes them hard to differentiate from one another. My Goblin King winds up sounding like Mechel Mang the Armorer. Do I have to do all of that to be a good DM? No, but it's something I want to get better at for the enjoyment of my players. So as I prep for a game coming up this Sunday I'm running some friends through Abomination Vaults.

I look at some NPCs that they'll likely interact with and try to find that NPC's voice. And when I find what I want their voice to sound like, I make some notes for myself about what that voice is. As I expand my list of NPCs as the campaign goes on, I've started creating a table of NPCs and what their voices are, or at least a brief description of what they sound like or who they sound like. That's my one thing I'm working on right now, NPC voices. I'm hoping by focusing on it over the next few weeks and few sessions, it will get better. Whenever I feel more confident in my NPC voices, I can pick a new,

just one thing and work on that. Over time, that's how we all can improve behind the screen by focusing on just one thing at a time. Players, you can benefit from this advice as well. Maybe you want to get better at role playing, or character building, or combat tactics, or losing your fear of being in character. Whatever that one thing is that you want to get better at role playing or character building or combat tactics or losing your fear of being in character. Whatever that one thing is that you want to improve, focus on it through repetition and practice at the table. So players and DMs, pick your one thing and try it at the table. Fuck your fear and give it your best try.

Tell your table you're working on it. If they're halfway decent human beings, not only will they accept you if you mess up, they'll probably even help you work on it. So to sum up, my first piece of advice around just one thing is to be working on one thing all the time as a DM and as a player. But that's not the only use you can get out of the advice just one thing. DMs, if you're looking to make a session memorable, or creative, or different from the norm, or players, if you want your characters to be memorable and better members of the party, do you know what you need to do to make them better? Just one thing.

This applies to NPCs, combat encounters, rewards, twists, connections to character backstories, or even something that you put into the backstory yourself for your character. Bits of lore for an area, or a kingdom, or a town. Add just one thing and they become better. And you get experience making something that your players may be talking about for years to come. Don't believe me? Let's look at some examples.

NPCs. Just one unique thing about an NPC and it becomes more memorable. Give that NPC big fuzzy blonde hair or a lisp or a limp or verbal affectation. Personality quirk or anything else that is unique in the way you describe that NPC and voila they'll remember who they are. Better example from a better DM than I am? Look at Victor the Black Powder Merchant from Critical Role Season 1.

Matthew Mercer brought him to out twice and gave him a dash of character development between the appearances and voila, instantly memorable character. Even if you're not Matt Mercer and let's face it none of us really are all you need to do is add a feature, a character development, a facial tick, a verbal crutch, just one thing. Similarly your combat encounters could be made better by adding just one thing like adding a third dimension to combat with hills and trees or flying enemies or maybe after a few rounds reinforcements

arrive for the baddies and what looked to be a simple combat just got a lot more complicated. Add weather effects like rain and snow that can slow movement or restrict vision. Add tactics for your baddies so they're smart. They used range support or spellcasters to assist the frontline tanky fighters. Add non-combatants to the mix that can make widely damaging spells or area attacks riskier. Right now in one campaign, we're fighting an infected creature that can infect other people around it and effectively teleport between infected beings. If we were in a dungeon, that's easy. You know, all we have to do is fairly isolate it

and then kill that thing and then cure our ally and voila we're done. However, the fight is in a crowded camp with a lot of innocents around and the fight continues next week and so far it has been interesting and fun. Adding just one thing has made that an amazing encounter. Also, so you're describing an environment like a tomb. Add just one thing. A name placard, some historical context depicted on the walls. This isn't just dead warrior number 22 in your game. They were Alara the Brave or Asher Kenworthy the Fourth, savior of Watchminster. Or this is the burial mound of Terrahoth the Vile.

This isn't just a fallow field, add detail about the stunted barley plants choked out by uncontrolled weeds. That one thing evokes a feeling of abandonment and perhaps historical tragedy or maybe just the farmer moved on and left the field behind for whomever wants to try to claim it and grow barley on it again. It's not just a wrecked galleon, the sails are rotted but they still have the crest of Taldor on them. The humid air of the gem smells of sweat and effort. The city isn't just approaching harvest time, it's decked out in celebration of the gym smells of sweat and effort. The city isn't just approaching harvest time, it's decked out in celebration of the festival

that will follow in a fortnight. Just one thing makes it better. And as you're preparing your session and it's a pre-written module with treasure already designed and built, look at customizing one thing to fit your characters better. For example, I'm running a group through Abomination Vaults right now, and one of the weapons that is in a treasure hoard that's coming up was a magical Great Axe,

but no one in the party uses a Great Axe. Okay, sure. I could give that to them and make them take it back to town and sell it as a fraction of its value and then buy the magic weapon that would benefit them, or I can make just one change and it just became a magical hand axe instead. They will see the benefit almost instantly and the change took less than a minute between changing my notes and changing the digital item on Foundry VTT. Just one

thing adds to the enjoyment for my players. Add one unexpected twist and not 14 of them because that's insanity, but add one twist to your story. The friendly NPC was working for the big bad all along or was the big bad themself. I mean who would have suspected the affable jester or friendly barman or messenger boy could have been working against the party the entire time. Of course, I will admit that's a tried-and-true story beat and I've used it a few times. For an experienced party that I've led for years I once turned that one on its head by making the obvious big bad the big bad because my players were expecting the friendly vizier to be the one trying to overthrow the queen. Nope it was the sickly king all along and he wasn't quite as sick as he was making himself out to be. One NPC with a dark

secret that they're desperate to keep hidden. One Oracle who has a prophecy that may not play out exactly the way the players interpret it or expect it. Just one thing that twists the story will really make it stick out in the players minds for years to come. Finally, just one connection of the adventure to a PC backstory this month or in this section of six to eight game sessions, they discover their mother wasn't slain by the cult as they believed. Instead, she joined that cult and gave them information that led directly to the death of their siblings. That just one change in PC feelings can go from,

you know, we really need to put this cult down to, these motherfuckers are gonna die. Today in a slightly shorter than average episode, we talked about the power of just one thing. By focusing on a single element, whether it's improving your DM skills, crafting memorable NPCs, or adding a unique twist to your

encounters, you can elevate your game to new heights. We're all working on improving something and the journey to becoming one of these great DMs or players is a marathon, not a sprint. By consistently focusing on improving just one thing at a time, you'll steadily enhance your skills, create an unforgettable experience for steadily enhance your skills, create an unforgettable experience for yourself and your players, and I'd be willing to bet you'd have fun doing it. If you enjoy this podcast, or have any suggestions for topics on how I can improve, drop me a direct message on Instagram or Facebook or send it to me, feedback at taking20podcast.com.

In two weeks I'm going to give you some tips for running friendly, non-combative, and dare I even say it, helpful NPCs in your campaign, whether they appear once or are recurring associates of your player characters. But before I go, I want to thank this week's sponsor, Records. I have a record that when I attack with it, it never misses. Man, that record really is a hit. Oh, believe me, I know it's bad. Still, you won't hear an apology for it.

This has been episode 242, reminding you that, hey, work on just one thing or make just one addition to your game to make it more memorable. My name is Jeremy Shelley, and I hope that your next game is your best game. The Taking20 podcast is a Publishing Cube Media production. Copyright 2024. And I hope that your next game is your best game.