Hey DMs, what are your quirks at the table?

Dungeoneer said:

They might constantly bargain with the players*.

* As per designer Rob Heinsoo! This is a style I had not previously even heard of.

Click to expand...

Scrivener of Doom said:

Oh, and I bargain with my players regularly.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure that I follow. What do you mean 'bargain" with your players?

As for me, I too have been known to do voices...or, at least, general accents. And if I'm not in them mood to do them (or I've done it for them already so they know how the character sounds), I at least explain to the players what the NPC might sound like.

I've been known to do the "rolling when I don't have to"...keeps players on their toes and a little paranoia is good for the soul. ];P But I wouldn't say I do it constantly or, necessarily, every session. So, not sure if that counts as a "quirk."

I tend to stare...if that means anything. I don't really do it on purpose...but when I'm looking/waiting for what your PC is doing on your turn, I've been told I have an "intense" stare...that some players find intimidated. hahaha. Lil' ole me?

I don't really do it consciously except in cases of recurring "waiting on you" problems. I [and players who have played with me for any length of time] like our story/adventure pacing. If things are in a tense situation, dramatic combat or split-second kind of "We need to act, NOW! Someone get the UBERTHINGY away from BIGBAD before he gets to the ROCKSFALLWORLDDIES PORTAL!!!" kind of moment, waiting around while you "um" and "hm" to decide on an action or spell is just a total mood killer.

I will, in such recurring situations, get to the point where I give the player a literal countdown and then skip the player. "Right, so your character spends the round flabbergasted and paralyzed with indecision...still/again." They get the gist after a bit and realized they are capable of hearing what's going on and thinking about what they want the PC to do next at the same time.

Again, not sure if that's a "quirk" or just normal "old school style" DMing.

When I DM, I always go commando. Because DMing is about freedom.

My game sessions are just wall to wall Shrodinger's Gorges.

Me: You're travelling through a brutal series of switchbacks in the craggy mountains of Mountainvile. A great bird of prey, the size of a wagon, takes off from a perch above you. What are you doing?

Player 1: I'm going to try to flatten myself against the mountain wall, stealth and hopefully it passes.

Me: As you begin to flatten yourself against the mountain wall....GORGE!

---

Me: So, you've entered Ye Ole Tavern of Taverniness. The barmaid gives you a sly wink and begins to walk over to your ta....GORGE!

Me: The king recieves you in his...GORGE!

Me: You're in the air flying...GORGE!

Me: The grim reaper collects your...GORGE!

1of3 said:

I can't remember names of NPCs I make up.

Click to expand...

I can sympathize with that. And I try to do voices so that at least the players can recognize a voice as IC, I'm just not really that good at it (although, when I read Harry Potter to the kids, they can recognize each voice of every character without being told who it belongs to, so I'm not terrible either).

My biggest quick is probably, "The DM makes all the rules."

I don't really DM anything without changing the rules at least a little. Expect a huge stack of house rules.

I do have some tropes I rely on in stories that are fairly predictable. One of them is that you always meet the BBEG in a social scene, often a dinner party, before he's discovered to be the villain. Another is that there are always multiple suspects, and at least one really good red herring. I will always have at least one murder mystery. I will always have at least one dungeon. If it's a large city, there is a dungeon of some sort below the city. There is always at least one building which is not introduced to the PCs as a dungeon, but actually is one. There will always be monsters well above the party level that enjoy talking more than they enjoy fighting or eating the PCs. Often they have a motivation for steering how the PC's respond to the BBEG because they want a particular resolution at the end. There is almost always a clan of lycanthropes of some sort somewhere. There is almost always a dragon somewhere. There will almost always be a mass combat of some sort the PC's are expected to participate in, and if high level to lead. I like to begin campaigns with events that are well beyond the player's ability to influence directly, and the most they can hope to do is survive or provide aid to survivors, then return to a replay of those events at much higher level when the PC's can actually make a big difference.

Manbearcat said:

My game sessions are just wall to wall Shrodinger's Gorges.

Click to expand...

You wouldn't happen to be Peter Jackson, would you?

Celebrim said:

You wouldn't happen to be Peter Jackson, would you?

Click to expand...

Nah, that would be:

1) Shrodinger's Gorges.

2) Shrodinger's DMPCs/NPCs to the rescue.

3) 33 % of the game spent on my extraneous descriptions of the topographical majesty of the setting as the players...walk...and walk...and walk...and saunter...and maybe even stroll a bit.

** I love the LotR I promise!

Manbearcat said:

My game sessions are just wall to wall Shrodinger's Gorges.

</snip>

Me: So, you've entered Ye Ole Tavern of Taverniness. The barmaid gives you a sly wink and begins to walk over to your ta....GORGE!

Me: The king recieves you in his...GORGE!

Me: You're in the air flying...GORGE!

Me: The grim reaper collects your...GORGE!

Click to expand...

What if you're falling into a gorge??

I do the "forget a name" thing all the time - sadly aslo in general life. My dad, who is 92 and going strong, complains he is starting to forget names, but he is still better at them than I ever was. I remember faces, and often quirks or relationships, but I have a hard time linking them to names.

But my real DM quirk is to offer advice. If I have an NPC in a situation, it will often present its view of the problem ahead and offer advice based on that view. Frequently really bad advice, but sometimes pointing out the obvious that everyone missed and other times advice that work out fairly well. I guess I see it as method acting - it is a lot of fun to present an in-game situation through the eyes of an NPC on the scene.

My NPCs don't just live in the world but they can talk about the mundane aspects of the setting for hours. It's a way to mention different places and things in the setting but some times they just go on and on about the weather or the local politics or other items that really have no importance to the player or the campaign.

Dungeoneer said:

What if you're falling into a gorge??

Click to expand...

Obviously that would tear a hole in the gorge:gorge continuum. Cats and dogs...living together...mass hysteria. Real wrath of God type stuff.