What's your DM Gimmick?
- Thread starter Bardsandsages
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Dark Dragon
Explorer
A dragon. Always. May it be an ally (like the silver dragon Silverstar for the Sades, or the pseudodragon familiar Lorris of the NPC wizard Artanis), a neutral behaving dragon (like the young adult green dragon Terixian or the great wyrm half-fiend shadow dragon Ushmerassi) or an enemy (like Balagos the Flying Flame or the dracolich Azurphax) or a PC (the wyrmling brass dragon Nepomuk I'm currently playing). These dragons return from time to time to meet the party (either by offering help, spreading a little chaos or putting the PCs "back in line" - there's always a bigger fish ![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
).
Other dragons occur only once in a campaign, very often they're smart foes. In my last campaign a dragon (to be exact: a wyvern) attacked the group by surprise during night and killed the sorcerer. But with some luck the PCs brought the dragon down, and as a reward, the sorcerer was raised at lower than the normal costs...
).Other dragons occur only once in a campaign, very often they're smart foes. In my last campaign a dragon (to be exact: a wyvern) attacked the group by surprise during night and killed the sorcerer. But with some luck the PCs brought the dragon down, and as a reward, the sorcerer was raised at lower than the normal costs...
StupidSmurf
First Post
My gimmicks:
1.There's always one certified nutcase running around...a crazed hermit, a zany gnome...an eccentric alchemist...
2. A dive tavern called The Boring Pig.
3. One real nice, decent inn for the PCs to rest their heads.
4. There's no such thing as a generic "plus-something" melee weapon. Each of my magical swords, hammers, maces, spears, axes, and even some daggers, have a name and powers. No two are exactly alike. My youngest son's Wood Elf Ranger wields the long sword "Orcslayer", while my wife's cleric of Talona uses a heavy mace called "The Persuader", and a friend's Fighter carries the two-handed sword called "Screaming Brute".
5. The tendency for relatives of NPCs to pop up. The party defeated a priestess of Cyric named Evah Rigo. In a new Realms campaign with new characters, they are going to meet her son, Dagaton, the result of a union between Evah and a demon.
6. The tendency to name villains after people I know. Evah Rigo is a close approximation to the name of my wicked aunt.
7. Like computer programs, each of my adventures has a "back door"....if you can think creatively, and get a little lucky, you can bypass a lot of needless crap and hit the heart of the matter.
8. As a corollary to #7, there's always at least ONE escape hatch. Trick is, finding it and knowing when to use it.
9. Rock song references pop in a lot, as well as inside jokes. My current campaign has a female halfling named Tessie Dropkicker. To make it worse, she has a cousin named Vinitar Dropkicker.
1.There's always one certified nutcase running around...a crazed hermit, a zany gnome...an eccentric alchemist...
2. A dive tavern called The Boring Pig.
3. One real nice, decent inn for the PCs to rest their heads.
4. There's no such thing as a generic "plus-something" melee weapon. Each of my magical swords, hammers, maces, spears, axes, and even some daggers, have a name and powers. No two are exactly alike. My youngest son's Wood Elf Ranger wields the long sword "Orcslayer", while my wife's cleric of Talona uses a heavy mace called "The Persuader", and a friend's Fighter carries the two-handed sword called "Screaming Brute".
5. The tendency for relatives of NPCs to pop up. The party defeated a priestess of Cyric named Evah Rigo. In a new Realms campaign with new characters, they are going to meet her son, Dagaton, the result of a union between Evah and a demon.
6. The tendency to name villains after people I know. Evah Rigo is a close approximation to the name of my wicked aunt.
7. Like computer programs, each of my adventures has a "back door"....if you can think creatively, and get a little lucky, you can bypass a lot of needless crap and hit the heart of the matter.
8. As a corollary to #7, there's always at least ONE escape hatch. Trick is, finding it and knowing when to use it.
9. Rock song references pop in a lot, as well as inside jokes. My current campaign has a female halfling named Tessie Dropkicker. To make it worse, she has a cousin named Vinitar Dropkicker.
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Taverns... the Spread Egale and the Bearded Clam show up in most of my games at some point.
NPCS...
Gerbo Nelkru, a very shady gnome merchant (who never wears a hat*), has been encountered in several campaigns. Hes always doing something illegal (like selling blackpowder weapons to goblins) and is usualy caught by the party. They've never managed to take him back to stand trial for his crimes as he usualy has some information they need (and often slips away in the inevitable chaos caused by an adventuring party).
Blackchasm, a dwarven vampire and master weaponsmith. He has only been physicaly encountered once but his handywork (daemonicaly enchanted weapons) does turn up from time to time.
There are also Lovecraftian refrences scattered about. Necromancers and daemonologists named Whately are mentioned from time to time, as are the "Unausprechen Culten" "Cults de Ghouls" and so forth. Howardian refrences also turn up, with the "Scrolls of Skellos" being mentioned from time to time.
* the hat refrence comes from an old issue of Dragon, where they talk about gnomes. In it they say that a gnome not wearing the traditional pointy hat is untrustworthy.
NPCS...
Gerbo Nelkru, a very shady gnome merchant (who never wears a hat*), has been encountered in several campaigns. Hes always doing something illegal (like selling blackpowder weapons to goblins) and is usualy caught by the party. They've never managed to take him back to stand trial for his crimes as he usualy has some information they need (and often slips away in the inevitable chaos caused by an adventuring party).
Blackchasm, a dwarven vampire and master weaponsmith. He has only been physicaly encountered once but his handywork (daemonicaly enchanted weapons) does turn up from time to time.
There are also Lovecraftian refrences scattered about. Necromancers and daemonologists named Whately are mentioned from time to time, as are the "Unausprechen Culten" "Cults de Ghouls" and so forth. Howardian refrences also turn up, with the "Scrolls of Skellos" being mentioned from time to time.
* the hat refrence comes from an old issue of Dragon, where they talk about gnomes. In it they say that a gnome not wearing the traditional pointy hat is untrustworthy.
There was a DM of mine who no matter what town/city you were in. There was always a seedy run down tavern that bore the title of 'The Hanging Clitoris'. 
I guess it must be a successful franchise.He also always used the Travelling Merchant "Honest Achmed" too, which was quite notorious for watering down the potions of healing.
Tonguez
A suffusion of yellow
1 In every game the PCs will 'encounter' the Grand Circus Maximus a travelling Circus owned by Orbril the Gnome (who was my first character). Encounters range from participating in the circus to simply seeing Orbrils wagon (which is pulled by four giant carniverous hamsters) drive pass. Orbril also has a singing rock named Hortence (just a rock that sings) and is himself a Master Alchemist (with a love of fireworks)
2 Lots of games feature a retired Tooth fairy (usually a human midwife) -since Tooth fairy is actually a job, overseen by Mother Goose (a powerful outsider)
3 Ghouls with class levels as NPC
4. Things with tentacles (awakened Otyugh NPCs)
5. Urban Goblins (in all city based adventures)
6. 'Spirits'
2 Lots of games feature a retired Tooth fairy (usually a human midwife) -since Tooth fairy is actually a job, overseen by Mother Goose (a powerful outsider)
3 Ghouls with class levels as NPC
4. Things with tentacles (awakened Otyugh NPCs)
5. Urban Goblins (in all city based adventures)
6. 'Spirits'
Dragonbait
Explorer
I can use an array of voices, so I utilize that. Unfortunately, after 9 years of DMing nearly non-stop, characters from different campaigns are beginning to sound the same.
I use a lot of demon-like monsters that are more akin to Power Ranger monsters than D&D demons. No one has ever complained, so I'm not stopping with that.
Edit: And one more thing: The Dire Boar Inn. The wooden sign has a fat, bearded man talking at a table, and everyone else is falling asleep. Of course, I keep the sign spelled as Boar instead of Bore.
This was started when I purchased some Chainmail Dire Boars, and the guy at the game store said "Boars are always dire, especially when they are at parties."
Edit Edit: Saw this on the list, and I use it too: Spirits. Nature spirits, elemental spirits, and so on.
I use a lot of demon-like monsters that are more akin to Power Ranger monsters than D&D demons. No one has ever complained, so I'm not stopping with that.
Edit: And one more thing: The Dire Boar Inn. The wooden sign has a fat, bearded man talking at a table, and everyone else is falling asleep. Of course, I keep the sign spelled as Boar instead of Bore.
This was started when I purchased some Chainmail Dire Boars, and the guy at the game store said "Boars are always dire, especially when they are at parties."
Edit Edit: Saw this on the list, and I use it too: Spirits. Nature spirits, elemental spirits, and so on.
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WampusCat43
Explorer
Beavers.
Our least-experienced player was playing a rogue and scouting out a room. The other PC's were whispering "Whaddyasee? Whaddyasee?" "There's a big BEAVER in here!"
He'd never seen an owlbear before, and it made thiefkabob out of him a second later. Now everything he doesn't recognize is referred to as a 'beaver'. "What's that flying through the air? It's a BEAVER!" "What's being served at this dinner party? Baked BEAVER!" :rollseyes:
There's also a frequently-appearing group of NPC merchants: Rocco Orzidale (a gnome) and his 'daughter' (a human babe named Delicious), who travel with a couple barbarian bodyguards called the Armbreaker Twins. Delicious gave our paladin a (see above) as well.
Our least-experienced player was playing a rogue and scouting out a room. The other PC's were whispering "Whaddyasee? Whaddyasee?" "There's a big BEAVER in here!"
He'd never seen an owlbear before, and it made thiefkabob out of him a second later. Now everything he doesn't recognize is referred to as a 'beaver'. "What's that flying through the air? It's a BEAVER!" "What's being served at this dinner party? Baked BEAVER!" :rollseyes:
There's also a frequently-appearing group of NPC merchants: Rocco Orzidale (a gnome) and his 'daughter' (a human babe named Delicious), who travel with a couple barbarian bodyguards called the Armbreaker Twins. Delicious gave our paladin a (see above) as well.
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