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Making Great Handouts
While not required to run a great Dungeons & Dragons game, great handouts can really draw players into the story of the game. They give the game a tactile feel. They show the players what the world...
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Adventure Keys
When I began putting together Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventures, I had a model for what I wanted to do already in hand. Monte Cook Games had recently released Weird Discoveries, a book of ten short...
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Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh Chapter 3, Danger at Dunwater
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Danger at Dunwater. Danger at Dunwater, an adventure originally written in 1982 and the second adventure in Ghosts of Saltmarsh, is...
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Building 1st Level Combat Encounters
No level is more dangerous in Dungeons & Dragons than 1st level. With their low hit points, it isn't uncommon for a 1st level character to go from full hit points to zero in one or two successful...
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The Beats of a Dungeon Crawl
Dungeon crawls are a staple in Dungeons & Dragons games. Ever since the game's creation characters have traversed forgotten hallways accosted by beasts never touched by the sun. Even as D&D's...
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Kitbashing Dungeons
While some are quite happy designing their own maps from scratch to run in their D&D games, us lazy dungeon masters are much happier stealing maps wherever we can. The maps in Lazy DM's Workbook...
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Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh Chapter 4: Salvage Operation
Warning: This article contains spoilers for Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Chapter 4 of Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Salvage Operation, is the first chapter that isn't part of the actual Saltmarsh series of adventures...
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Running Dragon of Icespire Peak from the D&D Essentials Kit
This is an evolving article offering tips for running the D&D Essentials Kit adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak. I'll be updating this article as I run the adventures in the book and gain first-hand...
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The Flow of Trap Detection
Noticing, studying, and disarming traps is a common activity in Dungeons & Dragons and yet it can be difficult to understand exactly how it works. Likewise, depending on the situation, it can be...
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Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh Chapter 5, Isle of the Abbey
This article is one of a series of articles covering the hardback D&D adventure book, Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Other articles include: Ghosts of Saltmarsh Session Zero Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh...
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Timing and Pacing Adventures
Many times when we're running our Dungeons & Dragons adventures, we aren't too worried about time. Sure, our friends need to go home sometime but we can generally stop where we are and start off...
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Playing D&D Can Save Your Life
"Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Loneliness kills." The above quote is from Dr. Robert Waldinger, the caretaker for the Harvard Study of Adult Development, an 80 year study that...
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Balancing D&D Combat for One-on-One Play
The D&D Essentials Kit includes the first-ever official rules for running D&D with just one player and one DM. This is a whole new style of playing D&D, although some, such as the fine...
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Building Legendary D&D Monsters in your Head
Here at Sly Flourish I believe firmly in helping DMs develop the tools change up our game without having to spend a lot of time or carry around a lot of extra books. This means learning how to do a lot...
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Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh Chapter 6: The Final Enemy
This article is one of a series of articles covering the hardback D&D adventure book, Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Other articles include: Ghosts of Saltmarsh Session Zero Running Ghosts of Saltmarsh...
View ArticleYour Most Important Game
Your most important Dungeons & Dragons game is the next one you're going to run. This might be blindingly obvious or it might be completely alien to you. We DMs have big dreams. We have big plans....
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Running Episodic Games
I'm a huge fan of serials. Shows like True Detective put a limit on the overall story but give that story enough room to breathe and fill out across many episodes. The game Shadow of the Demon Lord by...
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Combining the D&D Starter Set and Essentials Kit
Many agree that the best way to get started in D&D is with the D&D Starter Set. With a low price, excellent adventure, and all the materials you need to run a game in a single box; it's hard to...
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Spending a Whole Day Preparing a D&D Game
When I think about D&D game prep, often I think about how to streamline it and reduce it to the elements that bring the best value to our game. This is the core idea behind Return of the Lazy...
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Getting Started with Dungeons & Dragons
This article is intended for someone who is interested in Dungeons & Dragons but has no idea where to start. My intent is to get you on the right path to enjoy D&D. If you are a veteran to...
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