Tired of spending hours prepping D&D sessions?

You know what my favorite moment was from a decade of DMing?

It wasn’t from any of my carefully planned encounters. It was when my players met this dragon I’d barely sketched out – just some basic stats and a vague idea that it was proud and had a grudge against local nobles. That’s it.

Instead of fighting it (which, honestly, I sort of expected), they pitched it a business partnership. A tavern. And because I wasn’t locked into some rigid plot, we just… ran with it. That dragon-owned tavern spawned more amazing stories than anything I could’ve planned.

Here’s the thing about prep

Too much of it can actually get in the way. When you’re not married to a specific plot, the game breathes. Your players pitch wild ideas. NPCs evolve naturally. The story grows from what’s happening right now, not what you scripted last week.

Don’t get me wrong – you need some building blocks. I always have a few conflicts in mind, some NPCs with clear motivations, maybe a cool location or two.

But they’re ingredients, not a recipe.

The real magic happens when you let your players loose in this sandbox and see what they cook up.

So many people want to play, but no one wants to be the DM

Look, I’ve been there – staring at empty notebooks, wondering how to make the world feel alive without spending hours prepping. The good news? You don’t have to.

It’s something I call being an “Improv DM” and it follows the improv rule of thumb to say, “yes, and…”

Because you don’t need a perfect plan. What you need are the right building blocks to make the adventure come to life in the moment. That’s why I’ve distilled my entire prep process into this simple index card system – it gives you just enough structure to get started without feeling overwhelmed

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