Dungeons & Dragons has been a worldwide phenomenon for decades, bringing in millions of players every year. Thousands upon thousands of games have been played, many of which involve a ragtag band of heroes trying to save the world from total destruction.
However, not every game of D&D needs to be like this in order for players to have a fun time.
There are many players out there who simply want to play a fun, yet low-stakes game to relax and hang out with friends. Sometimes, the world doesn't need to be saved, but their neighbors will always need some help. For those who don't want to go on quests to save the world, here are a few simple tips to run a low-stakes game.
Have It Occur In A Single Setting
Many D&D campaigns take place over an entire country or world filled with villages, towns, cities, and evil lairs for players to explore. But all this isn't needed for a low-stakes game.
In order to simplify the game and keep things from getting too out of hand, have the game take place in a single city. That way, all focus can be on exploring and developing the city in the best ways possible. Everything is kept limited to this one area, even the villain scheme, so there will be very little reason to leave and explore surrounding areas, potentially uncovering apocalyptic threats.
Emphasize Roleplaying
The best part about D&D, even when playing weird and unusual campaigns, is the roleplaying aspect of the whole thing. This couldn't be more true when running games that have little to no stakes.
With not as much focus on fighting evil deities and dragons, this allows for more emphasis to be put on roleplaying in the game. Encourage the players in the game to roleplay as their characters more than they normally would and interact further with the NPCs in the area. This allows for more character development to be had while keeping things fun and safe for everyone.
Little Combat
Combat in D&D can be annoying even when characters are powered by the most underrated magical items in the game. So perhaps in a game with low stakes, it may be best to cut most of the combat out.
Obviously, there still needs to be some combat encounters to keep the game fun and entertaining. But, unlike long campaigns, there doesn't need to be a battle every two hours or so. Keeping combat to a minimum and keeping it simple is a great way to still bring the fun combat experience of D&D to low-stakes games without having too much danger of things spiraling out of control.
No All Powerful Enemies
All powerful beings like the game's most powerful dragons may seem like a good idea normally, but for a game with very little at stake, including them would be a big mistake.
Insanely powerful enemies will raise the stakes far beyond what is intended for a game like this. Therefore, when considering enemies to use, ensure that they're nothing too powerful, or their goals aren't too broad. This way, everything seems like a simple fight among mortals and not involving immortal beings that could kill player characters with a single spell.
Fleshed Out Environment
As mentioned before, keeping things in a single town can help lower the stakes quite a bit. The important thing is then to make sure that everything is fleshed out and detailed.
Take some time, as the DM, to go over every detail of the town - how many people live in it, where the taverns are, how the economy work, and more. The more detailed the town is, the better the game will be, as the players will be able to better immerse themselves within the town's environment and have more fun with the game itself overall.
Keep The Villain Scheme Simple
Many times D&D campaigns can get wildly out of hand because of overcomplicated villains and broad schemes that can affect the entire world. For those wanting a low-stakes game, make sure to try to keep things simple.
It may be tempting to have a grand villain scheme for world domination (or destruction) but those types of schemes instantly turn the game into a high-stakes slog. A simple scheme, like a hostage crisis or a kidnapping and ransom situation, are perfect for low-stakes games where all anyone wants to do is play D&D without the risk of failing and dooming the world.
Few Monsters
The world of D&D is filled with monsters, from the massively powerful to the classic low-level kind. However, when it comes to low-stakes games, it might be a good idea to include as few monsters as possible.
After all, if the game is taking place within the safe confines of a protected town or village, there wouldn't be very many opportunities for monsters to be included, unless they're being kept in a secret lair or otherwise hidden part of town. For the few monsters that can be included, they should be on the low level or weak side so that things don't get too difficult for the players
Limit Magic
Magic is one of the key parts of any D&D campaign or session, and can be used in many different ways, most notably combat. But for a low-stakes game, consider cutting back on magic a little bit.
In a low-stakes game, combat encounters may not happen as often as it appears, limiting the use of magic. For those wanting to ground the game even further away from anything supernatural (which lowers the stakes even more), they can limit the amount of magical involvement in the game, getting the players to focus on solving their problems with words or with physical combat rather than magical combat.
Only Use Certain Classes
When it comes to a low-stakes game, combat will probably be limited to a certain extent. Therefore, several classes will be a poor choice for people to use.
Classes that really rely on combat such as barbarian may not be the best choice, as those skills will probably be wasted with not that many chances for combat. Encourage players to pick more balanced roles like fighter or bard that will allow them to roleplay effectively while also being able to hold up in a fight with enemies should the need arise.
Relax
The most important thing to do in a low-stakes game is to calm down and relax. Being overstressed while running the game may cause mistakes to be made.
Just stay calm and run the game as normal. The players will relax as long as they see that their DM is relaxing too. The more calm everyone is, the better the game will run. And, in a low-stakes game, running the game effectively is crucial. There's no need to be stressed out over anything - just be calm and have fun with it. It is, after all, only a game.
