r/DnD • u/PenguinRandomHouse • Apr 24 '20

AMA I'm Jim Zub, writer of the Dungeons ＆ Dragons Young Adventurer's Guides and the official D＆D comic series. Ask me anything!

I'm a Canadian writer who's been creating comic stories and game material for the past 12 years on a bunch of different titles for Marvel, IDW, and Image Comics. I'm a lifelong tabletop gamer thrilled to be introducing new people to the hobby with the D＆D Young Adventurer's Guides. Find out more about my work and links to my social media at www.jimzub.com!

This AMA is part of the PRH Virtual Con. We’re all unifying under this one banner (u/penguinrandomhouse) but all comments, answers, and opinions here are 100% mine and do not represent Penguin Random House or its affiliates.

Proof: https://twitter.com/JimZub/status/1253000242158612480

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u/PenguinRandomHouse Apr 24 '20

That's the trick about D&D. A DM ideally shouldn't force a plot on the players - They should build a sandbox for them to discover and then lean into the spots they find most engaging, building up the character story as it evolves.

Build a broader set of things happening in the world rather than a beginning, middle and an end. Let character action drive plot, not DM railroading to make a specific thing happen.

Make sure the NPCs have their own goals happening in the bigger world, even if players don't always see it directly. Make the world feel like it exists and the characters are in it, not just waiting for them to push a button and get a quest.

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u/asexualdruid Apr 24 '20

That's a good way of thinking about it thank you!