Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="krupintupple" data-source="post: 5344895" data-attributes="member: 58300">i've been a DM for several editions for more years than i'd care to admit, but here's a few bits of wisdom i'd like to pass on, if i may:1. it's just a game. i know you're the ref and in most sports, the players hate the ref, but remember you're all there to ultimately have fun while telling a shared story.2. stop, relax and take a breath. if you ever get the feeling like you're panicking, or aren't sure what you should do, just relax and gather your thoughts, or...3. ask your players. more often than not, they've missed all of the "obvious" clues you've carefully laid out for them, and have their own ideas about where they'd like to go. you'd be surprised how they'll carry a story to new and unintended areas.4. if you can't remember the rule, just make something up, "for now". it's that simple. if a PC wants to try something but you're hesistant about letting them because you can't find the rule (ie: pole-vaulting with a longspear, or firing a short-sword from a jerry-rigged crossbow), roll on it. you both roll a d6 and whoever rolls higher gets their way, "for now".5. have a short list of interesting names handy, because when the PCs want to know the name of the captain of the guard, or the high priest of the temple, you can just roll and compare it to your list.6. ask for their feedback. sometimes, players will have absolutely no desire to trapse off into the brush to save the town. they may want to explore the ruins, or open up their own bank to lure would-be thieves (and their loot and precious XPs) to them. get a feel for what they're after and then tailor your campaigns toward that.7. have fun! as i covered in pointer #4, if you honestly felt that everyone would enjoy and get a laugh out of shooting a short-sword from a crossbow, let it slide. sometimes the most memorable stories will come from the most spontaneous, if not silly things in this game.8. don't take it personally when they beat "your" dungeon, or "your" monsters. they're the heroes and they're supposed to win, or at least attempt to. if they beat your carefully constructed uber-wizard, with a really unique idea, like a wyvern-poisoned twinkie in his lunchbox, let them. after all, you can just "make up" more bad guys later on. let them have their victories, because you control everything else in their entire universe!9. try to let each PC show off at least once during a session. although it might not seem the most logical, letting the bard out-sing a harpy, the rogue occasionally "strike it big" when he tries to pickpocket drunks at a bar, or the barbarian get into an arm-wrestle with a half-draconic beast will really make everyone feel appreciated and will usually stamp out the infighting and petty bickering that can result from jealousy.i hope this list really helped. if you've other questions, feel free to reply or message me. good luck!</blockquote>

Verification