D&D 5E "I’m that DM. . ."

[Mad_Jack]

I’m the DM that enjoys world building a setting how ever I want.
I’ll mix Theros with Dark Sun and throw in Warforged while I’m at it.

Honestly, I'd be hard pressed to think of a single time I've ever used anything exactly as written.

 

[Lanefan]

Honestly, I'd be hard pressed to think of a single time I've ever used anything exactly as written.

Including things I wrote!

 

[Mad_Jack]

Including things I wrote!

What is it the kids say these days?

Facts.

 

[robemm]

I'm the DM who adjusts final encounter difficulty based on how the PCs have been doing so far. And I'm not sorry.

 

[Delazar]

I'm that DM that roots for his players. I want them to win, but I also want them to suffer...

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'm that DM that uses spiders, shapeshifters and evil dogs.

I'm that DM that giggles behind his hand whenever someone says 'verisimilitude'. Then lets out a loud guffaw.

I'm that DM that won't kill your horses.

I'm that DM that allows and encourages pets and cohorts.

I'm that DM that will never remember the name of that random NPC you talked to, but will remember the voice I used and their personality.

I'm that DM that not only knows you can go off the rails, but planned accordingly.

I'm that DM that wants to montage travel, but we can shop all night.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm the DM that likes surprises, and thinks scripts/flowcharts/railroads are boring.

• Random unplanned encounter? Let's roll to see what shows up...I hope ya'll can handle it!
• Sure, you can explore that forest I casually mentioned, instead of the cave I had prepped for the evening. Just gimme a sec to randomly-generate a map and some encounters, traps, and treasures, and we're good to go. The cave will still be there tomorrow.
• That crit just dropped the cleric! Oh no, how are ya'll gonna get out of this mess?
• Of course you can capture the bandits and interrogate them! In fact, you remember seeing a Wanted poster back in town...
• Oh, you wanted to befriend the bandits? Sorry, I misunderstood. Will that be charm person or Persuasion? Sweeten it with a little bribery, eh? That'll probably work, let's see what the dice have to say...roll with Advantage!

 

[hojulation]

I'm the DM that says monsters/enemies die even though they actually have 1-5 hit points remaining, because I am the one getting bored of the combat.

 

[CleverNickName]

I'm the DM that says monsters/enemies die even though they actually have 1-5 hit points remaining, because I am the one getting bored of the combat.

I thought I was the only DM that thinks combat* is boring!






*well, most of it. The scripted encounters that have been carefully engineered to have the same outcome every time are the worst offenders.

 

[hojulation]

I thought I was the only DM that thinks combat* is boring!






*well, most of it. The scripted encounters that have been carefully engineered to have the same outcome every time are the worst offenders.

Agreed about the scripted encounters.

I like combat just fine. I really enjoy good tactical combat with a really smart enemy that the PC's know to approach with caution (Strahd), but after rounds 4 and 5 of the mooks it can get too long.

I even try to subscribe to the rule of only having combat encounters if they're meaningful to the story, or if the PC's actively initiate it. Usually I'm ready to move on with the narrative though. Get on to the next fight!

 

[ersatzphil]

edit: stupid .webp format.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I'm the DM that says monsters/enemies die even though they actually have 1-5 hit points remaining, because I am the one getting bored of the combat.

I'll do that anytime they've gotten within the range of what their lowest rolled hit points could be, the outcome of the battle is certain, and we're just in mop up mode. Nobody ever thought back on their game night and thought "gosh, I wish we got to have an extra two rounds trying to finish off that one hard to hit enemy".

Yeah the PCs might get through with a few extra hit points. I have plenty of other ways of gobbling those up.

 

[beancounter]

I'm that DM that expects everyone to bring something to share. (chips, beer, etc)

 

[corwyn77]

View attachment 264849

edit: stupid .webp format.

Ha, when I ran Strahd, the (infected) pc and the werewolf who bit her and then escaped fell in love. He then turned against Strahd and accompanied them to his castle. One of the most fun side plots I've ever run.

 

[corwyn77]

I'm the DM that likes surprises, and thinks scripts/flowcharts/railroads are boring.

To paraphrase an old GURPS forumite, I'm that gm that says it's not railroading if the PCs run on to the station platform and throw money at the teller demanding their ticket. Yeah, those are my players.

 

[jgsugden]

I'm that DM that has storylines that take place over 20 years of gaming, multiple editions, and many different groups.

I'm that DM that uses time travel to soft reboot the campaign setting so that I can explore new ways for it to unfold with new players. I'm on instance 4 or 5 (depending upon whether you count a fizzled campaign) of the 'first adventure' in the primary setting. Each time it has run it has been very different depending upon the decisions of the PCs, the edition rules, and the tweaks I've made to the setting.

I'm that DM that considers the world I run locked in place once I make the decision to add something to it. Even if the PCs have not encountered it, I do not change it. It is there, and I figure out how it interacts with the rest of the world and I add it to the checklist of things I need to update as the calendar moves forward.

I'm that DM that uses about 50% homebrew spells, monsters, and magic items.

I'm that DM that plays the long con within a campaign - with PCs discovering that something from their backstory or something they encountered at level 1 might be a major element in the campaign's final stages.

I'm that DM that wants every PC to have a starring role in the campaign at differnt points in time. The PCs are not playing in my campaign. We're building theirs.

I'm that DM that puts old PCs from prior campaigns into his future campaigns as NPCs.

 

[MrWildman]

I'm the DM who . . .
Comes up with ridiculous names for everything. Meaning my players may start at Yarklin Keep on the River Zoosh, then cross the Rupsnortch Ridge to meet with the goblin king Goblu Teegu. Who will mock their harsh provincial accents.

 

[Musing Mage]

I'm that DM who bites off more than he can chew... running one too many concurrent campaigns... I think I may have an addiction...

 

[Velderan]

I'm that DM who doesn't prep properly because I kept procastinating, but manages to nonetheless convince the players that the entirely winging-it course I've sent them on is some sort of in-depth ultra-detailed deal I spent days on. They still think some stuff I made up on the spot involving a tower in a forest and alhoon was part of an elaborate subplot.

One time I managed to sideline them for an entire 3hr session simply by making up a massive extraplanar market on the 30 minute bus journey to the session, which they were of course much more interested in than saving people or bashing heads.

I do normally do prep, I swear, like real prep, except when I don't...

I'm the DM that plans a session based on what the players said their characters were planning to do the previous session, only to have to throw my entire plan out and have to wing it when they've had a week to think and decided they wanted to do something else I didn't plan for.

 

[corwyn77]

I'm the DM that plans a session based on what the players said their characters were planning to do the previous session, only to have to throw my entire plan out and have to wing it when they've had a week to think and decided they wanted to do something else I didn't plan for.

That seems more like a "They're the players that..." kinda issue.