Whether you've been a Dungeon Master (DM) before and want tofine-tune your skills or want to get ready and take the plunge,this is the book for you. It gives you the basics on running agreat game, info for more advanced dungeon mastering, guidelinesfor creating adventures, and tips for building a campaign. It showsyou how to:* Handle all the expressions of DMing: moderator, narrator, acast of thousands (the nonplayer characters or NPCs), player,social director, and creator* Use published adventures and existing campaign worlds or createadventures and campaign worlds of your own* Conjure up exciting combat encounters* Handle the three types of encounters: challenge, roleplaying,and combat* Create your own adventure: The Dungeon Adventure, TheWilderness Adventure. The Event-Based adventure (including how touse flowcharts and timelines), The Randomly Generated Adventure,and the High-Level adventure* Create memorable master villains, with nine archetypes rangingfrom agent provocateur to zealotTo get you off to a fast start, Dungeon Master ForDummies includes:* A sample dungeon for practice* Ten ready-to-use encounters and ten challenging traps* A list of simple adventure premises* Mapping tips, including common scales, symbols, andconventions, complete with tablesAuthors Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker wrote the hugelypopular Dungeons and Dragons For Dummies. Bill has been agame designer since 1986 and leads the D&D creative team atWizards of the Coast. Richard is a game developer and the author ofthe fantasy bestseller Condemnation. They give you the scoopon:* Using a DM binder to keep records such as an adventure log,PCs' character sheets, NPC logs/character sheets, treasurelogs, and more* Knowing player styles (role players and power games) and commonsubgroups: hack'n'slasher, wargamer, thinker, impulsiveadventurer, explorer, character actor, and watcher* Recognizing your style: action movie director, storyteller,worldbuilder, puzzlemaker, or connector* Using miniatures, maps, and other game aids* Using 21st century technology, such as a Web site or blog, toenhance your gameThe book includes a sample adventure, The Necromancer'sApprentice, that's the perfect way to foray into DMing. Itincludes everything you need for a great adventure--exceptyour players. What are you waiting for? There are chambers to beexplored, dragons to be slain, maidens to be rescued, gangs ofgnoll warriors to be annihilated, worgs to be wiped out, treasuresto be discovered, worlds to be conquered....

Foreword.Introduction.Part I: Running a Great Game.Chapter 1: The Role of the Dungeon Master.Chapter 2: Preparing for Play.Chapter 3: Running the Game.Chapter 4: Narrating the Adventure.Chapter 5: Dealing with Players.Chapter 6: Teaching the Game.Chapter 7: Sample Dungeon: The Rat Lord's Lair.Part II: Advanced Dungeon Mastering.Chapter 8: Running an Ongoing Game.Chapter 9: Knowing the Players.Chapter 10: Choosing Your Game Style.Chapter 11: Creating Excitement at the Game Table.Chapter 12: Growing Your Game.Chapter 13: Using Every Available Resource.Part III: Creating Adventures.Chapter 14: Tools of the Trade.Chapter 15: The Dungeon Adventure.Chapter 16: The Wilderness Adventure.Chapter 17: The Event-Based Adventure.Chapter 18: The Randomly Generated Adventure.Chapter 19: The High-Level Adventure.Chapter 20: Sample Dungeon: The Necromancer'sApprentice.Part IV: Building a Campaign.Chapter 21: Building a Continuous Story.Chapter 22: Creating Memorable Villains.Chapter 23: Bringing the World to Life.Part V: The Part of Tens.Chapter 24: Ten Best Classic Adventures.Chapter 25: Ten Best Dungeon Magazine Adventures.Chapter 26: Ten Best 3rd Edition Adventures.Chapter 27: Ten Challenging Traps.Chapter 28: Ten Ready-to-Use Encounters.Chapter 29: Ten Things to Avoid When DMing.Chapter 30: Ten Things to Do All the Time When DMing.Index.