Game Master Tips

The Game Master has a big impact on how much fun Adventure is to play. Here are some tips and principles to make it as easy and successful as possible for you.

You can find a one-page GM cheatsheet on the downloads page.

The role of the Game Master

The GM runs the game, and is generally not a player themselves.

They introduce situations and narrate outcomes. They throw challenges at the players. They narrate the world and the creatures in it. The GM’s job to keep the pacing, action, and suspense at the right level for the skills and age-level of your players.

Play to find out

The key principle of Adventure comes from the game Dungeon World.

Play to find out what happens.

You don’t know what’s going to happen until you play. Some RPGs have defined endings, a place where you want the players to end up.

In Adventure, you instead create a world with the players. The things they do shape it, and determine where the story goes.

Starting a game

At the start of a game of Adventure, there are four things you’ll already know.

1. The situation or problem that starts the adventure
2. Some initial locations the players might visit
3. Some creatures they may encounter
4. Some events that might happen, based on what the players do in the world

In a good adventure, you’ll have questions you don’t know the answer to. You’ll only find out when you play.

Why is the dragon attacking boats that come from the mainland? Does the magical black pearl exist, or is it just a legend? What happened to the missing livestock?

If you already know the answers, that’s bad. You’re going to find these things out with the players.

Ask questions

You can make your life a lot easier as a GM, and get your players far more engaged in the game, by asking them questions about the world.

At the start of a game, you can ask them why they’re there, and what they’ve heard about the problem or situation. You can work these hooks into the story and use them to fill in missing details.

Later in the game, rather than just telling players about a location, you can ask them what they see.

Leave maps incomplete

If you find maps helpful for visualizing spaces and helping players work through an adventure or battle, by all means use them.

But don’t draw or download complete maps before the adventure starts. Leave blank spots and open space to fill in as the game progresses.

Players will shape the world as they move through it. It’s important to have space to fill in new details.

If you want to try drawing your own maps, Esper the Bard’s series on map-making is fantastic. You can also find tons of inexpensive maps and other printables at 2-Minute Tabletop.

Easier combat and damage

If multiple creatures deal damage to a player at the same time, take the highest damage die from among them and roll that.

Then add +1 to the damage for each creature that dealt damage beyond the first.

For large hordes of creatures, rather than tracking each creature’s HP individually, you can create a pool. Whenever a player damages one or more of the creatures, subtract from the pool.

Average damage

When creature deal damage to players, you if you don’t want to roll for damage, you can use the average roll instead.

Add 1 to the damage dice and divide by 2 to get the average.

• D4: 2-3 HP
• D6: 3-4 HP
• D8: 4-5 HP
• D10: 5-6 HP
• D12: 6-7 HP

Improvised Damage

Sometimes, players get hurt by the environment itself. They fall, get caught in a rock slide, or trigger a trap.

Use this table to calculate how much damage to assign.

• Bruises & Scrapes: D4
• Cuts: D6
• Broken Bones: D8
• Deadly: D10

Creating quick monsters

You might need to spin up a new monster in the middle of a game. Here’s a reference you can use to do that quickly. (Alternatively, you can search the Dungeon World codex.)

What's their primary instinct?

Do they runaway? Attack anything that they see? Attack only when threatened?

What's the monster's fight style?

• Horde: D6, 3HP
• Small Group: D8, 6HP
• Solo: D10, 12HP

What kind of armor do they have?

• Cloth, Flesh: 0
• Leather, Hide: 1
• Mail, Scales: 2
• Plates, Bone: 3
• Magic: 4

What's their size?

• Tiny: -2 damage
• Large: +1 damage, +4 HP
• Huge: +3 damage, +8 HP

Other attributes

• Incredibly Strong: +2 damage
• Skilled Attacker: Best Of
• Skilled Defender: +1 armor
• High Endurance: +4 HP

Other attributes

Do they have any special attacks or weapons? What are they? How do they work?

Building immersive worlds

Adventure is all about immersing players in a new world.

This video on Dungeons & Dragons GM Matt Mercer is chock full of tips on how to be an awesome Game Master (warning, some R-rated content in this video).

Actions the GM can take

Here are some things you can do as GM.

• Present a monster or a location challenge
• Reveal an unwelcome truth
• Show signs of an approaching threat
• Deal damage
• Use up their resources
• Turn their move back on them
• Separate them
• Give an opportunity to shine
• Show a downside to a class or equipment
• Offer an opportunity, with or without cost
• Put someone in a spot
• Present two choices

And here are some things you can do within a location.

• Change the environment
• Point to a looming threat
• Introduce a new creature type
• Use a threat from an existing creature
• Make them backtrack
• Present riches… at a price
• Present a challenge