Summary
There are parts of anyDungeons & Dragonscampaign thataren’t epic adventures or compelling roleplay but just procedural matters: shuffling around resources on character sheets and deciding what gear to buy or sell. These may be a necessary part of the game, but theynever need to be part of your gaming sessions. Activities like leveling up characters, selecting spell scrolls to purchase and scribe for Wizards, and even crafting choices during downtime are all largely drama-free. The sort of things that, in a television show, might warrant a montage, at best, don’t belong at myDnDtable.
There are certainly times when bookkeeping activities are vital to the events of the session at hand, but an experienced DM can still plan ahead by having the party select items to buy and sell before reaching a settlement, as one example, or by having players bring two character sheets, one reflecting a mid-session level increase.
SomesimplerDnDbuilds are roleplay-focused, with characterization put first and foremost, but every character archetype can be roleplayed effectively, developing them as people instead of a collection of stats. Sometimes, that roleplay can happen in simple, slice-of-life moments, like having dinner at an inn or shopping in a marketplace. If the scene is intended to offer a roleplay opportunity, it might be worth playing out during sessions, butmost often, shopping is purely procedural, not a chance to develop a character or discover plot hooks. Playing out commercial interactions in a city could, occasionally, aid the DM with world-building.
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DMs Must Sort Drama From D&D’s Bookkeeping
With Experience, A DM Can Determine If A Scene Contains Dramatic Stakes Or Not
There aretabletop RPGs all about world-building, and there may be instances where a DM uses a simple shopping excursion to illustrate the differences between Baldur’s Gate and Calimport in a Forgotten Realms campaign. Still, the actual mechanics of selling loot and buying new gear are more procedural, not a part of that roleplay, andnever needs to eat into session time. Some Dungeon Masters enforce the optional training time rules for leveling up. Training under a martial arts master for a Monk could offer quality roleplay, butnot the actual adjustment of stats on a sheet, which is bookkeeping.
Some of myplayers findDnDFighters fairly boring, and others enjoy martial classes, butno one likes spending a whole session on tedious resource management that does not advance the narrative or offer quality roleplay opportunities. As DM, I include myself in this, since I never want to look back on a session that feels like wasted hours, withno meaningful story progression or noteworthy drama. Intense social conflicts and complex intrigue can be drama, along with surviving a brutal wilderness, or an inhospitable plane of existence. Combat, if handled properly, should always offer dramatic stakes. Shopping isn’t drama.
If my own summary of a session consists of noting that the party bought things, sold things, decided which items to craft, and nothing else, I would know I had run a terribleDnDsession.
While fans stillawait the officialDnDVirtual Tabletop, there are numerous options available already, and many groups use Zoom or Discord for the voice communication element of the game. Even for in-person groups,most exchange messages regularly through an online service or a simple text message chain. When the story reaches a point with downtime, I don’t want to stall progress to a halt and spend several session hours with players discussing whether they want to craft an item or read a Tome of Understanding. That isexactly the sort of minutiaewe can hash out in between sessions.
DMing D&D Does Not End With The Week’s Session
Engaged Dungeon Masters Communicate With Players In Between Gaming Sessions
If the party returns from aDnDdungeon like Tomb of Horrorswith Bags of Holding loaded with gear and treasures, they’re probably going to need to spend some time determining what is worth keeping, what is worth selling, and what is cursed.This makes for a terrible session if this sort of banal resource management is handled at the table. Leveling up a character is extremely fast in 5eDnD, but for more complex systems, leveling up mid-session is another surefire way to kill energy and momentum.If something lacks inherent drama, don’t waste precious session time with it.
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Actual session time is valuable, andthe memes aboutDnDscheduling conflictshit close to home for many groups. If a group of people can get together for three to five hours to enjoy a roleplaying game,they should make the most of that time. Some groups like to roleplay in between sessions, butI would rather they deal with bookkeeping matters in that time. If my own summary of a session consists of noting that the party bought things, sold things, decided which items to craft, and nothing else, I would know I had run a terribleDnDsession.
Given the ambiguities in magic item costs in 5eDnD, the DM will need to convey to players the costs for magic items in their campaign and on crafting, whether they are using the magic item crafting rules from theDungeon Master’s GuideorXanathar’s Guide to Everything, as they do differ.
A lot of these elements of the game do require DM input. Players need to know if they are limited toDnD’s best Uncommon tier magic itemsin a particular village’s marketplace, or if it also sells rarer items. Players intending to multiclass or take a feat from a new supplement generally make me aware of it, so we can work on any needed in-character and story-based rationalization for them. This is whyDMing does not end when the session does. Dungeon Masters need to make themselves available to players during the week, in between sessions, which is simple enough.
Sessions Should Focus On Drama & Heroic D&D Conflicts
Offloading Bookkeeping To Between Sessions Helps With Momentum & Pacing
WhilesadisticDnDDungeon Masters are ruthlesswith their challenges and harsh house rules, thatstill beats an indifferent DM who is not enthused about their own campaign. Part of being passionate about DMing is ensuring that session time is quality time, and thatplayers have the support they need to deal with bookkeeping matters in between sessions.
Newer players might need assistance with mechanics as they level up, and others might need to know the buying cost of various magic items.The more these procedural elements are dealt with completely outside of sessions, the better your sessions can be.
If a DM is trying to decide if something needs to be done in-session, or if it is best handled between gaming sessions, the same guidelines on whether a particular task requires a rolled check can be used. If there is no inherent risk, peril, or drama, it could likely be “off camera.”
A heroic fantasy tabletop RPG excels when each session feels like a chapter of an epic novel or an episode of an exciting television show. The game can depict harrowing ordeals, vicious traps, and epic set-piece battles. Itshould never feel like getting together to fill out tax returns, but a session spent buried in procedural matters can become exactly that. If anything has real risk, dramatic stakes, or offers a venue for roleplay or world-building, it might have a place at the table.Dungeons & Dragonsdoes feature bookkeeping, but it doesn’t have to happen during gaming sessions.
