D&D General The Best DM Advice Was Writren in 1981.

[MGibster]

Here's some more excellent DM advice, also from 1981 (from page 25 of the Expert Rulebook):

In recent years, I've done my best to stop overusing dice when I run games. I started my minimalist dice rolling in my Vampire 5e campaign and still sometimes I found myself kicking myself asking why I asked for a dice roll. There was a situation where the PCs heard the song "Boris the Spider" by The Who and I made the PCs roll to recognize it. Why? Knowing who sang the song was more interesting than failure and failure really wouldn't have had any consequences. Bad, GM! Bad!

From Cook & Moldvay, in adventure module "X1: The Isle of Dread," written for the Expert Rules boxed set (the 'E' in my beloved BECM edition):

More good advice. Over the years, I've seen a few players who thought they had script immunity have their characters engage in reckless actions and were surprised when they met a grisly fate. Uh, the characters met a grisly fate not the players.

 

[Voadam]

There is lots of DM advice in D&D books that goes different directions. DMing is a lot of art that can be done different ways and with different guiding philosophies.

Latch on to the parts you like and enjoy.

 

[el-remmen]

So I don't think it isn't any wonder that some folks think D&D should be.... tougher? That players need to "earn" things?

I think this but also adhere to the the advice reposted in the OP and follow-ups.

Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

 

[darjr]

I think this but also adhere to the the advice reposted in the OP and follow-ups.

Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)

If your group is having fun more power to you.

 

[Hriston]

Just to nitpick, the edition is B/X. BECMI did not begin its run until 1983.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Self-Proclaimed Grognard here...

From Cook & Moldvay, in adventure module "X1: The Isle of Dread," written for the Expert Rules boxed set (the 'E' in my beloved BECM edition):
View attachment 148908

Absolutely. This falls into the Basic books "BE FAIR!" directive.
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The error I have seen DM's make is "It's a door", "It's a door", "It's a door", "It's a door", "It's a slightly purple door with the iron bound straps looking like they were sort of sub-set into the wood. It also has a slight glisten to it, like dew on morning grass. "It's a door", "It's a door", "It's a door"...etc.
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Basically telegraphing "this foe is beyond you...". Which, from personal Player experience, completely destroys my sense of "I get to choose for my PC", because I now have information I never get except when the DM wants to say "Oh, this monster will kill all of you. Don't go that way".
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So, while I agree with the advice, the DM has to take care to "be fair"...and in this case, it means trying to give roughly the same 'amount' of information when describing things, unless the Players specifically states an action that would give them more/less info.
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At least that's how I've interpreted it in conjunction with other advice.

And also:
History became legend, legend became myth, and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. I appreciated the reminder this morning...I need to keep this in mind more often.

Yup. Another prime example of why re-reading the "boring" parts is always a good idea!
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Many DM's just read the 'rules' when they come up in play. They never spend the time to read all the other 'boring stuff'. "I need to read the Initiative and Two-Handed Weapons section", but "...meh...I don't need to read the section about coins and economy". Often it's in the sections that DON'T have anything to do directly with the PC's capabilities that get's overlooked out of a desire to "get to the good stuff" (re: combat, big plot twists, important NPC interactions, etc).
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Worst...todays "adventure modules" tend to try and encourage the same mindset: "Ignore the boring stuff...get straight to the EXCITING stuff!". Yes, Players, and the DM, need to be excited about playing the game...obviously...but when you sit down and the game starts with an explosion, followed by 39 more explosions, well, after about the 4th or 5th, it's no longer "exciting"...it's just expected.
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The rest of this thread has more great advice! I still go back to the back of my Basic Book (Moldvay version; 1981) once or twice a year and just re-read the "Dungeon Mastering as a Fine Art" part.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Malmuria]

Another interesting quote from the 1ed DM guide:

In many situations it is correct and fun to have the players dice such things as melee hits or saving throws. However, it is your right to control the dice at any time and to roll dice for the players. You might wish ta do this to keep them from knowing some specific fact. You also might wish to give them an edge in finding a particular clue, e.g. a secret door that leads to a complex of monsters and treasures that will be especially entertaining. You do have every right to overrule the dice at any time if there is a particular course of events that you would like to have occur. In making such a decision you should never seriously harm the party or a non-player characterwith your actions. "ALWAYS GIVE A MONSTER AN EVEN BREAK!"

Is this good advice? Down this path lies railroaded dragonlance modules

 

[DND_Reborn]

Is this good advice?

As far as the bolded reference goes, if the outcome is so necessary to me as DM, I don't allow the players to roll.

It is my choice as DM when dice are rolled, not the players'.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Also from 1981, also from "The Isle of Dread":
View attachment 148910

Ooh, definitely going to have to remember this one in the future. Pretty well puts the lie to claims that D&D wasn't concerned about balance until some recent change.

As far as the bolded reference goes, if the outcome is so necessary to me as DM, I don't allow the players to roll.

It is my choice as DM when dice are rolled, not the players'.

To me, it reads like good advice for bad ideas. Having outcomes "so necessary to [you] as DM" sounds like putting the game on fixed rails no matter what, which...isn't good. Now, if it's "fixed rails because the players are cool with that," sure, knock yourself out. But that advice, read out of context, becomes "Always fudge whenever you feel like it," and I would emphatically call that bad advice.

 

[overgeeked]

From Cook & Moldvay, in adventure module "X1: The Isle of Dread," written for the Expert Rules boxed set (the 'E' in my beloved BECM edition):

Not quite. Moldvay & Cook did B/X. The previous editions of Basic and Expert to Mentzer's BECMI line. But yes, the B/X books and early adventures have DMing advice that holds up to this day.