Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
DM tips - what makes a good DM?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Piratecat" data-source="post: 4804867" data-attributes="member: 2"><p>Right. This is the best advice you'll ever get on DMing. </p><p></p><p>It's not easy at first, but the results are wonderful. And if there's ever any sort of rules conflict, my default is "what's going to be the most fun for the players?" Mind you, that doesn't mean it necessarily gets decided in a way that is <em>easy</em> for the PCs, but I always default to whatever is coolest. </p><p></p><p>Regarding your NPC? Try using less powerful NPCs that the heroes could beat up if they wanted to. Make them important politically, or just nice guys, instead of physically powerful. Then always think about the consequences for what the heroes do. It's possible that an exciting story starts as soon as they ignore your planned adventure and kill the guy giving it to them. </p><p></p><p>An example: Okay, your PCs have just ganked the person giving them their mission. You're panicked and angry. What to do?</p><p></p><p>Well, you could throw guardsmen at them to try and arrest them. That doesn't usually end well. A niftier solution might to have them immediately designated heroes. He turned out to be very famous, very evil, and very wanted by the law in a nearby country. The PCs get a parade and public celebration. Then all this guy's former colleagues show up seeking retribution... and what if it wasn't really him? Why is he wanted? Are the heroes being set up, and if so, why?</p><p></p><p>Figure out what your players expect, then turn it sideways. Keep them on their toes. They'll love you for it.[/spoiler]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Piratecat, post: 4804867, member: 2"] Right. This is the best advice you'll ever get on DMing. It's not easy at first, but the results are wonderful. And if there's ever any sort of rules conflict, my default is "what's going to be the most fun for the players?" Mind you, that doesn't mean it necessarily gets decided in a way that is [i]easy[/i] for the PCs, but I always default to whatever is coolest. Regarding your NPC? Try using less powerful NPCs that the heroes could beat up if they wanted to. Make them important politically, or just nice guys, instead of physically powerful. Then always think about the consequences for what the heroes do. It's possible that an exciting story starts as soon as they ignore your planned adventure and kill the guy giving it to them. An example: Okay, your PCs have just ganked the person giving them their mission. You're panicked and angry. What to do? Well, you could throw guardsmen at them to try and arrest them. That doesn't usually end well. A niftier solution might to have them immediately designated heroes. He turned out to be very famous, very evil, and very wanted by the law in a nearby country. The PCs get a parade and public celebration. Then all this guy's former colleagues show up seeking retribution... and what if it wasn't really him? Why is he wanted? Are the heroes being set up, and if so, why? Figure out what your players expect, then turn it sideways. Keep them on their toes. They'll love you for it.[/spoiler] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
DM tips - what makes a good DM?
Top