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Shilsen's Eberron SH (Finished - The Last Word : 9/20/15)
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<blockquote data-quote="shilsen" data-source="post: 5502335" data-attributes="member: 198"><p>All true, except near the end of the Guardian Angels campaign, where Nameless had a godawfully high Knowledge bonus in almost everything, so if the PCs encountered something from the standard MM, I told him he knew everything about it.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Luckily, I'm very good at working out mechanics (both in evaluating something at first glance and making up stuff on the fly), so I've rarely had occasions where I miscalculated how tough something would be to fight. That said, there's so much work in DMing that I try to keep extra time to a minimum, hence the use of existing material wherever possible.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Somewhere in between. I definitely don't make it all up on the fly, but since I'm big on PC/player choice driving direction and in certain situations (a lot of the time in Sharn, for example) I can't really predict where PCs will go next, I'm always ready to deal with things I haven't prepped for. In general, when I start a session I have a few encounters (not necessarily combat) planned which I think PCs might run into and some general information I think I might need, and that's about it. Anything I didn't include or plan for I just wing when needed. </p><p></p><p>I don't think I've ever ended a session purely because the PCs made a big choice I didn't plan for, and I've run a couple of combat encounters (though very few) where I had no stats ready whatsoever. Since I can crunch numbers pretty well in my head, I just picked AC, attacks, damage, saves, etc. which seemed reasonable (and in 3e you can get a very wide range, so I knew I was in the right ballpark) and ran with it. I've gathered after talking to my players that they never knew which one was planned and which one wasn't <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> </p><p></p><p>I'm a big fan of trying to do a good mix of what works for the players and, of course, what suits you as a DM, so I'd get as much feedback as possible before and during the game. And be prepared for the fact that many people can't really articulate what they want.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I aim to please <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite6" alt=":cool:" title="Cool :cool:" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":cool:" /> </p><p></p><p>Let me know if you have any other questions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="shilsen, post: 5502335, member: 198"] All true, except near the end of the Guardian Angels campaign, where Nameless had a godawfully high Knowledge bonus in almost everything, so if the PCs encountered something from the standard MM, I told him he knew everything about it. Luckily, I'm very good at working out mechanics (both in evaluating something at first glance and making up stuff on the fly), so I've rarely had occasions where I miscalculated how tough something would be to fight. That said, there's so much work in DMing that I try to keep extra time to a minimum, hence the use of existing material wherever possible. Somewhere in between. I definitely don't make it all up on the fly, but since I'm big on PC/player choice driving direction and in certain situations (a lot of the time in Sharn, for example) I can't really predict where PCs will go next, I'm always ready to deal with things I haven't prepped for. In general, when I start a session I have a few encounters (not necessarily combat) planned which I think PCs might run into and some general information I think I might need, and that's about it. Anything I didn't include or plan for I just wing when needed. I don't think I've ever ended a session purely because the PCs made a big choice I didn't plan for, and I've run a couple of combat encounters (though very few) where I had no stats ready whatsoever. Since I can crunch numbers pretty well in my head, I just picked AC, attacks, damage, saves, etc. which seemed reasonable (and in 3e you can get a very wide range, so I knew I was in the right ballpark) and ran with it. I've gathered after talking to my players that they never knew which one was planned and which one wasn't :) I'm a big fan of trying to do a good mix of what works for the players and, of course, what suits you as a DM, so I'd get as much feedback as possible before and during the game. And be prepared for the fact that many people can't really articulate what they want. I aim to please :cool: Let me know if you have any other questions. [/QUOTE]
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