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<blockquote data-quote="Imaculata" data-source="post: 7496946" data-attributes="member: 6801286"><p><strong>Don't ask your players to make pointless rolls</strong></p><p></p><p>I used to constantly let my players check for traps in hallways where there are no traps, or have them make perception checks when there was nothing to perceive, as a bandaid so that they wouldn't know when they are in actual danger. I am so glad I stopped doing this. I just straight up tell my players the outcome of their action, without a roll required.</p><p></p><p><strong>Foreshadow traps - no gotcha</strong></p><p></p><p>Gotcha traps are lame. I am happy to no longer be using the gotcha trap, and instead foreshadow the presence of a trap to the players. The surprise element has been replaced by meaningful outcomes to success and failure by the players.</p><p></p><p><strong>Make your players feel safe and unsafe</strong></p><p></p><p>I've come to realize the importance of having your players feel safe and unsafe in specific situations. I don't want my players to always feel unsafe. Sometimes the players are in a safe environment, and they should not feel like there is a cutthroat on every corner, or that they need to make their characters sleep in their armor. By clearly shifting the tone of the scene between safe and unsafe, this makes the areas that are unsafe have more impact. This is also true of npc's. Some npc's should feel completely trustworthy. It is good for your players to also meet trustworthy allies.</p><p></p><p><strong>Spotlight management</strong></p><p></p><p>It is so important to keep an eye on all of your players, and to shift the spotlight before someone starts to lose interest.</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Room descriptions</strong></p><p></p><p>A lot of commercial campaigns have a tendency to teach bad DM behavior, specifically in regards to room descriptions. There is only so much information the players can take in once you start talking. I want my players to have a clear picture of the lay out of the room, and where all the doors are. But when you cram your room description full of minor details, the important stuff is lost in the pile of information you're feeding them. These days I serve my players bite-sized bits of info. I start with the basics: roomsize, overal look, doors, furniture. Then once the players further explore the room, I dive into details. It is also important to describe the room from the direction the players are entering it. So rather than saying a room has a door to the east, I now say that there's a door on the other side of the room, straight across from where they entered. Because the players have no idea where 'east' is, nor from which direction they are entering. That sort of stuff only makes sense if you are looking at the map of the dungeon.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Imaculata, post: 7496946, member: 6801286"] [B]Don't ask your players to make pointless rolls[/B] I used to constantly let my players check for traps in hallways where there are no traps, or have them make perception checks when there was nothing to perceive, as a bandaid so that they wouldn't know when they are in actual danger. I am so glad I stopped doing this. I just straight up tell my players the outcome of their action, without a roll required. [B]Foreshadow traps - no gotcha[/B] Gotcha traps are lame. I am happy to no longer be using the gotcha trap, and instead foreshadow the presence of a trap to the players. The surprise element has been replaced by meaningful outcomes to success and failure by the players. [B]Make your players feel safe and unsafe[/B] I've come to realize the importance of having your players feel safe and unsafe in specific situations. I don't want my players to always feel unsafe. Sometimes the players are in a safe environment, and they should not feel like there is a cutthroat on every corner, or that they need to make their characters sleep in their armor. By clearly shifting the tone of the scene between safe and unsafe, this makes the areas that are unsafe have more impact. This is also true of npc's. Some npc's should feel completely trustworthy. It is good for your players to also meet trustworthy allies. [B]Spotlight management[/B] It is so important to keep an eye on all of your players, and to shift the spotlight before someone starts to lose interest. [B] Room descriptions[/B] A lot of commercial campaigns have a tendency to teach bad DM behavior, specifically in regards to room descriptions. There is only so much information the players can take in once you start talking. I want my players to have a clear picture of the lay out of the room, and where all the doors are. But when you cram your room description full of minor details, the important stuff is lost in the pile of information you're feeding them. These days I serve my players bite-sized bits of info. I start with the basics: roomsize, overal look, doors, furniture. Then once the players further explore the room, I dive into details. It is also important to describe the room from the direction the players are entering it. So rather than saying a room has a door to the east, I now say that there's a door on the other side of the room, straight across from where they entered. Because the players have no idea where 'east' is, nor from which direction they are entering. That sort of stuff only makes sense if you are looking at the map of the dungeon. [/QUOTE]
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