One of Dungeons & Dragons’ most important selling points is that virtually anything can happen. You can start by exploring dungeons and battling dragons, and even awkwardly interact with sentient birds to help you on your quest. The reason is our beloved Dungeon Master, who, unlike the AI in video games, can improvise and have consequences for all the weird things players want to do during the campaign.
However, improvisation can be a difficult task. It takes time and practice to get used to it, but it can be learned. Still, there are ways to optimize your improvisational skills.
Ten training
Like any skill, it gets better the more you use it. Get yourself out there and try to use what comes out of the top of your head. Players will ask if it doesn’t make sense, so you can adjust accordingly.
It’s okay to make mistakes while learning. It’s okay to take a few seconds to figure out what’s going on, but be careful not to let your game stall because you’ve started to delve into what’s going on. As time passes and similar problems arise, you also gain prior knowledge that helps you think quickly.
9 use humor
Either your improvised reaction doesn’t make sense or the NPC doesn’t know what to do. Remember this is a game and its purpose is for you and your friends to have fun. So you can just be silly and have a good laugh.
Did the players do something outrageous in front of BBEG? Like you, you can literally stare at the villains and try to understand what they are doing. NPCs can react to the player’s insane behavior in funny ways and make the whole situation hilarious. If everyone was having fun, it would be hard to tell if there was a conflict.
8 Use references
If you need to develop a quick NPC backstory, side quests, or anything that relies on extensive lore details, you can steal from elsewhere. For example, his older NPC that the player has just met looks unhappy. They talk to him and you say he wants to make amends for what he did terrible in the past. The player keeps pushing it and you said he killed his own father who tried to kill him earlier and the NPC wants to be a better father figure to his kids . All of this vaguely speaks to Kratos’ backstory in the God of War series.
Think of a character that should behave like an NPC and do it. The same can be used to inspire quests, locations, items and even organizations within your world. If players notice it, don’t worry. If they like what you’re referencing, they’ll enjoy it too.
7 have a data bank
Creating a list can help here. As they enter the store, one of the players asks the owner, “What’s your name?” – And you freeze. Luckily, you didn’t expect players to even enter such a store, so you have an extensive list of names and optionally surnames to answer about this guy you just came up with.
If you have the time, you can create simple NPCs with names, descriptions and behaviors without any associations. So if the player goes somewhere he never thought he would go, he of these NPCs can randomly select one to use.
6 online generator
If you’re playing online, or using your laptop as your DM screen, you’ll have the sheer power of your machine at your service. Name generators are easy to find online, and virtual tabletop tools like Roll20 always give you random names, maps, and even full characters whenever you create a new character sheet.
Sure, you lose the fun online and don’t have time to read NPC backstory suggestions on the go, but it’s useful for simple tasks like names.
Five don’t worry about the details
Just because you need to create NPCs on the fly doesn’t mean you have to come up with their entire life story. The innkeeper Bob may also need to be the innkeeper Bob. Hobbies, life struggles, personal motivations, etc. should only be considered when these things are actually topics for conversation. Also, if the player asks a personal question out of nowhere, the NPC may be offended and unable to answer.
If for some reason that character becomes more relevant to the story, you can take advantage of the time between sessions to work on that character a little more. However, for now, you can simply let it do its work in the background.
Four Be honest with your players
It’s okay if the player notices you’re improvising. If they do something so silly that it even breaks a plot twist or part of the story that needs to happen, it’s like, “Wait a minute. I need a little time here to think things through.” Maybe.”
The goal is not to put pressure on the DM. Good players know that. Proper communication between you and them can save everyone a lot of trouble.
3 allow player input
you are not writing a book. You are not the only one responsible for this story. Players cannot create the world around them, but they have full control over the main cast. This is very important. If you don’t know what to expect, it suggests options and reminds you of important details.
Let them help you in times like this. You know the details they don’t, so you can analyze their ideas to see if they make sense and can be implemented.
2 Flesh important NPCs
At first this may seem to contradict the previous entry. However, there is a difference between, for example, he creating NPCs on the fly and dealing with BBEG. You don’t need to know too much about their backstory, but having a backstory with clear motivations for the villains and a good conception of their actions and personalities can work wonders here.
So they become people to you, not just characters. Being a real human, you can easily improvise whenever the character is nearby. Because people like them know exactly what to do in any given situation.
1 don’t overthink
Easier said than done, we know. But remember, no matter how serious your world or lore is, this is a game between you and your friends, and the goal here is for everyone to have fun, including you. please give me. It’s okay to fail sometimes, but trying to avoid it at all costs only increases your anxiety.
You don’t have to prepare all the answers. When you get lost in the chain of thoughts, talk to yourself. If you’re having trouble sending DMs, take a break. The experience is enjoyable and not burdensome.