How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM Podcast By Justin Lewis cover art

How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM

By: Justin Lewis
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Learn how to be a better DM (Dungeon Master) so you can tell better stories for yourself and your friends. Learn things like how to start a campaign, how to create realistic NPCs, how to move the plot along, and how and why to use session 0's for your party. Join hosts Justin Lewis, Cayden Ottley and Tanner Weyland as they distill all the DM tips, tools and resources for the beginner DM, for the DM with a few years of experience and for the Forever DM who's been playing for 20 years. If you're sick of searching for things like, "How to create a homebrew DND campaign?", click the play button and listen to become the best dungeon master you ever could be! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/betterdungeonmaster Discord Server: https://discord.gg/g77qt8quM2 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/howtobeabetterdmpodcast/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@session0studios YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@session0studios Professional Dungeon Master Services: https://session0studios.com/dungeon-master-for-hire/ DM Coaching: https://session0studios.com/coaching/Copyright 2025 Justin Lewis
Episodes
  • Brief Announcement + How to Restart Your D&D Campaign
    Jun 12 2025

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    We share a brief announcement in this episode... also, to clarify, I realized on relistening that I made it sound like Justin was the one having the baby, when we all know that his wife was the one doing all the work, haha. After that, we jump into a discussion of restarting D&D campaigns, which often feels even harder than starting a whole new campaign! How do you get the gang back together, and how would you pick up the pieces of the old campaign? Listen in to get some tips.

    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Give Us a Rating and Review

    You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

    Join Our Discord

    So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today.

    Discord

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.

    I Made a CR 100 Monster

    I made a Monster with a Challenge Rating of 100 Why? Because I could—and it only took me 5 minutes using Worldsmith. And the best part? You can do this and much more. Get a free 7-day trial at session0studios.com/worldsmith and unlock their full suite of TTRPG generators from monsters to mythic magic items and everything in between. Yep, that’s a full 7-day trial—completely free. That’s a whole week of monsters, magic items, and more—whatever you need, zero burnout. Try it now at session0studios.com/worldsmith. Save time and make unlimited creations with Worldsmith.

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    23 mins
  • Why Your Sessions Fall Flat—and the DM Energy Fix That Changes Everything
    Jun 5 2025

    TL;DR:

    If your sessions start strong but crash halfway through, it’s not your story, your prep, or even your players—it’s your energy management. In this episode, Justin breaks down the hidden reason your games lose momentum mid-session and teaches you how to fix it permanently.

    Here are today's sponsors:

    Worldsmith - Easy D&D Prep - Start a Free 7 Day Trial: https://session0studios.com/worldsmith-podcast

    Roll and Play Press - Easier D&D: https://session0studios.com/rollandplay

    Studio Fantasms: https://session0studios.com/fantasms

    Our Patreon: https://session0studios.com/patreon

    What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

    -The Real DM Killer: It’s not scheduling, it’s session fatigue—and most DMs don’t even realize it’s happening.

    -Mental vs. Physical Energy: Why you’re probably managing the wrong one (and what to do about it).

    -The “Secret Breaks” Technique: How doing less mid-session can actually supercharge your impact.

    -Hydration Science for DMs: Why sipping water wrong is draining your stamina (and how to fix it).

    - Find Your Energy Style: Why trying to copy Mercer or Mulligan might be sabotaging your flow—and how to unlock your personal DM tempo.

    The Big Promise:

    After this episode, you’ll know how to control your energy like a resource, just like mana or spell slots. No more sluggish sessions. No more zoning out. Just peak performance when it counts.

    You’ll walk away with:

    • Tools to maintain high engagement from start to finish
    • Confidence in your pacing, presence, and delivery
    • A repeatable framework for showing up energized at the table every time

    Ready to stop running out of gas halfway through your game?

    Hit play and let’s supercharge your DM style.

    Want this kind of energy in your own campaign? Book a pro DM session at Session0Studios.com

    Special thanks to:

    Benj Weyland for Graphic Design (https://www.instagram.com/benjweydesign/)

    TJ Max, Juka, and TechSenpai for being amazing moderators

    Kyle Wilson, Nick Ammann and Professor Nobody for being our patrons.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Join Our Discord

    So a little bit of a spoiler alert. We’re building an army. That’s right, we’re building an army of amazing dungeon masters who want to make the world of D&D a better place. If you want to join our army and fight by our side against the evil forces of boredom and bad dming, join our Discord and lend your voice to the cause. Go to Session0studios.com/discord and join for free today.

    Discord

    Give Us a Rating and Review

    You obviously have really good taste, you’re listening to How to Be a Better DM after all. We thank you for your support. If you’ve ever gotten anything useful from our show, take a minute to give us a rating and a review. It goes a very long way to making it so How to Be a Better DM can help many more dungeon masters just like you. If you love our content, help others become better dungeon masters too.

    I Made a CR 100 Monster

    I made a Monster with a

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    25 mins
  • Writing a Homebrew One-Shot: Part 6
    May 29 2025

    Welcome back to the 6th installment of our short series on writing a Homebrew one-shot.

    In this episode, we're joined by our friend Rob Van Auken and we continue work on The Chimefall Ceremony: For Whom the Bell TolIs.

    This miniseries is designed to help give you an idea of how to collaborate on a project like this and how to write and publish a one-shot.

    Also, a little bit of Rob's audio is lost at the end due to a poor connection... sorry!

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Brought to you by Session 0 Studios

    Visit session0studios.com for more information.

    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 7 mins
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it help me get my ideas in a more linear plot. thanks Justin Lewis for making this podcast.

very helpful

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