Ideas for better gameplay

[Festivus]

If you are new to running a game, use a laptop as suggested (I have mine pointed to D20SRD.org every game session for quick rules lookups).

I have a rule that if it takes more than a minute to figure out a ruling I just make a DM judgement call on it and we look it up between sessions. There is a sicilian clause that if death is on the line we spend the time then and there to look it up. Everyone at the table must understand that the DM's ruling is final, there should be no power struggle there.

Index cards with buffs written on them and what round they end is helpful. So is some sort of initiative tracking device (I am using index cards presently but just bought a Combat Pad and am eager to try it out).

I generally frown upon player laptops unless were in a high level fight with lots of buffs to track.

Keep a card of your players vital stuff (spot, search, listen) - I need to get better at rolling this for the players, I usually get lazy and let them roll it... it lessens the intrigue quite a bit by doing this.

I have a table rules where I outline attendance, smoking bans, swearing bans, etc, and a D&D specific rules where I say what I will permit in the game. I feel it's best to be clear of your expectations for behavior and game flow up front.

 

[Wraith Form]

I make sure that I include opportunities in every adventure (and in most complex encounters) for every character to shine. When a player zones out because there is nothing for his or her character to do other than "uh, I shoot it with my crossbow because I'm out of spells" or "uh, I guess I keep singing" then when it comes time for that player to actually be able to do something, the game stalls while he or she is deciding what to do. He or she is completely out of the game, often needs to have things re-explained because they weren't paying attention, and often spends several minutes flipping through books and looking at his or her character sheet trying to find something. I can't say I blame the players when this happens -- when I'm a player I'm the first one to start spinning dice and looking at things for the next character I want to make when there isn't anything for my character to do. So if I keep all of the players more-or-less equally involved, this happens much less often. Bored players almost always end up causing the game to grind to a halt because they weren't paying attention.

I need to ask you to clarify this a bit. I'm absolutely not trying to challenge you, but--as a new DM myself--I'm not sure how you do this on-the-fly.

I'm still using training wheels - I run published adventures. I also have a very small group (3 players, with hirelings as needed). Now, I understand what you mean that there are parts of each adventure for the individual PCs to "shine"--I've got that covered.

How do I get a multiclassed bard/beguiler--who, by the way, prefers roleplaying over rollplaying--to shine during battle, though? Same with my thief...? At least the dragon shaman, being the best fighter of the group, shines simply by being macho. The other two sometimes feel useless. Are you suggesting there are things I can do during a fight sequence that will engage all 3 of my gamers, and play up to each character's strengths? I'd love to hear suggestions.

 

[robberbaron]

I use DMGenie on a lappy for my game and find it invaluable. I think I would find running the game much harder without it. I don't tend to look stuff up on it, though. I rely on the numerous books around the table which tend to be faster than scanning through a pdf.

Several of my players use laptops and they make an already small table even smaller, often getting in the way of the action on the battlemat, but that is their choice.

I gave up using my lappy when I play partly for that reason but mostly because I prefer using 1 or 2 sheets of paper. I find it quicker.

One player tried a Tablet PC a few times and it impressed me so much that I toyed with getting one from eBay but couldn't justify £200+ for something to use a maximum of once a week.