Good Story Writing

Story writing for TTRPGs is not the same as writing a book. As a dungeon master, your job is to come up with a campaign for your group. Whether that be a pre-written campaign that you follow along with or modify or an entirely new campaign you wrote from scratch. In both cases, the story must include the plot, the world setting, the NPCs, and the adventures or encounters your group will have.

Books vs Campaigns

The main difference between writing for a novel and writing for a game such as D&D is the writing process itself. When writing a novel, you usually know where the story will go – you write the entire book end to end. But the key to great story writing for a DM is to write only a small portion of the story to start. Overpreparing will often go to waste, and it can lead to railroading which ruins the natural flow of the story. As the story unfolds, mold the rest of the adventure around your players’ actions.

It’s okay to have a story in mind before you ever find a group to play with, but it’s crucial to remember not to write too much ahead of time. Before you delve deep into writing your story, you want to consider your players’ characters. Ask your players: what kind of characters do they have? Where did they grow up? What’s their backstory? Why are they adventuring, and what do they want? The most important part of any TTRPG story is the player characters themselves.

Character Backstories

Once you have your group together, we always suggest having a session zero. This is where players can collaborate and come up with character ideas and backstories. Often they will each have their own unique character that they’ll want to play. These backstories and motivations will give you plenty of material to use when story writing. They can inspire story plot points, main events, and challenges for the party and individual characters. Using their backstories in this way can add a lot of flavor to your world and will help you keep things interesting as time goes on.

Character Motives

How are your player characters going to meet? Another great thing to talk about with your players during your session zero is how their backstories may intertwine. Getting them to start thinking about this while creating their characters can be very useful for you when you begin story writing. That doesn’t necessarily mean they have to have known each other previously; it could be something as simple as using their motivations to push them in the direction of one another. Maybe one character seeks fame and fortune, while another seeks redemption for their misdeeds. The catalyst for their initial encounter could be as simple as a king posting a bounty for capturing a famous bandit. Both characters can find value in this event and would be likely to accept this mission.

Throughout your campaign, you always want to keep your players’ motives in mind. They can help you decide where to go next and keep players involved during the session. Say one of your players is a wizard whose entire stock of magic scrolls disappears. You can maintain her interest by leaving hints and clues about where the scrolls went. Maybe when she finally finds her scrolls, half of them have already been destroyed. Now she can decide if she’s going to try to find the thief and seek revenge or try to salvage what’s left and find new scrolls. Either option can encourage her to continue adventuring after her initial mission is complete.

Worldbuilding

Worldbuilding is perfectly acceptable to do ahead of time. But once you find a group and begin coming up with a story and characters, be flexible with your world. If one player wants their character to come from the jungle, but your world doesn’t have a jungle, talk to the player to see how important it is to them. If it’s a big part of their backstory or personality, then maybe think about adding a jungle somewhere in your world.

Roleplay vs Combat

When it comes to the balance between roleplay and combat, you should ask your group what they would like in a campaign. Do they want high-stakes adventure, political intrigue, a giant dungeon crawl, or something else entirely? Are they looking for a light-hearted, laid-back story or a deeper and more provoking story? You don’t want to show up to the first session with a campaign heavily focused on roleplay and little to no combat if your group is only there to bop goblin noggins.

For a group of newer players, you can always start with a good 50/50 balance. After a few sessions, you can incorporate more of what your players enjoy the most until you find the right blend of story and combat that works for you. The dynamic of your group will often determine how your sessions play out. Over time you’ll get a good feel for what your players enjoy, and you’ll learn how they want to play the game.

Impactful & Immersive Story Writing

Every great story you see in books, movies, and video games, moves you one way or another. The key to bringing your stories to life is “cause and effect.” By following up with past events and showing the group’s impact on the world, you can bring more meaning to the story and your players’ actions. These can be events as small as a farmer rebuilding his home with the money they gave him or as grand as an entire revolution due to an investigation your party led.

Along with cause and effect, you should include lively descriptions of events, characters, and locations. Ask your group how much descriptiveness they would like in each scene, and give them some examples. You will eventually find the right balance between giving them too little information and overwhelming them or bogging down the story.

Inspiration

Find some inspiration. It can be as simple as a photo or a single phrase or as complex as an entire book series. It just has to be something that speaks to you and can act as a medium for your imagination. Use your inspiration to guide your thoughts, and don’t focus on the end product. Instead, focus more on what you have and where the story can go. Let your mind wander to new possibilities and new adventures.

When organizing and executing your story at the table, try to work in hints, clues, and subtle notes to build up to major events. Focus on what your players enjoy. Take the time to describe things and events that mean something to the players. Figure out what your players’ favorite stories and events are and why that is. Then use this information for better story writing later.

Rules Are Just Suggestions.

Don’t get me wrong; rules are necessary for maintaining consistency throughout your story and world. But don’t be afraid to change things up if that’s what you or your group desire. The rules are there to act as a framework or guide for creating the adventures you want to have. If you want guns and flying ships in your D&D world, go right ahead! If you don’t like how a particular combat mechanic works, change it!

Talk to your party about the things you may be looking to change, and get their input too! It’s essential to be on the same page as your players so they can anticipate changes and plan accordingly. They may want to add things to their characters that are outside the normal rules as well. As a DM you have to decide if that can fit into your world and if you’re willing to work with it. In the end, the game is yours, and how you play it is up to you and your group.

Putting Yourself in Their Shoes.

When thinking about player and NPC interactions with your world, put yourself in their shoes. Imagine what it would be like to experience the stories and events you are creating. Is there not enough information, or possibly too much? Do things flow well? And is it exciting, interesting, or moving?

Continue to focus on that immersion. Look for the moments when the whole world falls away – when you or your players are solely invested in the story. You will find that players will begin to feed off each other and your prompts or descriptions. Encourage the engagement by keeping the story flowing and giving everyone the chance to be involved or have the spotlight.

Failure is Our Greatest Teacher

Don’t be afraid to fail. We can’t find new ways to improve ourselves if we only succeed at everything we do. Nobody is perfect, and nobody should be expected to carry the burden of perfection at all times. It’s okay to fall; the trick is to get back up when you do.

Feel free to practice before sessions. You can practice voices or deliveries to yourself in a mirror, with a friend, or with your dog George. Be patient, and always keep trying. It’s a game, and the people playing it with you are your friends. In the end, all they want is to see you succeed and have just as much fun as they’re having.