Class Description:

Whether you’re a novice adventurer or an experienced Dungeon Master looking to sharpen your skills, this course will help you bring more confidence, creativity, and fun to your D&D campaigns.

Over five weeks, we’ll explore improv techniques through roleplay, character work, collaborative storytelling, D&D-focused exercises, and plenty of dice rolling to help you become a stronger roleplayer, storyteller, and Dungeon Master. You’ll create memorable characters, make bold choices, react in the moment, build stronger party chemistry, tell better stories together, and learn to confidently roll with whatever the game throws at you.

The course culminates in a live Dungeons & Dragons adventure where students bring their characters to life and put everything they’ve learned into practice. Live on the WGIS Theater Stage, open for friends and family to watch!

It’s also a great place to meet other D&D players, make new friends, and connect with like-minded people. You might even find your next campaign along the way.

For players, we’ll explore how to stay true to your character while making choices that move the game forward, use your stats and backstory to inspire roleplay, build meaningful relationships with other characters, and create characters that feel like real people instead of just a collection of abilities.

You’ll also create multiple characters that you’ll develop and bring to life throughout the course, exploring their wants, beliefs, flaws, relationships, backstory, and point of view as you put them into new situations each week.

For those interested in Dungeon Mastering, we’ll cover practical tools for creating memorable NPCs, compelling villains and mysteries, character-specific story hooks, cinematic descriptions and combat, preserving player autonomy, and adapting when your players inevitably do something you never planned for.

And if you’re a player only this section is still for you! You’ll get a peek behind the DM screen and learn how players can make their DM’s job easier through dynamic backstories, character hooks, bold choices, and collaborative storytelling. Great D&D isn’t the DM telling the players a story. It’s a story everyone at the table creates together.

Topics include:

• Creating memorable characters with wants, beliefs, bonds & flaws
• Thinking on your feet while staying true to your character
• Yes, And, commitment, curious listening & making bold choices
• Character voices, emotions, stats & points of view
• Party chemistry & collaborative storytelling
• NPCs, villains, mysteries & character-specific story hooks
• DM descriptions, world-building & cinematic combat
• Adapting when the players, story, or dice change your plans

Whether you’re still getting comfortable at the table, have years of adventures under your belt, or want to become a more confident DM, this class will help you get more out of your next campaign.