Help me make D&D easier to DM

[maddman75]

If the rules are too complicated, stop following them.

Your players don't get to see your notes, and here's a dirty little secret - the game is so damn complicated they'll never know the difference anyway. Just so long as you have a feel for the rules to give them something reasonable no one will be the wiser.

So here's how to run an encounter without a statblock. The group encounters a monster swordsman, maybe a huge ogre in plate armor and a greatsword. The PCs go to attack him - we'll he's slow moving, but he's got all that heavy armor on. The DM decides that an AC of 20 sounds pretty good. They hit and do some damage. The GM thinks he's got good hit dice and a huge CON score being an ogre and gives him 75 hit points. (Alternately, you could use the 'they beat on him until you think he should fall down' method, but then you're writing down damage for no good reason. Players get itchy if they don't see the GM writing down numbers!) Run the whole battle like this. If he gets hit by a spell, eyeball his saves. Come on, ogre fighter! Good Fort, bad Ref and Will. Do the same with his attacks and feats.

I guarantee your players will never even know the difference. Rules are for players anyway.

 

[bento]

Doh!

Sorry about my enthusiasm. Here's another crack at the questions:

Magic - hows about replacing the current system with a mana point system? I think WoTC's Unearthed Arcanum covers this. Maybe your world doesn't have certain kinds of magic (teleportation, necromancy, etc.) so it's off the table for players? You could also rule out Clerics, Wizards or any other spell casters that have large spell lists, and only allow classes like Sorcerers and Favored Souls with limited, pre-set spell lists.

High Level NPCs in a flash - I guess this would depend on whether you want them for quick encounters or a fight. If it's a quick encounter like meeting with a king, just stat out what are the most important skills, like diplomacy or intimidation. He's 8th level, so he'd have 4+7 ranks and a Cha Mod, call it 13 or 14. For fighting purposes, it might be worthwhile to seek out HeroForge or another spreadsheet character generator. I use it and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to stat out a 10th level character. I think there are also NPC books available that you can find what you want and run with it. Check RPGNow.

Grappling - I use this: (1) touch attack to grab; (2) strength check to maintain grab; and (3) grappling check to do anything while in the grapple. So you always do 1 & 2 when it starts, and then always do 3 when someone wants to do something while in a grapple like drawing a weapon or pinning the player. 3 does not include the actual action, just whether you can make an attempt to do it.

Demigods - less magical trinkets on both sides.

Another tip is institued a mook rule for yourself. One thing I always hated was tracking low-level monster HP for mass combat. Make a rule for yourself that everytime a player hits a low-level monster like an orc or goblin, if the player also rolls at least 1/2 the max damage for their weapon, the monster goes down. If its less than 1/2, the monster runs away.

Now hows this without referring to a completely different rule set?

 

[DonTadow]

I second the suggestion of index cards or something like that to use for buffs, etc. As for the rest, I have run across the same problem and would also like to hear suggestions.

As for grappling, I'm considering using the following in any games I run:

1. Make a touch attack.
2. If the touch attack succeeds, make an opposed grapple check.
3. If the opposed check fails, the action is wasted. If it succeeds, you are now grappling.
4. Once grappled, either party can make an opposed grapple check to deal unarmed damage or escape (can choose to make Escape artist check to escape instead).

That's it. Pretty much dropping all the other rules for pinning an opponent, etc.

3.5 is really complicated and its hard to have a really fre flowing game without aids. I like index cards in a pinch. However, nothing beats a laptop by the computer to prevent the paper mess.

 

[DM_Jeff]

So here's how to run an encounter without a statblock. The group encounters a monster swordsman, maybe a huge ogre in plate armor and a greatsword. The PCs go to attack him - we'll he's slow moving, but he's got all that heavy armor on. The DM decides that an AC of 20 sounds pretty good. They hit and do some damage. The GM thinks he's got good hit dice and a huge CON score being an ogre and gives him 75 hit points. (Alternately, you could use the 'they beat on him until you think he should fall down' method, but then you're writing down damage for no good reason. Players get itchy if they don't see the GM writing down numbers!)

I have to admit to doing this on occassion, good advice. It works fine. Heck, I can't tell you how many times my pen moves behind the screen as if I'm tracking damage and it's not even touching paper!

Um, except for my Sunday game, of course, whose players frequent these boards, yeah, that's the ticket.

-DM Jeff

 

[molonel]

This is an excellent discussion that I'm watching very closely. Thank you to the OP for the way you have phrased the question, and to those who are contributing.

 

[Zaukrie]

Agreed, I sometimes also just wing the stats. It's about the drama and the fun, not about the rules.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

When you wing the stats, do you ever have issues with players questioning you? Like, "We've done over 50 points of damage to that creature, it has a max of 35 HP" or anything along those lines? How do you handle it when the players know the rules/monsters better than you do? (Hope that I'm not derailing the thread, I thought it might be something that the OP - and others of us reading for the same reason (me) - would be interested in knowing.)

 

[Zaruthustran]

- Magic (buffs, some overly complicated spells, polymorph spells are a nightmare)

Eliminate Wizards and Clerics. Sorcerers and Favored Souls only have to deal with a small selection of spells, so time spent to really learn how to adjudicate those few spells is time well spent. Scrolls, wands, and single-use magic items can be used to fill any gaps in party capability. Warlocks deliver arcane flavor while skipping the whole spell mechanic.

- Skills (creating a high level NPC takes an insane amount of time)

Use an NPC generator, or take a default NPC from the DMG or DMG 2 and tweak only the skills you need to tweak (leaving the rest intact).

- Grappling rules

Eliminate the "touch attack/grab" step, and just skip to the opposed BAB+Str check to maintain a grapple. If you're grappling you can either escape (Escape Artist vs. BAB+Str) or you can try to Do Something (hurt the other guy, cast a spell, whatever). In order to Do Something you have to succeed at a BAB+Str check.

That's it.

- High level characters becoming demigods (it feels like I'm playing a different game at higher levels)

Well, that's D&D. Given that the game is designed around the concept that characters gain power as they rise in level, "High level characters are high powered" isn't really a valid complaint.

That said, I suggest you either:

1. Slow down (or completely stop) character advancement in such a way as to maximize time spent at your favorite character level.
2. Cap spell levels (high level casters still accrue low level spell slots, and high-level slots can be used for metamagic).
3. Cap hit points.
4. Cap weapon damage.
5. All of the above.

I suspect that the demigod complaint mainly comes from the fact that a 20th level character can alter reality with a few words and a gesture (Wish spell) or plummet 1,000 feet and be perfectly fine (high hit points from a d12 hit die and 30+ Constitution score).

So say that in your world the highest level spell known to mortal men is 7th, the max hit points for a mortal man is 200 (or even 150), and the max amount of damage from a mortal weapon wielder is 75.

That'll keep the truly crazy spells out of reach (and encourage casters to actually use those neat metamagic feats), maintain the sense of danger, and prevent the power attacking charging smiting Divine Favored paladin from blowing apart a castle wall* for 1,500 damage with his lance.

-z

* either an eeeeevil castle, or somehow the Paladin got access to the Destruction domain

 

[Wraith Form]

There are so many numbers to remember and keep track of. Some rules are extremely complex (none of my players even bother trying to grapple since they know the game will be grind to a halt). This grows even worse at high levels (around tenth level, give or take a few levels). Yet I still want to play D&D.

To preface, I feel your pain. I was in a similar situation. Not only do I suck at math, I'm not a very good strategist, so my players would plow over my NPCs a little too easily. It became a real chore to DM, and I wanted a less-math-intensive game. I'm here to use my imagination, not run a seminar in statistical analysis.

#1, I just purchased C&C. Your reluctance to use C&C is unfounded, as the perceived "lack" of adaptability in C&C is actually a freedom. Anyone can execute any "feat" in C&C--it's no different than a DC in 3.5, they just use a slightly different mechanic. Thus, a warrior will have a much better chance to do a Cleave-like action than a wizard will, but a wizard can TRY it.

You should give C&C a second chance--just make sure you get the second printing of the rules, and hit the Troll Lord forums for the errata.

#2, something that has helped immensely with things like grapple is Goodman Games' new DM screens. They contain concise rules for piles of cool stuff like Grapple, Bull Rush, Cover vs. Concealment, etc. as well as some of the highly-used skills, weapons & armor charts, and things of that nature. The screens are plural--two of them--and have most of the stuff you'll need for any game. I highly prefer them to WotC's screen.

My players are still 3rd level, so I can't say I fully understand your troubles at 10th level (we're getting there!)--but I hope this helps.

 

[S'mon]

I definitely think your best bet is to start with C&C or a similar simpler ruleset, then add in the missing bits you want like Feats. Trying to chop 3e back is an exercise in frustration.