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
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Novice DM, looking for advice
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="Kibo" data-source="post: 289677" data-attributes="member: 5451"><p><strong>Play to your strengths.</strong></p><p></p><p>Your acting and improv abilities should carry you through most things. If you've got strong deductive reasoning, and strong opinions then the game should run quick and smooth, even if you do flub an "as printed core rule". Most of the time, I think players will catch this, and if it's a stupid rule, or not particularly germain, you've got a strong opinion and a good reason, and most people will go along to get along.</p><p></p><p>I've said it elsewhere, and it's even more advantageous to you. Just have "characters". The council members can have conflicting opinions and have arguments with themselves (a little schitzo but occasionally fun) and the PC's. Have a few canned encounter ideas, where you're soft on the rules you can brush up ahead of time. And let the players be who they want to be, monk, cleric less whatever. If they make it more difficult on themselves, it could make their eventual triumph more satisfying. If their characters behave reasonably, they'll stand a pretty decent chance of survival, unless they were particularly bold, unlucky, or a combination. I trust in the dice. They almost always seem to know best.</p><p></p><p>I don't just say this because I think it's fun to railroad players or I think a DM should engage in long bouts of exposition. Rather, the people I gamed with were almost impossible to railroad, it was just too damn much work. You've got your cast of characters, they've got their stars. If there's a story worth telling, it will just tell itself.</p><p></p><p>Besides you've got a couple of nice outs. The main force might be twenty days out. But should a PC, or a couple of PCs die, you've always got other elements of the resistance to link up with, that they could in turn use to re-enter the adventure. And they also had the privilege of establishing the villians <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />.</p><p></p><p>You could have your events on the clock, some of which are mutually exclusive. The PC's do what they do, other events happen that shape future events. It's just smooth. It makes everything a little more alive. Sacrifices must be made. And how cool would it be if they completely surprised you and were able to have their cake and eat it too.</p><p></p><p>With infiltrators, and a sneaky monk with a nice bluff you could really have some fun. And his characters potential impact might be far far beyond his level or BAB.</p><p></p><p>Most of what would really sell an adventure like this would, at least in my opinion, be your improvisational and acting abilities. </p><p></p><p>You can have the council members argue back and forth, politic, and maybe even personally ask the PC's for favors, maybe even favors they shouldn't and have no right to ask. The players are masters of their fate. Maybe there's a mole on the council, possibly trying to subtly sabotage the defensive efforts. Maybe some of the council members aren't the best people, perhaps even petty would be tyrants who can't be challanged directly in this desperate time, who might even be trying to do the right thing now, if only to preserve their undeserved power later. Maybe some element of the city is under represented by the power structure, and left to their own devices, while the players are left to grapple with the morality of such a descision, their silent support of it, and the morality of risking a common defense for everyone for people no one cares for, and might not even be able to be saved.</p><p></p><p>You make your bit players real, and the choices hard, and the players will make their own drama. And that will make every encounter dramatic. I try my best to do that, and trust in the dice.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Kibo, post: 289677, member: 5451"] [b]Play to your strengths.[/b] Your acting and improv abilities should carry you through most things. If you've got strong deductive reasoning, and strong opinions then the game should run quick and smooth, even if you do flub an "as printed core rule". Most of the time, I think players will catch this, and if it's a stupid rule, or not particularly germain, you've got a strong opinion and a good reason, and most people will go along to get along. I've said it elsewhere, and it's even more advantageous to you. Just have "characters". The council members can have conflicting opinions and have arguments with themselves (a little schitzo but occasionally fun) and the PC's. Have a few canned encounter ideas, where you're soft on the rules you can brush up ahead of time. And let the players be who they want to be, monk, cleric less whatever. If they make it more difficult on themselves, it could make their eventual triumph more satisfying. If their characters behave reasonably, they'll stand a pretty decent chance of survival, unless they were particularly bold, unlucky, or a combination. I trust in the dice. They almost always seem to know best. I don't just say this because I think it's fun to railroad players or I think a DM should engage in long bouts of exposition. Rather, the people I gamed with were almost impossible to railroad, it was just too damn much work. You've got your cast of characters, they've got their stars. If there's a story worth telling, it will just tell itself. Besides you've got a couple of nice outs. The main force might be twenty days out. But should a PC, or a couple of PCs die, you've always got other elements of the resistance to link up with, that they could in turn use to re-enter the adventure. And they also had the privilege of establishing the villians :). You could have your events on the clock, some of which are mutually exclusive. The PC's do what they do, other events happen that shape future events. It's just smooth. It makes everything a little more alive. Sacrifices must be made. And how cool would it be if they completely surprised you and were able to have their cake and eat it too. With infiltrators, and a sneaky monk with a nice bluff you could really have some fun. And his characters potential impact might be far far beyond his level or BAB. Most of what would really sell an adventure like this would, at least in my opinion, be your improvisational and acting abilities. You can have the council members argue back and forth, politic, and maybe even personally ask the PC's for favors, maybe even favors they shouldn't and have no right to ask. The players are masters of their fate. Maybe there's a mole on the council, possibly trying to subtly sabotage the defensive efforts. Maybe some of the council members aren't the best people, perhaps even petty would be tyrants who can't be challanged directly in this desperate time, who might even be trying to do the right thing now, if only to preserve their undeserved power later. Maybe some element of the city is under represented by the power structure, and left to their own devices, while the players are left to grapple with the morality of such a descision, their silent support of it, and the morality of risking a common defense for everyone for people no one cares for, and might not even be able to be saved. You make your bit players real, and the choices hard, and the players will make their own drama. And that will make every encounter dramatic. I try my best to do that, and trust in the dice. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Novice DM, looking for advice
Top