What's Your Biggest Failing as a DM

[Rel]

I'd say my biggest problem is that I sometimes try to cram too much into the session. When I've got a plot going that I'm excited about, I just can't wait for the characters to get to the meat of it. Sadly, this sometimes winds up with them failing to appreciate the intricacy of the whole thing because I'm pushing them to get to the next part.

I need to work on that.

 

[Humanophile]

A lot of people are chiding themselves for railroading. I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. The DM is not infinitely capable, and most players (IME) are not extraordinarily driven. I figure that they can go whichever way they want, and it's my job to give them the encounter I want wherever they want to go.

As a matter of fact, I think my problems come whenever I have to freeform. I suck at on the fly names, and when the players ignore the hooks I offer, I flounder for a while until I can think how to set them on the path I want. Same way, if they do something I didn't expect, it takes a while before I can roll that into the rest of the story, even if it should change things right then and there. And if I don't know what I'm dealing with, same thing, so make me have to deal with a new spell/magic item and the game world won't adapt to it for a long while. (I know that last one shouldn't happen, but when playing rotating DM's, or when a spellcaster's player gets a little creative with their choices, it does.)

Other than that, I'm usually too nice, and too willing to let someone try something if it looks neat. And I don't care what some people say, when you're running a game, it's a lot harder if you have an elven assasin, a drow barbarian, and a human paladin all in the same party. But I have a hard time knowing who I should tell to get their act together and remake their character, so I leave it be.

 

[rounser]

I sometimes have a hard time ad-libbing NPCs. (example: the characters got the idea to seduce the Duke's grandson, a known lecher, in order to gain admittance to the keep. I was not terribly pepared, and a few times, had to stop, and say, "Wait. He did not just say that. He's a lot smoother than that.)

I have that problem too. I sometimes switch to 3rd person to get around it. ("You talk to the Duke's grandson, and he strikes you as a slightly seedy type, but with a smooth manner about him. He questions your business in attempting to enter the keep at such a late hour.") The problem with doing that is that it's difficult for PCs to roleplay if you're doing that, and they have full rights to switch to 3rd person too, and reply, "We say that we're here on ducal business."

Apart from "be a better actor", I wonder if anyone has advice regarding this.

 

[Psion]

Weaknesses -

• I could make more compelling NPCs.
• I use some plot techniques/situations/goals too much. Without even noticing, if I need a plot quickly, I use the "important female ingenue kidnapped that the PCs must rescue" schtick before I even think to stop myself. I've sworn of using this one for the rest of the campaign.
• When planning, sometimes I waste time on extraneous details.
• I am better at planning high level /sweeping story arcs than simple low level affairs.
• "Improv Wild Surges" - When improving, sometimes I throw something in that is intended to be a side detail, but it throws the players totally off the track.

 

[TBoarder]

I generally have a hard time playing off the cuff, ad-libing when a PC does something I don't expect, or goes to talk to someone I didn't prepare for.

I'm a terrible number-cruncher. When I get thrown a ton of numbers, my brain tends to freeze up. It slows down play considerably, especially when I’ve got players shouting suggestions to me from all directions.

I tend to make up storylines that my players have no interest in. For example, in all of our campaigns, we have ourselves as our main PCs, brought from Earth to whatever world we're playing at the time. Inspired by Farscape's introduction "Earth is unprepared, helpless against the nightmares I have seen. Or should I stay, protect my home, not show them you exist? But then you’ll never know the wonders I’ve seen.” I decided to see how the players and the world would react to permanent portals to and from Earth on the world they’re on at the time (Forgotten Realms). I introduced this by having the PCs meet a group of orcs supplied with M-16 rifles and a military commander from the US government. It was meant to bring up all kinds of questions… How does a psuedo-medieval D&D world react to a sudden infusion of modern tech? How would Earth react to magic, monsters, and the general weirdness of a D&D world? Will the players want to use the opportunity to go home, or will they try to destroy the gateways, to keep both worlds, not to mention their family and friends from both sides protected and separated? Instead, they saw the orcs with machine guns and said “Orcs with machine guns? That’s stupid.” And the campaign died soon after. Even now, orcs with machine guns is an unfortunate punchline in my group. It’s depressing, because I put a TON of work and research into the campaign/adventure, only to see it crushed before the first encounter was played out fully.

 

[EOL]

It’s depressing, because I put a TON of work and research into the campaign/adventure, only to see it crushed before the first encounter is played out fully.

Having a campaign or adventure you've put an enormous amount of work into trashed by characters who have no concept of the work you've put into it is not a failing as a DM, but rather a hazard of the job. I can't count how many times it's happened to me, though not on the same scale, as you.

 

[TBoarder]

Having a campaign or adventure you've put an enormous amount of work into trashed by characters who have no concept of the work you've put into it is not a failing as a DM, but rather a hazard of the job. I can't count how many times it's happened to me, though not on the same scale, as you.

It is a failing though since I'm dealing with people I've been friends with for 10-15 years each. I should know what they like better and be better at creating adventures that suit their styles and not mine.

 

[Tsyr]

I don't exactly railroad my players, but my biggest failing is that I react... badly... to parties who are not only on the same "page" that I am, but aren't even in the same book. I don't expect my players to do everything I hope, but I do expect them to at least do something in the ballpark... One time after a planar mishap dropped the PCs in the "real world" in a game, they not only ignored the instructions they had on how to get home, but became wanted fellons for something like an octuple homocide (of good people, I might add, and they were good aligned as well), and their killing spree just kept up.

I also react poorly to needless interparty strife and bickering. If it's good roleplaying, that's one thing... but if it's the darned "Plays a Chaotic-Neutral selfish snob character regardless of what his alignment says" guy, I get very mad, very fast.

 

[maddman75]

Hmm - let me think

railroading - sometimes. I try to avoid it. I've gamed with these guys a long time, but they do still manage to suprise me. Out of the seven, there are two that are really driven. But if both of them are having an off night, we get to the point where I say (jokingly)

"...and the bold heros look at each other indecicively!"

Also, I get irritated if someone's character wants to go too far outside my idea for the campaign. I'm not a total a-hole about it, but for instance one of my younger players said he wanted to become an assassin. I flatly told him that wasn't going to happen. This is an epic, heroic campaign - assassins are the enemy.

I also tend to strongly discourage evil characters - I don't like them, its not the kind of game I run. You are out to save the world, not concot evil schemes. Taking time to deal with someone doing that wastes my game time, which is precious to me. If you want to do that, talk someone into running a game more to your tastes or run a game yourself.

I used to be bad about over preparing - one hour of prep per hour of game. I've got that up to probably three or four hours of play for each hour of prep.

I tend to be fast and loose on the rules - we play marathon games, last one was fifteen hours. After eight hours or so, I might not be clear on if, for instance, you can rapid shot as a standard action or full attack only. I let someone do it as standard last time . And no one else knows the rules well enough to call me out on stuff.

 

[Nellisir]

Hrm. Underpreparing. It's a very rare game night that doesn't see me sitting at my computer, typing at monsters stats, as the players walk in.

To go along with that...underdeveloped npcs. The PCs don't bother talking anymore; almost everything just wants to eat them. I almost choked when I found myself saying, for the 3rd time in one dungeon..."Arrhhh...dinner's here!".

A complete and utter inability to find something for bards to do in a dungeon. In my defense, the player with the bard doesn't realize quite how potent her character could be in combat (and it's -supposed- to be a combat-heavy dungeoncrawl of a game).

I don't think railroading is a problem; no one objects anyways. I leave hints; if no one gets them, an NPC points it out (there's no plot in this campaign anyways, so no problems).

Nell.