D&D General What's your best D&D tip (50 words or less)

[Blue]

Spend time on both sides of the GM screen. Play different games with unfamiliar expectations and authorial balance. Have someone who knows a game pitch it to you like they were trying to convince you to play. The wider your viewpoint, the better you are at anything in our hobby.

 

[Blue]

The players and the DM are on the same side - wanting a fun/memorable/enjoyable/epic session. It's just the characters and their NPC/monsters that are against each other. Don't confuse this. The person(s) on the other side of the GM screen is you ally.

 

[teitan]

"Read and use the DMG", even for 2e, which was largely considered useless. The 5e DMG is chockful of great optional rules and ideas to spin your own if you don't like how they work. It's even... part of the rules.

 

[MNblockhead]

Telescoping backscratchers are the multitool of playing with minis and terrain.

 

[GMMichael]

My best D&D tip: play a game, relax, and have fun. Then, remember that D&D isn't the only RPG.

 

[Th3Third1]

Don't be afraid to let disparate situations play out; resist the urge to DM fiat. Often the best experiences come out of surprise, struggle, and overcoming.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

For DMs: "The most precious thing for any game is true, sincere player enthusiasm. Work hard to gain it; work harder to never lose it. Almost nothing is worth sacrificing it."

For players: "Learn to embrace risks that are worth taking--when failure can be even more exciting than success. Sometimes, the best adventures grow from a failed roll at the right time."

For everyone: "System matters. That doesn't mean 'system is absolutely everything.' It means the tools you use affect the outcome--and better tools help you more."

 

[Lanefan]

"Kill 'em all and let the gods sort 'em out."

No? Oh, well...

So I'll go with "Players, be true to your characters even if it means they end up doing what you (and-or the other players) might rather they not. DMs, at all times be ready to hit the curveballs that their being true to their characters will throw at you."

 

[Yora]

RPGs are all about players making choices and dealing with the consequences that follow from them.
Don't prepare adventures with scripted scenes and outcomes.

 

[Li Shenron]

Treat any ruleset as a toolset only.