Campaign Crafter | Modes of Dungeons and Dragons: A DM’s Guide to Herding Cats
No time to read? Listen to the Campaign Crafter Podcast: on your drive or while working instead.Setup: Welcome to the Chaos
This is where you, the almighty DM, deliver the exposition. Think of it as the opening crawl of Star Wars—except your players are already trying to interrupt with nonsense like, “Can I buy a horse with a built-in flamethrower?”
In setup mode, players are gearing up for the adventure, asking completely reasonable questions like, “How much does a castle cost?” and making absolutely unreasonable plans, such as disguising themselves as the bandits they’re supposed to be fighting.
Pro tip: Setup mode seamlessly evolves into Conversation or Exploration, assuming the party doesn’t spend an hour debating whether they should kill the quest-giver “just in case.”
Exploration: Poking Everything That Shouldn’t Be Poked
Ah, Exploration Mode—the part of the game where players systematically investigate every single thing except the clearly marked plot hook.
Your job here is to describe the world and let the players interact with it. You say, “You see a mysterious chest in the corner.” They hear, “You should absolutely set this on fire and see what happens.”
Follow these simple steps:
Describe the scene. Give them just enough detail to inspire curiosity but not so much that they feel the need to lick the dungeon walls (they will anyway).
Listen to their plans. No matter how stupid.
Narrate the results. “You poke the ominous statue. Its eyes glow red. Roll initiative.”
Exploration mode usually ends when someone triggers a trap, fails a Stealth check, or provokes an ancient evil by knocking over a vase.
Conversation: Trying to Out-BS the NPCs
This mode happens when your players need information from an NPC but insist on using the most ridiculous approach possible. They don’t just ask questions like normal people—oh no. They must:
Bribe the bartender with exactly one copper piece.
Intimidate the town guard despite being level 1 and wearing a burlap sack.
Seduce the villain for literally no strategic reason.
Your job is to play along, drop lore breadcrumbs, and—when they inevitably try to lie their way through a problem—make them roll Deception checks until someone panics and starts swinging a sword.
Conversation mode can end in Exploration (if they actually get useful info) or an Encounter (if they say something so offensive that combat is the only logical outcome).
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Choosing the right type of D&D game can transform your sessions into memorable adventures. Whether you opt for the consistency of a single DM campaign, the creativity of multiple DMs, the flexibility of episodic games, or the spontaneity of one-shots, the key is to match the format to your group’s interests and schedules. Experiment, collaborate, and most importantly, have fun creating stories together. No matter the style, the magic of D&D lies in the shared journey. Now, it’s time to roll initiative and bring your game to life!
With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming an excellent Dungeon Master. Good luck, and may your rolls be ever in your favor!
For more tips, check out our other blog posts.
Encounter: Roll Dice and Pray
Now we’re in the action-packed part of the game, the encounter. The moment where rules actually matter and every player suddenly remembers they have spells, abilities, and a burning hatred for goblins.
Encounters are where the dice gods laugh at your best-laid plans. That barbarian with +10 to hit? He rolls a natural 1 and hits himself in the face. That wizard with 4 HP? Somehow survives a dragon attack out of sheer spite.
Your job is simple: run the fight, keep the tension high, and resist the urge to throw the entire rulebook at the player who keeps arguing about flanking rules.
Passing Time: The Game’s Awkward Fast-Forward Button
You know those scenes in movies where the screen fades to black, and suddenly it’s the next day? That’s passing time. The difference is, in D&D, your players will try to fill this gap with unnecessary nonsense.
“Can I start a side business breeding warhorses?”
“I want to spend three weeks building a treehouse fortress.”
“I roll to see if I get existential dread about our last battle.”
Sometimes, downtime is important for storytelling. Other times, you just need to say, “Great, a week passes uneventfully. MOVING ON.”
This is also your chance to grab snacks, sip your drink, and let the players strategize their next bad decision without your intervention. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Final Thoughts: Herding Cats is a Full-Time Job
D&D is a chaotic, glorious mess, and your job is to embrace it. Whether your players are debating the moral ramifications of looting a corpse or setting a village on fire because “the quest giver looked shady,” just roll with it.
Understanding the modes of the game helps you keep the session flowing—at least as much as one can when managing a group of goblin-brained murderhobos.
So go forth, Dungeon Master! Guide your players through epic adventures, thrilling encounters, and at least one completely unnecessary bar fight.
