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<blockquote data-quote="Jeff Wilder" data-source="post: 4210102" data-attributes="member: 5122">(1) Be prepared.&nbsp; I've been in good games in which I'm pretty sure the GM was winging the adventure, but he or she was nevertheless prepared: NPCs, maps, artwork.&nbsp; One of my DMs is very good at being prepared ... the other less so.&nbsp; I am always so much more relaxed at the table when I'm fully prepared.(2) Be descriptive.&nbsp; This is the primary weakness of both of my DMs.&nbsp; Whenever I find myself losing interest at the table -- and, believe me, I'm a hardcore gamer, so it's tough to lose me -- it's always because there's nothing being described.&nbsp; Another stretch of rough corridor, another chamber, another monster hitting and missing.&nbsp; I've started trying to describe at least three of sight, hearing, scent, taste, and touch, and I think it makes a huge difference.(3) Be decisive in a 50/50 way.&nbsp; You don't know if the paladin used his Lay On Hands last session?&nbsp; Roll a die -- even's good for the players.&nbsp; Is that half-square occupiable?&nbsp; Roll a die -- even's good for the players.&nbsp; One of my DMs spends way too much time making trivial decisions like this -- or worse, looking to me -- and the other tends to make the decision way more complex than it used to be.&nbsp; Seriously ... &quot;roll a die, even's good for the players&quot; works for damned near everything.(4) Take notes.&nbsp; I'm terrible at this.&nbsp; One of my DMs never forgets anything in his game, because he takes notes.&nbsp; I keep trying, but I keep finding cryptic things on my notepad like, &quot;Sea Dog, fourth down, red-head.&quot;&nbsp; What the hell?&nbsp; Was I calling a play against Texas A&amp;M?&nbsp; I am one of those apparently rare GMs who can make up details like names on the fly, but the talent often does me no good because I forget to write down what I create!(5) Players like to succeed.&nbsp; A friend of mine and I used to discuss this a lot.&nbsp; He's a professional video game designer, and when we started playing together, he was convinced that more than anything, players want to be challenged.&nbsp; They want things to be hard.&nbsp; We came to the realization together that as long as they have to take some steps to success themselves, players would much rather be successful at something fairly easy than be defeated in a close and challenging way.&nbsp; (I can hear the protests already.&nbsp; Save 'em, please.&nbsp; I know my experiences.)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jeff Wilder, post: 4210102, member: 5122"] (1) Be prepared. I've been in good games in which I'm pretty sure the GM was winging the adventure, but he or she was nevertheless prepared: NPCs, maps, artwork. One of my DMs is very good at being prepared ... the other less so. I am always so much more relaxed at the table when I'm fully prepared. (2) Be descriptive. This is the primary weakness of both of my DMs. Whenever I find myself losing interest at the table -- and, believe me, I'm a hardcore gamer, so it's tough to lose me -- it's always because there's nothing being described. Another stretch of rough corridor, another chamber, another monster hitting and missing. I've started trying to describe at least three of sight, hearing, scent, taste, and touch, and I think it makes a huge difference. (3) Be decisive in a 50/50 way. You don't know if the paladin used his Lay On Hands last session? Roll a die -- even's good for the players. Is that half-square occupiable? Roll a die -- even's good for the players. One of my DMs spends way too much time making trivial decisions like this -- or worse, looking to me -- and the other tends to make the decision way more complex than it used to be. Seriously ... "roll a die, even's good for the players" works for damned near everything. (4) Take notes. I'm [i]terrible[/i] at this. One of my DMs never forgets anything in his game, because he takes notes. I keep trying, but I keep finding cryptic things on my notepad like, "Sea Dog, fourth down, red-head." What the hell? Was I calling a play against Texas A&M? I am one of those apparently rare GMs who can make up details like names on the fly, but the talent often does me no good because I forget to write down what I create! (5) Players like to succeed. A friend of mine and I used to discuss this a lot. He's a professional video game designer, and when we started playing together, he was convinced that more than anything, players want to be challenged. They want things to be [i]hard[/i]. We came to the realization together that as long as they have to take [i]some steps[/i] to success themselves, players would much rather be successful at something fairly easy than be defeated in a close and challenging way. (I can hear the protests already. Save 'em, please. I know my experiences.) [/QUOTE]

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