How to Be a Better DM: Dungeon Master Tips for the DM Newbie, the Hobbyist and the Forever DM Plot Armor: What Michael Scott and GoT Can Teach Us About Stakes in DMing
Mar 16, 2026
A playful look at how popular TV shows handle character mortality and why too much safety drains tension. Comparisons to Game of Thrones and sitcoms highlight when stakes feel real or forced. Conversation touches on telegraphing danger, meaningful character exits, plotting arcs with the CASE framework, and when to let players narrate big moments.
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Don't Let Plot Armor Kill Tension
- Avoid giving PCs unearned invincibility because predictable safety kills tension at the table.
- Danny Barrett contrasts Harry Potter's protected hero with Game of Thrones' lack of plot armor to show stakes stay high when anyone can die.
Telegraph Danger Clearly To Players
- Let players experience real danger so stakes feel meaningful rather than theoretical.
- Danny cites Frodo getting stabbed, poisoned, and despairing as examples that make peril palpable to the audience.
Let Character Arcs Reach Real Endings
- Make character arcs have beginnings and ends; consider retiring PCs when their story naturally concludes.
- Danny uses Fellowship endings and Bilbo leaving as models and recommends using the Campaign/Orcs/Session/Encounter framework to plan departures.