D&D General Being A Better DM

[TaranTheWanderer]

Here's what I learned - which is slightly related to being right or wrong:

Don't stress too much. Often, there's no one right answer. In many situations, you have to make judgement calls. In one situation you might give someone advantage and in another you might make the difficulty lower. It doesn't matter. Both decisions are valid. As long as you are being fair and consistent overall and the ruling makes sense with the action.

 

[DND_Reborn]

FWIW also on being wrong or not knowing a rule and not stressing:

Apologize for missing it if you want to, but don't stress over it. The game is still fun (sometimes more fun) even when things aren't run perfectly.

 

[billd91]

This is a change I'd make to 5e without a second's thought: sneak attacks work for melee weapons only.

Having sneak attacks work for missile weapons in 3e was dumb dumb dumb, and that they perpetuated that into 4e-5e boggles the mind.

There are times I swear you're pretty much the Jasper Beardley of D&D.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

TIL that the name of the old guy on The Simpsons that's not Mr. Burns, Abe Simpson, or Hans Moleman is Jasper Beardley.

There are times I swear you're pretty much the Jasper Beardley of D&D.

 

[billd91]

TIL that the name of the old guy on The Simpsons that's not Mr. Burns, Abe Simpson, or Hans Moleman is Jasper Beardley.

You didn't know the name. That's a paddlin'.

 

[Weiley31]

If you have a long term NPC in the party, it's perfectly fine for them to start out a bit more powerful than the PCs. Over time, the PCs will quickly outshine the NPC, but they'll remain relevant for quite a while

I have a level 10 NPC in our game currently.the Party is lvl 3 and the max level for the module is 6.

Now this level 10 NPC has NO PROBS at all showing up the PCs as to quote him "I ain't got time to baby those who can't take care of themselves."

But the point is, the party isn't up to the NPC's skills yet. So of course he's gonna pull his weight more. Now when the party becomes more capable and experienced, then they can upstage that particular NPC. It's part of the story.

Then again, alot of my personal views on DMing would probably be seen as anthema/or contradictory to DND.

 

[GlassJaw]

Great thread! All the advice so far has been great.

I'll also add that you - the DM - need to do your homework. A good DM can think on his feet and improvise. You improve on that with practice but also have a diverse toolbelt of knowledge to draw upon. Read!, especially the classics (Lovecraft, Conan, Tolkien). Watch movies and shows. Play video games. Read other RPGs. Become versed in game mechanics and game design.

Another thing that has really helped me? Practice creative writing! I absolutely don't mean write a novel. Take a published adventure and flesh out locations and encounters by writing your own descriptions. Bring NPCs to life by giving them dynamic personalities, create your own own magic items, think about the motivations and goals of different factions in your world (or a module) and write it down. Writing is SO important and helps immensely when you have to improv.

 

[Lanefan]

There are times I swear you're pretty much the Jasper Beardley of D&D.

uh...OK...whoever that is...

(someone noted it's a Simpsons reference, which would be completely lost on me as I avoid that show like the plague)

 

[Oofta]

uh...OK...whoever that is...

(someone noted it's a Simpsons reference, which would be completely lost on me as I avoid that show like the plague)

He was referring to a character that is a senile old man in a nursing home.

 

[Lanefan]

I have a level 10 NPC in our game currently.the Party is lvl 3 and the max level for the module is 6.

Now this level 10 NPC has NO PROBS at all showing up the PCs as to quote him "I ain't got time to baby those who can't take care of themselves."

But the point is, the party isn't up to the NPC's skills yet. So of course he's gonna pull his weight more. Now when the party becomes more capable and experienced, then they can upstage that particular NPC. It's part of the story.

Then again, alot of my personal views on DMing would probably be seen as anthema/or contradictory to DND.

Was this 10th-level NPC put in the party 1) by your-as-DM choice, or 2) by player/PC request or recruiting, or 3) by the module itself?

IME if it's 1) things rarely if ever work out well, and if it does for you this time you're probably rather lucky; if it's 2) the players kind of brought it on themselves; and 3) sometimes can't be avoided if running a module as written (e.g. in the original ToEE the party has the opportunity of rescuing (or waking up?) a Paladin who is likely to be at least double the party's average level).

I try to make party-member NPCs at or slightly below the average party level when they come in, and they progress from there just like a PC would. If a party NPC isn't needed any more, or - as happened in an adventure I ran not too long ago - the part accumulates a bunch of them, I'm quick to pull the trigger on retiring them. (once back in town the 'bunch' all left to form their own all-NPC adventuring party, which gives me some potentially handy plot options to work with later )