Proactive Settings

We've established, early in this series, the D&D at it's core will function regardless of the skill set of the players and the dungeon master.  This simplicity allows anyone to play, which is an odd, yet valuable part of the game's structure.

This does not, however, preclude the dungeon master's potential for taking a functional game and vastly improving it through a specific, practical approach.  Desirably, the DM should not be "reactive," with regards to the game's play, responding to player actions or in-game events without prior planning or forethought.  There is tremendous value in anticipating the players' actions and preparing accordingly, thus structuring the game so that it can be guided more smoothly.  This latter approach ensures a more organised, immersive experience, simply because it permits better handling of unexpected elements.

"Preparation" encompasses everything that a dungeon master essays to do outside of actual game play.  This includes gathering necessary information about the setting, understanding the rules, studying the game's structure, evaluating versions of the game, pursuing the rules of other games, drawing maps, making tables, sketching out notes, planning adventures, pre-rolling characters... and lots and lots of just plain inventing stuff out of thin air.

Within the context of preparation — as we must approach this enormous subject patiently — lies the broad scope of research, which is distinct from other forms of preparation.  Research is the organised process of gathering and studying relevant materials to ensure the dungeon master has a solid foundation of knowledge for the game. This means, an understanding of the game's setting, rules and potential outcomes the players are going to share. These three categories are comprehensive, covering the core areas that a DM must research, if he or she is going to properly research the game.

It may be imagined that there's a fourth category, such as drawing maps or creating characters... but rightly, these fall under the heading of creative preparation rather than research.

Let’s begin with the Setting. While it might be tempting to dive into how the setting is created, or how best to explain it to players or even to explore its role in immersion or world consistency, our focus remains on how the setting enables the dungeon master to be more proactive, as established in this chapter's outset. Before we can explore that, however, it is crucial to have a firm, comprehensive understanding of the setting — specifically its people, cultures, key figures, geography, history and other intricate details. This understanding allows us to grasp how these elements shape the daily lives of the inhabitants, how they motivate conflicts and how they can both challenge and restrict the players' characters as they move through the world.

This understanding allows us as DMs to anticipate what ought to be going on, not with respect to the players, but regarding everyone else, in a manner that prepares us for when the players wade in.  The setting is not merely a backdrop, but a living, breathing organism, which reacts when poked, tickled or fiddled with.  Imagine it as a gigantic single-celled amoeba, with the players moving around inside it's membrane like viruses.  Most of the time, the players can do this and be ignored... but should they infect some part of the amoeba that can fight back, suddenly they are surrounded by an unknown number of dangerous cells, bent on making right the players' interventions. Knowing the setting gives us insight into knowing which "part" of the world is likely to react when the players interfere.

Suppose we create an example of a village, which as a community might respond in various detail to things the players might do... positively if the players are generously spending their money at the local tavern, suspiciously if the players are asking a lot of questions, forthcoming if the players are already knowing about the nearby haunted monastery, angrily if a player is grabbing too enthusiastically at the serving wench, fearfully if anyone in the party is performing magic, gratefully if there’s a cleric willing to perform a mass, or whatever we might imagine the party could do, prior to the game actually taking place.  By envisioning these responses in advance, the dungeon master is able to smoothly adapt to the players’ actions, seamlessly guiding the story as the village reacts according to these established precepts, and others.

Player choices are, by and large, unpredictable; and much of the time, we will have to invent something to react to something we did not foresee, because this aspect of being a DM never fully goes away. But how much easier it is when something comes along that we did foresee, that we can slip right in without a moment's thought, giving us much-needed breathing room amidst the chaos. Anticipating some things is better than anticipating nothing, while more practice and experience with a given party increases the likelihood of our knowing what to expect.

Where before we had no control over the world's rhythm, preparation of this kind permits us some control... in effect, letting us find purchase on a narrow beam in a windstorm, minimising the chances of our being blown away in the gale. This tiny bit of relief gives greater opportunity to think clearly, which in turn permit the creation of new ideas that can unfold naturally, before other unforeseen challenges once again seize our focus.

Above all, we don't want to fall back into the maelstrom of constant reactive play. By creating pockets of stability, we are able to steer the narrative rather than be constantly washed over by it. This frees us from the exhausting cycle of scrambling to respond, giving us a chance to guide the game with intention and purpose. Then, when we are wallowing, unsure of what happens next, we at least haven't been doing this since first initiating the game... which means we'll be fresher, more active and more able to create on the fly when that moment demands.

In turn, the players recognise the marginal shift in our confidence, our apparent ability to control the chaos... and this gives them greater reason to trust us. As they sense the game world is not spiralling out of control, they become more comfortable exploring it, making bolder choices and investing more in their characters and the game's progress. This mutual trust between the dungeon master and the players builds a stronger, more cohesive experience — which is a bold, necessary step towards meaningful, immersive experiences upon a higher plane.

We are empowered when we're able to gain on the player's actions, instead of falling behind them. We're empowered when we react to expectations instead of surprises. Proactivity is not about control, but about readiness, confidence... and most of all, TIME, that one elusive resource that no DM ever has enough of.