Newbie Dungeon Master Astounded When His Storyline Gets Derailed By a 2-Hour Roleplay Session in the Tavern: ‘I had so much planned, [but] it was a joy to watch’

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jul 2, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Dungeons and Dragons is all about roleplay. 

We sink into our character's backstory, wading through a lifetime of lore, mystery, and storylines that most of the other players will never know about. Serious D&D players have entire histories behind their character and there's rarely a moment to share the profoundness of their wizardry… Unless you find yourself in a tavern, of course. 

With the lights dimmed low and the ales flowing, it's hard not to imagine your team enjoying a rowdy night around a wooden table, a boisterous hearth, and merriment. But when this particular DM found his party traipsing through the doors of the local tavern, he never thought they'd spend the next two hours roleplaying their characters, ignoring the carefully planned storyline he'd prepared for them. At least he'll have a great mission planned for next week!

Hilariously, these are the moments we live for when we play D&D. Scroll for the whole tale of a DM's derailed mission and the hooded stranger in the corner of a tavern that was completely avoided to dive deep into each character's backstory.

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  • 01
    My DND group spent over 2 hours in the Tavern roleplaying 5th Edition
    via StealerofCookies
  • 02
    They just kept talking to everyone and asking every bit of backstory and would take turns talking to every NPC, however they kept avoid the one NPC I described as a
    via StealerofCookies
  • 03
    "hooded and fully cloaked man brooding in the corner casting a gaze over everyone else" They avoided him like the plague as they thought he was a big bad evil guy. It was a
    via StealerofCookies
  • 04
    joy to watch as a first time DM seeing all the roleplay and the chaos of dilemma for the new players but I had so much planned for the session and did not expect it to spend all of it in the tavern. God I love DND
    via StealerofCookies
  • 05
    jeffa_jaffa 8 hr. ago If someone's brooding in the corner then it's only polite to respect their desire for solitude. It would be the hight of rudeness to disturb them!
    via jeffa_jaffa
  • 06
    bamf1701 8 hr. ago Sounds like a cool session! BTW: don't worry about them not getting to what you planned for this week. Experienced DMs have a phrase for this: A Week Off of Planning :-)
    via bamf1701
  • 07
    tmphaedrus13.7 hr. ago Ranger So they ignored Aragorn, then?
    via tmphaedrus13.7
  • 08
    Mysticotton7759 · 8 hr. ago This would be a blessing to me! It sounds like you have great players who are just interested in chilling out and having a good time.
    via Mysticotton7759
  • 09
    It's ok if they are not quick to dive into the story and just want to get to know each other. If this conflicts with your playstyle, just let them know out of game
    via Mysticotton7759
  • 10
    that you are excited to show off the session you have planned and would appreciate it if they could move the story along a bit.
    via Mysticotton7759
  • 11
    Keep the communication flowing as well out of game as it seems to be flowing in game and you all will have a great time.
    via Mysticotton7759
  • 12
    CupcakeTrap 4 hr. ago "DM: At bar you see a cloaked, hunched over man. He wears a crown of bone and blade, surrounded by three sentient rings of fire. His arm is made of steel.
    via CupcakeTrap
  • 13
    Players: who else is in the tavern DM: uhhhh theres a goblin named Sam Smorkle Players: I want to talk to Sam Smorkle"
    via CupcakeTrap
  • 14
    Eiurlon 23 min. ago This happened to me. My party went into the Tavern and were supposed to meet the moody dwarf. Instead they find a family peacefully
    via Eiurlon
  • 15
    having lunch and start interrogating the little girl. And that's how they have a video of me, a middle aged man, voicing a 5yr old girl for 2hrs.
    via Eiurlon
  • 16
    TweakJK 6 hr. ago Doesnt it make you proud? The whole time I'm prepping I'm panicking because I dont think I have enough content to keep my players happy, and then they end up providing hours of their own content.
    via TweakJK
  • 17
    SculkMaster2049 - 7 hr. ago This sounds so fun, if I played DND, which I just need to have an opportunity to, this would be one of the highlights of any session.
    via SculkMaster2049
  • 18
    True_Dimension4344 · 7 hr. ago I love it. We've been playing with some new people. Many of them have never played and it was so funny that we started a campaign and found ourselves in a real odd
    via True_Dimension4344
  • 19
    place that was sketchy and definitely where we are supposed to be and my sweet newbies are trying to nope out of there. We had a small encounter and they were all so excited when we took it down. I loved watching them play it out.
    via True_Dimension4344
  • 20
    Kiri_the_Fox. 5 hr. ago Dang I wish. I DM for a group of people that rarely talk to each other in character, could care less about others back stories, and all play the sameish
    via Kiri_the_Fox
  • 21
    character type every time. I'm having fun with the current campaign I'm running but I'm pretty sure I'm done DMing for this group after this one ends.
    via Kiri_the_Fox
  • 22
    When I'm the player though they always razz me for ending up the main character in every game we play, just cause I roleplay in character and engage with the world.
    via Kiri_the_Fox
  • 23
    DCFud 7 hr. ago I was in a tavern in an OSR last week asking the DM if anyone looked different than the rest. oh, yeah, there is woman with a shaved head and a giant wedged into the place stuck at his table. Good to know, thanks. LOL.
    via DCFud
  • 24
    Kosame_san 7 hr. ago I had so much planned for the session Looks like you have less planning you need to do for next session!
    via Kosame_san
  • 25
    This would be a blessing to me! It sounds like you have great players who are just interested in chilling out and having a good time.
    via canva

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