Dungeon Master's Tools - Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Dungeon Master's Tools. The Dungeon Master employs many tools when preparing and running a D&D campaign. As a DM, your tools include your imagination, your ability to discern what entertains your players, your storytelling acumen, your sense of humor, your ability to listen well, your facility with the game's rules, and more. This chapter adds to your toolbox with guidance and optional rules for a variety of situations. The chapter also includes a selection of ready-to-use puzzles, which you can drop into any campaign. The tools herein build on the material in the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. You may use some, all, or none of these tools, and feel free to customize how they work. Your group's enjoyment is paramount, so make these rules your own, aiming to match your group's tastes. Tasha prepares to win another game of wizardly chess against her rival Mordenkainen. Session Zero Establish boundaries. And if anyone crosses them, speak up. If they don't listen, there's always cloudkill... Before making characters or playing the game, the DM and players can run a special session-colloquially called session zero-to establish expectations, outline the terms of a social contract, and share house rules. Making and sticking to these rules can help ensure that the game is a fun experience for everyone involved. Often a session zero includes building characters together. As the DM, you can help players during the character creation process by advising them to select options that will serve the adventure or campaign that awaits. Character and Party Creation Each player has options when it comes to choosing a character race, class, and background, though you may restrict certain options that are deemed unsuitable for the campaign. If there are multiple players in the group, you should encourage them to choose different classes so that the adventuring party has a range of abilities. It's less important that the party include multiple backgrounds, as sometimes...