There are plenty of challenges to being a game master inDungeons & Dragons. You set the stage for your players to become whatever fantasy selves they so choose. And for better or worse, you also challenge these characters to see if they have what it takes fortheir grand adventure.
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Something that can be hard to get right as a GM in D&D is the balance between storytelling and combat. Both are important and intricate parts of the game, and some players excel at one or another. While the balance can be hard, there are ways to toe the line pretty well.
10Look At Popular Media
One way you may get a better sense of the balance between combat and storytelling is by looking at your favorite similar media. Whether it be a book, movie, or game, surely you have a piece of media that follows the same tone as the adventure you have in mind, or one that has influenced your adventure’s plot.
You don’t have to sit down and do hardcore research, but it can be beneficial to think back and understand how the creators of that media balanced action and storytelling in their own works. You obviously like it for a reason.
9Set Up The Tension
Tension is a big thing for keeping your characters interested in where the plot is going. What will happen next? Who will the party fight? Will the party survive?
Storytelling, role-playing, and other non-combat activities can be a great way to build tension for the inevitable combat that comes from time to time in D&D. Players can also be caught by surprise by random combat encounters and ambushes. This will remind them that they live in a world that is, at times, highly dangerous.
8Use Creative Problem-Solving
One of the great things about D&D is its open-ended-ness. That is one way to approach combat and storytelling too. Allow your players to explore exciting potential combat scenarios without violence.
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Whether it be the smooth-talking of a bard or the quick hands of a rogue, allow your players to use their skills to their advantage. Contrary to that, allow them to explore combat as a way out of diplomatic or otherwise muddled encounters. A balance of options will let them feel more in control too.
7Manage Player Expectations
Every player is different, and everyone will want something different from a campaign or adventure. This will weigh heavily on how you balance your adventure. It also depends a lot on what class they choose to play as.
On average, a fighter will want to show off their skills in combat a bit more, just as a bard will probably want some experience in influencing the story through their words. Touch bases with your players from time to time to see what they want more or less of and then go from there.
6Decide How Players Gain Experience
One thing that you’ll have to figure out before a session is how you want to keep track of experience. There are a surprising amount of ways to do so.
Some go with combat-based experience, others for solving challenges and good roles, and more still go with completing story arcs. There’s no wrong way, but you should know how your players will be leveling up and then ensure you have ample opportunities for them to gain the experience needed to level up however many levels is fair for the adventure at hand.
5Keep Track Of Pacing
Another big thing in being a GM for a D&D campaign is pacing. This also goes for other TTRPGs and storytelling altogether really. Manypre-made adventuresalready have this in mind, but homebrew is where it gets tricky. Combat often takes a lot of time to complete, but every round is only six seconds of in-game time.
On the other hand, role-playing and storytelling can make weeks go by in just a few minutes, especially where downtime of your characters is concerned. Keeping this in-game time on your mind also helps understand how the game should be balanced where combat and storytelling are concerned. Often, you’ll want to hone in on the important parts of the story, and combat is a great way to slow down time to do so.
4Know The Tone Of Your World
There’s a nearly limitless amount of worlds you’re able to create in D&D. Knowing that, it’s a good idea to keep the tone of your adventure in mind when balancing combat and storytelling. A more high-fantasy world will call for more storytelling, role-playing, and finding non-violent resolutions to problems for your players.
However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, a more grim and dark world will have more violence, combat, and probably fewer polite conversations. This can sway how you spend your time as a GM. One calls for more combat scenarios to be prepared while the other will need a pretty well-thought-out world for your characters to live in.
3Set Up Post-Leveling Encounters
One of the most exciting times as a player in D&D is leveling up. All the new spells, more HP, and even some new skills to show off; what’s not to be excited about?
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It can be a great idea to jump into combat soon after your players level up. It doesn’t have to be a major battle at all, just something for them to test out and show off their new level. It also allows you as the GM to better prepare combat encounters for their new level and see how powerful they are now. Nothing’s worse than setting up an encounter just for your players to vanquish the enemy party in a few minutes.
2Balance Your Arcs
A lot of long-term D&D games will have multiple plot lines that culminate into a larger plot. Understanding the balance of each of these plot arcs is important.
Each one will be different for sure, but each will probably have a balance of storytelling and combat to keep things interesting. Keep in mind what each of these plot arcs must accomplish and how you are going to do so before diving into them. This will give you plenty of time to plan out major storytelling components and boss fights especially.
1Learn From Others
One of the easiest ways to get a better handle on the balance of combat and storytelling is to watch others.
You are far from the first person to be a GM. Talk to others who have done so, or even listen to podcasts of other people playing. You probably haven’t just jumped into GMing with no TTRPG experience at all, so think about the times you’ve played and what you did and didn’t like about the pacing.
