Summary
Let’s face it, at one point or another, as a DM running aDungeons & Dragonsgame, you’re gonna make some mistakes. However, that doesn’t mean you’re able to’t learn from them and improve. But those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat themselves. So, let’s take a little stroll down memory lane, shall we?
If you’re a longtime DM, you’ve probably made at least one of these mistakes. And, if you’re a newer Dungeon Master, who doesn’t have that many games under their belt, don’t worry, you will make these mistakes. Here are some mistakes we’ve all made as DMs.
10Running Out Of Voices
There’s Never Enough
Voices have never been my specialty as a Dungeon Master. I basically can create one to two unique voices, and then I have a handful of stock voices for various NPCs my party might encounter that, more or less, sound completely the same. What’s a DM to do when you run out of voice ideas?
While it’s always good to have some stock character voices, it’s also fair to give yourself a break as a DM. Not everyone can be a Matt Mercer or a Brennan Lee Mulligan. This is definitely one I need to work on more personally, though.
9Forgetting Critical Details
What’s Your Name Again?
It happens to everyone, especially if you’re a DM who likes to run complex, lore-heavy campaigns. You might have an amazing Word doc that’s full of tidbits, notes, and insights into the world, but in a critical roleplay interaction, you forget specific details. Or, even worse, sometimes you say the wrong thing, and guess what, that’s canon now.
Personally, I remember I accidentally introduced a key NPC, but forgot to mention that they were a relative of a member of the party. Nobody at the table looked surprised at all, and I was shocked, as I had been planning the reveal for some time. It was only later, when I realized I hadn’t actually introduced them correctly, that I understood what had happened.
8Messing Up A Reveal
Don’t Forget The Twist
I will never live this mistake down. Sometimes, as a Dungeon Master, you end up spending weeks planning the perfect twist for your party, only to flub it at the last minute. This can be devastating not only for your party, but for your self-esteem as a DM.
Without spoiling the specific twist, there is a very important twist reveal you can run in the Curse of Strahd module that I completely flubbed my first time running the module. My players all started laughing when they realized what happened while I silently wept. Good times.
7Poor Balancing
Accidental TPK
Balancing is one of those things in Dungeons & Dragons that nobody’s ever really sure about. It’s gotten easier over the years and across editions to balance combat encounters, but ultimately, running combat with high-level monsters is always a roll of the dice (pun intended).
Sometimes, though, the only way to get through a poorly balanced combat encounter is to throw your hands up and admit you made a mistake. That is, unless you want to run a full-blown TPK. Every DM worth their salt might pull back on the number of monsters they use at the last minute, or even weaken stats if necessary.
6Terrible Names
Worse Than Forgetting A Name
Worse than forgetting a character name or running out of character voices is improvising a name on the fly and coming up short with nothing. Sometimes, you get flustered and, in the moment, you end up naminga goblin NPCthat the players encounter in a tavern ‘Gary,’ because you simply have no other ideas at your disposal.
It happens to every DM. And, the best part is, your players will almost certainly make sure that Gary the Goblin stays around for the long haul. When this happens, lean in. It’s not a good DND campaign if players aren’t spending the final game weeping over their fallen comrade, Gary the Goblin.
5Getting Caught Off Guard
Happens To The Best Of Us
This is a common issue that plagues Dungeon Masters, which basically covers all manner of sins. Sometimes, a player will throw something at you that you’re just not prepared for. Whether it’s an out-of-the-box solution to a riddle or just a moment of roleplay that feels out of nowhere, sometimes, you’re just not prepared.
But that’s okay at the end of the day. Dungeons & Dragons is an improvisational game, and in improv, stuff like that is always going to come up. The best thing you can do, particularly as a new DM, is to laugh it off and move on.
4Adjusting HP
I’ll Just Add 100 HP Real Quick
Similar to adjudicating battle encounters on the fly, a lot of DMs will add HP to their enemies if they feel that the combat is too easy, or, in contrast, they’ll lower their adversaries' HP if they feel like the encounter is too hard. This is almost always a mistake for a few reasons.
One, players can catch on to this pretty fast. Two, HP doesn’t always make a combat encounter easier or harder. It tends to have more to do with action economy and abilities than anything else. If you need to adjust an encounter on the fly, you’re better off adding more creatures or taking away certain abilities from your monster.
3Forgetting Player Abilities
Wait, You’re Immune To Fire Damage?
This is an incredibly common mistake that tends to happen to Dungeon Masters who have big tables. Luckily, the biggest group I’ve ever run is only six players, but even at that level, it can be hard to keep track of every single player’s magic items, features, and abilities. This can lead to somefrustrating moments as a DM.
For example, one time, I planned an ambush encounter against a player who could not be poisoned. This made the idea of an assassin ‘poisoning them in the middle of the night not work at all, and the player pointed this out to me in the moment. Whoops.
2Poor Time Management
This Game’s Runnin’ A Bit Long
Sometimes, this is more the players' fault than anyone else’s, but it’s ultimately on the DM to make sure the game runs within reason. Some tables don’t carehow long a game runs. But some people have schedules, work in the morning, etc. And it’s important to make sure you’re respecting people’s time.
As a player, I remember I once inadvertently played a seven-hour game against my will. Rookie numbers, I know, but for me, I can only play Dungeons & Dragons for about four to five hours max before I start to get too tired. Call it a skill issue, I like my sleep.
1Being A Yes DM
No Means No
As a Dungeon Master, it’s important to encourage creativity and make sure that everyone at the table feels like they have agency of some kind. However, it’s also important to say no sometimes; otherwise, players will take advantage.
Make sure that, within reason, if a player is trying to do something that feels too far-fetched, explain to them why you’re saying no, and lay down the law. As a DM, what you say goes. Just be careful not to let all that power go to your head.
