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DM - Adversarial or Permissive?
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<blockquote data-quote="Wild Gazebo" data-source="post: 5835878" data-attributes="member: 24413"><p>Hey guys!</p><p></p><p>The railroading isn't the issue...and doesn't help. He made a pretty classic DM blunder...and is asking for help. So lets help him!</p><p></p><p>1) I think he knows: avoid ultimatums. It is a blunt tool and players tend to feel confined.</p><p></p><p>2) Say YES. This is so important. Allow events to unfold. They may not be as you planned...or as the players plan. But, you as the DM have a control over the environment, you can always steer them back (or move what you had planned to a different location). Just because you wrote one name on your notes doesn't mean you can scratch it out and put another (assuming no plot holes). Better yet, try to think of what cool things can happen now that the course has changed.</p><p></p><p>3) Work at cohesion! This whole conflict arrived because of it. It's not because you are a badwrongfun DM. You weren't railroading your players (though it does look like it if not taken in full context) your players just had no reason to stay together! This is so important! How do you do this?</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Build it into the backstory. They are a team, family, war buddies, cultists..ect</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Work at a common goal. They all want one thing and have come together out of common interest.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They all have a common patron. They have been hired, are pledged to, or enslaved by a common person giving orders.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They have been branded by a shared event: survived a shipwreck, escaped a fire, endured a bar brawl, woke up in a prison, survived slavery...ect</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Good old in <em>media res</em>! Have the game start in the middle of a pitched battle...they were attacked by marauders...ect</li> </ul><p></p><p>Cohesion is one of the most important factors of having a good group (even an evil campaign with scheming companions should be invested in the same story arc). I think you know this was your biggest misstep. You built this conflict before the PC had any reason to stay...the PC had no invested interest. So if you spend time developing cohesion before your get to the juicy meat of your game they rest will all fall into place.</p><p></p><p>Come on guys! What other tips can we give to help out with the game!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Wild Gazebo, post: 5835878, member: 24413"] Hey guys! The railroading isn't the issue...and doesn't help. He made a pretty classic DM blunder...and is asking for help. So lets help him! 1) I think he knows: avoid ultimatums. It is a blunt tool and players tend to feel confined. 2) Say YES. This is so important. Allow events to unfold. They may not be as you planned...or as the players plan. But, you as the DM have a control over the environment, you can always steer them back (or move what you had planned to a different location). Just because you wrote one name on your notes doesn't mean you can scratch it out and put another (assuming no plot holes). Better yet, try to think of what cool things can happen now that the course has changed. 3) Work at cohesion! This whole conflict arrived because of it. It's not because you are a badwrongfun DM. You weren't railroading your players (though it does look like it if not taken in full context) your players just had no reason to stay together! This is so important! How do you do this? [LIST] [*]Build it into the backstory. They are a team, family, war buddies, cultists..ect [*]Work at a common goal. They all want one thing and have come together out of common interest. [*]They all have a common patron. They have been hired, are pledged to, or enslaved by a common person giving orders. [*]They have been branded by a shared event: survived a shipwreck, escaped a fire, endured a bar brawl, woke up in a prison, survived slavery...ect [*]Good old in [I]media res[/I]! Have the game start in the middle of a pitched battle...they were attacked by marauders...ect [/LIST] Cohesion is one of the most important factors of having a good group (even an evil campaign with scheming companions should be invested in the same story arc). I think you know this was your biggest misstep. You built this conflict before the PC had any reason to stay...the PC had no invested interest. So if you spend time developing cohesion before your get to the juicy meat of your game they rest will all fall into place. Come on guys! What other tips can we give to help out with the game! [/QUOTE]
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