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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6113992" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 313: November 2003 part 8/9Guild secrets: A short one for this column, detailing the kind of guild that makes life a nuisance for the players without attacking them directly. Where there is conflict, there are profiteers who sell food and weapons at inflated prices, and benefit from human misery. Since adventurers cause a fair amount of death and social upheaval, it's no surprise that people like this would show an interest in them, making sure equipment prices go up before they arrive, and down again afterwards, and maybe ensuring that trouble breaks out to keep you on your toes, while keeping themselves in the background. The kind of stuff that's part boon, part bane, and not easy to detect if you don't have flexible divination spells up that let you trace stuff happening at a couple of removes, because mind-reading patsies isn't particularly helpful. Still, it's not that much of a problem unless you want to retire, but it does mean more innocents will be caught in the crossfire than otherwise. So it's a realistic, but slightly unorthodox method of generating adventure hooks, which I mostly approve of. DM's Toolbox: The toolbox this month is on the fine art of misdirecting your players so when they do something that's unexpected and outside your prepared map/plot, you can get them back on track without them ever even noticing something went wrong. The trick here, as in a lot of cases, is having extra stuff that you can put anywhere that'll keep them occupied while you spin your wheels in the background to come up with something better. Random encounter tables are very helpful for this. Nothing like a sudden combat or getting well and truly lost to eat up a load of time and make the players worry while you can go through the motions and think simultaneously. (presuming you know the rules fairly well) And if you can get them into a big internal discussion full of roleplaying, then that's absolute gravy, because not only does it let you back off and leave them to it for a while, the ideas they come up with may well be worth stealing for future plot developments. To be a really good DM, you need to have a multitrack mind, able to juggle the immediate events at hand with your longterm plans, and work them in without slowing down midgame. Yup. That definitely sounds right to me. Always have a few tricks up your sleeve that'll make improvising easier, and you'll feel far less pressurised.</blockquote>

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