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Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

  • Downloads：8858
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-04-28 11:56:07
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Michael E. Shea
  • ISBN：1726631826
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is a book designed to help all of us GMs get more out of our RPGs by preparing less。 Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master uses the experiences of thousands of GMs to help us focus on how we prepare our games， how we run our games， and how we think about our games。 It includes practical steps for focusing our preparation activities on those things that will bring the biggest impact to our game。

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master builds off of the concepts of the well-received GM's guidebook Lazy Dungeon Master， updating that book with five years of new experiences， new approaches， and new observations of the way people prepare and run RPGs。 This new book is a completely self-contained work， which does not require anyone to have previously read The Lazy Dungeon Master。

Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master offers a new focused approach for preparing and running our roleplaying games。 The book includes an eight-step guide for lightweight game preparation and is focused on how we prepare for our games， how we run our games， and how we think about our games。

Prepare what benefits your game。

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Reviews

Alan Skinner ，

Thought provoking！I’ve been DMing role playing games for more than thirty years， so I wasn’t sure if this book had much to offer - but I’m glad I bought it。 It’s full of great ideas that will help me cut down my prep time and keep my games fun and engaging。

Michael Holland ，

100% pure goodness。 Embrace the Lazy Dungeon Master lifestyle and improve your game。

Brian Busemeyer ，

Short but valuable read on efficient ways to prepare for a DM session， and to a lesser extent how to prepare for a campaign at large。 Totally changed my focus and organization for the better。 The improvement was on isolating the nugget of preparation needed so I can drop other preparation to save time and allow more improv。 It also had some really nice tips on including players in the creative effort， which I think brings everyone more intensely into the story。Some of the book felt like filler， Short but valuable read on efficient ways to prepare for a DM session， and to a lesser extent how to prepare for a campaign at large。 Totally changed my focus and organization for the better。 The improvement was on isolating the nugget of preparation needed so I can drop other preparation to save time and allow more improv。 It also had some really nice tips on including players in the creative effort， which I think brings everyone more intensely into the story。Some of the book felt like filler， but perhaps that filler was more useful for newer players。 。。。more

Annette ，

Good for checkins and to give a sense of the things I should be thinking about but not incredibly inspiring。 I do think it’ll be helpful to flip through when I’m feeling unmoored in my dm planning just to make sure I’m hitting all the bases。 Giving it a 4 because I don’t disagree with him at all & it was readable， but I didn’t have any ah-ha moments。

Jerrod ，

First off， I think lazy is a poor choice， though I think it is essentially the 'branding' rather than truly the point。 I think the idea that a DM prepares material only to throw it away is hard to quantify into a brand ready name。 Lazy fits。。。 that is the point over and over again。 DM's will have to improvise， try to focus your planning toward learning how to plan what works best for the inevitable improvisation that will happen in session。I found the book was a quick and easy read。 I think I sp First off， I think lazy is a poor choice， though I think it is essentially the 'branding' rather than truly the point。 I think the idea that a DM prepares material only to throw it away is hard to quantify into a brand ready name。 Lazy fits。。。 that is the point over and over again。 DM's will have to improvise， try to focus your planning toward learning how to plan what works best for the inevitable improvisation that will happen in session。I found the book was a quick and easy read。 I think I spent a few hours reading it。 Now， I think I could skim it over and over for a refresher here and there in minutes。 I still think， much of what he outlines here， is presented in his other media。 I had that suspicion， but also thought I wanted to buy the book to support the effort and send appreciation。 I'm not sure if my style of DM'ing will change any more。 But， again， I use the LDM Notion for my preparation notes as is。I was a little surprised to see the most recent review called this out as a very male writing。 I think 99% of pronouns were gender neutral， I think 4 or 5 times it used 'she' as the example。 Out of the characters in the art， I would say 5 seemed genderless， 7 male， and 8 female; including the obvious DM/lich who is in most art pieces。 Perhaps most surprising to me was that they said the images had overly sexualized women in the art， I think fantasy art would have put these as among the most reserved depictions of women ever。。。 honestly， I thought they did a good job with armor that actually protected the chest and body rather than leaving vital organs exposed and unprotected for the use of skin。Initial thoughts~I've been using the system from Mike's Notion RotLDM sheet for a few weeks now。 I'm stoked to have the physical book in hand and take some time reading through a bit more detail。 I'm not sure Mike seems to be looking to hide the information。 The Youtube videos give a good breakdown of each step， the Notion sheet gives the content a good visible example as well as make using the system more intuitive in making it your own。 I am excited to see if there is anything else in the book that I didn't get， but regardless I was stoked to add it to my Library at very least in a way to help the Sly Flourish 'brand。'I now run a rather amalgamous blend of Mike Shea's Lazy DM and Matt Coleville's lazy dm style。 I'm not saying I am a lazy dm， but instead of prepping material that never gets use。 I just keep everything in mind across the week and constantly take notes which go into a notion page on world building， as well as then make it eventually into the notion for each session based of the Lazy DM notion。 I'm putting less time into trying to prepare maps that never get use。 For two reasons。 I like Theatre of the Mind。 It doesn't yell combat at my players like a battle map。 As well， is conductive to how dislodging player choice is to have set maps。 It was insane how much time I was wasting on dynamic lighting for online gaming for players to never go near the maps。 ~ 。。。more

August E。 ，

Returning from a 20+ year hiatus as a DM， this was exactly what I needed！ It's so good at focusing on what is actually important for running a good game。 Returning from a 20+ year hiatus as a DM， this was exactly what I needed！ It's so good at focusing on what is actually important for running a good game。 。。。more

Ethan ，

AwesomePreparing less has made the game more enjoyable for my players and I。 In fact， one of my players got me this book since we were enjoying less prep so much。

Christopher ，

Basic advice for new GM's， would be more complete with a fuller pool of hooks and examples for each "tip。" Basic advice for new GM's， would be more complete with a fuller pool of hooks and examples for each "tip。" 。。。more

David ，

Great Tip New and Veteran DMs or GMsLot of great ideas that any Dungeon Master can try。 I highly recommend this book even if you don't use any of the tips it will still make you think which will improve your future games。 Great Tip New and Veteran DMs or GMsLot of great ideas that any Dungeon Master can try。 I highly recommend this book even if you don't use any of the tips it will still make you think which will improve your future games。 。。。more

Leonardo ，

Solid sequel with some helpful new additions to the insights gained from it's predecessor。 Solid sequel with some helpful new additions to the insights gained from it's predecessor。 。。。more

Nicole ，

Super handy resource for new DMs！

Nic Morgan ，

Refreshing to see I am not the only DM out there that “cheats”。 😂🤣😂🤣

Ida ，

Once again Michael Shea does the title justice。

Waldemarne ，

Mucho mejor que su antecesor。Más contenido y con un método más aprovechado。 Además se ha actualizado a los nuevos paradigmas。

Mo Williams ，

Cannot recommend this book highly enough。 Changed my prep time and made me a much more flexible DM。 10，000 stars。

Ryan Laurant ，

Did what it said on the tin

Michael Broggy ，

For the beginning Dungeon Master - or GM for any roleplaying game - this is a great resource。 It walks you through how to prep for campaigns and sessions， how to deal with the unexpected without railroading your players， and generally how to work on the many different skills that go into making a good GM。 After all， a good GM is how players have a good experience playing together。。。not merely that you have a good idea and want to see it happen ;）

Brent ，

This is a solid， albeit shorter than I expected， read for focusing prep time on the most important aspects of a game。 The bits on secrets and campaign fronts are probably my biggest takeaways， and make me think I really need to read more of the Dungeon World book。 But there's some really good stuff on topics like joint storytelling， combat methods， and player rewards， among other things。My only real pain point is that it feels very focused on fairly low stakes high fantasy games。 Unfortunately， This is a solid， albeit shorter than I expected， read for focusing prep time on the most important aspects of a game。 The bits on secrets and campaign fronts are probably my biggest takeaways， and make me think I really need to read more of the Dungeon World book。 But there's some really good stuff on topics like joint storytelling， combat methods， and player rewards， among other things。My only real pain point is that it feels very focused on fairly low stakes high fantasy games。 Unfortunately， if you want to have a fairly challenging game that is still fun there often needs to be more prep done in places like combat encounters and dungeon mapping。 But that's more of a D&D flaw than a flaw of this book， so meh， I'd still recommend this heartily。 。。。more

Garrett ，

New to DMing？ Old to DMing？ Tall for a DM？ Short for a DM？ This is the book for you！But really， it’s good， you don’t have to read it cover to cover （like all good source books） but I did， haha

Jared Novak ，

An excellent read for anyone planning a game that needs to optimize your prep while balancing a busy work schedule。 The tips and tricks discussed inside help to focus your planning on things that will either be used in the next session or be passed over and be ready for adding into your games down the road。

Rob ，

This is a quick， light read， but there are several nuggets in here that are super useful。 I'm going to incorporate at least a few of the best bits into my prep and session management。 I'm sure it's going to lead to an improvement， and I foresee a couple of issues with my DMing style being pretty well fixed now。 And that's nice。 This is a quick， light read， but there are several nuggets in here that are super useful。 I'm going to incorporate at least a few of the best bits into my prep and session management。 I'm sure it's going to lead to an improvement， and I foresee a couple of issues with my DMing style being pretty well fixed now。 And that's nice。 。。。more

David Thomas ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I don't generally buy books on GM advice。 I've been running games for over 40 years， and I don't often get anything new out of them。 I bought this book because it was coming up in my feed often and I thought maybe a could use a little more structure I'm my prep。 The book is well written and a fast read。 It has great bullet points at the end of each chapter so a review of the material as you prep your games is easy。 The book gives advice and structure for quick game preparation （the lazy GM metho I don't generally buy books on GM advice。 I've been running games for over 40 years， and I don't often get anything new out of them。 I bought this book because it was coming up in my feed often and I thought maybe a could use a little more structure I'm my prep。 The book is well written and a fast read。 It has great bullet points at the end of each chapter so a review of the material as you prep your games is easy。 The book gives advice and structure for quick game preparation （the lazy GM method）， a "lazy" campaign prep method， and advice on running your game with a lot of improv。I don't believe in reviewing anything rpg related without trying it， so I have used the method as written for my last two prep sessions。 First off， I didn't really find any specific ideas or advice that I wasn't already aware of or already using to some degree。 The book says prep should take 15 minutes to a half hour total。 I can't even imagine this。 My session prep usually takes 2 or 3 hours。 Prep for the last two sessions with the book took me about 2 hours。 The book gives advice like roughly basing each npc on a fictional character， and writing a list of secrets for use during play， but it still took me the same amount of time to put these thoughts together and on paper。 The book gives no advice for cooking all this stuff up faster。 I had a nice structure， but I still spent just as much time thinking about these things。 This is not entirely the systems fault。 The system is built for a much higher level of soft prep and improv than I am comfortable with。 I feel more comfortable having more concrete details， and I already know how to shift material I have prepped around during a session。 This book is more suited for a intermediate level GM who is comfortable with a lot of improv and wants to prep very quickly。 I found myself rebelling against alot the ideas， as I enjoy consistency， world building， and a bit more info on the page。 This isn't to say that I didn't pick up a few useful tips during my reading， and I may still use of the structure even if I fill it out more。 If you are an intermediate level GM and you are comfortable adding more improv for less prep time， give this book a try。 。。。more

Jonathan Pettit ，

Great book for new DMs and good for experienced DMs！ It gives a method for preparing for your game session。 I think that Mike's system is great and the book is worth reading as I think everyone can pick up a few tips and tricks。 The book is well structured and each chapter is concise and has a great summary checklist at the end。 For an experienced DM like myself， there are a few things that I plan to use in the future， including the Create a Strong Start （which I always tried to do but didn't "h Great book for new DMs and good for experienced DMs！ It gives a method for preparing for your game session。 I think that Mike's system is great and the book is worth reading as I think everyone can pick up a few tips and tricks。 The book is well structured and each chapter is concise and has a great summary checklist at the end。 For an experienced DM like myself， there are a few things that I plan to use in the future， including the Create a Strong Start （which I always tried to do but didn't "have to"） and the Secrets and Clues （and making them available when appropriate）。 I enjoy the Sly Flourish blog and podcasts and think that Mike has a great positive impact to the D&D community。 My first "book" read by the author and I'll keep reading them。 。。。more

Sergiu ，

Rehashes some of the ideas from the previous book。 Here are some spoilers:Don't Overprepare， just have the bare bones at a meta-level。Be your PCs biggest fan。 Remember it's their story！Prepare to improvise。 Have lists of NPCs， maps， locations that can be easily dropped in。Reskin and smash up already written cotent。， take advantage of the long history of the D&D， but equally other role-playing gams。Just because you spent 3 hours on a thing doesn't mean your PCs will care so prep less and avoid fe Rehashes some of the ideas from the previous book。 Here are some spoilers:Don't Overprepare， just have the bare bones at a meta-level。Be your PCs biggest fan。 Remember it's their story！Prepare to improvise。 Have lists of NPCs， maps， locations that can be easily dropped in。Reskin and smash up already written cotent。， take advantage of the long history of the D&D， but equally other role-playing gams。Just because you spent 3 hours on a thing doesn't mean your PCs will care so prep less and avoid feeling like you have to use everything you prepped。 。。。more

DeadTrees ，

Content Review------------4/5I've read many books about game mastering （may I use that as a verb？） and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is definitely one of the better entries to the category。 The most important piece of information to know before picking it up is that this book largely geared toward GMs who homebrew campaigns。 There are certainly still useful bits of knowledge to be found inside for those who are running campaign books， but those GMs will find that much advice will not be usef Content Review------------4/5I've read many books about game mastering （may I use that as a verb？） and Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is definitely one of the better entries to the category。 The most important piece of information to know before picking it up is that this book largely geared toward GMs who homebrew campaigns。 There are certainly still useful bits of knowledge to be found inside for those who are running campaign books， but those GMs will find that much advice will not be useful in their case。 Second， the title is likely to elicit a couple of appropriately confused questions， and I'd like to clear that up。 "Do I need to have read The Lazy Dungeon Master before reading this one？ If not， what is the difference between this and the other book？"Inside the book， the author clarifies these points。 This book is effectively a re-write of the first。 As such， no previous knowledge of The Lazy Dungeon Master is needed and you will have no reason to purchase it once you acquire this one。 One final note about its title is that "Dungeon Master" is just in there to be found on search engines since most of the kids are playing D&D。 Hell， he even splits up his examples between entirely different genres。 That's all to say that the content inside is abstract enough to apply to practically all tabletop RPGs and is not specific to D&D。I won't go deep into the content since there are so many other competent reviews available。Book Quality----------（I am reviewing the hardback SKU）。2/5Overall: What you would expect from a print-on-demand hardback。Cover: Beautiful design -- all the art in the book is excellent。 I don't know what it is about print-on-demand hardcovers， but they always have exaggerated overhangs。 （"Overhang" is the bookbinding term for how far past the pages of the book the covers extend。） Foredge overhang is a whopping 8mm。 Head at 6mm。 Tail at 7mm。 This much overhang makes me crazy。Binding: Perfectbound， which is correct for a book with this few pages （less than a hundred）。Paper: Cheap， dull paper that mutes the colors。 And being a TTRPG book， every page is color。 。。。more

Tim Ludy ，

Extremely valuable resource for dungeon masters looking to be more flexible in their games and improve how they prep。

Andy Horton ，

A good read on DMing/GMing RPGs， recommended by a fellow GM。 Useful as a tool for reflecting on my own practice and has some good advice and approaches to preparing for games。 I particularly liked the idea of preparing "secrets and clues" and making them independent of specific scenes or NPCs - so if players go in deifferent direction to that anticipated they will still discover what they need to。 I might have liked a little more about how the author likes to develop these secrets and clues once A good read on DMing/GMing RPGs， recommended by a fellow GM。 Useful as a tool for reflecting on my own practice and has some good advice and approaches to preparing for games。 I particularly liked the idea of preparing "secrets and clues" and making them independent of specific scenes or NPCs - so if players go in deifferent direction to that anticipated they will still discover what they need to。 I might have liked a little more about how the author likes to develop these secrets and clues once revealed。The term "lazy" is deliberately provocative - a more accurate description might be flexible， or "agile" in business speak。 It is an approach I like。 So many gamers are time-poor， and preparation time is a luxury sometimes。Very readable and concise。 Each section ends with a recap/call to action which is useful。 I found this a good book to consume as bedside reading， a section or two at a time。Nice set of suggested inspirations， most of which are quite recent - a good reminder that so much interesting genre media is being created these days。 My own inspiration pool might be largely different， but this is as it shoul dbe for each GM。 I loved that one of the pieces of advice for inspiration is to take a long reflective walk。 。。。more

Pru-pruh ，

Just a brilliant support and inspiration for GMs， new as old to the game。I loved this book even more than the first one。 My biggest obstacle when preparing for my own games is without a doubt doing so in a structured way， and this book hands you a really sweet skeleton to work from if that is your issue - one you can of course always tinker with to your own delight and style， but it's a brilliant jumping off point。If you are a newer GM， the examples will help you visualise the points made in the Just a brilliant support and inspiration for GMs， new as old to the game。I loved this book even more than the first one。 My biggest obstacle when preparing for my own games is without a doubt doing so in a structured way， and this book hands you a really sweet skeleton to work from if that is your issue - one you can of course always tinker with to your own delight and style， but it's a brilliant jumping off point。If you are a newer GM， the examples will help you visualise the points made in the beginnings of each chapter。Written in a clear， easily digestible language and including a wealth of extra sources in the last pages， I really think this is a great buy - no matter what style or system of game you're running。This is an amazing ressource。 。。。more

K。 A。 Parker ，

Exactly the book I wish I had when I was first DMing。 I'm all about less prep and more fun， especially as someone who has anxiety about anxiety and wants to adopt a philosophy of not being so attached to results。 Exactly the book I wish I had when I was first DMing。 I'm all about less prep and more fun， especially as someone who has anxiety about anxiety and wants to adopt a philosophy of not being so attached to results。 。。。more

David Wegman ，

Great stuffAs a DM I sometimes get carried away with prepping。 This book has helped me focus on what to prep and what to let go of。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0