I Got To Spend 45 (ish) Minutes With Chris Perkins At SDCC

I was able to check out the Secrets of D&D Dungeon Mastering with Chris Perkins and learned much more about D&D

At SDCC this year, I was one of the fortunate folks who got to attend the Dungeons & Dragons wiseman Chris Perkins discussion of how to be a (or be a better) Dungeon Master. I say fortunate due to the line to get in being so vast there are probably still people waiting to get in as write this over a week later.

I showed up to Room 29CD for Secrets of D&D Dungeon Mastering with Chris Perkins over an hour and a half early due a combination of being unable to get into a panel on the fungus in The Last Of Us and its likelihood of ever actually happening plus my personal anxiety to never be late to anything. When I arrived, I found a sizeable yet reasonable line. I didn’t realize this was for the panel before the one I had an interest in. When I got in, I was tempted to stay anyway and bogart a seat vs risking missing out again. I decided that would be rude if we got to capacity (it was close) and someone else wanted in. Peeking out and seeing only one person in line helped make that decision easier.

I rejoined the line and had a pleasant chat with the guy first in line. If he gave me his name, I have forgotten it. On the chance you ever read this good sir my apologies. Most of our chat involved the line that formed very quickly behind us that rivaled the needed length to create a peasant railgun capable of dropping a Tarrasque.

When the previous panel did finally end the line had looped back to the beginning. My brothers in line spent most of the intern time breaking the bad news to people that “yes this was the line for the D&D panel” and wishing them Godspeed on getting in. Most people didn’t get in. I’d estimate 80 percent of the room stayed behind. I was tempted to hold spots for my fellow Aggrogamers but am glad they didn’t make it in time. Probably would have touched off a riot.

The panel itself was glorious. I wish everyone could have gotten in. Mr. Perkins is a lot of fun to listen to. I’m very envious of the people he Dungeon Masters for. I was unaware of his apparent joy in using Gelatinous Cubes in a variety of ways but audience participation makes it very infectious. Especially when he has a guy wandering around handing out swag to people with good ideas.

One of the biggest takeaways I got (and as a new Dungeon Master, I found it invaluable) is that DM as you are comfortable in doing. Start small and don’t be afraid to take advice and ideas from your players be it intentional or not. A good way to do all of that is when the game is going on as much as possible have a “mouth closed/ears open” approach. Often the players will tell the story for you.

The other big lesson learned was to remember that as Dungeon Master the rules serve you. There are a ton of rules in D&&D but most are fairly flexible and as Dungeon Master you can even snap one or two on occasion. Take this into account when you find yourself painted into a corner and players are dismantling, ignoring, or refusing to follow around the yellow brick road you have built for them.

The last topic I will discuss that was brought up was prep time. There was more that was talked about but I don’t want this article to be as long as the line to get in was. Prep for as long as you feel is needed to be comfortable and ready for the session. If that’s two hours, two days, or two weeks, then so be it. Push back the session if you must and end it when you are ready. Your players will appreciate a strong product vs diluted material to make the session hit a certain length of time.

Thank you again Chris Perkins for the knowledge.