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Message: <blockquote data-quote="deClench" data-source="post: 1951909" data-attributes="member: 27388">Here I come!Great thread!  To diseminate DMing experience is a positive goal in my book.  As I'm fairly new  at DMing, I am especially interested in learning how to do it better.  I'll join into the mix.For good and ill, I DM sporadically in my group as there are multiple DMs.  It's good because it gives you break to mentally reload as a PC for a while between DMing chores and gives more leeway to the intrusion of RL.  It's bad as it can damage continuity and puts pressure (perhaps imagined) from the more experienced DMs in the group.1) I believe it was ender_wiggin that brought up the topic of the storyline of the campaign as a whole.  So my question  based on that is how do you find that middle ground between planning everything out to the point that PCs don't have choices and the reverse where there is no overlying theme/goal where everything is no better than a random encounter.My tendency is tp plan everything out, but wind-up railroading PCs into actions.  Somebody mentioned creating the illusion that PCs have choice and control, but how do you do this effectively as a DM?  With the corollary being, how do you prepare for the PC choices that you're simply not prepared for?  I want a complex environment with an appropriate level choice and interaction for my players.  How?  Do I have to spend a painstaking month planning out every contingency to every choice?  And still maintain an overlying theme?2) Also, I try to be experimental in my DMing to see what works and what does not.  For instance, trying to actually create a scary environment which is hard to do in D&D when the big question on the PCs mind is more likely, "In what flashy way do I kill this [fill in the monster] THIS time."  One way I've toyed with is the villain encounter that the PCs cannot hope to win and better run away fast.  How can you do this though and not be a killer DM?  If they're not accustomed to running from battles, this is a sure way to kill at least one PC if not have a TPK.</blockquote>

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