So You Want To Be A Game Master: Everything You Need to Start Your Tabletop Adventure for Dungeons and Dragons, Pathfinder, and Other Systems

by Justin Alexander

Become the Ultimate Game Master

Thanks to tabletop roleplay, millions of fans are creating unforgettable collaborative stories. No matter what roleplaying game you want to play, this book is the key to unlocking endless adventure!

Award-winning game designer Justin Alexander has created an incredible compendium of advice and maps, perfect for any aspiring Game Master. This book is packed with the strategies you need to create amazing dungeons, battles, roleplay encounters, and more. Full of practical, hands-on advice and sample maps, just reading the first chapter of this book will have you ready to run a game in less than an hour. From there, Justin teaches you all the skills and techniques you need to explore dungeons, solve mysteries, steal priceless artifacts, unravel strange conspiracies, and venture forth on epic journeys!

No matter what game you’re playing, this book is the key to unlocking the limitless realms of your imagination.

Genres: Role Playing Games, Nonfiction, Gaming, Dungeons and Dragons, Reference, Games, Audiobook

678 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 21, 2023

About the author

Welcome..
So I have been writing for about as long as I can remember, usually when I was supposed to be working or studying. Having been hugely influenced by Terry Brooks, Stephen King, Max Brooks and Raymond. E. Feist, I write mainly Sci-fi/fantasy novels with usually some horror elements thrown in.
If I'm not hunched over my laptop, you can usually find me playing or watching rugby or American football, becoming dangerously addicted to a TV show, Game Of Thrones and Fringe were the most recent, trying to catch up with the mountain of books that i have been neglecting recently or attempting to fund my travels.
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post or message me and I will try and answer all of them or as many as i can.
Thanks and hope you enjoy

Reviews

[Robbie Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

In games as complex and utterly reliant on the skills of one player as TTRPGs (that also normally lack a simple 'How to be a DM' book), Justin Alexander's book is the single best resource I have read or watched about how to truly DM a game.

Alexander covers both everything a totally new DM needs to know to get started; and has a treasure trove of actionable and specific advice for seasoned veterans.

Alexander understands TTRPGs on a very deep level - this section early on in the book resonated with me, and could do with being made clear to new DMs: "A roleplaying game is a conversation. You'll describe what the PCs see, the players will respond by telling you what their characters do in response...and then you'll respond to them. It's a loop, right? Your topic of conversation is the fictional world of the game, and you'll build that world - and the things that happen in it- by actively engaging with that conversation. You'll listen to each other. You'll build on each other's ideas. You may even get emotional or interrupt or disagree with each other, just like any other conversation."

This simple but absolutely crucial idea that new DMs may not fully understand is supplemented by discussion of ideas like "defaulting to yes", as well as the place and purpose of dungeons. This sets up a new DM to be truly comfortable creating and playing on a manageable scale.

For more experienced DMs, Alexander rises above the non-specific and thin advice given by other resources. There is truly useful guidance on hexcrawls, heists, mysteries, factions, downtime and a host of other extremely useful tips and tricks. Not only do you get templates and rules on how to run encounters, but an understanding of what makes these fun - as well as common pitfalls to avoid.

If you want to or are currently running a TTRPG in any form, then Alexander's book will be worth your time. It will be a great read, and an invaluable resource for years to come. I know that in the future when I am looking to run a new kind of session, a new game or just for some inspiration; the first book I will reach for will be So You Want to be a Game Master.

[Thom · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book, a fantastic resource, and does not overstate the cover claim, "everything you need to start your tabletop adventure."

Someone has to be the game master. This book walks you through the process, step by step, starting with running then creating keyed dungeon encounter rooms. The reasons for the steps are given with an eye towards the enjoyment of the players. From simple dungeons to advanced dungeons to mysteries, raids and heists, then on to urban and wild adventures.

Examples are given with reference to skill checks and difficulty classes (DC) - these terms are from D&D, but the idea works for most role playing games.

My favorite section was on mysteries, coincidentally the type of adventure I have run the least over the last 40 years. That brings up another point - this tome has deep knowledge for both new and experienced game masters. I really can't recommend it highly enough.

[Troy Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good resources for Game Masters - the first two parts on dungeons and mysteries are particularly helpful and insightful. I've been a GM for a little over 5 years now and still found this book teaching me new things. A very good toolkit for running D&D-like games.

[Arseni Kritchever · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely amazing book! Don't let the title mislead you either - I've been running RPGs since 1996 and this book still had a lot to teach me. On top of it it's also packed full of resources to be used in any RPG (though it is focused more on fantasy games like D&D, the mystery section in particular is excellent for RPGs set in more modern periods as well, like Call of Cthulhu or Vaesen for example). There is an introductory dungeon you can run from the get go with excellent explanation of how to do it, a ready-made hexcrawl map and locations (again with instructions on how it was created as an example, and on how to run it), and much much more. I do think the book may be a little overwhelming for a completely new would-be Game Master, but it's still an amazing and invaluable resource. Easily the best (and biggest!) book written on the subject, and written in a very clear and approachable manner

[Artem S · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does provide some good ideas. However, it goes into far too much detail and nitpicking regarding all the preparation, and it would only take a couple of sessions when players derail the expected scenario (as they usually do) to cause DM to get frustrated and burn out.

Personally I would recommend picking up several very specific concepts that improve QoL (for example, the idea of a dungeon turn is great, and it's something I'm sure a lot of us have been doing unconsciously). But the problem is, it requires experience to understand what works and what doesn't - and if I understand the premise of this book, it's primarily aimed at new DMs without that experience.

And another gripe I have with this book is that it's long. Not just long, it's LONG. I feel like it's unnecessarily wordy, and at some point it just becomes impossible to continue reading it. A book so overburdened with excessive detail - ironic considering how the author suggests an overly detailed preparation process.

I could not finish reading it as a book from start to finish. But I think I'll sometimes be coming to it as to a sort of guide on specific situations, and, perhaps, one day I'll get to the end. But as of now I feel like there are better books, and this one is just hindering my reading.

[Martin Maenza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw reviews of the book on several YouTube channels I follow, so I knew I had to pick this one up. I've been playing and running RPGs for most of my life, so a lot of this information I have learned from experience. However, for someone new to the latter role, this book is invaluable.

Justin's guidance is universal and system agnostic; he does not need to get bogged down with specific game mechanics which one would find in the rulebooks of a specific game. His approach is also very user-friendly. He takes the time to walk the reader through the process - first in running and then creating a dungeon, followed by focuses on topics like mysteries, raids and heists, urban adventures, and then wilderness adventures. Each time, he discusses what the person running the table-top role-playing game (known as a game master, a dungeon master, etc.) does in order to facilitate the game for the group.

In the end, I came away with several great pointers and tips that will help me to improve my game mastering at the table.

[Aran Jaeger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Buch ist ein sehr gutes Lehrbuch. Es ist ein Buch das eins von Anfang bis Ende durchlesen kann, oder die bestimmten Kapitel wiederholen kann wenn eins denkt:"Mensch eigtl hätte ich Lust auf ein Heist Abenteuer. Was sollte ich da denn beachten?" Eins wird leicht herangeführt an das Thema so das es auch für Neueinsteigende nicht zu komplex und überwältigend wird. Jedoch ist auch schon in den Anfangskapiteln genug für Fortgeschrittene das es sich lohnt diese zu lesen. Die späteren Tipps für Fortgeschrittene sind auch interessant und haben mich persönlich inspiriert sie in meine Kampagnen einzufügen. Ich bin gespannt ob und wie sie zünden werden. Für mich gehört dieses Buch auf jeden Fall zu den Must Reads der Roleplay-"Theorie"-Bücher neben dem "The Lazy Dungeon Masters Guide" und "The Monsters know what they are doing"

[Lachlan Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read a lot of Alexandrian (https://thealexandrian.net/) posts over the years I've found Justin Alexander's advice very helpful and it's definitely influenced my DMing style. This is a great distillation and collection of that guidance aimed at new GMs but valuable to all, even if just to poach some nice systems or put a name and structure to some of the best unconscious impulses a veteran GM might have. Says it's for D&D on the tin so expect special relevance to that, but I would be surprised if any system in existence could not have it's running at the table improved by something in this book.

[Edward Stafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

I consider myself a fairly seasoned, competent GM. I'm no Grognard with stained and withered first editions of all the OG games, but I've played them all and run my fair share. This book is not only an amazing 101 "how to GM" guide, but has great advice for everyone at every level. It's incredibly readable and the tone is refreshingly welcoming. I wish I had this book when I started running games, but I still found all kinds of useful tidbits that I've already incorporated that have made me a better GM. Hard recommend.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first heard about this book I was excited because one of my biggest complaints about official game master guides for RPGs is that they never actually teach you the nuts and bolts of how to plan and run a game, so if you don't have an experienced DM in your life who can teach you how to do it you're pretty left to learn through trial and error.

For a new DM who is starting from zero, this is a usable, practical guide that will tell you everything you need to know to get your first game off the ground, and for that I would highly recommend it.

A few caveats: the book is heavily geared towards the D&D crowd (the first half of the book is just about prepping dungeons) so people playing more tactical RPGs like D&D or pathfinder are going to get more out of it, but a lot of the lessons are applicable to any system. Also, based on my experience, if you follow the advice in the book to the letter you're going to be overpreparing and creating tons of content that the players will never see, but that's something the reader can figure out and adjust as they get more experience.

[Jacob Bonesteel · Rating 4 out of 5]

awesome reference book! highly recommend. 4.5/5

[Mjuffers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book I need to get back to whenever I need it in my own campains. It's a really nice tool to go back to if one is stuck of just need help to improve some of my own way of DM'ing.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only issue with the book is the title suggests it's only for people starting their GMing journey. My current weekly campaign is in its fourth year, and this book has so many actionable ways I can enhance it... Thank you.

[cauldronofevil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been following Justin’s work for many years and his approach to both the science and the art of roleplaying is what him the most intelligent blogger of RPGs I’ve ever read.

I have not seen or read more practical, and useful information about roleplaying anywhere.

And in fact, he wrote the BEST version of Dungeons and Dragons I’ve ever seen. The only one I’d ever be interested in playing in fact.

I have long wanted his eloquent and logical gaming information gathered into a book (and have done so myself from his web-pages). This promises to be in better order.

The book starts out pretty predictably with an example of play, consisting of the dialog of one GM and three players.

Where it differs from what most of us have read before i that it breaks up the example by pointing out the specifics of what is happening at the table. Conversation, Rulings, Attributes, Skills, etc. A MUCH more useful and explicit version of this, making it much more helpful than the usually painful to read sections in other rulebooks.

The next chapter is of course Dungeons. Nothing wrong with that, much as I am not fond of dungeons they are in fact the cornerstone of this hobby.

I’m very glad to see an example dungeon. I think this is often missing from new RPGs which just doubles how difficult it is to get started.

I do wish it wasn’t as “gonzo” a dungeon, however. A Mephits? A Magmin? Uranic? Did he just make this up? I’ve never heard of these words! I do know what a “Plane of Fire” is, but do you REALLY expect novices are going to know that? More importantly do you really think novices are going to want to deal with extra-planar beings in their first adventure? Seems like the example adventure should be a little more earth-bound.

Also, I can’t help notice that there is absolutely NO discussion of polyhedral dice throwing “1d8+3” out there and just assuming the reader will know what that is.

And with AC 17 unexplained shouldn’t you have titled the book “So you want to be a Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master?”

Some excellent advice about mapping (pre-game) is given.

The discussion of dungeon rooms and encounters seems pretty well considered and useful.

There is one thing that nags at me though.

I think it is pretty well known that D&D has greatly influenced most (if not all) video games.

However when I read the discussion of “Mooks” and “Boss” encounters here (and many other places) it seems like the dog is chasing its tail. Video games took D&D and created these ‘Boss Monster’ and ‘Mook’ tropes.

It seems backwards to turn roleplaying into video game sessions mirroring these same 2-dimensional tropes.

Is it just that modern players are more like to come to roleplaying from video games than vice versa? Maybe.

But in the fantasy literature that I have read there is no obvious “mooks” or “boss” villains. It seems to me that to take that track would be to dumb down whatever imagination was used in the story’s creation.

I’m doubt there is anything that can be done about it. Once something has become ‘mainstream’ it is by definition ‘dumbed down’. But it still seems a pity.

The dungeon stuff certainly seems like good advice. I just can’t imagine my Star Wars GM having the patience to get through it and frankly my patience is wearing with it as well.

Though I do realize that ultimately the advice is good advice for any kind of game, the focus on dungeons just seems… passe, right or wrong.

On page 146 there is an excellent illustration of a dungeon! And yet, it has more than 5 rooms!!

I’m VERY mixed on the whole “5-room Dungeon” concept. On the one hand, looking at it like training wheels is fine. On the other hand, if I was in a game where the GM ran a 5-room dungeon I’m pretty sure that would be my last game with them.

To me, much better advice — even for a novice — would be to google “1 page dungeon” or “free dungeon” or “dungeon generator” and take the elements there are and look for these things to improve and for these things which are flaws. JMO.

One subject I think is missing in all this dungeon talk is about some of the more traditional roles in dungeoneering. I’m thinking Mapmaker, Caller, Leader, Marching Orders. How should this be done? What is really needed and helpful for a game?

I’m not going to comment much on the ideas of Encounter Design. They are well thought out and most importantly entertaining to read.

Well, Part 1 is over in 199 pages. And those pages are all Dungeons. Sigh. I do realize that alot of the material is useful everywhere and he points this out. But still sheesh! An awful lot of ‘deep-holes-filled-with-monsters’.

I have haven’t much to say about part 2. It’s excellent advice and well explained. It’s just that it seems very much tuned for the person who is creating every adventure from scratch. I don’t do that and I don’t think the author does as well.

It’s a great idea for structuring the adventures you are going to run however. I just don’t think there’s much to comment on it.

I have to say the Failing Forward section is brilliant. Probably the single most useful tool that most GM’s don’t know.

Progress Clocks in the Downtime section are another huge misstep in my opinion. Adding an arbitrary graphic that you are supposed to color in as achievements are made seems a very convoluted and impractical way of doing something that is much more easly defined as a simple outline of steps needed to succeed. The outline also has the benefit of clarity as well.

With the ‘progress clock’ it looks like every step is of equal size or effort. But of course, that’s not really how it works. Some things (applying for a permit) require much more effort than others (bribing a contractor). A simply outline possibly detailing the number of successes required would convey much more information much more simply and would be FAR more useful if you had to go back 3 months later and remember what you did!

Uncharacteristically of Justin’s usual writings the ‘clock’ idea just reeks of impractically. It’s written like you create and destroy and cross-off segments of the clocks constantly, but you also have to have some way of labelling the clocks so you know which is which from one session to another.

Do you have a specially created notepad of clocks? A rubber clock stamp?

The Social Events section provides some of the meatiest and most useful of the whole book so far. It only makes sense as the social aspects of roleplaying are some of the most difficult to run well. (Why is there so much combat in RPGs? Because that’s where most of the rules are and it’s the easiest to play!)


The Watch Action in the “Into the Wild” section seems perfectly reasonable, EXCEPT that it is very D&D centric. How does ‘rest watches’ and ‘Long rests’ and ‘passive Wisdom’ apply when I’m exploring a planet in Traveller? I wish these had been more applicable to other game systems. Lots of people are playing D&D, but not everyone who bought this book.

Similarly, although the specific mechanics described here are for D&D, the structures can be easily adapted to other roleplaying games.

Well, only if you know D&D mechanics intimately AND you know the other RPG’s mechanics intimately. But actually that won’t work because D&D’s mechanics don’t actually map to any ‘real world’ occurrence. So your other game probably has nothing even close to equivalent of Long and Short Rest, Passive Wisdom, or even Wisdom! It can be done. But easily?

I’m always a little annoyed by the advice to ‘make it awesome!’. My first question is always ‘Awesome for the players or awesome for the GM?’. Because I’ve often found that they don’t both have the same definitions of ‘awesome’.

The Into the Wild chapter was uniformly excellent and practical and I can highly recommend it. And though there is mention of using these structures in other ways for other types of campaigns, it does seem largely tailored to D&D. It can be adapted for other genres but doesn’t come that way ‘out-of-the-box’ so some work will be needed. But I cant complain for what it isn’t. What it is is excellent.

There’s some brilliant advice under ‘The Mop-Up’.

The Supporting Cast section is particularly well done. Both succinct and useful.

Justin’s Favorite Rpgs includes the statement: A cyberpunk game with a radically inventive game system in which you change the world by using Verbs to push Adjectives.

I don’t know if that game is “radically inventive” or not, but that’s description makes it sound like an english-lit assignment far more than it conjures up images of Blade Runner stories!

I’m going to give the book 4 stars. It’s definitely a must-read for every potential or current GM, but it’s definitely marred by a lack of some obvious explanations and mostly a gonzo D&D focus that seems to tell the reader that if you’re not playing D&D you can’t possibly be a GM.

[Stanisław Richardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Treściwa, praktyczne wskazówki. Dla wprawionych MG 70% książki będzie do pominięcia.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved playing Dungeons and Dragons as a child. Fast forward thirty years, and I was relearning the ropes to play Pathfinder with my own child. One of the first, and best, websites that I found to help with this was The Alexandrian -- chock full of useful advice on running roleplaying games, with a particular emphasis on game structures to support a variety of stories.

When Justin Alexander announced that he was publishing "So You Want to be a Dungeon Master", I assumed it would simply be a collection of the existing website content and rushed to buy it anyway. At $25, the existing content would be worth the price of admission.

Delightfully, the book proved to be much more than this. It is a synthesis and extension of the site's essays on creating and running adventures, deliberately laid out in an easy to learn format. If there were a course on game mastering, this would be the textbook. In particular, there is a good deal of new material on brainstorming and crafting various kinds of adventures with nine concrete "Homework" sections to take the reader through this process.

The night we picked up the book from our local store found the two of us curled up on the couch with the "Design a Dungeon" chapter, brainstorming maps of myconid pirate cruise ships and parasite demon infested ruins. I expect that we'll be enjoying this for years to come.

[Junn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que, definitivamente, esta es la mejor guía de Dungeon Máster que jamás he leído. Es una biblia, un compendio de todo lo que se necesita para dirigir una partida de calidad, explicada paso por paso y por temas diferenciados según lo que te apetezca jugar. Creo que todo máster asiduo debería leerlo alguna vez. Yo sé que la consultaré de nuevo de vez en cuando. Recomendadísimo por mi parte y se va a mis favoritos personales.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best "rule" to be a good DM/GM is to be creative, interesting, open to anything, and fun. That's the guiding principle of this book, too. At its heart it's deeply practical with charts, diagrams, and hundreds of examples, but what makes it such a treat to read even for someone far too overloaded to consider DMing any time soon is the sheer joy of creation in world building, role playing, hook creation, brainstorming, and continuity care.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous resource for running all types of games, with clear guidance on procedures, insights, inspiration that can enhance all types of play.

[Anibal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was written by none other than The Alexandrian. Period. Go read it.

Oh, you want a more detailed review? Alright, let’s dive in.

The Alexandrian, aka Justin Alexander, is a legendary Dungeon Master and an exceptional game designer. His online content has rightfully earned a Gold ENnie Award, and if you haven’t already, take some time to explore his treasure trove of RPG wisdom at https://thealexandrian.net/. It’s packed with invaluable insights into D&D and a wide variety of other RPG systems.

Now, for my impressions of the book:
I’ve been playing roleplaying games since 1985 and running tables as a DM since 1987. With nearly four decades of experience under my belt, I’ve read and run countless adventures and campaigns. And let me tell you—this book is a goldmine of knowledge. If it had existed back in the '80s, it would’ve saved me years of trial and error. My campaigns would have been vastly better, much sooner.

As a guide for building dungeons, campaigns, hex crawls, or city crawls, So You Want to Be a Game Master is practically flawless. It provides nearly everything you need to design your own modules and adventures while crafting memorable NPCs and immersive worlds. It also introduces numerous invaluable GM tools and techniques, such as:
• Designing the main villain - the one who escaped and can reappear to heighten the drama. Which might not be the one you thought of as the main villain.
• "Xandering the Dungeon" (a.k.a. Jacquaying), to create dynamic and engaging exploration.
• The "Three Clues Rule" for crafting compelling mysteries.
• Giving NPCs distinctive traits or gestures to make them unforgettable.
• Adding 2–3 descriptive elements to each area for vivid storytelling.
• The "5 + 5 Dungeon" approach: a mix of descriptive rooms and rooms with encounters or puzzles.
• Using multiple senses in your descriptions to bring places and characters to life.

The book is also wonderfully structured with a clear didactic purpose, including exercises and even "homework" to help you apply what you’ve learned. Its intent is to teach readers how to design and run dungeons, mysteries, heists, urban adventures, wilderness exploration, and more.

However, it’s important to note what this book isn’t. It’s not a general GM guide. As the author explicitly states, the book assumes you already understand the rules of the game you intend to run—whether it’s D&D, Pathfinder, or another system. This means you’re expected to have read both the Player’s Handbook and the DM Guide of your chosen game.

Some caveats; much of the advice is clearly tailored to D&D or Pathfinder making them less relevant for other systems, or demanding some extra effort for the DM.

You won’t find advice here on how to run a table, handle difficult players, distribute XP or loot, or consult massive DM tables (although the book does discuss how to create your own). Instead, this book focuses on elevating your craft as a Game Master, helping you design better campaigns, richer worlds, and more engaging gameplay.

Here’s the bottom line:
• If you’re running a strategic-focused game where the GM prepares adventures in advance (especially D&D 5E), this book is an absolute must-have. Its advice will dramatically improve the quality of your adventures.
• If you’re looking for a comprehensive GMing guide covering all aspects of running a table, this isn’t it. Consider this book as an advanced manual for adventure design rather than a beginner-friendly how-to DM.

Justin Alexander’s work is undeniably insightful, and So You Want to Be a Game Master stands as a definitive resource for GMs focused on strategic campaign design. Just don’t mistake it for the be-all, end-all of GMing advice.

[Oscar Cecena · Rating 5 out of 5]

So You Want to Be a Game Master by Justin Alexander is the book I wish had existed 33 years ago when I first started gamemastering. It's a comprehensive guide that’s both accessible and engaging, filled with practical examples that make it easy to follow, regardless of your experience level.

The content is exceptionally well-organized, pacing perfectly by starting with the basics and building up to more complex topics. The "Mysteries" section particularly resonated with me, offering valuable insights on handling this challenging aspect of game mastering. The author emphasizes that a game is not a novel, so elements like red herrings or plot twists aren’t as crucial, which is a refreshing perspective.

While I found the sections on "urban adventures" and "into the wild" well done, they felt a bit redundant for someone like me who plays Pathfinder 2E, where the rules for these scenarios are already robust. However, these sections are excellent for those playing systems like D&D 5E, where the rules might not be as defined.

The book is extremely practical, offering advice you can apply to your adventure tonight. I particularly appreciated the concept of Xandering a dungeon, which gave me a new structure to improve my adventures. Even as an experienced GM, I gained much from this book, especially the chapter on "Raids and Heists." It gave me everything I needed to run a Blades in the Dark-style adventure in my Pathfinder campaign.

However, the book does focus heavily on D&D 5E, which, while understandable as it's the most popular TTRPG, might not be as useful for GMs of other systems. I found myself skipping some examples that were too entrenched in 5E rules, though I recognize the value this focus brings to a broader audience. And we need books like this to be out there!

Compared to other resources, like the Kobold Guide to Gamemastering and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master, So You Want to Be a Game Master stands out as perhaps the best compilation of GM advice I’ve seen. While Kobold Guide to Gamemastering focuses on short essays by experienced GMs and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master on improvisation and minimizing preparation time, So You Want to Be a Game Master offers a more structured approach to preparation and enhancing the quality of your game. For someone like me who enjoys campaign prepping, this book is far superior as reference material, providing both the tools and the insights needed to create a richer, more engaging experience for players.

Beyond just being an invaluable resource for new and experienced GMs, this book has the potential to inspire and rekindle a love for gamemastering in those who may have felt overwhelmed by the demands of the role. Justin Alexander’s approach is practical and encouraging, making the prospect of running a game feel more accessible and rewarding. Whether you’re returning to the GM’s chair after a long break or looking for fresh ideas to reinvigorate your campaigns, this book could be just what you need to reignite your passion for storytelling in the world of tabletop RPGs.

I can't help but wish this book had been around when I was 13, trying to figure out how to run AD&D 2nd Edition for my friends.

[Boris Borissenson · Rating 1 out of 5]

At the time of reading 6 months ago, I wanted to give this book a 3, maybe a 3.5. But now, having tried out some of the tips here, I think it was the final nail in the coffin that led to me giving up GMing for good.

The advice here isn't great. Instead of making GMing easier, it puts more and more stuff on the GM to keep track of, which sucks out all the remaining droplets of fun out of prepping and running games, which is already stressful enough. In particular, I didn't like the node-based system and the 3-clues-rule. They made prep much, much harder to do and not only didn't cut down prep time, but extended it to weeks. Most tips are also clearly intended for D&D, which I don't play, and in general more simulationist and crunchy systems, which I don't enjoy.

It's also not really enjoyable to read. The structure is too disjointed to my liking, and there is a lot of random text boxes with additional tips hidden deep inside walls of flavour text. And in general, you are constantly bombarded with piles and piles of tips, to the point where it starts to become really overwhelming and makes you question if GMing is even worth it.

The tips themselves are often written somewhat poorly and have confusing wording, so I had to reread them many times. The poor structure didn't make it easy locating them either. It really feels like a bunch of blog posts duct taped together (which the book sort of is, in a way).

To be honest, I don't quite understand why The Alexandrian is so revered in the TTRPG space. This book makes it even more puzzling, given my bad experience with it. His advice is frankly horrible and will only speed up burn-out in those who are already struggling with it, like I did before giving up.

Overall, I can maybe recommend this book to more experienced GMs with a taste for simulationism and micromanagement. But if you're a beginner GM who wants simpler things, just like me - steer clear. Or better yet, ignore all those GM advice books altogether; they only overcomplicate things anyway.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this is one of the best resources I've ever read for D&D (and TTRPG games in general). I borrowed this from the library, thinking it would be a book to skim through, and I ended up devouring every page, taking pictures and notes to try and retain the information gleamed.

Alexander has put together a master work of game master strategies, focused on developing dungeons, city encounters, campaign structures, raids, wilderness, and so many other key features of role playing games. He provides a number of excellent strategies for taking your ideas and translating them into balanced, varied scenarios for your players. I can't recommend this enough for DMs looking to level up their abilities.

You get a real sense of Alexander's playstyle and game master approach - lots of old school dungeon crawls, with lots of rooms and overlapping enemies. He doesn't write extensively about in-depth character development, but rather focuses on a utilitarian toolkit for when you're around the table. A focus on dungeon turns, exploration turns, procedural generation, and the stocking of a dungeon, all feel like a classic approach to games like D&D, but he offers structures which can blend beautifully into more narrative, less tactile group preferences.

I can't wait to implement some of these strategies into my game and have no doubt that I'll be returning to this book time and time again as I try to improve as a DM. I would highly recommend this book to my friends Tom and Matt, once they are both done with their academic work and ready for some in-depth campaigns.

[Daniel Tol · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars rounded down to 4

An amazing resource for any GM but especially to new or intermediate GMs who are so overwhelmed by the secretive magic trick GMing a TTRPG can appear to be.

The city and especially mystery and node based sections are so stinking brilliant that for those sections alone it is already worth thrice the price of the book.

Though I think the Raid/Heist and Hexcrawls sections, and in lesser parts the dungeon parts, are way less practical because they suffer from a too complex procedure that could have used a bit more abstract thinking like the aforementioned sections.

But that aside, it is great that there is finally a book about GMing where Justin Alexander truly teaches you the ropes of this folk tradition in clear, actionable steps in how to prep and run an RPG scenario in an encouraging way that makes you really excited to run sessions. It has been long overdue!

This along with Lazy DM and some supplemental youtube videos by Runehammer, Dungeon Craft, Matthew Colville and Zipperon Disney is one hell of a package to start or further ones journey to becoming a true Game MASTER.

[Josefine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

Not new to playing but relatively new to GM’ing, I found a lot in this book that will help me in the future, especially in later chapters. The Three Clue Rule and node-system are but two examples of moments I found myself going “huh, I’ll make sure to use that!”

However, as someone with even a tiny bit of GM experience, I fear this book might make those with no experience at all overprepare waaay too much and constantly rely on dice rolls. “Should the party run into enemies? Hmmm lets role 2d6, divide by party members, then multiply 3d4…” Or, you know, just do what feels right for the flow. It’s also a little disappointing, to me personally, that Alexander spends 200 pages going over dungeons but only 60 or so for all other sections of the book. It felt very geared towards dungeon crawls which, again, to me, is the most boring form of RPG. In all likelihood I will never run nor participate in a campaign focused mainly on dungeon crawling and combat.

So, yeah, much of the book wasn’t for my playstyle, but I still found valuable tips and tricks to making my games better in the future.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a new GM (Game Master) this book ended up having a ton of really actionable and helpful advice. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure how much this book would help but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was the advice good, it was also broadly applicable to most ttrpgs. I’m running Shadowdark right now and even though the author covered mostly d&d 5e and pathfinder, I can quite easily see using most of the tips given. This is a book that I will certainly be referring back to on several different occasions.

The best part about this book is that it’s useful to veteran dms as well as rookies. The most helpful thing I found was how to run dungeons. This is something that I’ve definitely been needing some help with and this book does a great job of outlining how to create and then run dungeons. It even goes so far as to have a pre-made one-shot dungeon as homework that you can bring to your group, really neat stuff. The most useful advice from this section was the 5 x 5 rule. This is where you make 5 scenic rooms and 5 action rooms.

I’m really excited to keep running my Shadowdark campaign. It seems like my group is interested in it and has really grown to enjoy the simpler and more old-school rules. That being said, there’s a ton of ideas floating around my head for different campaigns that I want to run. Whether it’s a giant city crawl set in a world in Magic: The Gathering, a GrimDark survival game featuring vampires and werewolves, or a cute game where players are cute woodland creatures; I’m sure this book will be incredibly helpful with prepping for those games. I can’t recommend this book enough to anyone that has either just started dungeon mastering or is interested in doing so.

[David Strašák · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing book on GMing.

What I really liked about this book is that it gives you ways to structure your campaign notes and ways to go about creating a campaign, or a dungeon, or one shots.

The book is like an organised collection of remarks that can help you:
- Avoid GMing mistakes (make the games as much fun)
- Structure your notes (it will tell you which notes structures to use, but it also gives you more if you want them)
- See campaigns and adventures as a collection of specific scenarios (dungeon, mystery, heist, ...), so you can use them as kind of "mental models"
- It also tells you how to keep things dynamic, so your players won't notice that you are using these mental models.
- Start GMing, by giving you a one shot dungeon adventure :D

The concepts are presented on different examples, usually with a fantasy and a sci-fi setting example of the concepts. So if you want you can take the structures and run a non-fantasy adventure with them - I ran a call of cthulhu one shot and a cyberpunk-esque campaign session while reading this book :D.

[Notger Heinz · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is tons of good stuff in there and I learnt a lot, so thanks a ton, Mr. Alexander!

However, it feels a bit bloated at times. I really don't need to be told how I can make tick boxes or that NPCs need a name. And as much as I appreciated the index at the end, it is possibly the worst index you could ever have. I have looked up about a dozen things and I think I only once found an entry for what I was looking for. Nothing which shows up in a section has their own index, but the section headline does not show up either.

E.g. there is a very good section on creating random floorplans, but there is no mention of that in the index.

So if you are reading this book, do yourself a favour and add your own index at the end, or wherever it suits.

Still, despite me spending so much time complaining about the index: Awesome resource, will definitely improve my game!

[Jon Thysell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tons of great information. Obviously I get why D&D is used as the prime example system, but if you're not playing D&D, know that maybe 30% of the material is D&D specific advice that may not apply to you or your game.

Also, if you're new to GMing, I don't think the author is clear enough up front that everything here is just HIS way of doing things - use it for inspiration as how a very organized DM who's juggling multiple large campaigns might need to operate in order to keep track of everything.

It's very much process-driven, which can be helpful if you're completely lost, but it's also maybe a bit overkill for new DMs. Especially all the stuff about dungeon/campaign turns, etc., that's what he does, and it may be popular with some DMs, but it's not THE way to run dungeons, it's how you COULD run dungeons.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best GM book I've read, and I've read many. The sections on Dungeons & Mysteries are favorites of mine. I've used his node based game prep for years, from his blog posts on his website. But it's all here, and well organized. I love his 5+5 dungeon design.

The only bits I thought were OK, but not great were his Raids & Heists. I kept thinking of how things could go wrong at the table and not finding solutions. For example, he says instead of rolling stealth over and over in a raid or heist, roll once and let that just work for the session. His example was someone rolls a 17 out of 20. What if they rolled a 1?

Issues like that crop up in all the GM books I've read, they stick out here because there are hundreds of pages without issues. Well done!