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Advice on how not to feel like a lousy DM
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<blockquote data-quote="Mistwell" data-source="post: 7869361" data-attributes="member: 2525"><p>In my opinion, often less preparation is better.</p><p></p><p>For example, you were trying to cover all your bases in reading the text and missed the players could investigate in a different way. </p><p></p><p>But that's not something you need to prepare for. If the players try to investigate something...just let them. If you didn't expect that, that's OK. A whole lot of what the player's do isn't expected. Your job is just to roll with it. So they say to the innkeeper "Hey what's up with that creepy old lighthouse on the hill?" Just feed them some information from the innkeeper. Make the innkeeper interesting too - that's an interaction they chose to have so make it an interesting one. </p><p></p><p>I think the biggest hitch new DMs run into is over preparing. The hardest preparation is just organizing your thoughts and being prepared with random names and characterizations and a new NPC on the spot. </p><p></p><p>That, and don't sweat anything. If you screw up, act like that's what you meant to do. If you describe something different than the book - well that's what it looks like now. Just keep the flow of the game going. Your players won't know the difference unless you tell them - so don't tell them.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Mistwell, post: 7869361, member: 2525"] In my opinion, often less preparation is better. For example, you were trying to cover all your bases in reading the text and missed the players could investigate in a different way. But that's not something you need to prepare for. If the players try to investigate something...just let them. If you didn't expect that, that's OK. A whole lot of what the player's do isn't expected. Your job is just to roll with it. So they say to the innkeeper "Hey what's up with that creepy old lighthouse on the hill?" Just feed them some information from the innkeeper. Make the innkeeper interesting too - that's an interaction they chose to have so make it an interesting one. I think the biggest hitch new DMs run into is over preparing. The hardest preparation is just organizing your thoughts and being prepared with random names and characterizations and a new NPC on the spot. That, and don't sweat anything. If you screw up, act like that's what you meant to do. If you describe something different than the book - well that's what it looks like now. Just keep the flow of the game going. Your players won't know the difference unless you tell them - so don't tell them. [/QUOTE]
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