Dungeon Master Resources

Google Drive is the most powerful tool in my entire GM arsenal. From city building in sheets to character building in docs, to feedback with forms. I use just about every aspect of Google Drive. Below I have a link to a google sheet template that I use for my campaigns. It has many tabs to keep me organized for example: Item Sheet, PCs, City Template, MainCity, Organizations, and World Events

I cannot emphasize enough the power of having a spot outside of a group text where you and your players can communicate about your campaign. I use Discord for announcements to let my players know when we will be playing next. I use Discord to award experience to my players so there is a physical record of what they have each earned. I also use Discord to communicate with players individually and privately to help them build their character on a deeper level.

D&D Beyond is an official online toolset for Dungeons & Dragons that provides a comprehensive digital platform for managing various aspects of the game. It serves as a central hub for both players and Dungeon Masters, offering a range of features that enhance the D&D experience. Here’s an overview of what D&D Beyond offers digital sourcebooks, rulebooks, character builder and sheets, combat tracker, and campaign management, you can even create your own “homebrew” content. This site removes all the complexities of character creation. (As a quick side note. There are two subscription levels. By default, you are limited on how many characters you can create. If you purchase the Hero Tier you can create as many characters as you wish. If you purchase the Master Tier you can then share the purchased content you have with your campaign group.)

Keeping track of encounters can be… complicated to say the least. I have found this tool before dndbeyond had added their encounter creator. It takes a lot of the hassle out of keeping track of HP and who’s turn it is. You do need to do some input, like players and any custom creates you create. But it is so worth it.

As a Game Master, you will be creating a lot of NPCs. But sometimes finding names for all of them. That is where Fantasy Name Generator comes into play. It even gives you names based on what you are looking for! Orcs, Elves, Dwarves, and even different regions of the world, like Japan or South America. In one of my campaigns, I presented my adventurers with an NPC that they were very interested in that I did not plan on having around, so he didn’t have a name. They asked what his name was and I just sat there, grasping at straws in my mind straining for a name. After a few seconds, I spit out “ALAN”. Then every unimportant NPC was named Alan. We got up to 40+ Alans. Don’t be like me. Use Fantasy Name Generator.

As a Game Master, you create the world! And it is so nice to be able to show your players what the world looks like. You can just pencil and paper a map, but this tool has a lot of free options and looks so pretty!

Your players at some point in their campaign will be forced to fight someone. When this happens it is much easier to explain where enemies are and where they are if you have a mini map, or battle map. Again, you could do this with pencil and paper. But this tool is free and makes it look so beautiful!

The most important thing to a DM/GM is knowledge. IT IS OK TO NOT KNOW. It is not ok to live in the unknowing. There are resources all over the place to learn more about monsters, characters, items, and magic. I used a combination of dndbeyond and this D&D Lore Wiki