Polyhedron calls Piratecat, "superjudge"!

[Palcadon]

All right, pipe down, fan boys . You don't know how much trouble I have getting PC back in the house after one of these episodes. He's out in the front yard right now, dancin' around yelling "I'm da man!" at passing pedestrians.

"Yes, honey, you're a superjudge. Now it's time to put the cape away and come inside for a lie down."

[tongue very much in wifely cheek!]

There ya go letting him outta the house again. I bet he's getting some pretty strange looks and comments from the pedestrians, such as......

" What the heck is up with that cat. "

 

[omedon]

PC & FDP James,

Ever thought of putting out a book about being a DM/GM?

Running the Ultimate Game:
Secret DM tips from award winning super-judge Piratecat.

Eosin the Red

You might want to have a look at the november releases over on FDP's product matrix. Feel free to put the squeeze on Pkitty & FDP James for more info though.

 

[Eosin the Red]

Hold on a minute, I want to claim credit.

 

[Piratecat]

Holy cow, it's cold out there with only tights on! Let's see if I can come up with a handful of game tips that we use.

• We have an agreed-upon method for rules lawyering. When a rules question comes up, either I rule on the fly or we take 2 minutes (tops) to try and find it. The player gives their opinion, other players give theirs, and I rule based on what I think is fair. Just don't stop the game's momentum to look up relatively unimportant details.
  
• The pig. We have a piggy bank, with miniscule fines for out of game chatter. It keeps people focused most of the time, and helps pay for soda!
  
• Make combat go fast. Slow combat is deadly boring. Use index cards sorted by initiative, warn people who is up next, and encourage fast actions. That way, things stay exciting.
  
• I'm decent at accents, body language, and NPC characterizations.
  
• Physical handouts, such as notes on aged paper (soak it in coffee to turn it brown), are cool.
  
• Describe sounds and smells to help make a scene vivid.
  
• I try to get an understanding of what the players enjoy and want to see in their game. I regularly ask my players whether they want more or less combat, intrigue, puzzles, traps, role playing, politics, etc. Then I try to find a balance that makes everyone happy.
  
• Have a willingness to let the players win and the flexibility to let them go where they go. Them saying "we go that way!" means that that way is fun for them. Being willing to swallow your clever ideas and plot to let the party lead, then gently leading them back to the plot in another method, is important.
  
• Have a world that reacts. Never say "you can't do that." Instead, say "Okay, you did that, here's how the world responds." This is both negative and positive responses; your actions may make you enemies, but it may also gets you fame and rewards. Too many DMs forget the positive reactions.
  
• Don't be afraid to tell the players when they do something clever, or something that you didn't think of. Everyone loves that feeling!
  
• You are not competing with the players, you're telling the story together. Don't get too attached to your NPCs, and learn to love it when they outwit you.
  
• Give each player their moment in the sun. Have plots that focus on one or two particular PCs, then move on to other PCs.
  
• Let the PCs use their cool abilities. What's the point in having a cool spell or power if you never get to use it? When a cleric in my game first got regenerate, I tried really hard to cut a limb off of a PC.... So, don't try to circumvent their clever plans, let them use their powers to solve the adventure, then throw in an additional complication or two. (You see this problem most with DMs who are scared of divination spells and clever/effective PC tactics.)
  
• Try not to label your monsters by name. Mystery builds excitement; familiarity encourages metagaming. Don't be afraid to keep monster stats the same and change the appearance, just to keep the PCs guessing!
  
• Finally, don't be afraid to shake things up. Kill a king, invade a country, have an earthquake; when things get predictable, toss in some major change and then watch the repercussions.

I learned my DMing in the trenches, by running RPGA events. The more people you run for, the better you get! That's because you get to be good at involving quiet players and focusing adventures to what the players think is fun. I'm pretty critical of my own DMing, but I figure that as long as I'm having fun, the players will be too.

Hope that helps!

 

[Piratecat]

By the way, Fiery James? My Judy Blume d20 adaptation should be ready soon!

 

[Wolf72]

c'mon PC, spill the beans ... is Turtle Swallowing a feat or skill?

 

[Olorin]

Thanks Piratecat! Those are all good ideas... some I've thought of, others I hadn't.

We are finally getting to a point in our group (been playing for about a year and a half) that we are getting comfortable with 3E and I want to try and take us to the next level as a group. We have problems with people paying attention during the game though, metagaming, etc. This group consists of several complete rpg newbies, one player who played a bunch of Earthdawn but not much D&D (thank goodness the "but this is what you could do in Earthdawn!" comments are done ), and one experienced role-player who is the core of the game.

I would love to get us to the point where everyone is into their character's mindset, focused on the game even when they aren't directly involved, and just really have a fun, interesting game. We'll get there someday (I hope)

 

[Trevalon Moonleirion]

Great tips, P-kitty--gotta go put them in my DM box-of-tricks file and save them for later use!

 

[Rune]

Thanks for the great advice, P-cat!

 

[Jarval]

A well deseved title I think. PC has been doing great work in the Iconics Game. I feel so privilidged to have the Cat as my DM

Has anyone still got that pic of PC with his "DM of the year" award that the RPGA gave him?