🦉You might like D&D even more.

Hail, adventurers!

Saúl the Bard here.

Allow me to break the news to you…

Irene isn’t here today; she’s really swamped.

Oh, what a tragedy…

But fear not!

If you want her, oh Great Sorceress!, oh Archdeacon of Role-Playing!, to bless you with her presence, you can make it happen.

Tomorrow and the day after, at Japan Weekend in Alicante.

And since she’s not around…

PARTY!

Alright, I’m going to let loose a little.

I’m going to tell you something she’s not going to be too happy about.

It’ll be our secret, okay?

The truth is…

I don’t really like Dungeons & Dragons that much.

Actually, I don’t like it much at all.

(Did I really say that?!)

However, as a player in her game, Irene has managed to make me enjoy it a ton, even though I’m not a big fan of the system.

Want to know how?

Well, by using three tools I’m going to tell you about next. And the last one requires zero effort on your part.

Don’t let rules get in the way of fun

We love the style of play that Critical Role has popularized. You know, being “medieval fantasy superheroes” who live out dramatic stories and overcome challenges with flair.

It’s not that plans never go wrong. In fact, sometimes they have disastrous consequences. It’s more that the adventure’s focus is centered on drama and exploration rather than survival, which is what happened in the original editions of D&D.

There are some D&D rules that still have that survival-game vibe (physical spell materials, I’m looking at you).

You know what we do at our table?

Screw them.

We don’t let the rules get in the way of our fun.

In the end, everyone plays homebrew in some way. But “homebrew” is just a cool word for: I’m making up the rules so I like them better.

Since we really love narrative experiences, we have sessions where we barely roll dice, resolving everything through conversation and exploration. That’s what helps us immerse ourselves in the world.

In your group, it might be the opposite, and you might not enjoy anything as much as a good fight. Don’t hesitate to adapt the rules to fit your playstyle.

And speaking of combat…

Combats are too long

One of the most common complaints you hear when people talk about D&D is that battles drag on too long. Too many turns, too many enemies, players who don’t know what to do when it’s their turn or can’t remember the rules…

Set a timer.

I mean, I don’t want you to grab that little egg-shaped timer you have in the kitchen.

What I mean is, if you want to make combat more interesting, there needs to be something at stake. Something that, after X turns or rounds, will be lost or have consequences.

For example: A person they have to protect, an enemy they have to stop from escaping while he hounds them with his minions, a ritual that requires specific actions during combat to stop it…

This completely changes the gameplay experience, shifting from “let’s see when we can finish off this horde of enemies” to “I’m going to go all out to steal the Crown of Chaos and get the heck out of here.”

Combat where the goal is simply to kill all the enemies tends to be the least interesting… and the hardest to balance.

Okay, but we’re left with a problem. Those players who don’t know what to do on their turn, who don’t remember the rules…

Make the rules accessible

I'm the typical guy who says, “I'm going to plan my turn,” gets overwhelmed by all the options, and then, when I finally try to put it into practice, realize I've miscalculated my move and have to start all over.

So I start flipping through the rulebook: What does it mean to be “prone”? How do I use “grapple”? How much does it cost to move through difficult terrain? Can I pass a potion to you with my bonus action, or is it with my main action?

I’ve been flipping through the book for five minutes straight and still haven’t found all the answers.

So yeah, let’s be honest: I’m one of the main reasons Irene created her DM Sheets.

She has a copy for herself inside the screen, but she places another one in the center of the table, accessible to everyone.

I only have to look at four pages, and there’s everything I need. My brain and my nerves are grateful, and so is the pace of the game.

If you want to save yourself from having to explain to your players what their spell’s AC is for the umpteenth time, you can get the printable PDF below.

Successful quests and better rolls!

🦉Irene the Wizard

🦃Saúl the Bard

P.S.: If you're more into that survival-based D&D with vulnerable characters, I recommend checking out the Old School Renaissance (OSR).

P.P.S.: I think six euros is well worth it to save yourself from having to explain how reactions work again. Here.