New DM looking for advice...

[akbearfoot]

I want to start DMing a smallish group of friends, but I could some advice. Might sound funny because I have a lot of posts and I frequently frame stuff in the context of 'as a DM' or 'as a player' even though I've basically never DMed alone.

I guess I am looking for general advice from people. I am feeling a lot of anxiety about wanting to do a good job, and my lack of self confidence isn't helping.

Biggest problem I think I'll have is that I am -terrible- at roleplaying in character. I can describe what characters do, but if I'm on the spot to react in character I always freeze. The DMs I've played under all seem to be good at doing the theatrics, but I know I will suck at that and its making me lose confidence in my ability to pull off a good game at all. I know I know, I'm defeating myself before I start. Anyone else have this experience and have any helpful suggestions?

I'm good with rules. Rules and game mechanics are my strong point. Also the players I am wanting to run a game for very much not rules lawyers, so even if I was mistaken on a rule, they aren't gonna be pulling out a book to argue(like I would, lol). This is also part of what worries me though, as I know one character wants to basically be a diplomancer and I have no idea how to make it enjoyable for him.

Not too worried about designing combat encounters. I'm good at gauging monster difficulty. And I'll probably have an NPC tag along with them to give them a 4th character. How fleshed out the NPC ends up will be up to them.

Please Help!

 

[ThatGuyThere]

First, don't make "perfect" the enemy of "good". As long a you and your players have fun, the fact that you're not a master thespian isn't that big a deal.

Second, list out about 20-25 actors and / or fictional characters you know from movies - even better, two lists, one male, one female. Make them characters you're familiar with and find interesting and fun, and hopefully, include characters who are different from each other.

Then, when the players talk to someone, choose a character off the list, and play the character they've talked to that way. (You can / should choose for "major" NPCs ahead of time.)

No, this isn't "optimal". And yes, your players will notice Jayne Cobb the Shopkeep, Buffy Summers the Orc Chief, Eddie Valiant the Ranger, and DeForest Kelly the Paladin. And they might try to "guess" who they're going to encounter next, or spend time trying to figure out who you're going to be.

But that's fine, because that'll be fun.

And while doing this, you'll be improving your improv and theatrics skills. Eventually, you'll be improvise characters who aren't strictly based on other characters, you'll learn about improv and theatrics, and so-forth.

 

[Ranger19k]

I've had a few of the same concerns when I was DMing: specifically struggling with the ability to role-play a large number of NPCs or come up with good off the cuff descriptions of locations/events. What I found was the best (only really) way to overcome some of this is through a little extra preparations.

Obviously, being familiar with the entire adventure is a given for a succesfull DM, but even more important is doing a really good prep for the material that you are going to cover on the one upcoming session. If you don't already, you will soon learn how fast your players move through encounters, and should be able to accurately judge about how much material you will get though with the time available: be it 1 or 5 encounters.
And by encounters I mean important role-play encounters as well as combat.

I would take the time before each session to actually write down some dialogues and descriptions. Sure the PCs don't always say what you think they will or go in the direction you think they will, but I still found writing out a script useful for two reasons: 1) writing it down helped me better conceptualize the NPCs desires-personality-actions so that I had a better feel in general, and 2) even if the conversation jumps around and doesn't follow the baseline script, it is still easier to adjust off a previously existing document than it is to simply make something new up out of wholecloth. Yes, being flexible and thinking on your feet are still important, but I found some scripts to be a very useful tool.

In the beginning I found myself typing up a lot of material and only using about half of it. I was still happy that I invested the time however, because the half that I used went well. Over time though, I found that I got better at guessing my PCs inclinations, and my prep-work came closer to being 80% spot-on. So I strongly recommend this as a technique if you are concerned about your ability to role-play on the fly.

Additionally, and unrelated, I found that accumulating a folder with random common use NPCs and locations was also very valuable. You can never have too many pre-designed shops, inns, bars, noble mansions, guilds You don't need to do all the work at once, and the longer you work on it the better your "library" of resources becomes. But when PCs decide to "head to the inn" to gather information when you hadn't planned on it during your session prep, it really helps to pull out a pre-designed: 1) inn floorplan, 2) owner/barkeep name/info, 3) several patrons of interest. Same thing for heading to the local shop to trade/buy/sell goods.

It sounds like a lot of work, but its really not that bad. I usually pull examples from random adventures and keep those pages in my DM folder. Who cares if the inn was supposed to be from Module C and you are running Adventure J, if it's not plot specific, an inn can be an inn can be an inn.

And in addition to a "library" of locations, a similar folder of some cool encounters is also helpful. That way if there is time to fill or they head in a direction that you weren't prepared for, you can keep them busy for the rest of that session and then prep yourself up for the next session to continue the story line. Again, I often pluck some cool encounters from random modules and have them standing by for my current adventure if I need to use them.

Anyway, that's a few CPs. Hope some of it helps.

 

[Jimlock]

Somewhere in some old WhiteWolf book i've read the best advice for any RPCharacter.

"Never treat your characters as projections of yourself (even if that's all they are). Treat them as unique individuals, as works of art, or as fragile expressions of your poetic sensitivity. You must treasure the characters you create."

WhiteWolf had always been ages ahead as far as RP is concerned. You could take a look in one of their books..

My advice is to make each NPC feel different. Always try to think as they would. Walk in their shoes. Add all the detail you can. Even if it doesn't play a major role, every bit helps..

The inkeeper is a nice guy sure... A settled family man.. His greasy mustache hangs over his rotten teeth as he serves your ale. He smiles as long as you keep ordering for more.. Yet what happens when you stare at his daughters large breasts? A fresh dark haired beauty with a foxy smile. Yet behind her almond eyes you can see that she is bored to death of this town... of her father... of the Inn... The unknown strangers excite her, making her dream of a life beyond her father's grip...
She looks at you with a killer smile as she twists her finger around her curly hair.
...Then all of sudden, the inkeeper's fat belly blocks your view, as he puts down your mug with noise.
"That is the last one!... We're closing up in a few minutes. I suggest you finish up and go!"
The girl rushes back to the kitchen...
Unfortunately the men you were supposed to spy on have their eyes on you now. Most of them turn back to their talk yet one of the mercenaries keeps staring at you with a grin on his face. Then, the one with the strange bronze sign on his elaborate leather armor, mumbles something in some broken common. The annoying grin leaves the other's face and now they all let you be.
You can only hope your cover was not blown...


Every NPC has his own point of view... His own motivations... His own body language, his own ticks... Just walk in their Shoes...

 

[Centaur]

Play to YOUR strength!

The other players in your group may be good thespians... that doesn't mean you have to be too!

Our group has all kinds. I'm usually good on individual NPC theatrics and interesting if someone weird design... some of our players and GMs are excellent role players as well.

We have one GM in our group who is also an excellent rules lawer.. and he is also good with the logistics. If you are like him, your campaign will be memorable for other reasons.

Focus on the big picture of the main story rather than the little bits of how the accent of the orc works.

When after 15 sessions, your players begin to relise that all those seemingly unrelated events are actualy connected to a bigger plot, and they are now fully entangled in it, they will be impressed.

Let them do the descriptions and theatrics. one of our GM liked to encourage the players to describe and enhance the scene. Players would describe how they picked the rose from the vase on the table to hand to the countess, even though the GM never specified their was a vase of flowers there. Specifics asside, it allows the players to create half the visuals without you doing the work, then you just play off them, to a degree.

 

[aboyd]

Note that I've not read the other replies yet. If anything I write is redundant, I apologize. Maybe it'll reinforce that some things are commonly successful?

I frequently frame stuff in the context of 'as a DM' or 'as a player' even though I've basically never DMed alone.

I know the saying "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog," so I'm aware that I cannot expect every poster to be highly qualified. But what you posted is a bummer. I actually used Google to search out every posted interaction we've had, because I was disappointed to think that I've possibly taken action on suggestions that were not backed by experience. I think everything turned out okay, but I guess as a general pleading to anyone reading: if you're going to post as if you have experience with something, it'd be really cool if you had experience with that thing.

Biggest problem I think I'll have is that I am -terrible- at roleplaying in character.

I don't think this is a big issue. I often find myself feeling very awkward when I watch a player adopt a fake voice and act out what the character does. I prefer to narrate: "My character asks what options for peace are on the table for discussion." Or: "I thank the owner and bow before leaving. Then I stop, turn, and say that the Red Mages thank him as well. Does he react?"

When I DM, I often find myself typing up dozens of 1 sentence descriptions for all sorts of little things they might do. I'm a better writer than actor, so I narrate as a DM just as I do when I'm playing, with the addition that I often read little snippets that paint a mood, but which don't require me to speak in a fake accent.

I wouldn't worry about this part. Bring your strengths to the table. Try things. Watch what other DMs do. Learn to appreciate their strengths. Emulate what you can. Take baby steps. It's the only way to become great.

I know one character wants to basically be a diplomancer and I have no idea how to make it enjoyable for him.

Social challenges are very similar to combat. You are simply doing more opposed skill-based rolls. Award circumstance modifiers (both positive and negative, depending) liberally. Steal from Arcanum, if you remember that game. Have NPCs ask that the diplomancer speak on their behalf. Have "tests of will" involving verbal back-and-forth. Don't make every little thing a roll -- get a sense for how the player is directing conversation, and once you know where the player is pushing the conversation, have him roll to see if it gets there, and start on "round 2" of the conversation.

Have people challenge his assertions. Have groups of people agree or disagree. Have enemies that can be talked down from combat, as well as a few that cannot be reasoned with.

Baldur's Gate 2 had a nice scene where you could convince a crowd of pitchfork-wielding bigots to calm down. It also had a scene where you could feed romantic lines to an NPC trying to woo a girl. Similar ideas might be interesting.

I'll probably have an NPC tag along with them to give them a 4th character.

Uh, run away from this idea as fast as you can. If they're missing a wizard-ish type, put a magic shop with a caster in town, and have him charge for spells. Don't have the caster join the party. If they're missing a cleric, have a temple with lots of healing potions. Or have a bard with healing, or a paladin, or a ranger, or even a wizard with the Arcane Disciple feat (healing domain). But don't put a cleric NPC into the party. If they're missing a tank or two, let them hire mercenaries at the usual triple the day rate for dangerous work, and have them equip the mercenaries (they don't offer their own loot as gear). If you do that, keep the mercenaries as much of a blank slate as possible, and let the players run them like summoned monsters or something. They're literally meat-shields, and not much else.

Why do I plead with you to avoid the tag-along DM NPC? Because DMPCs are usually considered in derogatory terms.

That's why I encourage alternatives. Often (as happened to me), you can be wary of making a Mary Sue DMPC, only to find that you did it anyway. So best idea is to avoid that distraction right now, concentrate on being a DM, and have fun.