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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7755504" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p>I try to make my players feel comfortable with what their characters know about the world. This is I think the most important distinction between a DM that works <u>against</u> the players, and a DM that works <u>with</u> the players. There have to be some things that the players can feel certain about. There have to be some characters in the campaign that the players know they can trust, and they need to feel safe in the knowledge that the DM is not just going to turn that around all of a sudden. There has to be some consistency to the world that the players can rely on. Consistency to the laws of the land, and consistency to basic physics, and to how characters interact with one another. This means that the villains do not have psychic powers that allow them to some how know about the player's secret plans, unless previously established.</p><p></p><p>For example, I have a female pirate in my campaign called Scurvy Scarlet. And it has been well established in the campaign that she is a bit untrustworthy. Her alliance can swing to either side, depending on what benefits her. If the players form an alliance with her, a future betrayal does not come out of left field. </p><p></p><p>On the other hand, the players also befriend people that ARE loyal allies, and they will always remain loyal allies. Once a character has been clearly established, it is not likely to suddenly change. A character that is dumb will not suddenly act smart, and vice versa. </p><p></p><p>I have played in campaigns myself that are very different. Where the DM uses his npc's to screw over the players at every opportunity, where no one can be trusted, and every attempt by the PC's at social interactions is doomed to failure. There's no point in trying to bluff your way out of a situation, if the npc's all have fool proof lie detectors. Nor is there a reason to intimidate a character, if it is only going to result in combat. Every npc is a character just waiting to kill your player-character, and every location is an ambush or robbery waiting to happen. There are no safe locations. So don't trust anyone, and always keep your weapons at your side. Keep it on you in a tavern, and keep it under your pillow at an inn. Also, always have someone keep watch at night in an inn, or all your stuff will be gone in the morning.</p><p></p><p>It is a nightmare if you're playing with a DM that constantly makes you feel like that, and so I made it my mission to do the exact opposite. I want my players to feel safe at various points in the campaign, and I want them to feel safe to take actions without the DM always screwing them over on technicalities. I feel it is very important to break up the tension with moments of safety, where the players just get to wander around in town without a cut purse lurking in every shadow. I think you also lose a lot of suspense if the players are never ever safe, and it makes the players annoyed with the game-world.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7755504, member: 6801286"] I try to make my players feel comfortable with what their characters know about the world. This is I think the most important distinction between a DM that works [U]against[/U] the players, and a DM that works [U]with[/U] the players. There have to be some things that the players can feel certain about. There have to be some characters in the campaign that the players know they can trust, and they need to feel safe in the knowledge that the DM is not just going to turn that around all of a sudden. There has to be some consistency to the world that the players can rely on. Consistency to the laws of the land, and consistency to basic physics, and to how characters interact with one another. This means that the villains do not have psychic powers that allow them to some how know about the player's secret plans, unless previously established. For example, I have a female pirate in my campaign called Scurvy Scarlet. And it has been well established in the campaign that she is a bit untrustworthy. Her alliance can swing to either side, depending on what benefits her. If the players form an alliance with her, a future betrayal does not come out of left field. On the other hand, the players also befriend people that ARE loyal allies, and they will always remain loyal allies. Once a character has been clearly established, it is not likely to suddenly change. A character that is dumb will not suddenly act smart, and vice versa. I have played in campaigns myself that are very different. Where the DM uses his npc's to screw over the players at every opportunity, where no one can be trusted, and every attempt by the PC's at social interactions is doomed to failure. There's no point in trying to bluff your way out of a situation, if the npc's all have fool proof lie detectors. Nor is there a reason to intimidate a character, if it is only going to result in combat. Every npc is a character just waiting to kill your player-character, and every location is an ambush or robbery waiting to happen. There are no safe locations. So don't trust anyone, and always keep your weapons at your side. Keep it on you in a tavern, and keep it under your pillow at an inn. Also, always have someone keep watch at night in an inn, or all your stuff will be gone in the morning. It is a nightmare if you're playing with a DM that constantly makes you feel like that, and so I made it my mission to do the exact opposite. I want my players to feel safe at various points in the campaign, and I want them to feel safe to take actions without the DM always screwing them over on technicalities. I feel it is very important to break up the tension with moments of safety, where the players just get to wander around in town without a cut purse lurking in every shadow. I think you also lose a lot of suspense if the players are never ever safe, and it makes the players annoyed with the game-world. [/QUOTE]
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