This past month on the DM's Deep Dive Tom Lommel, AKA the Dungeon Bastard, discussed the topic of improvisation and D&D.
In a recent query of both Twitter and Facebook, creativity, flexibility, and improvisation topped out a list of the most valued D&D Dungeon Master traits. As a professional actor with a heavy focus on D&D, I sought out Tom to help us unravel the topic of improvisation, how we do it, and how we can get better at it.
Here's the Youtube video of our conversation:
During this episode we cover many topics including:
- The Dungeon Bastard, his day job, and his approach towards D&D.
- We're always improvising. D&D, at its core, is a game about improv. It's just how much improv.
- Improv isn't just the funny voices.
- Tom's three dirty tricks:
- "No, but" instead of "Yes, and".
- Pick one weird tick or detail for an NPC. Does the NPC always scratch his right eye when he talks? Does he refer to everyone as "ma'am"?
- Prepare for improvisation.
- Plot radars and Schroedinger's clues.
- Tips for improvisation during tense moments.
- Improv difficulty with homebrew versus published adventures.
- Books for good improv: Dungeon World, Fate Core, Fiasco
- What we think about Storm King's Thunder.
Other Related Links:
If you like the show, you can watch other episodes of the Deep Dive on Youtube or subscribe to the DM's Deep Dive podcast.