11 Quirky Dungeon Master Habits of the 3 Wise DMs

Do you walk around talking in funny voices? Are you constantly thinking about how game mechanics apply to real-world situations? Have you ever turned a person or thing you know into a Dungeons and Dragons monster? (Did you have your players kill that monster?) … Then you, too, may be a quirky Dungeon Master.

DMing certainly isn’t subtle. The little things we do to prep for sessions and keep the game fresh can seem a bit … well … weird. Sometimes they even drive our loved ones a little nuts. But still, they come out. Because your DM quirks are part of who you are, and no one can stop that vibe. So, at a listener’s request, here are 11-plus things the 3 Wise DMs do that are definitely a bit quirky. Maybe you can relate to them?

2:00 A listener question: Do you guys have any quirky DM habits?

4:00 Weird quirk #1: Our wives and girlfriends are begrudging sounding boards

8:00 Weird quirk #2: Random pop culture quotes and inspiration come out anytime, anywhere, to any audience

15:00 Weird quirk #3: Where do your RPG books live and how do you use them?

23:00 Weird quirk #4: Bringing in people from outside the game

26:00 Weird quirk #5: The silly voices we practice around the house

34:00 Weird quirk #6: DM Tony hates shopping in-game

35:00 Weird quirk #7: DM Dave’s goblin market

36:00 Weird quirk #8: Standing over the table and walking around the room while DMing

37:00 Weird quirk #9: DM Thorin brings Lovecraft into D&D … in every campaign

38:00 Weird quirk #10: The super analog DM

40:00 Weird quirk #11: Dice quirks we all have

42:00 “All of a Sudden!” – quirky things we’ve seen other DMs do

50:00 Final thoughts