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Weem's "Grade your DM-skills" Challenge...
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<blockquote data-quote="lostingeneral" data-source="post: 5535684" data-attributes="member: 6674340"><p>Cool thread, interesting replies.</p><p></p><p><strong>A - Preparation.</strong> I prepare everything in advance and am usually several sessions ahead of where the party actually <em>is.</em> Here, I'm including preparing settings, adventure hooks, plots, characters, etc. as well as out-of-game things, like the setup of the room, availability of snacks, and so on. In my (limited) experience, I've found that the effort I put in before a session is pretty much proportional to how well it goes. Of course, there's always such a thing as planning too much.</p><p></p><p><strong>B - Plots n' stories.</strong> I spend more time on this than I probably should. I look at the characters and try to write things that would be involving for them, not just interesting in general. I include as many plot hooks tailored for the characters as possible while still focusing on an overall campaign story, toss in throw-backs to older plot points, that kind of thing. I can get carried away... often.</p><p></p><p><strong>C - Improvisation.</strong> There's a lot of this in my game but I'm still not great at it; lots of my "spontaneous" stuff sort of blends together. I'm getting better, though it can be difficult; it's not like other areas where planning can get around it. It needs to be learned through practice... unfortunately.</p><p></p><p><strong>D - Combat.</strong> I prefer a story-driven game with lots of roleplay, but not all of my players do. The majority prefer light roleplaying (for some, none) and lots of combat, but I find battles wear me out. My tactics get sketchy, I glaze over some aspect of the environment, and ultimately by my lack of interest the combat wears down. I've been trying to integrate stuff I like into it and that's been helping: monsters with personalities, creatures tied to character backstories, weird/unusual environments, etc. I play 4e, so I also have found that speeding up combat with a set of small changes has helped a lot in this area, but I still need much work.</p><p></p><p><strong>F - Balancing player motivations.</strong> I feel that this is hard to explain, but put simply, I have many players and each of them wants something different out of the game. It's hard to provide for so many, especially when I have a strong bias towards making the game as it would appeal to me if I were playing (story centric, lots of depth, light on combat). I've been working like crazy to try and get this fixed. As above, combat is improving, and in general I'm working to appeal to my fighters as well as my roleplayers... it's a balancing act, and it's tough. Even after all this I still have two players who show up just to "be part of it" and I can't figure out how to involve at all, so yes. Lots of work needed here. :O</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="lostingeneral, post: 5535684, member: 6674340"] Cool thread, interesting replies. [B]A - Preparation.[/B] I prepare everything in advance and am usually several sessions ahead of where the party actually [i]is.[/i] Here, I'm including preparing settings, adventure hooks, plots, characters, etc. as well as out-of-game things, like the setup of the room, availability of snacks, and so on. In my (limited) experience, I've found that the effort I put in before a session is pretty much proportional to how well it goes. Of course, there's always such a thing as planning too much. [B]B - Plots n' stories.[/B] I spend more time on this than I probably should. I look at the characters and try to write things that would be involving for them, not just interesting in general. I include as many plot hooks tailored for the characters as possible while still focusing on an overall campaign story, toss in throw-backs to older plot points, that kind of thing. I can get carried away... often. [B]C - Improvisation.[/B] There's a lot of this in my game but I'm still not great at it; lots of my "spontaneous" stuff sort of blends together. I'm getting better, though it can be difficult; it's not like other areas where planning can get around it. It needs to be learned through practice... unfortunately. [B]D - Combat.[/B] I prefer a story-driven game with lots of roleplay, but not all of my players do. The majority prefer light roleplaying (for some, none) and lots of combat, but I find battles wear me out. My tactics get sketchy, I glaze over some aspect of the environment, and ultimately by my lack of interest the combat wears down. I've been trying to integrate stuff I like into it and that's been helping: monsters with personalities, creatures tied to character backstories, weird/unusual environments, etc. I play 4e, so I also have found that speeding up combat with a set of small changes has helped a lot in this area, but I still need much work. [B]F - Balancing player motivations.[/b] I feel that this is hard to explain, but put simply, I have many players and each of them wants something different out of the game. It's hard to provide for so many, especially when I have a strong bias towards making the game as it would appeal to me if I were playing (story centric, lots of depth, light on combat). I've been working like crazy to try and get this fixed. As above, combat is improving, and in general I'm working to appeal to my fighters as well as my roleplayers... it's a balancing act, and it's tough. Even after all this I still have two players who show up just to "be part of it" and I can't figure out how to involve at all, so yes. Lots of work needed here. :O [/QUOTE]
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