How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

Ever feel like one shots get off the rails, out of control, and become a wild beast for you to wrangle back into some semblance of a story in the limited time you have? These 5 guidelines will help you avoid overstretching, overthinking, and overstaying a one shot's welcome!

Welcome once again, dear Dungeon Masters and Game Masters! Here is a little bit about what is going in my life and an apology for missing a week of content, plus some reflexions about getting inspired.

Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.
Find Danny at: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof⁠
Find Dr. Ben on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@rpgphd⁠

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:
Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter

What happens when you hand a live audience the keys to a D&D session and tell them to cause as much chaos as possible?
You get this episode.
Recorded live at FanX 2025, this one is unlike anything we've done before. No script. No safety net. Just four people at a table, a room full of audience members armed with prompts, and a whole lot of trust in the dice gods.
Here's how it worked: Ian ran a one-shot for players Justin, Tanner, and Matthew — all showing up with level 10 characters ready for anything. The audience? They got to create the monsters, magic items, spells, and NPCs that showed up at the table in real time, powered by Worldsmith. The players had no idea what was coming. Neither, honestly, did anyone else.
What unfolded was a live, audience-driven adventure featuring:
A big bad built by the crowd — designed (or sabotaged) by the audience before the session even started.
An investigation gone sideways — a midnight carriage ride, a mysterious shopkeeper, and a paranormal threat that only got weirder from there.
A rescue mission with actual stakes — ambushes, improvised plans, and a magic item that nobody saw coming.
A dungeon full of traps, riddles, and chaos — including a rolling boulder, a stone statue that really didn't want to be touched, and a door that rewarded the bold.
A boss fight to end it all — with loot, laughs, and the kind of ending only a live audience can create.
This is actual play the way it was meant to be: messy, surprising, and completely alive.
Cast:Ian Hawkes — Dungeon MasterJustin Lewis — PlayerTanner Weyland — PlayerMatthew Thompson — Player
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
Hire a Professional Dungeon Master: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/
Discord: http://session0studios.com/discord
Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon
Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: https://session0studios.com/newsletter

In this short run of episodes, Tanner discusses various aspects about one-shots and how to plan them—and today, the topic is one-shot character creation! Sure, you could just have your players create them, but maybe they take too long, or the players are new to making characters and you don't want to add more work onto your plate. Thankfully, there are multiple ways to make character creation simple to keep your one-shot a manageable experience!

In our first-ever interview episode, we sit down with Dr. Ben, whose work and studies span storytelling, game design, philosophy, and many other disciplines.
Together, we distill practical insights on authority at the table, both within the fiction and beyond it.
Creative Contraband is a segment designed and hosted with love by Danny Barrett for How to Be a Better DM.
Find Danny at: https://www.instagram.com/gamemaster.hof
Find Dr. Ben on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rpgphd

If you want more content for Dungeon Masters and Game Masters alike, you can find related projects and sponsored links here:
Worldsmith: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/worldsmith⁠⁠⁠⁠
Roll and Play Press: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/rollandplay⁠⁠⁠⁠
Phantasm Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/fantasms⁠⁠⁠⁠
Monument Studios: ⁠⁠⁠⁠session0studios.com/monumentstudios⁠⁠⁠⁠
Discord: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://session0studios.com/discord⁠⁠⁠⁠
Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠
Dungeon Master Level Up Guide: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://session0studios.com/newsletter