4 DM Tips That Are Proven to Improve Immersion
“The sweeping hills of Faerun unfold before you as your epic adventure begins. Your companions beside you and a sword at your back, you walk.” We’ve all heard these words before. They’re the flowery language that Dungeon masters try to employ when they want to immerse their players in the game. As every player knows, these kinds of descriptions don’t always do the trick. While you can’t force your players to be perfectly immersed, there are some tactics that can help.
1. Music
Music is used in almost every piece of media it can be to immerse viewers into the story. Having some kind of background music can change the tone of a scene drastically. Although, just playing any kind of background music isn’t going to work.
1a. Playlists for Vibes
Doing a bit of deep diving into the themes that you want to explore in your campaign is integral to this step. For example, if you’re doing a typical DnD adventure, you will definitely want a “Travel” or “Happy” playlist. On the other hand, if you’re doing a dark, spooky campaign, you may want to have a “Suspense” or “Eerie” playlist on hand.
Here are a few ideas for playlist vibes to help you get started!
Travel
Calm
Battle
Happy
Suspense
Danger
1b. Playlists for Places
Discovering the tone of the locations in your world is a whole other blog post entirely, but once you have them in mind, you can start making your playlists. Having playlists for a location can help give players an idea of what that area might be like and they will act accordingly. These places can be as broad as “Forested Area” or as specific as “The Mischief Inn”.
When deciding, try to think about how you want your players to behave in these areas. How cautious do you want them to be with their actions? How do you want them to act around NPCs? How should they treat problems that they face? Combine these answers, and then find music that evokes the right mood to prompt those behaviors.
1c. Playlists for Characters/NPCs
Presentation is always key when it comes to introducing a character. Havinig certain songs that go along with NPCs greatly improves presentation! Assigning one song or in particular to a character can once again set the tone, but also make for some fun moments.
Picture this: your players have had a long fight through a dungeon, they’re on the way to rescue a beloved NPC, but haven’t found them yet, then suddenly there are those familiar beginning notes to the NPC’s song! The table erupts in excitement and your player’s gusto is once again restored. These fun moments can be absolutely pivotal for campaigns when your players are beginning to feel a bit worn down.
2. Address the Characters, Not the People
(Peep the Dropout reference)
Players getting to feel like they are their character in the world fighting monsters is the fun of DnD. So, you should address your players as such. If you want them to feel like they are their characters, you should also view them as their characters. Instead of “What does Alvera do?” ask “Alvera, what do you do?”
You can also remind players to have discussions in character. If players are talking about their plans for a heist, but they’re doing it all out of character, encourage them to have that talk in character instead! Putting your players into the position of their character making decisions on the fly is the perfect immersive tool.
3. Actions Before Rolls
Describing complicated maneuvers and convoluted plans is the heart of DnD. The plan is often far more important than the roll itself, and that is why I always ask my players to describe their action before they roll. This tip is something that I include in my set of “rules” that I’ve created over my years of being a DM.
This may look something like a player usually saying “Can I roll perception?” While this is okay, it doesn’t give much context as to what they’re trying to do or learn from this roll. A better sentence would be “While I’m walking into the tavern, I want to look around and see if I spot anyone who matches the description of the person we’re looking for.” That way, I as the DM know 1) What the player is looking for, and 2) How to give them an answer that will set them properly in the scene.
4. Let Your Players Do Cool Things
“The Rule of Cool” is the idea that a DM will abide by this rule and allow players to do certain things, even if it doesn’t completely follow the game rules. I do this quite often in my games since I tend to be a roleplay heavy DM and don’t often care as much for sticking to the rules.
Although, you don’t have to throw away the rules to let your players do cool things. Doing things like providing inspiration in a dire moment, having an NPC help a player on a roll, or even helping your players make new mechanics for their characters can make the game so much more fun. Creating a game where your players feel comfortable to ask you to do the “cool” things is the most important part.
Conclusion
Faerun doesn’t always materialize in your players minds how you think it will when using flowery language. It takes time, effort, and communication on both ends to work. Thankfully, just a few adjustments can go a long way to bringing your players into the world. Stay tuned for next time when I share the house rules I use in DnD and why they work!
