What do you find hardest when running RPGs?

[ChaosGenerators]

What things cause you the most problems when running a game?

These are the things you find hardest during actual play.

 

[ChaosGenerators]

I think mine would be explaining why my NPCs do certain things. I know why they've done something but making it significant or obvious to PCs can sometimes be a challenge.

 

[Azurewraith]

I think mine would be explaining why my NPCs do certain things. I know why they've done something but making it significant or obvious to PCs can sometimes be a challenge.

Players upsetting the key NPC. Trying to then figure out a way to get the same outcome without making it seem to railroaded causes headaches.

 

[delericho]

What things cause you the most problems when running a game?

Vehicles (and mounts). I don't know why, but I've never felt a scene with a vehicle or mount as anything other than simply a way to get around has really worked out right.

 

[ccs]

As either player or DM, tracking & remembering to use/apply umpteen feats & assorted modifiers + spells in our 14th or so lv PF game.

As a player it's a bit easier. I have 1 character to worry about. Even then I miss things (usually to my detriment)
As the DM? I've taken to abstracting it a bit. Especially where there's multiple complex foes involved. I know the gist of each NPC. And then I just start ad-libbing.....

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Travelling adventures. I try to add lots of branching divergences, and set pieces, but at the end of the day, they have a destination they’re going, and sometimes I feel like we’re on the proverbial rails. “On Day 1, nothing happens. On Day 2 you encounter a Flumph. On Day 3 you’re ambushed by Orcs” and so on and on…

 

[MNblockhead]

Roleplaying conversations. I can't voice act and while I write well and I think I am good at creating good stories, but I'm not good at coming up with good, flavorful dialog--much less accents--on the fly.

 

[MNblockhead]

Travelling adventures. I try to add lots of branching divergences, and set pieces, but at the end of the day, they have a destination they’re going, and sometimes I feel like we’re on the proverbial rails. “On Day 1, nothing happens. On Day 2 you encounter a Flumph. On Day 3 you’re ambushed by Orcs” and so on and on…

A couple options could be:

Make a skill challenge: Matt Colville in his Running the Game series suggests skill challenges (#21, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvOeqDpkBm8); basically, it combines a whole bunch of skill checks (and even combat) into high-level skill challenges. Done well, it is a fun game-in-a-game that makes skills matter without descending into a slog of skill-check minutia. Rather than me typing out all the details, I recommend watching the video.

If your group likes group story telling, use travel to go around the table and have each player describe one challenge their character over came. Use that to learn more about how they see their character and find ways to work any interesting bits into your campaign later on.

Do a hex crawl. Give them a basic map with hexes that has major geographical features and settlements on it, have it printed on normal, non-glossy paper so that it can be easily marked up. As they interact with NPCs they can learn rumors and intel that they can mark on their map. They have to get from A to B, but need to decide the route to take. The quick way is by road but goes through a canyon where there have been bandit attacks. Over the mountain will avoid that, but there have been peryton sightings. Etc.

 

[billd91]

Just getting started at the beginning of each session. It's always a bit of a hump to get over that initial introverted hesitancy to take charge and be the center of attention at the start of each and every gaming session I run. I can deal with it, but it is a thing I have to struggle with a little each time.

 

[Richards]

As a DM, it's remembering all of the options my monsters/evil NPCs have. I can't recall the number of times I've forgotten this guy had SR all this time or this one's immune to electricity or whatever. I do up a cheat sheet of monster stats for each adventure with all of those details written out, but sometimes things get lost in the mix - especially in the heat of battle when I'm running various enemies all at once.

Johnathan