Great DMing: Multitasking

Do all the things!

Perhaps you have been reading all these blogs and saying to yourself,

“Self I say. All the advice from that handsome and dashing Josiah guy seems really good. But this seems like a lot of things to balance while running a game. How am I supposed to keep this all in mind at once?” 

Well, first of all, thank you. You’re very kind.

More importantly though, running a good game doesn’t require that you have all the tricks and skills already mastered and ready to go. Instead, slowly build up your tool kit, lean into multi-tasking, and learn what you need to forget.

Whenever you learn a new skill / trade / discipline or whatever, the rules are always the same. Start small and work your way up. When you are learning to add new tools to your tool kit, you don’t start with a sandblaster or concrete saw. You start with a hammer. Once you are able to swing that hammer without crushing your fingers you can consider moving on up to a screwdriver. Then a crowbar, then pliers, then wire cutters. Maybe next you can try a table saw and so on and so on. If you are fresh to the game, start small and start slow. Eventually, you will find as you add more and more tools and skills to your DMing kit, using them will become second nature.

Second nature or still stumbling through the basics, multitasking can help. I know, you can only do one thing at a time in life.

Multitasking is not about doing all the things as the same time. Multitasking is about switching between all the things at high speed.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much that can be told about multitasking; it’s more like a muscle you train. But luckily it can be trained just about anywhere and still help you here at the game table. Go live life and you will quickly find yourself getting some practice. And honestly, don’t worry too much about it.

Good players will give you some slack where you need it, especially if you are new.

Eventually, as you come to master being a DM, you will see something strange—some of the rules can be bent, and others broken. I only put this here as a notice of things to come but when you master something you learn how to break the rules in fun and interesting ways. 

My favorite example of this is from Ender’s Game. Orson Scott Card taught how to write for years to many aspiring writers, and taught them how to write good intros. But when he wrote Ender’s Game he broke each and every one of those rules. Not because he didn’t know the rules of writing, but because he knew how to break those rules to give his story something different.

In my mind, DMing is even more flexible than writing. Though you need to learn the basics now, you can look forward to bending/breaking them all later.

Last thoughts

I hope this helps. It can seem like a lot when you dig into running D&D games, and it is. But like learning anything new, you can ease into it to gain the new skills you need. As you do, you will naturally learn to hop back and forth between the many tasks that demand your attention. And perhaps one day, break the rules and bring something new to the table.

Up next week? The skill that will cover most DMing flaws. Yep, Energy. We’re going to talk about you out-energizing that bunny.

Remember, all the organization in the world is helpful. But with a DnD campaign, chaos is likely.

#NumberOneJosiah

Jo is our co-founder, resident DM for Hire and a philosopher of tabletop gaming.

Jessie CM

Jessie is our marketing guru, lover of #NumberOneJosiah and a published author.

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