Finding Your DM Sweet Spot

It was a hard reality when I understood my game would never be the same as Acquisitions Incorporated or Critical Role. I am not a writer, artist, or voice actor and I'm also not employed by Wizards of the Coast. So comparing myself as a DM to these games was unrealistic, but that was ok. I was still convinced I could find a sweet spot, and bring something unique to my games that took them to another level while not requiring to quit my day job. So, here are the steps I've taken and some examples so that you can find your sweet spot too!

The absolute first thing I would always recommend with any DM wanting to improve their game, is ask the players first. Some players will want more combat while others may want more puzzles. Some players want the story arcs, while others just want to complete a prebuilt campaign. All of these styles are perfectly legitimate, but if you are going to make your game successful you need to understand those preferences so you can cater to them. For example, my players want challenges and those epic moments. Story arcs and choice really become important in these scenarios so players can feel their impact in the story and have that 'Ah ha!' or 'oh crap!' moment as they realize the gravity of a new situation.

Of course the other side of that coin is YOU, the dungeon master. What are you good at? What do you hate doing? What are your strengths? What do you do for work? Identify key areas where even when you're not directly spending time in prepping for a game you may be learning skills to help you better your dungeon mastering. For example, I am a software engineer with a severe hobby for crafting. I learned that I enjoy building systems for my players to explore or figure out. This might take the shape of a puzzle, or a series of customizable weapons, or a never-ending cascade of consequences because they knocked over the first domino. What I really love though, is bringing those systems to the game in tactile ways. Giving a handwritten letter from the prince summoning them to court that they can hold and read. Deck of many things being an actual deck of cards. A blacklight pen revealing hidden text on a handout they'd gotten weeks ago as they finally think to 'detect magic' on the map.

Then the final piece is identifying where those two things meet. Maybe you are great at voices and your team wants to fight lots of villains, sounds like you might be in the evil npc business! Or maybe your players want puzzles and intrigue but you are good at building monsters, maybe everytime they fail the puzzle they are attacked by some wiley beast. There's tons of ways you can combine your own skills with what the players enjoy to create a truly amazing game. Don't compare yourself to other games because yours really is unique. Also don't be afraid to experiment with things, try something and get feedback from your players on it. Tweak it and adjust it until it works really well and you'll come up with new techniques and tools for running games in no time!