Here are the survey questions, the results, the number of respondents, and the date of the poll.
“How do you use the official published hardback D&D adventures (Curse of Strahd, Storm King’s Thunder, Out of the Abyss, etc.)?”
Poll posted June 10, 2017, with 169 responses.
* 42%: “I do not run the official published hardback D&D adventures.” (71 responses)
* 26%: “I moderately alter published adventures to fit my campaign.” (44 responses)
* 21%: “I run them as they are written with very few changes.” (36 responses)
* 11%: “I significantly alter published adventures to fit my campaign.” (18 responses)
“When running a D&D monster, do you roll for monster damage or use the listed static damage?”
Poll posted July 15, 2017, with 530 responses.
* 90%: “I roll for damage.” (479 responses)
* 10%: “I use the listed average damage.” (51 responses)
“Do you play in D&D Adventurers League organized play games, whether real life or online?”
Posted July 23, 2017, with 427 responses.
* 24%: Yes: (104 responses)
* 76%: No: (323 responses)
“Do you regularly have to deal with disruptive players?”
Poll posted July 30, 2017, with 82 responses.
* 20%: Yes (16 responses)
* 80%: No (66 responses)
“Do you enjoy preparing your D&D game?”
Poll posted August 5, 2017, with 427 responses.
* 94%: Yes (403 responses)
* 6%: No (24 responses)
“When running a D&D game, do you use the Monster Manual right at the table to look up stat blocks? Do you reformat and reprint them? Do you use some digital tool to look them up?”
Poll posted August 12, 2017, with 453 responses
* 70%: “I use the Monster Manual at the table.” (316 responses)
* 16%: “I reformat and reprint monster stat blocks for use at the table.” (74 responses)
* 11%: “I use some digital tool to look up monster stat blocks at the table.” (52 responses)
* 2%: “I use something else to look up monster stat blocks at the table.” (11 responses)
“What is the highest-level D&D campaign you’ve run or played in?”
Poll posted August 17, 2017, with 269 responses.
* 3%: 1st to 3rd (8 responses)
* 16%: 4th to 6th (44 responses)
* 25%: 7th to 9th (66 responses)
* 13%: 10th to 12th (36 responses)
* 20%: 13th to 15th (55 responses)
* 7%: 16th to 18th (20 responses)
* 15%: 19th to 20th (40 responses)
“For fifth edition Dungeon Masters, do you roll your dice in the open or hide them?”
Poll posted August 22, 2017, with 914 responses.
* 70%: “I hide my rolls” (635 responses)
* 30%: “I roll in the open” (279 responses)
“Fifth edition Dungeon Masters, do you plan NPCs ahead of time or improvise them at the table?”
Poll posted August 25, 2017, with 121 responses.
* 3%: “I improvise nearly all of my NPCs at the table” (4 responses)
* 28%: “I mostly improvise my NPCs at the table” (34 responses)
* 52%: “I prepare about half of my NPCs ahead of time and improvise half at the table.” (63 responses)
* 14%: “I mostly prepare my NPCs ahead of time”: 17 responses)
* 3%: “I prepare nearly all of my NPCs ahead of time” (3 responses)
“DMs, how do you build monster encounters when preparing your D&D game?”
Poll posted August 28, 2017, with 263 responses.
* 57%: “I use monster challenge ratings as a rough gauge of difficulty and improvise encounter balance from there.” (149 responses)
* 26%: “I don’t really balance encounters. I choose the type and number of monsters based on the story and situation.” (68 responses)
* 10%: “I use Kobold Fight Club to balance encounters.” (26 responses)
* 5%: “I use another online calculator to balance encounters.” (12 responses)
* 3%: “I use the encounter building guidelines in the Dungeon Master’s Guide.” (8 responses)
* 0%: “I use the new Unearthed Arcana encounter building guidelines for balancing encounters.” (0 responses)
“D&D players, of the three pillars of D&D game play, which do you enjoy the most?”
Poll posted August 31, 2017, with 158 responses.
* 59%: NPC interaction and roleplaying (94 responses)
* 27%: Exploration and investigation (42 responses)
* 14%: Combat (22 responses)
“5e DMs, do you regularly alter monster hit points during combat?”
Poll posted September 1, 2017, with 523 responses.
* 70%: “Yes, I both increase and decrease hit points during combat.” (368 responses)
* 25%: “No, I don’t modify a monster’s hit points once the battle has started.” (129 responses)
* 4%: “Yes, I increase hit points to increase the challenge.” (19 responses)
* 1%: “Yes, I reduce hit points to speed up combat or improve pacing.” (3 responses)
* 1%: “I don’t even track hit points.” (4 responses)
References and Additional Reading
Baker, D. Vincent. Apocalypse World. Lumpley Games, 2010. http://apocalypse-world.com
Balsera, Leonard, et al. Fate: Core System. Evil Hat Productions, 2014. http://www.evilhat.com/home/fate-core/
Bradbury, Ray. Zen in the Art of Writing. Capra Press, 1973.
Bulmahn, Jason et al. Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Core Rulebook. Paizo Publishing, 2009. http://paizo.com/products/btpy88yj?Pathfinder-Roleplaying-Game-Core-Rulebook
Carter, Michele, ed. Kobold Guide to Plots and Campaigns. Kobold Press, 2016. http://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/kobold-guide-to-plots-campaigns/
Colville, Matthew. “Challenge Rating, Running the Game #44.” YouTube video, 13:55. August 23, 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xANZTijbrw8
Colville, Matthew. “Running the Game.” YouTube video series, 38 videos. Posted February 2016 to November 2017. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_
Colville, Matthew. “Verbs! Running the Game #35.” YouTube video, 9:37. May 15, 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6w_DRHRDDM
Cook, Monte. Numenera. Monte Cook Games, 2013. http://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/numenera-print/
Cook, Monte. Weird Discoveries: Ten Instant Adventures for Numenera. Monte Cook Games, 2015. http://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/weird-discoveries-ten-instant-adventures-for-numenera/
Crawford, Jeremy, et al. Dungeon Master’s Guide (fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons). Wizards of the Coast, 2014. http://dnd.wizards.com/products/tabletop-games/rpg-products/dungeon-masters-guide
Crawford, Jeremy. “Prep as little as you can.” Twitter, July 15, 2017. http://twitter.com/JeremyECrawford/status/886406932197629955
Donjon RPG Tools. Accessed November 11, 2017. http://donjon.bin.sh/
Don’t Split the Podcast. “DM’s Deep Dive 7 — Voices at the Table (with Matthew Mercer).” YouTube video, 1:07:11. August 14, 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKvjSLt2d4&t=849s
Dungeon Life. “Chris Perkins On Making Your D&D Game Great.” Twitch video. May 10, 2017. http://www.twitch.tv/videos/152173575
Geek & Sundry. “Designing an Encounter w/ Matthew Colville: Part 1 (GM Tips w/ Satine Phoenix).” YouTube video. July 20, 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_-JDmlnFiU
Geek & Sundry. “Designing an Encounter w/ Matthew Colville: Part 2 (GM Tips w/ Satine Phoenix).” YouTube video. July 27, 2017. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wl_v7V3-uU
Heinsoo, Rob, and Tweet, Jonathan. 13th Age Core Book. Pelgrane Press, 2014. http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/13th-age-core-book/
King, Stephen. The Gunslinger. Scribner, 2003.
&
nbsp; King, Stephen. On Writing: 10th Anniversary Edition. Simon & Schuster, 2010.
LaTorra, Sage, and Koebel, Adam. Dungeon World. Sage Kobold Productions, 2014. http://www.dungeon-world.com
Laws, Robin. Hamlet’s Hit Points. Gameplaywright Press, 2010. http://gameplaywright.net/books/hamlets-hit-points/
Laws, Robin. Robin’s Laws of Good Gamemastering. Steve Jackson Games, 2002. http://www.sjgames.com/robinslaws/
Mearls, Mike. “Dungeon World’s concept of fronts improved my D&D games immeasurably.” Twitter, December 28, 2012. http://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/284793099857833986
Moore, Cal and Rockett, Wade. 13th Age Game Master’s Screen and Resource Book. Pelgrane Press, 2015. http://site.pelgranepress.com/index.php/13th-age-game-masters-screen-and-resource-book/
Owens, Nate. “It took one session as a DM for me to understand how little my players cared about all those details we missed.” Twitter, August 6, 2017. http://twitter.com/SanIlDefanso/status/894302283613310976
Perkins, Chris. “A Lesson in Mediocrity.” Dungeons & Dragons website, March 2012. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/lesson-mediocrity
Perkins, Chris. “From Jose Chung.” Dungeons & Dragons website, August 2012. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/jose-chung
Perkins, Chris. “Kitchen Sinks and Frying Pans.” Dungeons & Dragons website, April 2012. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/kitchen-sinks-and-frying-pans
Perkins, Chris. “Old School.” Dungeons & Dragons website, August 2012. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/old-school
Perkins, Chris. “The Dungeon Master Experience Archive.” Wizards of the Coast, 2011. http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/DM_Experience_2011.pdf
Perkins, Chris. “What’s My Motivation.” Dungeons & Dragons Website, July 2012. http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/whats-my-motivation
Ralya, Martin, ed. Unframed: The Art of Improvisation for Game Masters. Engine Publishing, 2014. http://www.enginepublishing.com/unframed-the-art-of-improvisation-for-game-masters
Reynolds, Sean K., ed. Kobold Guide to Gamemastering. Kobold Press, 2017. http://koboldpress.com/kpstore/product/kobold-guide-to-gamemastering/
Shea, Michael. “2016 D&D 5th Edition Dungeon Master Questionnaire.” Sly Flourish website, October 2016. http://slyflourish.com/2016_dm_questionnaire.html
Shea, Michael. “2016 Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Master Survey Results.” Sly Flourish website, December 2016. http://slyflourish.com/2016_dm_survey_results.html
Shea, Michael. “5e Dungeons & Dragons Facebook and Twitter Survey Results.” Sly Flourish website, September 2017. http://slyflourish.com/facebook_surveys.html
Shea, Michael. “An Analysis of the #dnd Twitter Community.” Sly Flourish website, April 2017. http://slyflourish.com/the_dnd_twitter_community.html
Shea, Michael. “Awarding Magic Items in Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.” Sly Flourish website, July 2017. http://slyflourish.com/awarding_magic_items.html
Shea, Michael. “Collected Experiences Running D&D 5e Boss Fights.” Sly Flourish website, November 2017. http://slyflourish.com/improving_boss_fights.html
Shea, Michael. “A Collection of Awesome Events.” Sly Flourish website, March 2016. http://slyflourish.com/collection_of_awesome_events.html
Shea, Michael. “Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition Campaign Worksheet.” Sly Flourish website, April 2015. http://slyflourish.com/5e_campaign_worksheet.html
Shea, Michael. Sly Flourish’s Dungeon Master Tips. Vorpal Quill, 2010. http://slyflourish.com/book/
Shea, Michael. Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures. Vorpal Quill, 2017. http://slyflourish.com/fantasticadventures/
Shea, Michael. Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Locations. Vorpal Quill, 2016. http://slyflourish.com/fantasticlocations/
Shea, Michael. “Sly Flourish’s Guide to Narrative ‘Theater of the Mind’ Combat in the 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.” Sly Flourish website, March 2017. http://slyflourish.com/guide_to_narrative_combat.html
Shea, Michael. Sly Flourish’s The Lazy Dungeon Master. Vorpal Quill, 2012. http://slyflourish.com/lazydm/
Sorkin, Aaron. “I’m Aaron Sorkin, writer of The West Wing and The Social Network. AMA.” Reddit, July 2016. http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4upxne/im_aaron_sorkin_writer_of_the_west_wing_and_the/#bottom-comments
Stephenson, Neal. Snow Crash. Bantam, 1992.
Sutter, James et al. Starfinder Core Rulebook. Paizo Publishing, 2017. http://paizo.com/products/btpy9qy1
Vecchione, Phil. Never Unprepared: The Complete Game Master’s Guide to Session Prep. Engine Publishing, 2012. http://www.enginepublishing.com/never-unprepared-the-complete-game-masters-guide-to-session-prep
Other Books by Sly Flourish
Sly Flourish's Fantastic Adventures
Is game night coming up and you’re not sure what to run? Do you have friends coming over who are dying to do some fantasy gaming? This book has you covered.
Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures is a book of ten short adventures for the fifth edition of the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Each adventure is carefully designed to give you everything you need to run a game, and to prepare for that game in as little time as possible.
Each adventure is written for characters of 2nd to 5th level, and is designed to be dropped into any fantasy campaign world. Whether you run a homebrew setting or a published game world, these adventures can be used as either main adventure hooks or as side quests to be undertaken by the characters in your game.
“The team at Sly Flourish really know how to put an adventure together and it clearly shows.”
—GeekDad
“Can’t recommend Fantastic Adventures by Sly Flourish enough! Just ran ‘The Night Blade’ and our group LOVED it. 6-hour session, and they’re anxious for the next adventure! Terrific fun!”
—Dave Bowlin
Thanks to the support of over 1,100 backers on Kickstarter, Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Adventures features a companion book full of wonderful color artwork and full-color maps for all ten adventures.
Fantastic adventures await!
http://slyflourish.com/fantasticadventures
Sly Flourish's Fantastic Locations
Gamemasters have access to a lot of tools to help us run our roleplaying games. Our monster books and bestiaries give us piles of foes to throw at adventurers. The various guides for Gamemasters are often filled with nonplayer characters, treasures, and story-building tips.
However, one of the hardest parts of being a GM is coming up with interesting adventure locations for characters to explore. These locations need to be fantastic, detailed sites that capture the minds of the players in every session you run. Good locations are hard to improvise, though, and it can be equally challenging to rebuild locations from published adventures without at least a bit of advance preparation.
Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Locations gives you twenty locations to drop into your favorite fantasy roleplaying game. Each location builds on a fantastic theme, such as a mysterious ancient structure under the ice, a cursed castle of a mad king, a fallen celestial fortress, and a dwarven mine that broke into the tomb of a dead god.
Thanks to the support of 779 backers on Kickstarter, this book was expanded to include a total of twenty locations with full-color artwork. Sly Flourish’s Fantastic Locations is completely system agnostic. It’s a useful aid for just about any fantasy RPG.
What locations will your adventurers discover tonight?
http://slyflourish.com/fantasticlocations
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