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The Defence Minister
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
 Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 16:41:53
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Here's a new thing I'm gonna do. From now until I get bored, I am gonna post what I consider a decent piece of advise to DM's once a day. I will do something similar for players in the appropriate forum.
---xxx---
Thursday, 3rd April
DMs, dont be afraid to use the philosophy, 'If you don't know it, make it up'. I have invented numerous power groups, political systems and leaders, beverages and even countries in my games. Nobody minds if you bend the actual published facts a bit, and it makes the game run much smoother and much more enjoyable for all.
TDM
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- TDM (Candlekeep's most popular, experienced and handsome member) |
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Artalis
Senior Scribe
USA
444 Posts |
Posted - 03 Apr 2003 : 16:56:36
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Agreed, especially when it comes to minor details.
Don't look them up, make them up. Keeping the game moving is key to maintaining the feel and intensity of the session.
However here's another tip that I should listen to myself: When you DO make things up, make sure to take notes for later reference.
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Artalis
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Yasraena
Senior Scribe
USA
388 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 03:16:38
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quote:
Originally posted by Artalis
However here's another tip that I should listen to myself: When you DO make things up, make sure to take notes for later reference.
Hooo boy. Has THAT one come back to bite me in the *ss before!  |
"Nindyn vel'uss malar verin z'klaen tlu kyone ulu naut doera nindel vel'bolen nind malar."
Yasraena T'Sarran
Harper of Silverymoon |
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The Defence Minister
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
Posted - 04 Apr 2003 : 18:24:17
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Friday, 4th April
Always have a list of 10 or 20 male and female NPC names infront of you. Man is it embarrasing for a character to go up to someone in the street, require a name and you can think of one.
TDM |
- TDM (Candlekeep's most popular, experienced and handsome member) |
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Lord Rad
Great Reader
United Kingdom
2080 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2003 : 09:33:34
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quote:
Originally posted by The Defence Minister
Friday, 4th April
Always have a list of 10 or 20 male and female NPC names infront of you. Man is it embarrasing for a character to go up to someone in the street, require a name and you can think of one.
TDM
Great advice TDM! I totally agree with that and always have plenty of names and personalities to hand, I always try to use different voices and traits for the characters to avoid stereotypes and to give the players something to remember them by should they need to return. Then I ensure that I jot down the specifics next to the character I am using (e.g. gruff voice - abrupt, or high-pitched voice - bit of a fop, or whatever)
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Lord Rad
"What? No, I wasn't reading your module. I was just looking at the pictures"
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Elrond Half Elven
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
322 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2003 : 12:39:18
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Wow! this advice is really useful, My god TDM your actually telling us useful stuff  . Hmm names, names let me see ill look throught that past post all about names .
Hanx
Elrond |
Once upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While i nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
-The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe |
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Targon Moonrise
Learned Scribe
163 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2003 : 18:38:57
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| I like that. I'm not a DM right now but I'm thinking of starting. Your advice is really good. |
May Melkor smile upon every spell you cast. |
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The Defence Minister
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
218 Posts |
Posted - 05 Apr 2003 : 18:52:17
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Thanx for the vote of confidence guys! Just wait til I run out of decent things to say
Saturday, 5th April
A scenario that happens more often that you would expect is for a low level chracater to make a super lucky role, kill that NPC you never meant him to even fight and get that magic axe you nee wanted him to have, ie one waaaaaaaay to powerful for him. You should always have a backup plan ready for such an incident, when the character gets into sunlight, telling him it's drow equipment and has melted is always a good one. Saying it's cursed is another. Just becareful not to let the game become unbalanced due to accident.
TDM |
- TDM (Candlekeep's most popular, experienced and handsome member) |
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ShadowPavement
Acolyte
11 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2003 : 13:45:24
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A good place to get random NPC names is: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pound/
I usually keep about 4 sheets of names on hand and just makes notes next to the names whenever I use them. It's helped out alot and is generally better over all then comming up with a bunch of names that all sound the same :-P
I also like to keep copies of all the PC's with me and I update the copies every few sessions. I always go over the PC's sheets before every game. The more I do it the more familiar with each PC and the more I can gear sessions towards the characters and the more I can put them into situations that make use of their resources and skills. It also helps speed things up when you have new players that may not be totally familiar with the system since you can quickly tell them what they have to roll and add if you know it off the top of your head.
Just some thoughts. |
Some people would complain if you hanged them with a brand new rope.
-Hanibal Smith |
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ShadowPavement
Acolyte
11 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2003 : 13:52:29
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One thing I forgot to mention was a response to TDM's post about accidentally killing the powerfull NPC and getting his overpowerd magical gear.
One thing I use in that situation is the "principle of relatve power" Basically, if an underpowerd character unexpectedly gets an item that is overpowerd for them, then I just reduce its powers to a suitable level for the character. They never need to know that the +2 mithral shirt they got off their luckily killed enemy was really a +4 mithral shirt of magic resistance 20 and +4 strength before he got it. |
Some people would complain if you hanged them with a brand new rope.
-Hanibal Smith |
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Lich Lord
Acolyte
USA
3 Posts |
Posted - 18 Apr 2003 : 21:32:55
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| another way to handle that is to keep a npc thief with sleeping arrows handy. a powerful monster charging a toll to pass his lair works too. more than one great wyrm had added a +5 swoard to his hoard in my campaigns. remember just because you don't throw high level monsters aginst your players to begin with doesn't mean they are not about. |
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Brad_stubbert
Acolyte
Canada
14 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2003 : 01:55:37
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Wow! im' a new DM i have only been doing it for about a mobth and i noticed i was doing a bad job so i sat down and read everything i could find including this finally the players are not overpowering every thing that last tip is really useful keep the tips comming they are really good!
Just a single question, how long have you been a DM? |
Brad Stubbert- The Spider Mage |
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Lazerrus
Acolyte
18 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2003 : 02:48:29
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| I believe you should always make what you run your own. When I run the Realms I still make it my own. The supplement are great for knowledge and timeline but it does not mean you have to go by every single detail in the books. Throw some things in there that are new or new twists on old knowledge. If you have a player that knows every single thing about forgotten realms then will it be fun for him to play? Maybe and maybe not. Just a thought. |
If it be the will of Corellon, It shall be done! |
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MelkorUnchained
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 00:43:51
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This might not be on topic, but since you guys posting here have a grip on how to be a DM, would you mind if I ask you a question or two?
Not that you have a choice, mwahahaha.
Anyway, I'm relativly new to Forgotten Realms, and RPG's in general, but I am currently involved in a small gaming group that just popped up. Thing is, none of us know a whole lot about being a DM, and we've seen some pretty crappy sessions because of it. Since I seemed to know what I was doing a little better than anyone else seemed to, it falls to me to be DM next time. (None of our games have lasted more than 2-3 sessions.) I thinkI have it all down, except for combat. I know this is pretty elementary to RPGs, but I've always had a hard time with it, and I believe the reason is that I never used miniatures. That said, how exactly does one go about incorporating miniatures into gameplay?
I was thinking about drawing up a rough grip pattern on the computer to represent all the major battles I have planned out (plus a few "generic" grids for other use) and use each square=10 feet scale, but all this is just speculation, as I can't find anything in the rulebooks I've downloaded that give any sort of "official" miniature rules except to use 10 feet to the inch.
Anyway, I don't want to ramble on forever about this, but I would really appreciate your help. If you have the time to explain how you incorporate mini's (or maybe you don't use them at all!) into your combat, I would greatly appreciate it, because my combat seems very "sloppy" to me, though my players tell my that they're having fun.
Thanks in advance. Adiu, Adiu, Remember me. |
"Your saying I could dodge arrows?"
"No, I'm saying that when your ready, you won't have to." |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 01:39:55
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I never used mini's until 3rd edition rolled around. for 2e I used to have my own sketch pad and from that describe the battle to the players which worked well for years (and the fact I could envision the 3D battle in my head for so many years, helped me ALOT in ORGANIC CHEMISTRY). With 3e, I decided to use minis because 3e works so well for thier use.
FIRST off make life easy for yourself Morgoth by buying a grid mat. Living Castles, and others make these mats. They are already set up with hexes/squares of the popular scale now. They come in a variety of sizes, and are washable. THis will cut out alot of confusion. THEN you must come to understand (if you haven't already) that D&D combat is based on the five foot square. 120 degrees in front dex bonus counts, any other sneak attack applies. You must understand facing, and ATTACKS of Oppurtunity. Typical humanoids threaten all 5 foot squares next to them.
My advice, read the Combat chapter, and Run a fake combat with two minis on the map, to try the rules out. This is probably a good place for you to start asking questions and then we can better give you advice from here.
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
Edited by - Mournblade on 22 Apr 2003 01:41:07 |
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MelkorUnchained
Acolyte
USA
7 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 04:10:53
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Thanks a lot Mournblade. I got some blank hex maps offline and did some mock battles. I think that it helped a lot, so I'm looking forward to using them in my next game.
I'd say more about it, but it's late and I'm wasted , so I'm just gonna leave it at that.
Thanks a ton for the help. |
"Your saying I could dodge arrows?"
"No, I'm saying that when your ready, you won't have to." |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 06:44:53
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No worries Melkor, glad to be of service.
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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branmakmuffin
Senior Scribe
USA
428 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 17:54:00
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The Defence Minister:
Saturday, 5th April
quote:
A scenario that happens more often that you would expect is for a low level chracater to make a super lucky role, kill that NPC you never meant him to even fight and get that magic axe you nee wanted him to have, ie one waaaaaaaay to powerful for him. You should always have a backup plan ready for such an incident, when the character gets into sunlight, telling him it's drow equipment and has melted is always a good one. Saying it's cursed is another. Just becareful not to let the game become unbalanced due to accident
No offense, but I think that's cheap. If you (the DM) put a powerful item in the hands of an NPC you expect the PCs to be unable to kill, and they do it, c'est la guerre. If you had a totally blameless high-level PC killed by a murderous band of farmers with pitchforks (a virtual impossibility given D&D hit points, but let's assume for the sake of argument it can happen), would you "unkill" him? |
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Elrond Half Elven
Learned Scribe
United Kingdom
322 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2003 : 21:46:47
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Ahh a demon in our midsts! Help, Fire, Flee, Foes. Run before Melkor gets Gothmog to strike you down!. (Welcome Melkor)
Ok on Topic now:
Mournblades Advice is unfaulting as usual! Here is a quick tip i can give:
Find out what your players like:
Find out if they like lots of quick combats with lesser foe.
OR
If the prefere long drawn out battles that are several Encounter Levels too high for them, Ones in which tactics will win against their opponents. Also 3 or 4 way combats are fun if you want to spice things up a bit.
I recantally ran one of these in the "Randal Morn Trilogy" . Any good luck Melkor.
And 3E is deffinetally the best for using Minatures! It's just a bit weird having to adapt my old 1 inch is 10 ft maps to the new rules!
Hanx
Elrond |
Once upon a midnight dreary, while i pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore-
While i nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
-The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe |
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Mournblade
Master of Realmslore
USA
1287 Posts |
Posted - 23 Apr 2003 : 00:56:07
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Bran is absolutely right in that if a character defeats the DM's plan the DM should roll with the punch. Your backup plan should be "What will happen IF the player gets the ... uberthing" Be prepared to deal with that, or don't put the uberthing into the NPC's Hand.
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A wizard is Never late Frodo Baggins. Nor is he Early. A wizard arrives precisely when he means to... |
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TDM's 'DM Tip of the Day'
