Game Flow: Dungeons and Dragons

I’ve recently begun preparing to DM a game of Dungeons and Dragons for the first time. Among many other things, I want to make sure my players are having fun while they play in my game. Luckily for me, I’ve been studying what makes games fun for a while now, so I simply had to apply flow theory to running a game of D&D. Unlike video games, D&D does not have automatic feedback mechanisms or algorithms to calculate player skill and match it with equal challenge. There are, of course, many rules that guide gameplay, but their implementation is almost entirely up to the Dungeon Master. So, the things that video games do so well automatically must be done manually by the DM and the players. In this way, the DM is not only the game designer of their particular game, but in many ways they themselves are the game. This will be less like previous Game Flow reviews, since every game of D&D will be different, and instead be a collection of ways the DM can promote flow in their game. So, here again are the conditions of flow and how the Dungeon Master can include them in their game.

Challenge and Skill. The rules of Dungeons and Dragons include guidelines for designing combat encounters of appropriate challenge based on the level and number of characters in a party. However, many of the numbers used in those guidelines can fluctuate based on a variety of things, meaning that one encounter of a certain challenge rating might be vastly more difficult than another of the same challenge rating. Skill expression in a given encounter may also include things other than simply comparing the stats of a player to the stats of a monster. Strategic and creative uses of things like spells and terrain can tip an encounter heavily to one side very quickly. So it is up to the DM to design encounters that present a difficult enough encounter to challenge the players while also allowing for them to express their skill in various ways.

And combats are not the only type of encounter that can challenge players. Social encounters and puzzles can also be used to get players to solve problems using a variety of skills. The difficulty of encounters like these will not always be tied to players’ level or stats, so balancing their challenge with player skill will depend on the DM’s understanding of their players. In this way, D&D has a leg up over many video games, since it can be adjusted on the fly by the DM to ensure that encounters are balanced for the present party.

Goals. Dungeons and Dragons can be an extremely open-ended game, depending on the players and DM. The players’ goals, therefore, are largely up to the players themselves. However, the DM can take steps to make it easier for players to set goals and easier to know what their goals are once they have been set. One way is using NPCs that clearly explain a present issue that the players can solve or give hints about local points of interest. Once the players have decided what it is they want to do, the DM can describe the world in a way that helps them remember their current objective. If the players decide to go to the local abandoned manor that’s rumored to be haunted, the DM can have NPCs talking about it or signs warning adventurers from venturing too close. And importantly, the DM can also refrain from pushing unrelated hooks onto the players while they already have a destination. Ultimately, the players’ goals are theirs to set, but the DM should ensure that all the options are clearly made known.

Feedback. Providing immediate feedback on the players’ actions is the most important role of the Dungeon Master with regard to promoting flow. Since so much of D&D depends on the DM’s descriptions, the players rely on them to understand what is happening and what the results of their actions are. In combat this might be as simple as saying whether an attack hits or a saving throw succeeds, but players might try a variety of things that don’t have specific numbers attached to them. In these cases, it is up to the DM to quickly decide what, if anything, the player needs to roll in order to succeed as well as the result of a success or failure. Since games of D&D often involve multiple players, it is even more important that the DM be quick about this, as the other players will be waiting for the first player’s action to resolve before they can do anything. This may be the area that the difference between video games and games like D&D is most apparent, since unexpected actions must be resolved on a case-by-case basis rather than drawing on the universal and automatic rules of the game. To ensure that the game moves along smoothly and that players always understand the effects of their actions, the DM must be quick and clear in resolving player actions. This requires either a large amount of preparation or very good improv skills on the part of the DM, and often both. While feedback in D&D may never reach the same speed as in a video game, it’s the DM’s job to get it as close as possible to immediate.

Conclusion. Dungeons and Dragons fits into a unique genre of game since it is both very complex with regard to the range of player actions, but also reliant on a live person to mediate those actions. Similarly to how we’ve reviewed features of games that make them better or worse at promoting flow, individual Dungeon Masters fill the same role as a game’s programming. The DM establishes the challenges that the players face, as well as presenting them with goals and feedback. So, to maximize the enjoyment had by the players, a DM should keep in mind the conditions of flow: challenge matching player skill, clear goals, and immediate feedback.