What's Your Biggest Failing as a DM

[Wil]

I'd say that my failings are characterization and tangents. I'm just not good at making mannerisms different, accents, etc. I usually fall back on narrative description to make up for that, but I'm not sure if that works. Then, I have absolutely no "poker face." Generally, players can kind of guage that something's going to happen before it does, and I find it difficult to fudge die rolls because of it.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I give away plot elements before we play, just because I can't keep them inside. So player knowledge and character knowledge aren't always seperate.

I give my players too much freedom. "Here, you have all these races to choose from now" tends to be a bit overwhelming.

 

[GuardianLurker]

My failings are probably legion, but here are the ones that leap to mind :

Ignoring/Forgetting My Preparation: I'll have prepared a detailed history and character study for (as an example) the local priest, that gives his name, the secrets and plot hooks he knows, etc. And invariably, when the PCs meet him it's "Hi! I'm Erik the Generic Cleric!", and it goes downhill from there.
The possible fix : rereading my own notes before running the adventure, which I frequently skip.

Extreme Tactics: And by that I mean that the PCs opponent's are either pushovers (tending to follow the scream-and-leap strategy) or overkill (the impregnable fortress - I mean, impromptu palisade). And if I carefully plan appropriate tactics and strategies, I get bit by the first. (ARGH!)
The possible fix: Improvise as tactically as I do when I'm *playing*.

Impromptu unnecessary house rules: Like my 2e campaign where I ruled that 2 Continual Lights couldn't be brought within 1 inch of one another, or the spells would "short circuit" and explode.
The possible fix: Limiting myself to *necessary* house rules, and vetting them here before I use them.

Constantly Evolving Rule Base, or Neat-toy-ism: When the new supplement comes out, I go buy it, and invariably use a majority of the rules. This can lead to surprises for the players ("How'd he do that!?" "Well, he's a {blah} from {blah blah}") and myself (after giving PC new item : "Oh, frack. It can do THAT?"). Plus, rules I've never been satisfied with get tweaked mid-game.
The possible fix: Waiting until all the rules I *need* are out, and quitting cold turkey. These boards should also help provide an outlet for my inventive side.

Inability to tune adventures/plot for character *hooks*: Somehow, I just can't write an adventure to use a character's hooks - I can write to their abilities, but all that in-depth character background (that I love) tends to sit unused.
The possible fix: I don't know, maybe pregenerated characters?

Inability to write "epics": I just can't do it. I barely get started when I run out of ideas on how to get from X to Y, much less the climatic battle at the end.
The possible fix: I have no flipping clue. Any ideas?

Counter-acting these are the few strengths I have :
Superior knowledge of the rules: Well, at least compared to my players, I don't claim to be Caliban. I miss the old 2e ADnD Trivia game.
Evocative scenery description: I've managed to freak players and characters out just by describing wood that burns purple.
Well-constructed adventures and world: Things tend to make sense, interact properly, etc.

 

[Schmoe]

My failings are probably legion, but here are the ones that leap to mind :

Inability to write "epics": I just can't do it. I barely get started when I run out of ideas on how to get from X to Y, much less the climatic battle at the end.
The possible fix: I have no flipping clue. Any ideas?

Well, I can at least give some advice on this particular problem. What I've found to be helpful is to simply not try to get from point A to point B. Instead, set up a situation, with some NPC's, their motivations, and what is happening behind the scenes. Work out how that will affect the world and the people in the world, then work off of those ramifications to create some adventure hooks. Let the PC's figure out where and how they will get to the "grand finale," and if they never do, don't be afraid to let the bad guy "win." After all, some of the greatest adventures ever were about trying to undo a great wrong.

 

[barsoomcore]

There are some things that I just *SUCK* at:

Anti-Railroading: Sounds like I'm just the opposite of many of you folks. I just go along with whatever my players want, and they end up writing their names on the moon with a particle cannon before I know what's going on. No, seriously, that happened. Third session of the campaign, party's got an interplanetary particle cannon. In a spy thriller game. I suck. But I've gotten much better.

Just Can't Kill Them: I almost NEVER kill characters. My current group hasn't figured that out yet (after a year and a half), but I'm legendary for letting characters live through stuff they have no business living through. I cover up really well though, with my Torture PCs With Mystery And Mind-Disturbing Images ability.

I could be better at the crunchy stuff, but really, I just don't care. I want the story, not the hit dice. But I try to be crunchy enough that the story doesn't suffer.

 

[Sir Osis of Liver]

lack of confidance, tendancy to put the story before the rules, lack of motivation which leads to lack of preperation, no stamina for long term campaigns, difficulty killing players, bad memory,no motavation again leads to no note keeping,and tendacy to sacrifice my own fun so the players have fun.

I think i'm a pretty crappy DM these days, unfortuneatly the people i've played with don't always agree.

 

[Aaron L]

Heh, my biggest failing as a DM is running games. If I could have someone else make games for and run my world everything would be great

I have no organization, can't keep track of the date, all my NPC's seem alike, and all my games devolve into a short, boring wandering trek before a big fight.

Now, in Call of Cthulhu, I'm great at running. I have no idea why it's harder with D&D, but I know it's all in my head...

 

[Shallown]

Non-Railroading - I don't want to railroad or lead by the nose but my players demand it both verbally and by their actions. I have to throw the obvious clues out or nothing happens. Well something happens but they just turn to doing stupid stuff. I am not good at balancing the nose leading and the free form style but I am learning.

Prejudice - I know we are suppose to be impartial but dammit some of my players work and deserve more attention and leeway then others. Some players drive me mad with use of OOC knowledge and I seek to punish them but sometimes I find myself going a little to far but it is a matter of paying attention and not doing that as much.

Making my NPC's to much in the spotlight. Sometimes they just take over but I try to hold it down a little.

 

[barsoomcore]

Making my NPC's to much in the spotlight. Sometimes they just take over but I try to hold it down a little.

Boy howdy, do I hear that! I think I manage to keep them from taking over, but I just get SO attached to my favourite NPCs that they're always showing up. And they tend to get more and more important and powerful, too. The funny stablegirl turns out to be the daughter of the empress, and and then I decide she's a half-dragon in the bargain, stuff like that. I just keep adding to my NPC's back story to make them even more exciting and they end up being more heroic than my PCs. Can't help it. Love my NPCs.

 

[nopantsyet]

I'm afraid I just made a big mistake. I have a somewhat complex plot and I just got a little slap-happy and introduced three major NPCs in one session and wasted a locale that could have provided a few sessions of fun gaming. I try very hard not to railroad and my campaign style is to create some intertwined plots and let the characters discover hints gradually and decide what to do/where to do. I guess Sunday I went a bit overboard and gave away too much in one session. I dunno--maybe it didn't blow it, but I think it seemed a bit contrived. Or maybe I'm just having a DM crisis.