Dungeons and Dragons- DM Tips

[misterbobperson]

Or if you're feeling trolly, feel free to cuss me out for using 4th edition.

4th edition? Pathfinder's so much better

Ya, if you like mini maxing kids games. 2nd edition is where the real role players spend their time.

No man, AD&D is where the roleplaying is at...if you want to roleplay dying

 

[Dangerousbeans]

One of the things that helps me plan for an adventure is to think back to any games I've played that gave me multiple ways to solve the adventure. The more paths and solutions you plan for the more likely you are to know what's coming. Remember the two rules of impromptu DMing:
1)If it would make the roll easier +2, -2 if it makes it harder somehow.
2)When in doubt, roll and shout! 2-10 It fails, 11-19 it works. Criticals are always epic.

A good adventure evokes emotion from the characters and the players. I always plan for one jaw-drop; sometimes because of a cool location, an epic event, or (my personal favorite)the "Oh my god we are so screwed/all gonna die!". Keep the players invested in the moment or throw in small twists (sonic or cold fireball, wizard in full plate) and they'll overlook any mistakes you might make. Above all have fun, and spin a good yarn!

 

[KEM10]

Or if you're feeling trolly, feel free to cuss me out for using 4th edition.

4th edition? Pathfinder's so much better

Ya, if you like mini maxing kids games. 2nd edition is where the real role players spend their time.

No man, AD&D is where the roleplaying is at...if you want to roleplay dying

Only if you're bad at it.

On a serious note. Don't listen to ANYONE when they say x system is better than y. Most of the time their bias is showing and people generally prefer the first system they get to know (I am still a new WoD fanboy).

Also, relax. Every DM has their own system and style, the only time you are doing something wrong is when no one is having fun.

 

[Jfswift]

I'm personally not a fan of the, "playing along in someone else's story" kind of dm'ing. For instance the last group I played with had a gm who basically was telling a story, which I had little to no involvement in what was going on. Also, don't let your group grow beyond 7 people unless you have a second gm. Additionally I don't recommend having other people come over that wont be playing. They can be really disruptive and annoying when you're trying to do a game.

As for the actual game, I was reading an article on here that I agree with. Basically the person who wrote it suggested having a living world, more or less with at least a quick back story for a bunch of locations and letting players explore it on their own (have events going on in the world, that more than likely will require or get the players attention). I could be wrong about all of this, just posting my two cents really.

Agreed, but I'd say don't even attempt having a Co-DM. I tried that once. We had... different ideas of where we wanted to take the campaign. He had a boring idea in mind. When I realized I didn't have much say other than a few characters and ideas, I decided to make gags out of certain things which livened it up a bit. A very schizophrenic campaign it was.

I haven't actually played with more than one DM so I was wondering if that worked well or not. You answered one question I had, (although that does sound funny the way you handled it hehe).

 

[Aussy pyro]

I'm in sort of the same place, just starting D&D and got appointed DM, which I take as a huge compliment. Anyway TheOutsiders68 on youtube have a series of DMs tips that I found immensely enlightening. Give them a shot, they'll at least provide ideas. DMs tips #1 is right here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mqc2KJWCnak For the record i have nothing to do with them but for having watched them. And hey, let me know how 4th ed is working for your group some time, send me a message, we're starting with 3.5 (although I preffer 4s character customisation which I'm piling cartloads of energy into porting across).

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Or if you're feeling trolly, feel free to cuss me out for using 4th edition.

4th edition? Pathfinder's so much better

Ya, if you like mini maxing kids games. 2nd edition is where the real role players spend their time.

Get outta here, you old Grognard . Having played 2nd edition and 3.x for years, I can safely say that a good chunk of 2nd ed. mechanics were thoroughly screwy and counter-intuitive. 3.x allows for a lot more customization of abilities and powers, and the whole d20+modifiers vs. DC is way simpler than all the arcane tables and THAC0 of 2nd ed.

 

[LordLundar]

Best advice I can offer is to play it loose. The whole concept is that the players guide the story, you guide the events around them. Don't try to protect them by saying "you can't do that", instead, explain the results of their actions in as much detail as you can. As an example, if one of your players tries to kill an NPC that they need for a quest, allow them to try. If they fail, oh well, lesson learned (hopefully). If they succeed, then they find out later that they can't continue the quest and it's a lesson learned.

The DM is the story teller, the characters are the story makers.

 

[Anachronism]

I will also mention: Don't plan too much.

This is good advice. It's a good idea, obviously, to have some idea of overall goals and have a few encounters planned, but it won't take most players long at all to completely derail what you had planned. Case in point: in the first session of the last game I played, we ended up completely sidetracked from what we were meant to be doing and spent most of the session in a brothel. The barbarian caught an STD. Fun times.

Also: 4th Edition is definitely better than 3rd, but AD&D 2nd Edition is still, in my opinion, the best one.

2nd edition is where the real role players spend their time.

Preach on!

 

[BabySinclair]

Plan ahead for contingency plans, players will screw you over if you try to railroad them.

Try to get them as close to death as possible while remaining fair. They'll remember those games better but don't do it every time or they'll think themselves invincible, kill when you have too but make sure it happens naturally and not forced.

 

[THAC0]

um, i don't know if this will be helpful or not, but a while back i did a series of videos trying to help game masters get ready for games and running them.

http://www.youtube.com/user/RPGchannel?feature=mhum#p/u/103/8kSkUYbKUeA

not all of this will apply to you since you already know the game you are going to play and know the rules., but a lot of it is very general.

 

[crudus]

In addition to previous mentioned good tips, I give you this one:

If you plan to make/have large-impact events ingame, make sure the players feel the effcts and have proper warning.

That is to say, wars increase prices and make people worried - also affects the rumour-mill in towns. Most likely, before the war, there have been news of worsening relations, rumours of troop movements, increased price in durable rations and weapons and so forth.

A mad wizard rising up from nowhere and summoning an army of skeletons will make the more estaclished orders active and intriqued - you could expect several paladins for example to be travelling to or visiting the area.

What I mean with this is: Notable events never happen without warning, and never without impact. Don't just spring large armies without warning on the town they are staying at, don't just make large groups of goblins or kobolds migrate nearby for a convenient dungeon and advertise it as such - rather have NPC spread stories of killed and stolen kattle, raided farmhouses and twitchy travelling merchants. ANd think of a basic good reason for why the army is sieging that town or the kobolds migrated nearby - nothing on that scale happens without an appropriate reason. Perhaps the town is of significant strategic importance, perhaps it houses the major weaponsmiths in the area, perhaps it is a local farm community and has plenty of food. Perhaps there are mountains nearby with convenient caverns and the local security is known to be lax and inefficient.

Plan some major motivations, for groups and characters, ahead of time. One or two is enough. So that when things go off the rails you can still portray are consistent, living world where people and groups have resources, objectives and goals - just like the players.

And if the player characters feel like they are without direction, have each player come up with two or three defining characteristics for their character (such as greedy, deceitful, dislikes lying, always haggling when purchasing or selling, suspicious of city-folk, dislikes dense forests, dislikes brainless brutes, has a hidden hatred of wizards etc), and a long-term goal as well as a short-term goal. Discuss these with them and set beforehand the conditions for reaching these goals - such as being accepted as a member to a wizards guild, being friends with city guard commander, recovering holy object X for his church, proving thievery and burglary as efficient ways of funding the party etc. Remember to reward players that use these characteristics in their play, or attempt to reach their goals - this makes play more fluid and can give you excellent situations to expand upon or even build entire side-campaings on. It also gives the players quantified steps both on short and long-term to focus on and measure their character improvement on.

Just to add to that it is worth asking if you are playing from a module or your own concoction. Some modules plan for everything whereas some suck. Be sure to know the holes in the module. I have been caught off guard many times when people said "I wanna do this" and I look at the module and it is effectively empty space. I had no idea what to do. On the other hand in a game of your own concoction you have to decide what leads where and be ready for whatever the players decide.

I actually prefer having my characters fill out surveys. I have two at my disposal. One is 100 questions the other is about 10. It just depends on how in depth you want to go.

Spoiler: more in depth

Part 1: The Basics

1. What is your full name?

2. Where and when were you born?

3. Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.)

4. Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like?

5. Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people.

6. What is your occupation?

7. Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks.

8. To which social class do you belong?

9. Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses?

10. Are you right- or left-handed?

11. What does your voice sound like?

12. What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently?

13. What do you have in your pockets?

14. Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?


Part 2: Growing Up



15. How would you describe your childhood in general?

16. What is your earliest memory?

17. How much schooling have you had?

18. Did you enjoy school?

19. Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

20. While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them.

21. While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

22. As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

23. As a child, what were your favorite activities?

24. As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

25. As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

26. When and with whom was your first kiss?

27. Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity?

28. If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.


Part 3: Past Influences



29. What do you consider the most important event of your life so far?

30. Who has had the most influence on you?

31. What do you consider your greatest achievement?

32. What is your greatest regret?

33. What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

34. Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

35. When was the time you were the most frightened?

36. What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you?

37. If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

38. What is your best memory?

39. What is your worst memory?

Part 4: Beliefs And Opinions



40. Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic?

41. What is your greatest fear?

42. What are your religious views?

43. What are your political views?

44. What are your views on sex?

45. Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

46. In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

47. Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love?

48. What do you believe makes a successful life?

49. How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)?

50. Do you have any biases or prejudices?

51. Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it?

52. Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)?


Part 5: Relationships With Others



53. In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how?

54. Who is the most important person in your life, and why?

55. Who is the person you respect the most, and why?

56. Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people.

57. Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person.

58. Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened.

59. What do you look for in a potential lover?

60. How close are you to your family?

61. Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

62. Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

63. Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why?

64. If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

65. Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

66. Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict?

67. Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

68. Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

69. Do you care what others think of you?


Part 6: Likes And Dislikes



70. What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

71. What is your most treasured possession?

72. What is your favorite color?

73. What is your favorite food?

74. What, if anything, do you like to read?

75. What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)?

76. Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit?

77. How do you spend a typical Saturday night?

78. What makes you laugh?

79. What, if anything, shocks or offends you?

80. What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself?

81. How do you deal with stress?

82. Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan?

83. What are your pet peeves?

Part 7: Self Images And Etc.



84. Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted?

85. What is your greatest strength as a person?

86. What is your greatest weakness?

87. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

88. Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

89. Are you generally organized or messy?

90. Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.

91. Do you like yourself?

92. What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons...)

93. What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

94. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

95. If you could choose, how would you want to die?

96. If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

97. What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

98. What three words best describe your personality?

99. What three words would others probably use to describe you?

100. If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice...)

Spoiler: less in depth

If prompted, how would your character introduce himself?

If someone were to give a description to the cops to put out an alert for your character, how would they be described?


What is your character's general demeanor and behavior?


Describe your character's family and close friends.


What is your character's religion? What are it's views on morality, deities, etc?


Why does your character adventure?


What does your character fear most?

What's in your character's pockets right now?

Anything else you would like to add?

 

[KEM10]

Or if you're feeling trolly, feel free to cuss me out for using 4th edition.

4th edition? Pathfinder's so much better

Ya, if you like mini maxing kids games. 2nd edition is where the real role players spend their time.

Get outta here, you old Grognard . Having played 2nd edition and 3.x for years, I can safely say that a good chunk of 2nd ed. mechanics were thoroughly screwy and counter-intuitive. 3.x allows for a lot more customization of abilities and powers, and the whole d20+modifiers vs. DC is way simpler than all the arcane tables and THAC0 of 2nd ed.

This thread is still going?

In all seriousness, I am of the camp that it is the people that make the game and that the book is only there to give an assemblance of guidance. Play 2nd, play 3.x, play gurps, play some system you made by canabalizing two or three others together, as long as you're having fun it is good.

 

[spartan231490]

My fellow Escapists:

In a month or so I will be starting a Dungeons and Dragons club at my High school. I've played DND before, and I know that I like it. However, seeing as I'm the one starting the club, it has fallen to me to be the Dungeon Master.

I've read up on what the official 4th edition books say about being a Dungeon Master, but I'm still a little worried. I was hoping if you have DM'd before you could offer some advice. Or if you haven't DM'd, please offer advice or stories about your favorite DM. Or if you're feeling trolly, feel free to cuss me out for using 4th edition.

1st piece of advice, and I can't stress how important this is. Don't play 4th edition. I suggest 3.5.
2) look at book of challenges, the preset encounters fit well in any adventure and really give you a good idea on how to set up good encounters even if you don't use the ones they already have there.
3) give every party member a time to shine. Make the wizard use his spells to get the party across a ravine, or out of a pit trap. Let the rogue save the party from traps. Challenge the fighter to a dual, ect.
4) Do as much as you can ahead of time, throwing it together at the last minute is never as good, and it seems flaky. Describe battle, make it dynamic so that everyone wants to listen to you, not just the person who is attacking or being attacked.
5) Make it alien, dnd is an escapist hobby, so the less like real life it is, the better.
6) DO NOT change the rules unless you are absolutely sure you know how it will effect the game. I had a dm who let enhancement bonuses stack, it was horrible. We killed gods without breaking a sweat. Some rules can be changed, some can't, don't do it unless you know for sure that you can get away with it.
7) don't take it easy on the players, they will have more fun if they have to earn their victories than if they are guarenteed.

 

[Nedoras]

Try to find a nice balance between being lenient and being strict. I've played with a DM that was way too lenient, and one of the players got away with some ridiculous stuff at a fairly low level much to the objection of the rest of us. I've also played with a DM that was way too strict and we were on a linear path the entire game, following his story to the letter regardless of what we tried to do to get a bit of freedom. Basically give the players breathing room and let them make their own choices even if it changes how the story will play out, but crack down the hammer when they want to do completely ridiculous stuff. Also try to plan multiple paths through your story ahead of time. Try to think of how players would react to major situations you come up with, and come up with multiple resolutions to the situation depending on how they can react. Thinking of multiple paths and how it would change the story ahead of time always helps.

 

[II2]

- Practice and learn from mistakes - knowing you WILL make them - regardless of how experienced you are as a storyteller, a referee, a walking rules encyclopedia and a improv actor (ideally, all).

- Talk to your players before and after (or during breaks) in a session to make sure you're all on the same page as to what sort of gaming experience you're after. Agreeing upon some basic principles, like "we're running a game that's going to focus on dungeon crawling, combat and rules" or "the gameplay is going to focus on dialogue and investigation" can help prevent taxing and pointless arguments over players or DM's unfulfilled expectations later on. Then stick to it, while revisiting it as nessecary, but keep it open and let everyone know what they're in for.

- Fun > Rules. The rules are a supporting system, nothing sacred. Bend or break or (best) revise rules that are slowing down the game or detracting from people's enjoyment.

- In my experience, as a storyteller, you can tell the story you want to by making a detailed and reactive campaign setting and cast of NPCS, rather than running players through a bunch of heavily scripted scenes. Sure, it's YOUR story, but the main characters are the PLAYERS. LEVERAGE what unexpected turns they give you to create an elastic, running plot WITHIN your story. That way they feel the impact of their choices shape the world and you as the DM aren't frustred by having a meticulously constructed scene broken by someone running off script.

- Be fair, but evil. As a game master, you want to be a fair referee between the other players and yourself, but as a storyteller and the mind behind the ENTIRE lineup of antagonists you want to create a sense of conflict and opposition. It's a balancing act, to be sure; but the loot and experienced earned will be appreciated all the more if it was fought for, tooth and nail. If you're not naturally good at playing bad guys because that's not how you think, ask yourself 2 questions about the characters/monsters/antagonists: "What do they want" and "What will they do to get it". That's usually enough to start fleshing out both the RP-ing "character" of the antagonist(s), but also their tactics in combat.*

* Most nemesis' won't fight to THEIR OWN death over their goals and players can still WIN and get XP / Loot for defeating an enemy without mechanically SLAYING them. Having a antagonist escape with wounds and a grudge only to come back later, stronger, can turn just about any "boss" into a more memorable "villain"

----

These are just a few tips from my own experience over many years of DM/GM/Storytelling meant in a general way. If you choose to try and use them, the execution should be informed by your own RPG group's personal dynamic and perferances. All with a grain of salt.

Happy Rollin'

 

[IndianaJonny]

I would try to look at "Check for Traps" first off, as it can help a lot.

Pretty much this; the articles are written by Alex Macris and Greg Tito and they're veritable sages when it comes to DMing know-how. They'll provide you with a solid base from which to work from.

 

[Harry Mason]

Three useful tips.

1) Make it clear to your players from the get-go that YOU ARE THE GM (*cough* sorry, I mean DM). They are not playing by the rules of D&D, they are playing a combination of your rules and the rules of D&D. D&D is a complex game, and you will be bending, modifying, and fixing rules on the fly. If you don't make it clear that you are in charge from day one, you will have people in your party interrupting play every two seconds to point at the rulebook and go "NUH UH!" There are ZERO reasons to be a jerk about it (being nice to people who give your decisions shit is half the challenge of G... I mean DMing).

2) Remember the old geeky saying. "GM's don't kill players, the foolish actions of players kill players." Always give your party a fighting chance.

3) Everyone already said it. STAY LOOSE! If you give your party "The Sword of Mighty Destiny and Quest Starting" and have an NPC tell them it must be returned to "the Mountain of I Will Have a Final Boss in Me," the first thing most players will do is barter it and go on a quest to find the fabled "Naked Ladies Islands." You have to be prepared to guide them on their journey to the Naked Ladies if need be.

GMing is difficult, but it can be one of the most creatively rewarding things a geek can do.
Things are going to get crazy though. Take it from someone who's run a dozen Rifts campaigns.

Rifts. The final boss of weird.