Monday, November 25, 2019

DM tips

Here's my DM tips

Tell the players when NPC is lying, unless NPC is really good at lying
Show off enemy powers
Try to meditate morning of d&d game
Set obstacles and problems and let players solve them however they want
Don't use dragons until they're really high level
Never re-use a monster, they get boring really really quickly
For persuasion type conversations, only let players roll after when the NPC isn't sure how to respond, or when there's an appropriate break in the conversation where you don't know how the NPC would respond
If something doesn't make sense to the players and "show not tell" isn't working, just tell them what's going on
Try to keep the game in a zone of pleasant challenge, "high level" doesn't have to mean "hard"
For stealth, always roll stealth vs perception
Give one-enemy boss fights ability to re-save against powers affecting them by sacrificing their extra actions, these guys can get locked down really really quickly and it's not as fun
For the hardest encounters, think about the tactics your players rely on, and design encounters to bust those tactics
When you aren't sure how a monster will respond to parley, think about its temperament and desires
It's okay for some monsters to be intractable, that's why they're monsters
Always leave room for mystery, things that can't be easily discovered, or secrets that refer to deeper secrets, things hidden inside other things, that way curiosity will be consistently rewarded and also the world will seem (and actually be) both dense and larger than the players
It's okay for some NPCs to be purely good-hearted and helpful, but use these guys sparingly. They can then be treated as an emotional resource to fuck with and threaten. But also they're nice to have around to introduce levity and comfort
When the players panic, slow down combat
As much as possible, re-narrate exactly what's happening in combat during each player's turn
Close off all escape routes only sparingly, and when you're prepared for a possible TPK
Tumblr is still a good resource for ideas
D&d is most fun when there are vivid and strange characters to talk to, so put opportunities for that in every session

Ok that's all I got for now

3 comments:

  1. Hey what corners of tumblr would you recommend checking out?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. follow me! at zearohone.blogspot.com for all your latest fantasy pictures

      Delete
    2. i mean tumblr. zearohone.tumblr.com

      Delete