D&D 5e DM Guides
Practical, table-tested advice for Dungeon Masters. Every guide pairs with a free generator so you can put the advice to work immediately.
Prep
- How to Prep a D&D Session (New DM Guide)
A practical session prep checklist for new Dungeon Masters: what to prepare, what to skip, and how to prep a D&D 5e session in about 30 minutes.
- How to Take Campaign Notes You Will Actually Use
A retrieval-first system for D&D campaign notes: what to capture during play, how to organize by entity, and how to find any fact in seconds mid-session.
- How to Use Random Generators in Your D&D Campaign
When to use random generators in D&D prep and play, how to make results feel authored, and how to chain generators into a coherent town, cast, and adventure.
- How to Improvise as a D&D Dungeon Master
How to improvise at the D&D table: prep situations not plot, say yes and build on player ideas, and use generators as an improv safety net for NPCs, names, and rumors.
Running the Game
- D&D Loot by Level: How Much Treasure to Give
How much gold and how many magic items to give a D&D 5e party at every level. Tier-by-tier treasure pacing, 2014 vs 2024 guidance, and fixes for an overloaded party.
- D&D 2024 Encounter Building Rules: New XP Budgets Explained
The 2024 rules changed encounter math: new XP budgets per character, three difficulties, and no multiplier. Includes sample budgets and a worked example.
- How to Create Memorable D&D NPCs
A practical guide to writing, stating out, and running non-player characters in D&D 5th Edition. Quirks, motivations, voices, and when to skip the stat block.
- D&D Encounter Balancing Guide
How to build balanced combat, social, and environmental encounters in D&D 5th Edition. XP budgets, action economy, difficulty tuning, and pacing across an adventuring day.
- D&D Shop Pricing Guide
How to price, stock, and run D&D 5e shops. Equipment pricing, magic item economy, shopkeeper personalities, and running a haggling scene at the table.
- How to Run D&D 5e Combat Faster
How to speed up D&D 5e combat: pre-roll initiative and HP, run a tight declare-and-resolve loop, cut the search-for-rules tax, and end fights when the outcome is decided.
- 100 D&D NPC Personality Quirks
100 ready-to-use D&D 5e NPC personality quirks, grouped by mannerism, speech, appearance, belief, and secret. Free, no login, and one click from a full generated NPC.
World Building
- D&D 5e Tavern Guide: Names, Menus, Rumors, and Bar Fights
Design D&D taverns players remember: names and signs, tavern keepers, menus with PHB prices, rumor delivery, and quick bar fight rules for 5e.
- D&D Settlement Guide: Hamlets to Cities
D&D settlement sizes explained: population ranges for hamlets, villages, towns, and cities, plus key NPCs, economy, defenses, and adventure hooks.
- How to Create D&D Gods and Pantheons: 5e Deity Guide
Build D&D 5e gods and homebrew pantheons: domains, alignments, holy symbols, clergy, tenets, and the divine rivalries that drive a campaign.