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<blockquote data-quote="Greatwyvern" data-source="post: 4967310" data-attributes="member: 85856">Whats a Dm to do?I have just joined this site and of course this topic was like a giant bulls eye for a fellow Dm to read and after reading i feel almost a little sad.&nbsp; If i could gather your attention Ladies and Gents and have you sit around the fire as I twist my tale and philosophy I would sincerely be grateful.&nbsp; &nbsp; As for banning Builds, items, powers or even game mechanics I have never been a fan of.&nbsp; In my time of 9 years of playing D&amp;D and 6 years now running campaigns for many different groups and people i have learned three key things.&nbsp; When i first started Dming I was out to &quot;win&quot; and didn't like when my players easily thrashed my big nasties or easy bypassed my hard dungeon or traps.&nbsp; But as the years went on I realized as a Dm I was not there to &quot;win&quot; but more as a guide and narrator.&nbsp; As Dm's we are there for our players to guide them into a world of fantasy where they embark on fanciful quest and heroic, or diabolical, endeavors.&nbsp; We strive to make the game fun and have fun our selves as the players move through the plots, stories and worlds we have created.&nbsp; &nbsp; With this said I move onto my banning philosophy.&nbsp; If i believe items are making my players to powerful and breaking the game, I just move on to tougher enemies or better enemy groups that can work together as well as my players can.&nbsp; In a recent game I played in a Dm wanted to ban haste and increasing the tempo just cause the bard poped both at once on his final boss of a dungeon on the ranger who just went and the thing was at only 1/4 its hp.&nbsp; However this happened because both the ranger and bard spent 2 daily powers each and both action pointed and didn't miss once.&nbsp; Is this over powered? I don't believe so as a DM, i call it skilled team work and dumb luck.&nbsp; Just because a set of daily powers can crush an enemy quickly doesn't mean there over powered, that's why they are DAILY powers.&nbsp; If the daily powers in a group are annoying you, do what i did and start having your group have anywhere from 1 to 6 encounters per 24 hours.&nbsp; This way they will not just pop off their dailies every encounter and will learn that teamwork is stronger then just over powering daily damage.&nbsp; &nbsp; As for items, some items do seem like everyone and their mother are always going to get those items and sometimes it saddens a DM to have a group of monoitemized groups with no versatility.&nbsp; My easiest answer to this is make your players do more then just hack and slash encounters.&nbsp; Have hard encounters where they wish they had choose that floating shield(saved a full plate wearing fighter in my group from drowning to death 5 times....).&nbsp; Also encourage your players to fill out back rounds and character growth that might make some other items more interesting.&nbsp; Like a game i am in now my Dragonborn fighter could have went bloodclaw and iron arms but instead since he has sworn to destroy tiamat(he's lacking a lot for that job LOL) he went with dragonslayer and more deffensive route.&nbsp; If players still insist on maxing out damage and power gaming them selves into walking blenders, toss in a mix of non combat action encounters, this way they realize the power of non damage maxing items.This is just my philosophy on bans and running as a DM.&nbsp; To everyone that does ban items to each their own and I respect your choices in your games, just try to always remember that as a DM we are there as story tellers, guides and narrators and above all.&nbsp; Make sure our players have FUN!&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Thank you for reading my post and to all Good luck and may you have many fond memories.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; Richard R.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Greatwyvern, post: 4967310, member: 85856"] [b]Whats a Dm to do?[/b] I have just joined this site and of course this topic was like a giant bulls eye for a fellow Dm to read and after reading i feel almost a little sad. If i could gather your attention Ladies and Gents and have you sit around the fire as I twist my tale and philosophy I would sincerely be grateful. As for banning Builds, items, powers or even game mechanics I have never been a fan of. In my time of 9 years of playing D&D and 6 years now running campaigns for many different groups and people i have learned three key things. When i first started Dming I was out to "win" and didn't like when my players easily thrashed my big nasties or easy bypassed my hard dungeon or traps. But as the years went on I realized as a Dm I was not there to "win" but more as a guide and narrator. As Dm's we are there for our players to guide them into a world of fantasy where they embark on fanciful quest and heroic, or diabolical, endeavors. We strive to make the game fun and have fun our selves as the players move through the plots, stories and worlds we have created. With this said I move onto my banning philosophy. If i believe items are making my players to powerful and breaking the game, I just move on to tougher enemies or better enemy groups that can work together as well as my players can. In a recent game I played in a Dm wanted to ban haste and increasing the tempo just cause the bard poped both at once on his final boss of a dungeon on the ranger who just went and the thing was at only 1/4 its hp. However this happened because both the ranger and bard spent 2 daily powers each and both action pointed and didn't miss once. Is this over powered? I don't believe so as a DM, i call it skilled team work and dumb luck. Just because a set of daily powers can crush an enemy quickly doesn't mean there over powered, that's why they are DAILY powers. If the daily powers in a group are annoying you, do what i did and start having your group have anywhere from 1 to 6 encounters per 24 hours. This way they will not just pop off their dailies every encounter and will learn that teamwork is stronger then just over powering daily damage. As for items, some items do seem like everyone and their mother are always going to get those items and sometimes it saddens a DM to have a group of monoitemized groups with no versatility. My easiest answer to this is make your players do more then just hack and slash encounters. Have hard encounters where they wish they had choose that floating shield(saved a full plate wearing fighter in my group from drowning to death 5 times....). Also encourage your players to fill out back rounds and character growth that might make some other items more interesting. Like a game i am in now my Dragonborn fighter could have went bloodclaw and iron arms but instead since he has sworn to destroy tiamat(he's lacking a lot for that job LOL) he went with dragonslayer and more deffensive route. If players still insist on maxing out damage and power gaming them selves into walking blenders, toss in a mix of non combat action encounters, this way they realize the power of non damage maxing items. This is just my philosophy on bans and running as a DM. To everyone that does ban items to each their own and I respect your choices in your games, just try to always remember that as a DM we are there as story tellers, guides and narrators and above all. Make sure our players have FUN! Thank you for reading my post and to all Good luck and may you have many fond memories. Richard R. [/QUOTE]

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