Plotting and RPing....

[~EE~]

Question 1: Being a DM I notice that it gets kinda boring going "You hit" or "You miss" or "HAHA! THE MONSTER CRIT! DIE YOU 21AC CAT THING!". I've also noticed that my players are kinda sick of it too. How can I change that?

Question 2: How do you, other DMs, do plot? Do you write it ahead of time? Like, open up notepad and start putting down plot, encounters, loot, etc.? Or do you make it up as you go?

 

[Piratecat]

Think about combat would look in a movie. You have a couple choices if you want the same sort of feel: either encourage your players to tell you what it looks like when they hit or miss, or describe it yourself. I'm much more likely to say "the arrow is stuck in your shield, quivering, and another one is sticking out of your shoulder" than I am "you were hit once and missed once." This feels weird at first but quickly becomes second nature. Basically, anything you can do to help your players envision the action is going to help.

I plot using Word. I have a different document for each level (we level about every 5-6 sessions, slower than most folks) that I use to keep track of NPC names, plots, stat blocks, and all that stuff. I plot on three levels: short term (next game or so), medium term (a plot arc of 3-10 games), and long term (where is the campaign going?)

 

[ExploderWizard]

Start simple. Begin by asking each player exactly what they are doing when its thier turn. If they say "I attack" or just call out the name of a power then ask for more detail. It might be slow to get going but once it starts then it will snowball.

As a DM giving positive feedback for the effort can go a long way.

I usually do plots after determining who and what is in the area. After all, those plots belong to someone! After sketching NPCs and some basic motivations, the plots start writing themselves.

 

[Hussar]

Another option might be to give combat a bit of a rest for a while. Try other aspects a bit and take the focus off killing. Get into some skill challenges (assuming 4e) or exploration bits.

How to do plot. That's a big question actually. I'd suggest the first thing to do is sit down with your players and ask them what they want to do. What interests them and their characters. Take lots of notes.

Once you have a few ideas, roughly sketch out some adventures that incorporate those ideas. Obviously not all at once.

 

[Hjorimir]

Like P-Kitty, I use MS-Word (one document per level). I detail some points of the plotline as I see them likely to develop (but keeping in mind that no plan survives contact with the player characters). I also try to note at least one event that is important to each PC along the way, which may or may not be directly related to the current plot. It may just as easily target a PCs background or hint at future events.

During play, I keep a list I call Plot Seeds. These are the fallout from current events. Again, sometimes the seeds will relate to the current plot (and thus effect the original plan) or lay the groundwork for future plots. I can't stress how important this is because it will show the PCs (over time) that their actions matter. They are leaving their mark on the world.

 

[caudor]

One strategy I use to avoid the 'you hit/you miss' problem is to add one small trait to each monster.

For example, let's say I have a group of three goblins that the PCs will encounter. Rather than label them as Goblin 1, Goblin 2, etc., I might note that Goblin 1 is the tough looking one with a Bandana. Goblin 2 is the timid one with a broken tooth, and Goblin 3 is a defiant, glaring female.

These little bits, that I can prepare in advance, help me with describing actions on the fly....

--The goblin wearing the red bandana narrows his eyes, watering with hate, and lunges at your chest with his spear. He spits in anger after missing your body by inches.

--Your sword slashes a deep wound across the female goblin's neck. She clinches her throat, locks her eyes on you in disbelief, gurgles, then falls.

I hope this info is helpful.

 

[MadLordOfMilk]

Planning: I've used a variety of programs, though MS Word and OneNote are my particular choices. I prefer OneNote now that I've used it, but it's a lot less accessible for most people (yay, student discount!)

My method generally consists of the following steps:

1. Brainstorm
2. Create a general outline of the night's session
3. Add in details (monster stats, etc).

RPing: This one's just a matter of getting used to it. Roleplay what happens in-combat. I feel examples are better for this than explanation, and they also tend to get your imagination going

Examples:

• Semi-elaborate: "The gnolls bark at each other, then point at Arathy. Suddenly, all three of them fire arrows at him! ...22, 18, and 17 vs AC" "they all miss!" "Despite being barraged with arrows, you narrowly avoid being hit!"
• Quick and dirty: "The goblin swings at Karash with his sword - 27 vs AC" "...Seriously? Hit." "He slices into you, 10 damage"
• Quicker and dirtier: "Both orcs swing at Rai - 21 and 23 vs reflex" "Both hit" "28 damage as their hammers smash into you!"

 

[Thunderfoot]

So far I can't argue with any of the advice given, so let me supplement the plot and RP advice thus:

Plot:
1) Interview (just a formal word, doesn't need to be formal) each player finding out their character's motivations for becoming an adventurer. Why do you do what you do? Have them come up with a small back story and then exploit it. That doesn't mean kill and kidnap families - that's so over done it's tired, but there are usually one or two things you can run with, even as side adventures.

2) Keep a log at your table. Write down things the players/characters say that might trigger ideas. If Bob playing a halfling rogue keeps wanting to interact with other halfings, which you haven't provided thus far, design a halfling encounter. Someone has a hatred for orcs of a certain tribe for what they did to his/her family, give clues to where this tribe is located and set up a revenge encounter. Whatever, keep your ears open to the little off-handed comments, they pay HUGE divideneds.

3) Never be so proud as to not admit when you've made an error in scripting, judgment, whatever. Not really a design help, but I have seen more than one really good group get run off the rails by a single bad night where the DM was too prideful to say..."ooops, I screwed up, can we back this up or can we forget this ever happened?"

RPing
Generally, I would say, make every NPC memorable. This doesn't mean stat every NPC - you'll go insane and your workload increases by the thousands for a small town. Outline a few major re-occurring NPCs if the party has a permanent base, and even as they pass through locations, give your NPCs names (a quick list available from just about anywhere is helpful), descriptions and quirks. And of course, make a note of it, because invariably they will want to talk to Judy the bar wench in Haverbrook again and if you don't keeps notes when you say "Who?" you'll get lynched - trust me on this.

Another habit to get out of is saying things like "the bar maid says....", or "the guard says....", try to speak to your players in character. No you don't have to take acting classes, and you really don't have to be all that good, but the effort will make the difference. You'll notice they will follow suit eventually and stop saying I tell the NPC .... and will start to develop personae for their characters.

It really is in the little things that you do that will make the difference. I always laugh when I hear people say that "fluff" doesn't matter. I beg to differ, it makes much more of a difference than the "crunch" when making your game memorable. Most people never remember "beating BBEG #3 way back when we were 5th level." But the tale of defeating Talifer the Black in the epic battle of Fort Ravenwood will ring on for years after the campaign ends. Ask people that have played in P-Cat's M&M games at conventions or Crothian's Paranoia con games. I have had the pleasure of seeing the first and participating twice in the second. All of these were one off's but had so much flavor that they were more intense than many on-going campaigns I've seen.

Hope this helps! T-Foot.

 

[weem]

---Semi-elaborate: "The gnolls bark at each other, then point at Arathy. Suddenly, all three of them fire arrows at him! ...22, 18, and 17 vs AC" "they all miss!" "Despite being barraged with arrows, you narrowly avoid being hit!"
---Quick and dirty: "The goblin swings at Karash with his sword - 27 vs AC" "...Seriously? Hit." "He slices into you, 10 damage"

As far as RP goes (for combat descriptions, I tend to be between these two - back and forth a bit.

I will choose hit locations off the cuff depending on how good the roll was and based on where i think a hit would land for that kind of roll... so the player rolls a 19 (before modifier) I might say, "you slash the goblin across the chess... he staggers a bit... that seemed to really hurt him"... if he rolled a 10 and hit, I might say "you slice up and out barely catching his arm", etc. If someone crits and they do a big amount of damage, I have been known to kill the creature right there with some cinematic description - I generally go with what feels 'cool'.

As far as plot goes...

Without going into a ton of details, I basically sit down with a notebook. I can't write out game stuff on the computer - it seems to stifle my creativity... but I spend 16 hours a day on one, so it kind of makes sense I guess.

I think about the entire previous session, and when I get to the end, I start writing out the events that will happen immediately, once we start playing, based on that ending. From there, I think about my players and what I think they will do next. I work on things that will need to be prepared for those circumstances - NPC's etc. My players are pretty predictable, but even if I think I know what they will do, I consider other options and at least have an idea of how they might be handled.

In my thread about grading your DM skills, I noted that I felt one of my best traits is Improv, so that helps a lot - my notes are relatively vague sometimes, or sometimes I don't have any - I just have a loose idea and I see where it goes when we get together.

 

[weem]

double post