5 Tips Every New Dungeon Master Needs to Hear

By Luke Hart

So, here’s the thing: being a brand-new Dungeon Master is exciting, but also terrifying. You’re wrangling rules, wrangling players, and wrangling your own nerves. And if you’ve spent any time on Reddit or YouTube, you’ve probably seen a mountain of conflicting advice. Some people swear you don’t need to prep, others tell you to build entire continents before session one, and a few insist the only real requirement to DM is owning a beard.

I once sat down with my friend Allan from The Dungeon Coach to talk about all this. Between the two of us, we’ve logged decades behind the DM screen, so we decided to put our heads (and beards) together to give new DMs some grounded advice.

By the way, are you a NEW GAME MASTER feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything involved with running a role-playing game? If so, the Secret Art of Game Mastery can help. Get over 100 years of GM experience distilled into practical, easy-to-read advice.

Watch or listen to this article by clicking the video below.

1. Prep Isn’t the Enemy

If you’ve been browsing online spaces, you’ve probably run into the “no prep” crowd. You know the type: “I just wing everything! My games are amazing! Prep is for railroading losers.”

Yeah… no.

Here’s the truth: those DMs can sometimes pull it off, but only because they’ve been doing this for years. They’re leaning on experience, not magic. If you’re brand new, prep is your friend. It gives you confidence, reduces stress, and makes sure you’re not scrambling when your players zig instead of zag.

That doesn’t mean prepping every detail of a 300-year timeline. It means sketching out the adventure, reviewing monster stat blocks, and having some maps ready. Remember: you don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your preparation.

2. Prep Efficiently

Okay, so you’re prepping. Great. But don’t waste ten hours writing lore your players will never see. Efficient prep is all about story beats and player decisions.

Think about what your players might do. Where might they go? What consequences are hanging out there from their past actions? Jot those down. That way, when they make unexpected choices, you already have threads to pull on.

Also, maps. Even if you’re an improv junkie, having a map in front of you makes everything smoother. Online? Stock up on digital maps from Patreons or free sources. In-person? A scrap of graph paper will do. Just… don’t wait until your players say, “We head into the cave,” to realize you don’t have a cave.

3. Don’t Get Lost in World-Building

I love world-building. Allan loves world-building. You probably love world-building. But here’s the harsh truth: your players don’t care nearly as much as you do.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t create cool lore or sprawling continents; it means recognize who it’s really for: you. World-building is a creative outlet, not game prep. Your players care about their characters and the adventures they’re on.

So focus on that. Weave their backstories into the setting. Drop hints of lore through statues, rumors, or journals. If they bite, reveal more. If they don’t, don’t force it. Save the epic history of the Fire Nation for a bonus handout, or for the player who actually wants to read it between sessions.

4. Try to Say “Yes”

When a player gets that gleam in their eye and says, “Can I…?” your instinct might be to shut it down. Don’t. Instead, bounce it back: “How are you going to do that?”

Nine times out of ten, the player will either talk themselves out of it or come up with something brilliant you never thought of. And if it’s wild but possible, let them try. Just set the stakes clearly. “Sure, you can leap across the collapsing bridge, but it’s a DC 25, and if you fail, you’re plummeting into lava.” Suddenly, it’s a nail-biting moment instead of a flat “no.”

Saying “yes” keeps the game moving, empowers your players, and creates the kind of stories people talk about for years.

5. But Also… It’s Okay to Say “No”

Of course, sometimes you’ve got to be the grown-up at the table. No, your level 1 wizard cannot start the game as a lich with a pet dragon. No, you cannot teleport to the moon with a lucky Arcana check.

When you do say no, frame it in a way that keeps the fun alive. Offer a “no, but” instead. No, you can’t have a dragon right now, but maybe you can discover a dragon egg and raise it over the course of the campaign. No, you can’t rewrite gravity, but maybe there’s a high-level spell research path that lets you bend physics down the line.

A well-timed no preserves game balance and fairness without crushing player creativity.

100 Years of GM Experience at Your Fingertips!

Are you a NEW GAME MASTER feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything involved with running a role-playing game? Are you a VETERAN GAME MASTER looking for new tips and tricks to take your games to the next level? Look no further than the Secret Art of Game Mastery.

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• The Secret Art of Game Mastery. Contains over 100 years of GM advice distilled into an easy-to-read format. It introduces and explains the tools of the trade, scheduling, playstyle, post-game notes, getting player feedback, and more.
• The Secret Art of Preparation. Brings to your fingertips the actual templates and guides that the DM Lair team uses to prepare games, Lair Magazine, and more. Designed as a three-ring binder, it's intended for you to write directly into for your entire campaign!
• The Secret Art of Notetaking. Gives you the keys to tracking your campaign from session to session just like the DM Lair team. Designed as a three-ring binder, it's intended for you to write in and keep track of your whole campaign!

With so much knowledge and experience on its pages, The Secret Art of Game Mastery is guaranteed to become an indispensable tool for all game masters, new and veteran alike. And if that isn’t enough, the information applies to all game systems and all genres!