Episodes

  • 7 Dungeon Master Mistakes I’m Still Making

    7 Dungeon Master Mistakes I’m Still Making
    Aug 7 2025

    Welcome to How to Be a Better DM

    Today we talk about 7 mistakes I still make:

    1. ​Not taking in the moment and enjoying.
    2. ​Not surprising my party
    3. ​Trying to be a dungeon master that I’m not
    4. ​Comparing Myself to Other DM
    5. ​Not being me
    6. ​Forcing my expectations on other players
    7. ​Not Skipping the Boring Bits


    Thanks for listening to today’s show. If you like our stuff and want to support us, here are some sponsor links and links to our other stuff:

    Worldsmith: http://session0studios.com/worldsmith

    Roll and Play Press:http://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Phantasm Studios: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord

    Patreon:https://session0studios.com/patreon

    Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter
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    12 mins
  • Are You Starting Your D&D Campaign... With Fun?

    Are You Starting Your D&D Campaign... With Fun?
    Jul 31 2025

    Tanner shares a minor update about the podcast from his perspective, and talks about how to prioritize fun when starting a campaign. Hint: it's not with a lot of roleplaying like he did with his recent campaign...
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    13 mins
  • Why Your Combat Slogs and How to Fix It

    Why Your Combat Slogs and How to Fix It
    Jul 24 2025

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    Why your combat Slogs

    1. You haven’t set the epectations with your players
    2. Because you’re building combats and not encounters
    3. You haven’t red shirted it - you’re not familiar with the baddies or the mechanics
    4. You as aren’t taking advantage of all 4 of the Pillars of DMing
    5. The party doesn’t want to do a combat.
    6. You don’t know how to make the combat intense
    7. Phones are at the table
    8. You make it go on too long


    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Save time with Roll and Play Press

    Save yourself some precious time with Roll and Play Press. Go to https://session0studios.com/rollandplay and use code BETTERDM10 at checkout.

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.
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    12 mins
  • We’re Still Alive… But things are Changing

    We’re Still Alive… But things are Changing
    Jul 17 2025

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    Today we are announcing that going forward, we are cutting back on everything except just doing the podcast and only doing 10 minute un-edited episodes. This is a short term change that will allow us to focus on other priorities. Thanks so much for your support.

    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.

    I Made a CR 100 Monster

    I made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith.

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    12 mins
  • DM Lessons Learned from Standup Comedy with Kyle Shire

    DM Lessons Learned from Standup Comedy with Kyle Shire
    Jun 26 2025

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    While our guest, Kyle Shire, has many talents and credits to his name, major ones including his senior producer role at Critical Role as well as being the creator of the Queen By Midnight boardgame. However, his time as a standup comedian brings some unique lessons for DMs that we have yet to explore on our podcast!

    Follow Kyle Shire for more inspirational projects he is working on!

    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.

    I Made a CR 100 Monster

    I made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith.

    Join Our Discord

    So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today.

    Discord

    Give Us a Rating and Review

    You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.
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    34 mins
  • Brief Announcement + How to Restart Your D&D Campaign

    Brief Announcement + How to Restart Your D&D Campaign
    Jun 12 2025

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    We share a brief announcement in this episode... also, to clarify, I realized on relistening that I made it sound like Justin was the one having the baby, when we all know that his wife was the one doing all the work, haha. After that, we jump into a discussion of restarting D&D campaigns, which often feels even harder than starting a whole new campaign! How do you get the gang back together, and how would you pick up the pieces of the old campaign? Listen in to get some tips.

    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Give Us a Rating and Review

    You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

    Join Our Discord

    So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today.

    Discord

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.

    I Made a CR 100 Monster

    I made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith.

    Show More Show Less
    22 mins
  • Why Your Sessions Fall Flat—and the DM Energy Fix That Changes Everything

    Why Your Sessions Fall Flat—and the DM Energy Fix That Changes Everything
    Jun 5 2025
    TL;DR:If your sessions start strong but crash halfway through, it’s not your story, your prep, or even your players—it’s your energy management. In this episode, Justin breaks down the hidden reason your games lose momentum mid-session and teaches you how to fix it permanently. Here are today's sponsors:Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcastRoll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplayStudio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasmsOur Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreonWhat You’ll Learn in This Episode:-The Real DM Killer: It’s not scheduling, it’s session fatigue—and most DMs don’t even realize it’s happening.-Mental vs. Physical Energy: Why you’re probably managing the wrong one (and what to do about it).-The “Secret Breaks” Technique: How doing less mid-session can actually supercharge your impact.-Hydration Science for DMs: Why sipping water wrong is draining your stamina (and how to fix it).- Find Your Energy Style: Why trying to copy Mercer or Mulligan might be sabotaging your flow—and how to unlock your personal DM tempo. The Big Promise:After this episode, you’ll know how to control your energy like a resource, just like mana or spell slots. No more sluggish sessions. No more zoning out. Just peak performance when it counts. You’ll walk away with:Tools to maintain high engagement from start to finishConfidence in your pacing, presence, and deliveryA repeatable framework for showing up energized at the table every time Ready to stop running out of gas halfway through your game?Hit play and let’s supercharge your DM style.Want this kind of energy in your own campaign? Book a pro DM session at Session0Studios.comSpecial thanks to:Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderatorsKyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.Mentioned in this episode:Join Our DiscordSo a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today. DiscordGive Us a Rating and ReviewYou obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.I Made a CR 100 MonsterI made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith. Brought to you by Session 0 StudiosVisit session0studios.com for more information.
    Show More Show Less
    25 mins
  • Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 6

    Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 6
    May 29 2025

    Welcome back to the 6th installment of our short series on writing a Homebrew one-shot.

    In this episode, we're joined by our friend Rob Van Auken and we continue work on The Chimefall Ceremony: For Whom the Bell TolIs.

    This miniseries is designed to help give you an idea of how to collaborate on a project like this and how to write and publish a one-shot.

    Also, a little bit of Rob's audio is lost at the end due to a poor connection... sorry!

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.
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    1 hr and 9 mins