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<blockquote data-quote="Obryn" data-source="post: 4680288" data-attributes="member: 11821"><p>For any new gaming system, there'll be a growth period during which everything is kinda new, scary, and confusing. I have a few suggestions, though...</p><p></p><p>(1) Instead of power cards, use power checklists. Really, it's a small difference, but it will cut down on the shuffling quite a lot. It also may feel more "D&Dish" to you. Group them by at-will/encounter/daily, and run with it.</p><p></p><p>(2) It's not your job to know all their powers. Delegate this duty. If you trust their capabilities & judgment, let them tell you what their powers do. As a DM, you should pretty much never have to look up anything in the PHB.</p><p></p><p>(3) You may think this is drastic. I have found with every new game and edition that a player's second character has more personality than their first character. When you're struggling to learn the rules, you might not know the kinds of characters a game supports, or how everything fits together. Let them make all new characters, if they feel like it, without any XP penalty.</p><p></p><p>(4) Traits. Have every player pick 2 personality traits for their characters. Give bennies like extra XP, a recharged encounter power, or a token that gives +1 to 1 die roll, when they exhibit those traits.</p><p></p><p>(5) Encourage narration. One of the reasons you might not know their weapons is that powers just do cooler stuff than weapons do, nowadays. Weapons still matter - those proficiency benefits, crit properties, reach, and so on make a big difference - but it can be lost if you're not paying attention. If they need to describe the action a bit better, roll with it.</p><p></p><p>(6) Less combat. Try running more noncombat encounters, be they skill challenges or just pure RP scenes.</p><p></p><p>(7) Above all, don't stress out about making mistakes. If you're running a fun game that your players enjoy, you're doing it right. Good players won't throw a fit if you need to retcon a rule based on a simple mistake - explain how it works for the future and move on. Again, there's a lot of new stuff - you can't be expected to know all of it right away. Make your players sit down and read through their class abilities, maybe. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I hope at least a few of these help!</p><p></p><p>-O</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Obryn, post: 4680288, member: 11821"] For any new gaming system, there'll be a growth period during which everything is kinda new, scary, and confusing. I have a few suggestions, though... (1) Instead of power cards, use power checklists. Really, it's a small difference, but it will cut down on the shuffling quite a lot. It also may feel more "D&Dish" to you. Group them by at-will/encounter/daily, and run with it. (2) It's not your job to know all their powers. Delegate this duty. If you trust their capabilities & judgment, let them tell you what their powers do. As a DM, you should pretty much never have to look up anything in the PHB. (3) You may think this is drastic. I have found with every new game and edition that a player's second character has more personality than their first character. When you're struggling to learn the rules, you might not know the kinds of characters a game supports, or how everything fits together. Let them make all new characters, if they feel like it, without any XP penalty. (4) Traits. Have every player pick 2 personality traits for their characters. Give bennies like extra XP, a recharged encounter power, or a token that gives +1 to 1 die roll, when they exhibit those traits. (5) Encourage narration. One of the reasons you might not know their weapons is that powers just do cooler stuff than weapons do, nowadays. Weapons still matter - those proficiency benefits, crit properties, reach, and so on make a big difference - but it can be lost if you're not paying attention. If they need to describe the action a bit better, roll with it. (6) Less combat. Try running more noncombat encounters, be they skill challenges or just pure RP scenes. (7) Above all, don't stress out about making mistakes. If you're running a fun game that your players enjoy, you're doing it right. Good players won't throw a fit if you need to retcon a rule based on a simple mistake - explain how it works for the future and move on. Again, there's a lot of new stuff - you can't be expected to know all of it right away. Make your players sit down and read through their class abilities, maybe. :) I hope at least a few of these help! -O [/QUOTE]
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