Hey DMs, what are your quirks at the table?
TarionzCousin
Second Most Angelic Devil Ever
One quirk of mine immediately comes to mind (probably because I've been doing it consistently for 20+ years of DM'ing): I announce the result of the roll before the d20 stops rolling--usually for comedic effect.
Me: The ledge is about twenty feet up.
Player: That's probably too far to jump, huh?
Me: Roll for it.
Player: Seriously? I can make it? Let's see, I have a +7 bonus (rolls)... It's almost--
Me: You jump ten feet in the air and inexplicably turn over, falling face down in a pile of warm fecal matter which you had previously not noticed. It is chunky and squirts up your nose.
My old players encourage the new ones to try stuff until something like this happens.
It is almost as funny to make someone roll for something incredibly easy to accomplish and say "You succeed!" before the die stops bouncing.
Me: The ledge is about twenty feet up.
Player: That's probably too far to jump, huh?
Me: Roll for it.
Player: Seriously? I can make it? Let's see, I have a +7 bonus (rolls)... It's almost--
Me: You jump ten feet in the air and inexplicably turn over, falling face down in a pile of warm fecal matter which you had previously not noticed. It is chunky and squirts up your nose.
My old players encourage the new ones to try stuff until something like this happens.
It is almost as funny to make someone roll for something incredibly easy to accomplish and say "You succeed!" before the die stops bouncing.
Dungeoneer
First Post
One quirk of mine immediately comes to mind (probably because I've been doing it consistently for 20+ years of DM'ing): I announce the result of the roll before the d20 stops rolling--usually for comedic effect.
Me: The ledge is about twenty feet up.
Player: That's probably too far to jump, huh?
Me: Roll for it.
Player: Seriously? I can make it? Let's see, I have a +7 bonus (rolls)... It's almost--
Me: You jump ten feet in the air and inexplicably turn over, falling face down in a pile of warm fecal matter which you had previously not noticed. It is chunky and squirts up your nose.
My old players encourage the new ones to try stuff until something like this happens.
It is almost as funny to make someone roll for something incredibly easy to accomplish and say "You succeed!" before the die stops bouncing.
STEALING IT.
Scrivener of Doom
Adventurer
Normally this falls into two categories:
- Allow them to bend the rules in exchange for action point(s) or healing surge(s) or other in-game resource.
- Allow them to bend the rules to their advantage on a successful roll, but a failed rule will allow me to bend their rules to their detriment.
Basically, an offer to go beyond what the rules allow, but is narratively interesting, but with some sort of cost or potential cost.
Ah. Hm.
Thanks for the explanation, Scrivener.
By this...I guess I should say, "No. I do not bargain with my players." as far as a regular/standard DMing quirk. But I know I have done it from time to time.
I am a very big adherent to the "Goose-Gander" school of DMing however [developed, of course, by that illustrious maestro of the gaming table, Goose Ganderson]. Namely, we can come up with things that are in/out as "fair play" [some spells usually fall into this category] and you can come up with all kinds of not [strictly] by the book strategies, attack shenanigans, unintended uses for magic items/spells, etc... Some of these may work out/the way you planned, some may not. But "What's good for the goose is good for the gander."
That is, if we let this work/happen for the PCs , it's "open season" for me to use elsewhere in the game world...and vice versa!
Even if it's not successful, mind! The door has been opened, the worms are out of the can, and all that.
Emirikol
Adventurer
* I only do voices for recurring NPCs of importance
* I describe things verbosely (except in this post)
* I skip slow players during combat..my general rule is you have as many seconds to tell me what you're doing as the INT of your character
* I usually offer options so the players don't sit there with that bored look on their face floundering to remember some vital clue from a month ago
* I run a very fast paced game
* PC turnover is high, as I make any "monster encounter" very dangerous if theyre stupid enough to fight a "monster" without good reason, and it can take newbies a while to figure out I dont run a "push the WIN button style of games
* I punish each and every weakness of one-trick combat munchkins and secretly favor well-rounded characters
* I don't give out magical items-i give gold instead with magic shop availability
* I use lots of skill checks, and they always have consequences
* I house rule and keep a booklet handy
* I'm 6'5", so I usually only stand to GM when running at game conventions if I'm imitating Angry Gandalf.
Here are some recordings of some of our WFRP3 sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/Emirikol7/videos
* I describe things verbosely (except in this post)
* I skip slow players during combat..my general rule is you have as many seconds to tell me what you're doing as the INT of your character
* I usually offer options so the players don't sit there with that bored look on their face floundering to remember some vital clue from a month ago
* I run a very fast paced game
* PC turnover is high, as I make any "monster encounter" very dangerous if theyre stupid enough to fight a "monster" without good reason, and it can take newbies a while to figure out I dont run a "push the WIN button style of games
* I punish each and every weakness of one-trick combat munchkins and secretly favor well-rounded characters
* I don't give out magical items-i give gold instead with magic shop availability
* I use lots of skill checks, and they always have consequences
* I house rule and keep a booklet handy
* I'm 6'5", so I usually only stand to GM when running at game conventions if I'm imitating Angry Gandalf.
Here are some recordings of some of our WFRP3 sessions: https://www.youtube.com/user/Emirikol7/videos
Jack Daniel
dice-universe.blogspot.com
Rolling the Bones™
My table has Rolling the Bones™.
Here's how I determine death in my games: when a player falls to 0 HP, there are no negative hit points, no death saves; rather, the fallen player must Roll the Bones, which is a simple roll of 2d3. On a result of double 3s, the character isn't just knocked out or wounded, but slain instantly (and often in gruesome fashion).
I have a pair of very intimidating black d3s with big white numbers on them, ripped off from a couple of board games long ago, and a big leather dice cup dedicated solely to housing these two dice. Whenever a particularly dangerous encounter or section of dungeon is imminent, the players will sometimes look askance to see if I've moved the Bones-cup from the bookshelf onto the game table.
And ever since this one time in Quesquaton when a party of six players tried to assault an orc lair and lost three players, all of whom rolled double-3s and died on the spot, my players have developed a ritual around the bones. Now, whenever a player character falls to 0 hp or fails a saving throw vs. death magic or lethal poison, all of the players will start to pound the table and chant, "BONES, BONES, BONES, BONES...!!!" as the leather cup comes out. Then the unfortunate player loads one of the d3s into the cup—the bones are rolled one at a time, purely so that if the first roll comes up 3, the second roll is made with maximum tension.
(In that same campaign, which we mostly played in my brother's apartment, we kept track of the total number of bones rolled and rolls failed using a bit light-up Schlitz beer sign that my brother kept on the wall near the game table.)
My table has Rolling the Bones™.
Here's how I determine death in my games: when a player falls to 0 HP, there are no negative hit points, no death saves; rather, the fallen player must Roll the Bones, which is a simple roll of 2d3. On a result of double 3s, the character isn't just knocked out or wounded, but slain instantly (and often in gruesome fashion).
I have a pair of very intimidating black d3s with big white numbers on them, ripped off from a couple of board games long ago, and a big leather dice cup dedicated solely to housing these two dice. Whenever a particularly dangerous encounter or section of dungeon is imminent, the players will sometimes look askance to see if I've moved the Bones-cup from the bookshelf onto the game table.
And ever since this one time in Quesquaton when a party of six players tried to assault an orc lair and lost three players, all of whom rolled double-3s and died on the spot, my players have developed a ritual around the bones. Now, whenever a player character falls to 0 hp or fails a saving throw vs. death magic or lethal poison, all of the players will start to pound the table and chant, "BONES, BONES, BONES, BONES...!!!" as the leather cup comes out. Then the unfortunate player loads one of the d3s into the cup—the bones are rolled one at a time, purely so that if the first roll comes up 3, the second roll is made with maximum tension.
(In that same campaign, which we mostly played in my brother's apartment, we kept track of the total number of bones rolled and rolls failed using a bit light-up Schlitz beer sign that my brother kept on the wall near the game table.)
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Mercule
Adventurer
My homebrew setting has no elephants (or mammoths, mastodons, oliphants, etc.). I figured fantasy settings shouldn't be differentiated entirely by addition. No clue why I picked on elephants.
If someone interrupts me while I'm doing some sort of "boxed text" description (literal or figurative), I stop reading. Clearly, they've heard enough to make intelligent choices. If they didn't wait for me to tell them about the conclave of wyrms before they walked in, then they must have been roleplaying their characters' intense focus on the Orb of Ultimate Power and they can deal with being surprised. Note: this doesn't apply to clarifications, etc. Nor do I particularly drone on. I started doing it to deal with a couple of problem players, but continued when the group matured because I found out that several of the players liked the enforced focus.
I drop subtle clues to things that long-time players know to listen for. But, I've also used that voice to represent demonic riders, a vampire's "beast", etc. and at least three PCs have found themselves in a position where they willingly gave up their soul because it totally "made sense at the time".
If someone interrupts me while I'm doing some sort of "boxed text" description (literal or figurative), I stop reading. Clearly, they've heard enough to make intelligent choices. If they didn't wait for me to tell them about the conclave of wyrms before they walked in, then they must have been roleplaying their characters' intense focus on the Orb of Ultimate Power and they can deal with being surprised. Note: this doesn't apply to clarifications, etc. Nor do I particularly drone on. I started doing it to deal with a couple of problem players, but continued when the group matured because I found out that several of the players liked the enforced focus.
I drop subtle clues to things that long-time players know to listen for. But, I've also used that voice to represent demonic riders, a vampire's "beast", etc. and at least three PCs have found themselves in a position where they willingly gave up their soul because it totally "made sense at the time".
MortalPlague
Adventurer
I do voices. To make certain NPCs distinct, I also like to give them sayings, or verbal quirks to immediately remind players who they're talking to. I'll often leave notes to that effect in my NPC stat blocks.
The biggest quirk I have is making handouts. I've attached a picture; this was a 4th edition battle we had across a set of docks, featuring a tavern, a smithy, and a warehouse, as well as some boats. I had a collection of NPC allies lurking about who the PCs could recruit with a skill check or a bribe, then they had an NPC they could 'use' with a minor action. But rather than just having a line or two of notes, I did up a full card for each NPC ally.
For 5th Edition, I've just finished putting together an 'ally card' for a group of NPC archers who are accompanying the PCs. I've attached this one too.
I also tend to do up letters to different PCs and hand them out when they arrive back in town.
The biggest quirk I have is making handouts. I've attached a picture; this was a 4th edition battle we had across a set of docks, featuring a tavern, a smithy, and a warehouse, as well as some boats. I had a collection of NPC allies lurking about who the PCs could recruit with a skill check or a bribe, then they had an NPC they could 'use' with a minor action. But rather than just having a line or two of notes, I did up a full card for each NPC ally.
For 5th Edition, I've just finished putting together an 'ally card' for a group of NPC archers who are accompanying the PCs. I've attached this one too.
I also tend to do up letters to different PCs and hand them out when they arrive back in town.
Attachments
Dungeoneer
First Post
That's cool. Wish I had the art skillz/time to do stuff like that.
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