Chapter VI · Behind the Screen · Dungeon Master's Guide
The Dungeon Master's Craft
Running sessions, knowing your players, building encounters and pacing an adventure.
Running a Session
- Agree on table expectations and safety tools before the first game.
- Open with a strong hook and a clear goal.
- Describe with the senses — sound, smell and light — not only sight.
- Say "yes, and…" or "yes, but…" to player ideas whenever you can.
- End on a cliffhanger or a satisfying beat, and note threads for next time.
Building Encounters
Pick a difficulty, look up the XP per character for the party's level, multiply by the number of characters, then spend that budget on monsters without going over. Low encounters have a scary moment or two, Moderate ones could go badly without healing, and High ones could kill a character.
| Party level | Low (per PC) | Moderate (per PC) | High (per PC) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 75 | 100 |
| 2 | 100 | 150 | 200 |
| 3 | 150 | 225 | 400 |
| 4 | 250 | 375 | 500 |
| 5 | 500 | 750 | 1,100 |
| 6 | 600 | 1,000 | 1,400 |
| 7 | 750 | 1,300 | 1,700 |
| 8 | 1,000 | 1,700 | 2,100 |
| 9 | 1,300 | 2,000 | 2,600 |
| 10 | 1,600 | 2,300 | 3,100 |
| 11 | 1,900 | 2,900 | 4,100 |
| 12 | 2,200 | 3,700 | 4,700 |
| 13 | 2,600 | 4,200 | 5,400 |
| 14 | 2,900 | 4,900 | 6,200 |
| 15 | 3,300 | 5,400 | 7,800 |
| 16 | 3,800 | 6,100 | 9,800 |
| 17 | 4,500 | 7,200 | 11,700 |
| 18 | 5,000 | 8,700 | 14,200 |
| 19 | 5,500 | 10,700 | 17,200 |
| 20 | 6,400 | 13,200 | 22,000 |
Example: a Moderate fight for five level 3 characters has a budget of 225 × 5 = 1,125 XP.
Adventure Structure
- Hook — why should the characters care?
- Rising action — locations, clues and complications.
- Climax — the decisive confrontation or choice.
- Resolution — rewards, consequences and new threads.