After a long and dangerous journey, three heroes stand at the edge of a mountain of fire. Their final task, to destroy a mysterious amulet with the power to summon the vengeful Dragon God Tiamat, is at last about to be accomplished! But suddenly, the mountain starts to rumble! From the lava below an enormous Fire Titan emerges and swings a molten arm at the adventurers! Will their quest end here? Or will our heroes triumph once more save the world for certain destruction!?

Well that's for your players to decide! 

As a Dungeon Master we craft the framework of a story that we then get to share with our friends, the people who are playing Dungeons and Dragons with us! But how do we go from a quiet little farm town all the way to a fiery mountain with an epic final battle? 

Over the last several years I have DM'ed countless sessions for my family and friends, as well as about two years worth of games right here on Outschool! I've learned some great tools, tips, and tactics for encouraging players to jump into their characters and chart a course through the many trials and adventures we DMs can throw at them. While it might sound intimidating to be a Dungeon Master at first, there are several ways to make your job a little easier and to expand your creativity! 

In our sessions we will build adventures together, design friendly NPCs, villainous Big Bad Evil Guys (BBEGs), draw out maps both large and small, and most importantly, and craft the framework of a story that you can use on your very next adventure with your own D&D group! 

Our sessions will focus on a series of topics to help students create their own adventure. I will demonstrate some free to access digital tools that learners can use (though not required) and have students create their own version during our class period. They can of course continue working on it throughout the week between our sessions. 

Class topic ideas include:

- Planning an Adventure Outline

- NPC and Player Character Creation

- Monsters and Encounter Building

- Map Making

- Puzzles and Problem Solving

- Player Conflicts

- How to interpret the Rules of the Game

Loose examples of how sessions may go are listed below, but each will be adapted to every learner's current ability, where they are in the story building process, and what their gols may be! 

Session Types:
Adventure Outline
     - Brainstorm a Small Adventure or Quest
     - Choose the Setting
     - Decide the Motivation
     - Problem and Clues
     - NPCs, friends and foes
     - "Victory Conditions"
     - Loot, Treasure, and Secrets! 

Character Creation
     - Choose an NPC to design
     - Background and Skills
     - Looks, Design, Color
     - Plot Hooks

Encounter Builder
     - What kind of encounter? Skill, Social, or Combat
     - NPC Objectives
     - Player Objectives
     - Challenges and Obstacles
     - Picking the right NPCs or Monsters
     - "Victory Conditions"
     - Loot, Treasure, and Secrets!

Map Making
     - What kind of map? World, Regional, Local, Combat
     - Design Themes 
     - Tone and Clarity
     - Text, Key, and Labels
     - When to use Maps

I look forward to seeing you soon! If you have any questions about the class please ask away!