Now updated--the insider's guide that shows Dungeons & Dragons enthusiasts how to run their own D&D games More than 4. 6 million North Americans currently play Dungeons & Dragons, the granddaddy of all fantasy roleplaying games. For every D&D game, there's a Dungeon Master--the person who directs the storyline and acts as a referee.

Want to be a Dungeon Master? Get started or ramp up your skills with this fun and easy guide!

Whether you've already run a few Dungeons & Dragons® games or you've decided to try Dungeon Mastering, this book's for you. Here are all the basics of managing a game in the new 4th Edition plus everything that will take your skills to the next level: how to build a good story, design a great dungeon, craft a campaign, and so much more.

• Keep it moving — learn to build challenging encounters, make reasonable rulings, and manage disagreements

• Play in style — find your personal style and develop a game that plays to your strengths

• Be adventurous — understand the parts of an adventure, how to create maps, and how to run monsters and villains

• Risks and rewards — learn to keep the game in balance with level-appropriate rewards (experience points, treasure, and magic items)

• Campaign — build a campaign with exciting themes, memorable villains, and plots that keep players entranced

Open the book and find:

• A sample adventure

• How to improve your narration

• How to tailor adventures for various types of players

• Tips for running published adventures

• Advice on building a continuing storyline

• How to draw dungeon maps and use D&D Dungeon Tiles

• How to create a campaign world

• How to keep adventures challenging through the paragon and epic tiers

Design your own fantasy D&D epic filled with adventurous exploits, cloaked characters, and mysterious monsters

If you're a Dungeons & Dragons fan, you've surely thought of becoming a Dungeon Master. Learning to be a DM isn't as hard as you might think, especially if you have Dungeon Master For Dummies tucked into your bag of tricks!

Whether you've assumed the role of Dungeon Master before or not, this illustrated reference can help you run a D&D game, either online or in person. From organizing your first D&D game to dealing with difficult players, this book covers everything a DM needs to know. Written for the newest edition of D&D by the experts at Wizards of the Coast, the game's creators, it shows you how to:

• Run your very first campaign, from shaping storylines and writing your own adventures to dealing with unruly players and characters
• Build challenging encounters, make reasonable rulings, and manage disagreements
• Recognize all the common codes, tables, and spells
• Understand the parts of a D&D adventure and how to create dungeon maps and craft monsters
• Shape storylines and write your own adventures
• Find your style as a DM and develop a game style that plays to your strengths
• Script an encounter, vary the terrain and challenges, and establish rewards (experience points and treasure)
• Decide whether to use published adventures
• Use and follow the official Dungeon Master's Guide
• Develop a campaign with exciting themes, memorable villains, and plots to entrance players

If you're getting the urge to lead the charge in a D&D game of your own, Dungeon Master For Dummies provides the information you need to start your own game, craft exciting stories, and set up epic adventures. Grab your copy today, and you'll be on your way!