Running Exploration in D&D and other TTRPGs

As a GM, you'll guide players through epic landscapes, turning each step into a story and making exploration a vital part of every adventure.

In tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), the exploration pillar is essential for immersing players in the game world and encouraging creativity. As a new Game Master (GM), mastering this aspect can significantly enhance your campaign and engage your players, whether you’re running a custom-built world or a prewritten adventure.

Understanding Exploration in TTRPGs

Exploration encompasses discovering new locations, investigating environments, and interacting with the world around the characters. It allows players to engage with the setting, uncover secrets, and experience the thrill of adventure. Here's how to approach running exploration effectively:

World-Building and Prewritten Settings

If you’re creating your own world, include unique locations with histories and cultures. When using a prewritten adventure, immerse your players in the setting by highlighting its distinct features. Use descriptive language to paint vivid pictures in your players' minds, emphasizing what makes the environment intriguing and worth exploring.

Running Encounters and Challenges

The heart of exploration is the encounters your players face as they navigate through the world. These might be environmental hazards, puzzles, or interactions with creatures or NPCs. Here's how to run encounters that make exploration engaging:

• Set the Scene: Begin encounters with a detailed description. For example, when players enter a cave, describe the sound of dripping water, the smell of damp earth, and the glint of something metallic in the dark. This creates an atmosphere that draws players in and sets up the encounter.

• Facilitate Creative Problem-Solving: During exploration encounters, provide obstacles and challenges that players can approach in various ways. If they encounter a fast-flowing river, leave the solution open-ended. Can they build a raft, find a way around, or magically cross it? Encourage creative thinking and reward innovative ideas.

• Incorporate Environmental Storytelling: Use the environment to tell a story and provide context. For example, a ruined village might have broken weapons scattered about, suggesting a past battle, or a cave could be littered with the remnants of previous adventurers. Small details like faded paintings, ancient carvings, or remnants of a ritual can offer clues and background lore, making the world feel alive and adding layers of mystery to the exploration.

Encouraging Player Agency

Empower players to make meaningful choices during exploration:

• Open-Ended Environments: Whether you're following a prewritten map or your own design, present multiple paths or areas to explore. This gives players the freedom to choose their direction and feel that their actions matter.

• Dynamic Responses: Have the world react to player decisions. If they explore a cavern and disturb its creatures, introduce changes that affect future encounters, creating a dynamic experience.

Balancing Exploration with Other Pillars

Use exploration to seamlessly transition between combat and social interactions. Exploring a haunted ruin, for example, might lead to combat with restless spirits or a chance to negotiate with a hidden NPC community. Reward thorough exploration with hidden treasures, useful information, or new allies.

By focusing on these aspects, you'll run the exploration pillar in a way that captivates your players, providing an immersive and memorable TTRPG experience.

Voices from the Wilds: Wisdom from the GMs

Zipperon Disney highlights the exploration pillar in D&D (it can also be applied to other TTRPGs), urging DMs to expand their understanding beyond travel and dungeons. It emphasizes discovery through player interactions and a structured cycle of setup, action, and resolution to enhance gameplay.

Deficient Master presents methods to improve environmental descriptions, engage players, and manage exploration. It introduces a 3-tier system for information: landmarks, hidden details, and secrets, offering practical techniques for effective gameplay.

Id Scape Games emphasizes creating immersive exploration experiences by using vivid descriptions, random encounters, and environmental challenges. It encourages GMs to enhance player agency and make exploration meaningful, fostering memorable adventures beyond simple travel.

SupergeekMike highlights the difference between exploration and discovery in Dungeons & Dragons, advocating for a focus on uncovering secrets and stories to create richer narratives and more engaging player experiences.

Crucibles to try out in your next session

1. Describe the environment in detail: Prove vivid descriptions during exploration. Before the session, choose an environment (like a forest or cave) and prepare a list of sensory details—sights, sounds, smells, textures—to immerse your players. Pay attention to how this enhances their engagement and interaction with the setting.

2. Encourage creative problem-solving: Present an obstacle during exploration (e.g., a deep chasm or fast-flowing river) without giving a clear solution. Encourage your players to think creatively and allow them to explore different ways to solve the problem.

3. Incorporate environmental storytelling: Introduce an environment that tells a story through its details. Prepare a scene like a ruined temple or abandoned village and scatter clues about its history—such as old bloodstains, shattered relics, or faded paintings. Note how players react to these clues and how it deepens their immersion.

4. Create open-ended exploration opportunities: Design a setting with multiple paths or areas to explore. Avoid guiding the players toward a single destination. Instead, offer choices that let them decide which way to go, ensuring their actions influence the direction of the adventure.

5. Make exploration dynamic: During exploration , make the environment react to player actions. For example, if they disturb a nest of creatures in a forest, have the animals react aggressively or flee, altering future encounters.

These exercises will help GMs practice the skills needed to run engaging and immersive exploration encounters that captivate their players.