D&D General What is the worst piece of DM advice people give that you see commonly spread?

[Oofta]

I've resorted to this now and then to cut down on table chatter: if you say it, your character says it.

Blowing a few stealth rolls because your characters are busy gabbing about some mysterious cabal called the Vancouver Canucks usually gets the point across pretty quick.

So they blew their stealth check because they were so embarrassed?

 

[Velderan]

I've resorted to this now and then to cut down on table chatter: if you say it, your character says it.

Blowing a few stealth rolls because your characters are busy gabbing about some mysterious cabal called the Vancouver Canucks usually gets the point across pretty quick.

Have pity on them, they're already Canucks fans. Haven't they suffered enough?

 

[Lanefan]

Have pity on them, they're already Canucks fans. Haven't they suffered enough?

Some of us keep the faith regardless...

 

[Ath-kethin]

"use miniatures."

 

[James Gasik]

When I started playing D&D, we quickly got miniatures, but we never used them, or battlemaps. Some groups would try to use whiteboards, but it was cumbersome. A problem I had a LOT both as a player and a DM was debates about where someone was in relation to others on the battlefield (or sometimes, even exactly how many enemies we were facing!). It was a big headache.

3e rolls around and two things happened pretty much at the same time for me. 1, the game was built around using a map, with movement rates expressed not in inches, but feet. And good battlemaps became available. Suddenly all those old issues vaporized; people could see relative positions, plan around what everyone could/would/might do on their turns, and, for me, the game improved dramatically.

To the point I started using battlemaps in other games that didn't have them (which quickly showed why the attacks of opportunity many players grew to despise were actually a good thing, lol).

Now not every encounter needs a map or miniatures, but I could never, personally, go back to theatre of the mind style play. Especially when there's the visceral feeling of dread when a huge miniature is plopped onto the map in front of the tiny ones of the players!

So while I get this isn't for everyone, I do, in fact, often express the advantages of this style of play to other DM's.

 

[pogre]

When I run games at conventions or in public spaces and folks see all the terrain and miniatures it often draws them to learn more about what is going on. As it pertains to advice - for some people using miniatures does make the game easier to run.

So I agree with "you must use minis" is bad advice. Any advice that is "you must use" is going to fall under bad advice.

But, minis and terrain are a big part of my enjoyment of the game. It's not for everyone - I get that.

Unpainted minis, however, are an abomination!

 

[Oofta]

When I run games at conventions or in public spaces and folks see all the terrain and miniatures it often draws them to learn more about what is going on. As it pertains to advice - for some people using miniatures does make the game easier to run.

So I agree with "you must use minis" is bad advice. Any advice that is "you must use" is going to fall under bad advice.

But, minis and terrain are a big part of my enjoyment of the game. It's not for everyone - I get that.

Unpainted minis, however, are an abomination!

We started using tokens to represent our PCs and monsters long before there was any guidance on doing so. For us it just made the game easier to run.

As far as unpainted minis, I agree. I like to paint. People usually say something like "You painted this?" when I pull out my minis. Which is kind of odd in the sense that it sounds like they're saying I shouldn't be capable of it. But I digress. I enjoy painting. I volunteer to paint other people's minis if we have an ongoing campaign.

But the worst? The absolute abomination that to this day is burned into my psyche? Someone showing up at a game with an unpainted mini. Bad, right? But then I pull out exactly the same mini, fully painted and detailed. The player still insisted on using their unpainted abomination on the eyes.

 

[James Gasik]

I'd be terrified of ruining someone else's paint job, lol. If I paid for the paint job, that's fine, but otherwise, get used to my great grey horde (I don't have steady enough hands to do it myself)!

 

[ad_hoc]

I'm big into using minis and terrain.

For me it takes a cognitive load off of describing what everything looks like. I can still add additional details and I do for the environment. Having the groundwork represented helps.

I bet a lot of it is what kind of learner someone is. Some people are kinesthetic (doing) and/or visual which minis and terrain help with.

I even encourage players to pick a mini out of my collection they think is cool and then make a character around it.

When it comes to actual battles I'm pretty lax with being exact about squares. As long as it looks right and is close then I rule that it is okay to do. The last thing I want is for players to spend time counting things out trying to make an idea work.

 

[Lanefan]

We started using tokens to represent our PCs and monsters long before there was any guidance on doing so. For us it just made the game easier to run.

Same here; and actual minis for the PCs once we could get them. Little chips of wood to represent trees, chess pieces or game pawns for monsters, toy soldiers also, and so forth.

As far as unpainted minis, I agree. I like to paint. People usually say something like "You painted this?" when I pull out my minis. Which is kind of odd in the sense that it sounds like they're saying I shouldn't be capable of it. But I digress. I enjoy painting. I volunteer to paint other people's minis if we have an ongoing campaign.

An unpainted mini is better than no mini at all, and if you've ever seen my pathetic paint jobs you'd likely say unpainted minis are better than those too.

Fortunately I've had players over the years who are both willing to paint minis and are pretty damn good at it, so all is not lost.