DM Tips to other DMs

Pellinore · Post by **Pellinore** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 4:52 pm

I typically am a stingy DM. I have found that if the characters are millionaires by 3rd level then they lose interest rather quick. Whenever they find a huge pile of treasure, remember that 10 coins is a pound in encumbrance, 100 coins is 10 pounds, 1000 coins is 100 pounds. Imagine carrying a 100 pound sack of pennies.... Sure they may find 10,000 silver pieces but how are they going to transport it? Then there are thieves and taxes (thievery in its own right...) to help lighten the PCs load:laugh:

I do this not to keep them poor but to make them appreciate it when they do get to keep it... I also don't want said 3rd level party saying "*Another* +1 sword??!!" and throw it away.

Chado2423 · Post by **Chado2423** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 5:35 pm

My question...

My question is:

What do you do when you have players that want to level their character's up too quickly?

^^Witht the above.. I feel I have been far too lenient... but some of the leniency is campaign based. Of course, I've always told the players that this is temporary, if it was something they wouldn't normally have at their low level.

Also with the above: There is always a way around any mistake you may make.

Impure13 · Post by **Impure13** » Sat Nov 28, 2009 8:08 pm

Let them earn their lv ups, you may shorten the xp needed, but If not much adventuring is done and not much time passes they are going to be behind on the wealth compared to other capaigns and suggested amount for the level, I belive this might help things stay somewhat even. So in general, let things speed up a bit but keep a reign on something or the campaign will get too easy for them and they will start to become "bored"

WizardDude2 · Post by **WizardDude2** » Tue Sep 28, 2010 6:20 pm

If there's one thing I think has improved my DMing by a thousand fold, it's the use of a DM screen. Obviously a DM screen has useful information on it for easy reference, and you can even sticky-note your own stuff to it to help you remember.

But there's a lesser known name for the DM screen, and that's "The impenetrable wall of unseeing." Why? Because players can never know what's going on behind that screen.

The more devious of you are smiling right now, but to the others, I'll explain: If you roll some dice, look at the outcome, and either smile with amusement or wince in disgust, you can do whatever you want. Players won't argue; after all, you rolled the dice, right? All's fair in love and kobolds.

Use this wisely. Don't only use it to kill off your players, or give the baddies' inflict spells extra punch; you can also use it to give an unexpected boon to the players, like saving one of them by having a dragon conveniently fumble, or even just move the story along faster by having a guard flop on his sense motive check. This can work thematically, too; maybe a certain player should be able to kill certain monsters because of a personal quest.

Additional uses of the impenetrable wall of unseeing: Fudging monster hp, hiding the extra mountain dew you stole from the fridge.

(Bonus tip! Don't wanna buy a DM screen? Make one with two fold-y binders and alligator clips or something! Will it work? Who knows!)

The Traveller · Post by **The Traveller** » Tue May 24, 2011 4:01 am

BlueMage wrote:2) campaigns should not read like a treasure map. First go to town A, then slay monster B. Take cryptic clue C, to crackpot mystic D, who gives you the next piece, etc etc.

This is one of the most important ones I think, you have to keep it loose and freeform, but its a bit of a balancing act between that and complete chaos.

jannypan · Post by **jannypan** » Wed Jul 06, 2011 8:34 pm

I am quite new at being a DM, but the players tend to like my games. I haven't got any tips, but I certainly will use your tips.Tera Items
Buying WOW Gold
WOW Items Gold

Stormdrake2000 · Post by **Stormdrake2000** » Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:34 am

Learn how to read your players and gadge what might peek their intrests this can keep them on thier toes and enthralled with the game for long periods of time. Also if one of the players start talking (ooc) right in the middle of a dungion and doesn't tell you, asume they are still in character and have monsters attracted to the sound of thier voice. It snaps the player back into the game and gives the other plays a bit of excitement. :laugh:

Yingchun5207 · Post by **Yingchun5207** » Mon Sep 05, 2011 9:34 pm

I have a problem though, In my last campaign the PC's all more or less declared their intent to be heroes, fight the good fight etc. The first thing they do is to find the opening of the plot, leave the city, go to a farm and con an old man out of 200 GP. Later on they MURDER an unconscious goblin that one PC said he wanted to interrogate. They do the quest, then go back to the city where a PC insults a wizard (Who he was trying to buy a ring off).

By this point i am rather confused as to why they are doing what they are doing, so to add some "Justice" i make the ring cursed (Anything he tried to levitate with it stuck to it). He then complains that i am "victimising" him and can't see what he has done wrong (He killed the goblin and conned the man). I explained why I did what I did, and he agrees to stop being so harsh.

Winterfell · Post by **Winterfell** » Tue Feb 28, 2012 4:40 pm

Yingchun5207 wrote:I have a problem though, In my last campaign the PC's all more or less declared their intent to be heroes, fight the good fight etc. The first thing they do is to find the opening of the plot, leave the city, go to a farm and con an old man out of 200 GP. Later on they MURDER an unconscious goblin that one PC said he wanted to interrogate. They do the quest, then go back to the city where a PC insults a wizard (Who he was trying to buy a ring off).

Know your players. I have a feeling that your players are acting up because they aren't enjoying what you have prepared. Instead, they are victimizing harmless bystanders because it's more interesting and entertaining.

There's nothing wrong with victimizing innocent bystanders (in game, that is), and it's entirely possible to have an engaging adventure that involves it - even for a good-aligned party. Explore the edges of 'good' a little. There are a ton of memorable fantasy characters who advance the cause of good in a not-so-good way.

Need to get a password to enter the enemy keep? Beat down the errand boy! It's apparently the kind of thing your players enjoy doing, and having fun justifies absolutely anything & everything.

I will qualify that last by saying that giving your players the keys to the treasury may seem like fun at first, but it gets old fast. Look for ways for your players to have fun that builds on itself to create more fun. I promise you they will keep coming back begging for more.

FearedShad0w · Post by **FearedShad0w** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 3:42 am

I hope it's okay that I'm posting in this thread.

I'm a new DM, a group of friends and I have wanted to play D&D for a long time now however, everyone else was intimidated by the pressure put on a DM during the game. I decided it was time for us to try it out and bought the necessary materials. In our first adventure the party is a Female Elven Ranger, a male Dragonborn Paladin, a Male Eladrin Wizard, and an NPC Tiefling Warlock (part of my intended plot as a traitor).
My problem is with the person playing the wizard, every time something bad happens to the party he gets annoyed. For example in our last session the party was told to ambush a caravan owned by the organization forcibly holding the area, during the fight the horse leading the caravan was injured by the wizards Acid Arrow. I decided to have the horse start running, moving a bit every time it's turn came around. He asked me (ooc) what happened when the horse left the battlefield, I told him that the caravan will escape. He asked me if I was serious, I told him I was and he responded with "That's Bull%$#&"
He's done this quite a bit and I was wondering if I'm doing something wrong or if he is just a whiny player?

Also my players don't seem to be inclined to Roleplay, it's like they are just controlling fantasy characters not becoming them

Thanks for reading

GawainBS · Post by **GawainBS** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 3:26 pm

I can only give the most generic (yet nevertheless only worthwhile advice): talk to him seperately, out of game, as an adult, and ask what his problem is. I suspect that his problem is that things aren't going as planned some of the time.
However, you should also make him clear that if things don't go as they plan, that that means things should fail. In this case: the caravan might escape, but perhaps they can catch up with it later on? Or they find another clue on the enemies they defeated? Make them do Perception checks, maybe they notice the dead tree ready to collapse across the road? Players tend to be at their best when they have to improvise.

As for your players not "becoming" their characters, give them time. You said it is the first campaign you're playing. Let them adjust. Many people aren't comfortable acting things out. Perhaps they don't know their characters well enough. Offer them the opportunity to explore their characters, by thrusting non-critical social situations on them and ask them how their characters react. Give the example then by actually playing out your DM PC. Don't say "The Warlocks says that...", but "Hey, Dragonborn Paladin (use his name, preferably

), I never knew you were such a big timer for dancing!" when the Warlock spots the other playercharacter looking at a feast-dance. (Just a silly example I thought of.)
Most people will start reacting by acting out their character.
Mixing those social situations with humour (you know which kind works best with your group) tends to relax my group more and increases their willingnes to act out their characters. Afterall, if their characters are acting silly, chances are slimmer the player will look even more silly acting out that character.

stifler1111 · Post by **stifler1111** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 3:14 am

nice thread it give's me idea's tnx =)