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Yes, some words about the party size, their levels, strategy and how many fights they had since their last extended rest would be useful to interpret the whole situation. I'm a fan of wisely used "fail-foward" situations, too. If they are subdued by the slavers they could be used as slaves and...

I am very impressed by the colourful setting that you and your players create. The mausoleum, the sphinx (and the poplars!), the search for the name of the goddess, the players' debate about how to deal with the threat - everything drips with life. I will have to read your other session reports.

Yes, that is one of many things I learned back then when I was figuring out 4e. :) It falls right into the same time when I realized that I don't have to be so strict about XP and don't have to worry so much about leveling and the proper amount of fights/encounters. And sure: my average should...

I scraped the concept of XP a while ago while DMing 4e. Until a few years back I had a 4e campaign where I wrote down every single XP the group got from encounters, quests, skill challenges etc. When they were at a point in the story where I wanted them to fight against, let's say, Zombie hulks...

That was a rather silly linguistics joke. But I chuckled nonetheless.

A bit late to this conversation, but nevertheless: I am SO fond of 4E's possibility of refluffing powers. Two weeks ago one of my players told me, he would like to play some kind of alchemist who throws potions and glitter at his friends and foes. He played a standard cleric for several sessions...

Okay, I re-read your initial question. You ask about how to get good ideas for the game session and also how to manage player choices that you haven't anticipated. Preperation and "good ideas": I can't stress this enough, but you don't have to deliver or produce high quality adventure content...

Do you know where to find the article? Dungeon/Dragon mag?

Ah well, speederbike101, don't blame us if we give you somewhat contradictory advice - those depend on different DMing philosophies. Some of us find railroading a good start, some despise it. Some say that preperation is king, some think that you shouldn't over-prepare. It is kind of confusing...

Yeah, the Grey Company as nazi like villains is a good concept. I always had the vibe that they tended to the more fascist side of things. The Raiders of the Lost Ark theme could also be very well connected to Gardmore Abbey and the Deck of Many Things. And while we're at it: the Nentir Vale...

Just a few quick most basic tips for anyone who dons the DM cape: - Relax You are not there to entertain, but to make play possible. If you don't know something or are lost in the job of DMing, talk the other players and tell them about the situation you are in. If you feel that your game...

That's a very good point (and a very interesting story to back it). I hadn't thought about it this way.

And that's the problem. That is basically making your project public and therefore targetable by WotC (as far as I can see). We don't want to discourage you btw, just telling you what the consequences could be.

Okay, now I'm really sad...

Oh man, they really should put 4E into the new OGL... *small tear drops from eye* But I also don't see any real possibility for the OP to make his/her work public. Sorry Qwartz, good idea, but ultimately not very wise to do so.

I wholeheartedly agree. This hobby is so much about the real people you are sitting with around the table. If there is a problem in the game (i.e. a player or the DM doesn't enjoy the game as much as he/she would like to etc.), do talk to the people and ask them what they don't like...

Well, you certainly can omit the advantage/threat results in combat if you want to have quicker fights. Nobody stops ypou from doing that and it also doesn't really brake the system. Critical hits from certain weapons won't be working though, because they rely on a number of rolled advantages to...

Secret confessions: Sometimes when I'm lazy or didn't have any prep time for my group and the guys and girls really just want to smash some orc noses on their way to king Whatshisname... I take this little card out and run an encounter only with the data given there. It works like a charm.

I wish the same, deeply and sincerely. But companies are not about granting wishes - they do bznz. And when they take out DDI and bury it under a huge boulder of ready to use cease-and-desist forms then maybe some of the heartbroken 4E players will try to cure their grieve with some 5E. I...

Ah, okay. Thanks!