Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
One of my players, who is a capable DM himself, recently asked me for my advice on DMing.
I'm quite flattered by his request (Thanks AB!) but I figured there's a lot of good advice out there; two head are better than one, right? Besides, I could always use some good suggestions myself.
Here's the advice I gave him (he specifically asked about combat, hooks, and overall plot ideas). Give me a critique of my advice, and offer us some more ideas -- let's get a little free-form DM clinic going here!
Combat:
- Know the rules. You need accuracy and consistency. (I still goof things up, but I'm not afraid to admit I'm wrong, and I keep some cheat sheets close by to help.)
- Have some way to keep it organized, and keep track of what is going on. I use the initiative sheet for that, but some people like 3x5 cards with the character & monster stats on them, arranged in initiative order. Then you can just shuffle through them.
- Visual representation helps me a lot (read: battlemat + markers). I didn't used to DM this way -- I was a seat-of-the-pants all-in-your-head guy, but I like this way much better.
- Know the creatures you're using. I try to keep to a fairly small subset of critters, and when I use a new one I spend some time studying their abilities, and the related rules. It also helps to have your stats arranged in a manner you're comfortable with (which is why I write up stat blocks, rather than just winging it out of the MM).
- Have some basic tactics prepared. For fights with a few dissimilar enemies, I have a few notes prepared about what critter will use what tactic, in what order. I try to pick tactics that will make for a challenging fight (if I can). For example, for the time the elves ambushed the party, I had a little sketch map of the area, with the first 5 rounds of tactics planned for the elves (what spells in what order, etc).
- Don't get too attached to your monsters or NPCs. While sometimes I'd like them to survive, I think the party usually has the most fun when they have a hard fight that they *ultimately* win. So while I won't usually pull punches, I'm prepared for when the bad guy goes down in a round or two -- I'm not that emotionally involved in their survival.
- When the plan fails, wing it! But always start with a plan.
Hooks:
- This is related to where you're going with the overall plot. I try to have a number of options I've considered, since I'm never really sure exactly which hook the party will take. I have 2-3 different plot branches in mind, set up in layers. I'll throw out hooks to all of them, and have the first layer prepared, but I'll wait until the party follows a hook until I develop the second layer. That way the party -- not me -- determines the real course of the story, but I'm still ahead of them.
- Throw out innocuous details and introduce NPCs that could be used later (sometimes much later) as *future* hooks. That way you can draw on them if you use them, and it seems natural. You can even change directions but still use the same device, since the party won't know what you originally planned.
- Allow the story to develop. As it does, consider what the reactions might be of those the party encounters. What goes on behind the scenes? The world keeps rolling. You can give some hints of this, then pick up depending on what the party does.
- Repeat villians (like the Fat Bastard (tm)) can help hold the story together and generate links -- but the bad guy has to make an appearance eventually. Make sure you introduce the next bad guy before you kill off the current one.
- Use the characters themselves. I try to link one or two hooks to each character, but not be obvious about it -- just be alert to how a plot twist can relate to a character.
Some examples:
- When we started this campaign, I threw out three primary hooks: raids on caravans, a missing girl, and strange noises and rumored treasure by a ruin. I had three different adventures that could be linked to them (the one we did was one, Sunless Citadel was another). When the party picked one, I advanced the plot in the other hooks, and eventually concluded one (Sir Bradford disappears; Sharwyn returns). I also dropped some minor hints that could be picked up later (a sword with an unusual forge mark, eventually revealed to be Duergeddin's, that could lead to Forge of Fury ... or even something else). About half of the "Current Clack" items I post have a hook tied to them, the other half are just flavor.
- When the party decided not to go back to the caves, but instead go do some shopping and follow up leads, it gave me an opportunity. I asked myself: how would the orcs & other bad guys respond to the raid on their caves? The answer: a little internal power struggle, try and scare the adventurers with a little terror (execute some prisoners), and given enough time attack back (the siege). All this was related to their over all goal, which was CLASSIFIED.
- Take the opportunity to roll up old hooks, while at the same time introducing new hooks for future adventures.
Overall Plot
- This can depend a lot on your ideas, but here is the general approach I follow:
- The PC's are the story. I tweak the plot to keep the PCs in the limelight. Sure, big bad plot #1 might end the world, but if the PC's just aren't interested, I don't railroad them -- I just let the plot develop in another direction. I might return to BBP#1 later, having dropped some hints along the way, but I let the party take the hook.
- Have a couple of themes in mind you can link together for a big story -- but don't lead with the big story. Look at the WOTC adventure path -- the first adventure places a number of innocuous options that are followed up on in various ways throughout the adventures -- but you don't see the big picture until near the end. This way you can continue to change the story depending on PC actions.
- Start small. Don't blow up the world at 1st level -- it doesn't work for most groups. I try and build some things the PCs are attached to (relationships with NPCs, etc), and let the story develop from there.
- The side treks make the story. Read "The Hobbit". Sure, there is an overall quest in mind, but it's all the little things that happen on the way to the big quest that make the story special. The trick is to make these side treks seem natural -- they don't have to be planned way in advance, but you can follow the lead of something the players do. Your repeat performance NPCs are good for this.
- I'm not a fan of the "TV eposide" model. It works if you're really good, but I prefer the story to develop more organically. I don't recommend taking an entire plot from another source -- it will feel too contrived to follow the whole way. Steal the best ideas, combine with others, etc. I'm using mostly pre-published stuff for given locations, but I change motivations to create my own story.
- Pick a couple of sets of bad guys. Figure out what their motivations are -- long term goals, etc. Then consider how they would interact -- do they cooperate, or compete? Some of their activites make for low-level plot hooks; some are directly related to their goals while others are diversions. One group's activities might appear to be related to anothers, but be completely unrelated, and create a mystery for the PCs.
- Use a recurring villain or two -- some revealed early, some only hinted at, some manipulating pawns behind the scenes. Don't resort to extreme measure to keep them alive -- when the party pins them down, let them go and move to a backup.
- Stay flexible -- and don't railroad!
(Just in case anyone wants to follow our campaign, the full campaign story may be read here.)
I'm quite flattered by his request (Thanks AB!) but I figured there's a lot of good advice out there; two head are better than one, right? Besides, I could always use some good suggestions myself.
Here's the advice I gave him (he specifically asked about combat, hooks, and overall plot ideas). Give me a critique of my advice, and offer us some more ideas -- let's get a little free-form DM clinic going here!
Combat:
- Know the rules. You need accuracy and consistency. (I still goof things up, but I'm not afraid to admit I'm wrong, and I keep some cheat sheets close by to help.)
- Have some way to keep it organized, and keep track of what is going on. I use the initiative sheet for that, but some people like 3x5 cards with the character & monster stats on them, arranged in initiative order. Then you can just shuffle through them.
- Visual representation helps me a lot (read: battlemat + markers). I didn't used to DM this way -- I was a seat-of-the-pants all-in-your-head guy, but I like this way much better.
- Know the creatures you're using. I try to keep to a fairly small subset of critters, and when I use a new one I spend some time studying their abilities, and the related rules. It also helps to have your stats arranged in a manner you're comfortable with (which is why I write up stat blocks, rather than just winging it out of the MM).
- Have some basic tactics prepared. For fights with a few dissimilar enemies, I have a few notes prepared about what critter will use what tactic, in what order. I try to pick tactics that will make for a challenging fight (if I can). For example, for the time the elves ambushed the party, I had a little sketch map of the area, with the first 5 rounds of tactics planned for the elves (what spells in what order, etc).
- Don't get too attached to your monsters or NPCs. While sometimes I'd like them to survive, I think the party usually has the most fun when they have a hard fight that they *ultimately* win. So while I won't usually pull punches, I'm prepared for when the bad guy goes down in a round or two -- I'm not that emotionally involved in their survival.
- When the plan fails, wing it! But always start with a plan.
Hooks:
- This is related to where you're going with the overall plot. I try to have a number of options I've considered, since I'm never really sure exactly which hook the party will take. I have 2-3 different plot branches in mind, set up in layers. I'll throw out hooks to all of them, and have the first layer prepared, but I'll wait until the party follows a hook until I develop the second layer. That way the party -- not me -- determines the real course of the story, but I'm still ahead of them.
- Throw out innocuous details and introduce NPCs that could be used later (sometimes much later) as *future* hooks. That way you can draw on them if you use them, and it seems natural. You can even change directions but still use the same device, since the party won't know what you originally planned.
- Allow the story to develop. As it does, consider what the reactions might be of those the party encounters. What goes on behind the scenes? The world keeps rolling. You can give some hints of this, then pick up depending on what the party does.
- Repeat villians (like the Fat Bastard (tm)) can help hold the story together and generate links -- but the bad guy has to make an appearance eventually. Make sure you introduce the next bad guy before you kill off the current one.
- Use the characters themselves. I try to link one or two hooks to each character, but not be obvious about it -- just be alert to how a plot twist can relate to a character.
Some examples:
- When we started this campaign, I threw out three primary hooks: raids on caravans, a missing girl, and strange noises and rumored treasure by a ruin. I had three different adventures that could be linked to them (the one we did was one, Sunless Citadel was another). When the party picked one, I advanced the plot in the other hooks, and eventually concluded one (Sir Bradford disappears; Sharwyn returns). I also dropped some minor hints that could be picked up later (a sword with an unusual forge mark, eventually revealed to be Duergeddin's, that could lead to Forge of Fury ... or even something else). About half of the "Current Clack" items I post have a hook tied to them, the other half are just flavor.
- When the party decided not to go back to the caves, but instead go do some shopping and follow up leads, it gave me an opportunity. I asked myself: how would the orcs & other bad guys respond to the raid on their caves? The answer: a little internal power struggle, try and scare the adventurers with a little terror (execute some prisoners), and given enough time attack back (the siege). All this was related to their over all goal, which was CLASSIFIED.
- Take the opportunity to roll up old hooks, while at the same time introducing new hooks for future adventures.
Overall Plot
- This can depend a lot on your ideas, but here is the general approach I follow:
- The PC's are the story. I tweak the plot to keep the PCs in the limelight. Sure, big bad plot #1 might end the world, but if the PC's just aren't interested, I don't railroad them -- I just let the plot develop in another direction. I might return to BBP#1 later, having dropped some hints along the way, but I let the party take the hook.
- Have a couple of themes in mind you can link together for a big story -- but don't lead with the big story. Look at the WOTC adventure path -- the first adventure places a number of innocuous options that are followed up on in various ways throughout the adventures -- but you don't see the big picture until near the end. This way you can continue to change the story depending on PC actions.
- Start small. Don't blow up the world at 1st level -- it doesn't work for most groups. I try and build some things the PCs are attached to (relationships with NPCs, etc), and let the story develop from there.
- The side treks make the story. Read "The Hobbit". Sure, there is an overall quest in mind, but it's all the little things that happen on the way to the big quest that make the story special. The trick is to make these side treks seem natural -- they don't have to be planned way in advance, but you can follow the lead of something the players do. Your repeat performance NPCs are good for this.
- I'm not a fan of the "TV eposide" model. It works if you're really good, but I prefer the story to develop more organically. I don't recommend taking an entire plot from another source -- it will feel too contrived to follow the whole way. Steal the best ideas, combine with others, etc. I'm using mostly pre-published stuff for given locations, but I change motivations to create my own story.
- Pick a couple of sets of bad guys. Figure out what their motivations are -- long term goals, etc. Then consider how they would interact -- do they cooperate, or compete? Some of their activites make for low-level plot hooks; some are directly related to their goals while others are diversions. One group's activities might appear to be related to anothers, but be completely unrelated, and create a mystery for the PCs.
- Use a recurring villain or two -- some revealed early, some only hinted at, some manipulating pawns behind the scenes. Don't resort to extreme measure to keep them alive -- when the party pins them down, let them go and move to a backup.
- Stay flexible -- and don't railroad!
(Just in case anyone wants to follow our campaign, the full campaign story may be read here.)
