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Am I an atypical DM?
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<blockquote data-quote="Woas" data-source="post: 3047307" data-attributes="member: 16317"><p><strong>Combat Speed:</strong> I used to have a problem with slugish combats. But I have recently cracked down big time on it. No more Committee Meetings on every single PC's turn: that is, players are not allowed to give 'in-game' hints and tactics to other players while it is not their turn. However they are welcome to speak and bark out orders when it is their turn all they want. So yeah, combats run fine.</p><p></p><p><strong>Prep Time:</strong> Hmm... my prep time is all over the place. Sometimes things take me a long time either because I have distractions (trying to browse the web, stat up an NPC and talk on the phone, etc). And then other times prep time takes as little as 10 minutes. </p><p>Like others have mentioned, I also like to give a personal flavor to humanoid-ish NPCs/combatants so those sometime take a bit to get together. But on the other hand I also will use more monster-ish NPCs straight out of the book(s).. so in all prep time is all over the map. Which is okay with me.</p><p><strong>Sammael</strong> mentioned how assigning spells to spell casting NPCs is a pain, which I agree with. However one thing I have been doing over the past.. *thinks really hard* ..year or so now has been to create "typical spells prepaired" flash-cards. The players have been using these for awhile now. Basically spell cheat-sheets. So I took the idea and applied it to NPCs. As I created spell casting NPCs over time I would get an index card and write down the spell selection, DCs, range and what damage dice to roll (or a brief description of the effect if the spell was successful). Each card had a little theme to it like: support caster, enchanter mage, buffer and so on. I would create typical spell lists that spell caster NPCs who would be assuming those types of roles would normally have ready. Then from there it is pretty much just plug-n-play, switching out a spell or two for something more specific if the situation called for it. This has saved me a lot of prep time and even helped out my "on the fly" DMing skills.</p><p></p><p><strong>Overload of Options:</strong> D'oh! Unlike most of the other posters, I've pretty much nixed most "options". No PrCs or special feats. But then, I use Arcana Evolved and there are a lot of built in rules that others might call "options" that work perfectly together. So that pretty much takes care of itself...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Woas, post: 3047307, member: 16317"] [B]Combat Speed:[/B] I used to have a problem with slugish combats. But I have recently cracked down big time on it. No more Committee Meetings on every single PC's turn: that is, players are not allowed to give 'in-game' hints and tactics to other players while it is not their turn. However they are welcome to speak and bark out orders when it is their turn all they want. So yeah, combats run fine. [B]Prep Time:[/B] Hmm... my prep time is all over the place. Sometimes things take me a long time either because I have distractions (trying to browse the web, stat up an NPC and talk on the phone, etc). And then other times prep time takes as little as 10 minutes. Like others have mentioned, I also like to give a personal flavor to humanoid-ish NPCs/combatants so those sometime take a bit to get together. But on the other hand I also will use more monster-ish NPCs straight out of the book(s).. so in all prep time is all over the map. Which is okay with me. [B]Sammael[/B] mentioned how assigning spells to spell casting NPCs is a pain, which I agree with. However one thing I have been doing over the past.. *thinks really hard* ..year or so now has been to create "typical spells prepaired" flash-cards. The players have been using these for awhile now. Basically spell cheat-sheets. So I took the idea and applied it to NPCs. As I created spell casting NPCs over time I would get an index card and write down the spell selection, DCs, range and what damage dice to roll (or a brief description of the effect if the spell was successful). Each card had a little theme to it like: support caster, enchanter mage, buffer and so on. I would create typical spell lists that spell caster NPCs who would be assuming those types of roles would normally have ready. Then from there it is pretty much just plug-n-play, switching out a spell or two for something more specific if the situation called for it. This has saved me a lot of prep time and even helped out my "on the fly" DMing skills. [B]Overload of Options:[/B] D'oh! Unlike most of the other posters, I've pretty much nixed most "options". No PrCs or special feats. But then, I use Arcana Evolved and there are a lot of built in rules that others might call "options" that work perfectly together. So that pretty much takes care of itself... [/QUOTE]
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