Worst & most common DM mistakes

[pawsplay]

Yep. I would've let them die as well....definitely the one bashing down the door for sure. No question about it.

Getting other PCs killed is an important consequence. I would have let them die.

 

[IanB]

Answer only valid for me, but the thing I find I hate the most as a player these days is a lack of direction. I used to be able to play open ended, do what you want type games, but I find that as I get older and my gaming time is more and more constricted, I don't want to waste 2 hours of a 4 hour session trying to figure out something useful to do.

Railroad me, please!

 

[Vegepygmy]

Now, that said, one big mistake that I used to make is overusing the dice. it is easy to call for a check, even an easy one, when a player asks to do something. however, if it is an easy or natural thing for the PC to do, asking for a roll is just asking for complications if the dice turn up low. "I want to find a seedy bar so we can stake out those warf burglars we heard about." "Make a Gather Info check." Crap, I got a 7." "Um..." Just tell the character he finds the place and get on with it. Mostly because if you give it to him with the 7, players don't know what to expect as a "good roll" and when they roll a 7 for something else and don't succeed, they'll wonder what's going on and why you're being inconsistent.

This is a good one. 3.5 attempted to solve the problem (at least partially) with the "Take 10" rule, but in my experience, few players take advantage of it; instead, they roll, foul it up, and leave the DM with this conundrum.

As DM, I usually just treat such skill checks as automatic Take 10's, without even telling the player that's what I'm doing.

 

[GSHamster]

1. Don't be afraid to be heroic. A character doesn't have to be high-level to do important things. It's perfectly okay to rescue Princes/Princesses at level 1.

2. Cliches are cliches for a reason. People respond strongly to archetypes, so use them! Every once in a while, throw the PCs a twist, but if you never play it straight, the twists lose their power.

 

[Afrodyte]

This is a good one. 3.5 attempted to solve the problem (at least partially) with the "Take 10" rule, but in my experience, few players take advantage of it; instead, they roll, foul it up, and leave the DM with this conundrum.

As DM, I usually just treat such skill checks as automatic Take 10's, without even telling the player that's what I'm doing.

I wish more GMs would do that. I can count the number of times I've been allowed to take 10 on my hand. For whatever reason, whenever I ask about something my character would pick up on or gain through general awareness, I have to make a roll as if I'm actively searching. *shrug*

Perhaps it would be a good idea to give DMs a guideline about that.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I thought the Take 10 thing was allowable any time when it wasn't a stressful sitaution. HAve I been misinformed?

If a player did insist on rolling in a non-stress situation and missed I'd let the player role again. It just takes longer. So in the example above about finding a bar to base the stake out in they might miss some interesting tidbit. (As they reach the bar they see a carriage leaving the area but can't make out the crest on the carriage's door as it's too far away.)

 

[Afrodyte]

I thought the Take 10 thing was allowable any time when it wasn't a stressful sitaution. HAve I been misinformed?

I don't think so. I guess it's something about human nature. We often act like we want to make things more difficult for ourselves.