The practical arts and methods applied to gamemastering.
9
votes
5answers
403 views
How Can I Make Supplies Matter In D&D 3.5e?
On long journeys we always forget to track supplies so I am looking for a way to make supplies actually matter in D&D 3.5.
15
votes
5answers
467 views
How can I add story to every encounter so that they don't seem like I'm just piling monsters on the characters for xp?
I am running a Viking themed 3.5 adventure and the party is traveling to confront a barbarian king on the way though they have just been fighting wild animals and it feels like these encounters don't ...
19
votes
8answers
513 views
Systems giving XP based on roleplay - How to avoid jealousy/party balance problem
I used to play systems where XP is usually allowed to the group and shared equally no matter how well the players roleplayed or got involved in the story. But now I started Shadowrun and karma (or XP) ...
10
votes
5answers
307 views
How to go from a humorous campaign to a more serious one?
I am currently running a D&D 4E game. The game started off kind of goofy (we have a thrikreen rogue with glowing blonde hair, an ale-obsessed dwarf battlemind, a ditzy human wizard, and a dwarf ...
73
votes
16answers
4k views
How to deal with players who like to use the local authorities to solve their problems
Preface
I apologize beforehand if this question has been asked before, I was not able to find one, except this, which may be related: Dealing with players who try to run from everything?. Also I'd ...
62
votes
19answers
2k views
How do you help players not focus on the rules?
Background - My Group's Gaming Style
When I GM, I run games loosely from a rules standpoint, and do not feel bound to adhere to what the rulebook says when it doesn't make sense in a given situation. ...
13
votes
8answers
546 views
Non-magical encounter suggestions
I'm once again turning to the good folks at Stack Exchange for help regarding my non-magical campaign. I've written several encounters in which the PCs fight the main bad guys and their followers ...
8
votes
1answer
170 views
How can I estimate difficulty in a FATE based game?
In a recent game of Diaspora, I pitted three of my "5 cap" player characters against four "3 cap" and one "4 cap" character in physical combat, and was surprised to see that the characters came away ...
4
votes
2answers
215 views
Plot granted special ability standards?
For the campaign in question, I'm running one person through a dungeon inspired by Vagrant Story. Clearly some things from the video game can't be emulated, and many of those are integral to the game: ...
21
votes
6answers
698 views
When GMing in a high-tech game world how do you handle potentially disruptive tech?
This question stems from my Eclipse Phase campaign, but applies to any high-tech setting. While the setting books describe a wealth of technology, there are plenty of tools that are not listed. That's ...
15
votes
2answers
409 views
How can I play monsters and NPCs up to their potential?
In many cases discussions about balance in 3.5 will, inevitably, involve one side or another invoking an anecdote of the time they fought this monster, or a member of that class, and they didn't ...
14
votes
2answers
269 views
How can I make diseases non-trivial?
As noted here, diseases in 4e seem more trivial than I think they were intended: they rarely last more than one increment!
What rules can I make/break, or what actions can I take, so that contracting ...
1
vote
2answers
264 views
Good RPG System/Game/style for just a single DM and single Player? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
1 GM and 1 Player games and game systems?
I am looking for a system or style of play (or even contained game/game module) which would be fun for just one player---myself ...
6
votes
2answers
204 views
Increasing experience gain in session
I want to increase the experience gain per game season for several reasons:
My group does not play too often, something like once a month, therefore some players seem to loose sense of achievement ...
4
votes
1answer
199 views
How to upgrade Pathfinder Beginner Box games and characters to Pathfinder Core Rules?
Similar to this question on Red box to 4e core rules upgrade, what problems are there overcome with or good ways to achieve moving games and characters from the Beginner Box rules to Pathfinder Core ...
11
votes
5answers
402 views
How do I encourage player-GM storytelling collaboration without “breaking” my game?
I've DM/GM'd for several gaming groups, young and old, and have found that one of the things that separates my younger players from older players is their eagerness to elaborate/collaborate in the ...
15
votes
4answers
349 views
How would I quickly put together a believable map of an area?
As part of my "Closed Circle" campaign, I'm looking for ways to quickly put together a believable map of a college campus and surrounding area, complete with believable building placement. "Quickly" ...
11
votes
5answers
304 views
How can I stop a large level disparity from being a problem?
In my campaign, my players each have several different characters at the home base. Every session, they pick which one they want to play. However, some players always use the same one and so have more ...
22
votes
7answers
619 views
How can a GM justify changing a player's alignment?
Lately, in one of my campaigns, I've been having problems with a character who everyone agrees is acting out of alignment. Everyone, that is, but him. The problem, of course, is that he's playing a ...
12
votes
3answers
297 views
How can I build open-ended questions into a scenario in a GM driven world?
Inspired by this question.
In a game where the GM has the traditional role of answering all the questions about the world, what is the benefit of building open-ended questions into the scenario for ...
35
votes
14answers
1k views
How to get out of a story deadlock
As with most of my questions, this is more of a general "how to handle a special situation" and not a plea to solve an existing problem.
What is the best way to handle story deadlocks (as in: The ...
14
votes
4answers
223 views
Is there a method for sliding seamlessly from one system into another during a campaign?
Has anyone changed system/setting/genre but kept the characters during a campaign?
Players can become very attached to their characters, even when the campaign/setting/genre or system is getting ...
7
votes
3answers
224 views
How do I keep track of “hidden” in game variables without getting bogged down?
I'm currently designing a campaign that has a monumental amount of in-game variables to keep track of, which I'll need to check every time a certain kind of event happens. Reducing the number of ...
21
votes
14answers
1k views
How can I add sound to our sessions?
I've been toying with the idea of adding sound to our typical sessions. I was thinking about throwing in some sounds for atmosphere's sake, like some of the following:
Birds chirping/water running ...
18
votes
5answers
359 views
How do I run a game for a larger group?
I am currently running a Dungeons and Dragons 4 campaign for a group of 9 players. Whittling the group down to a more manageable size is not really an option since they are all family. When we do ...
9
votes
6answers
246 views
What are the pitfalls when swapping characters between players?
I have a plot hook that I want to use where the entire player character team gets gassed and wake up feeling "different". I want to simulate that by swapping characters between the players for one ...
5
votes
3answers
120 views
When should I put an NPC card on the table?
I'm running a game of Diaspora, which is my first FATE based game. The manual talks about playing with everything in the open and I'm all for that, but when should I actually make up a card for an ...
28
votes
16answers
979 views
How do I get the PCs to visit scary places at night?
Sometimes when I design scenarios, I realize that my mental image of the adventure is only exciting because it takes place at night. When the players actually play through the adventure, they might ...
19
votes
7answers
398 views
What should I consider when creating a time travel adventure?
I'm sure that many would advise against doing so at all, but knowing that I will likely try to do so anyway, what are the factors I should consider when creating a time travel adventure? ...
15
votes
4answers
501 views
What should a DM do if a player wants to do something impossible?
If a player wants to do something a little out of the ordinary such as punching down a wall with his bare fists, what should I do? Do I make a DC for it? Do I make it so that no matter how much he ...
9
votes
3answers
291 views
How do I keep me and my player happy in a one-on-one game?
As a GM, my comfort zone is a group with about 3-5 players. I like the diversity of having multiple players. When I only have a single player, I feel I can already predict my player's actions, and we ...
9
votes
1answer
160 views
How can GMs quickly calculate the effects of level drain?
I've GM'ed a few Pathfinder games, and while I really enjoy the setting, I just can't wrap my head around some of the crunchy mechanics. In particular, how do you (quickly) deal with effects like ...
5
votes
4answers
286 views
How do I deal with absent players?
If a player is absent and nobody chooses to play this absent character and instead I let it vanish for a while with a suitable reason or excuse, does this missing player gain levels and XP with the ...
4
votes
2answers
434 views
Pathfinder monster races: Broken?
I've played an ogre barbarian/fighter with a one-hit-one-kill concept, and he can put out more damage than anything in the party. I've played a serpentfolk wizard whose DCs were so high, creatures 10 ...
3
votes
5answers
636 views
How to impose consequences for breaking the Paladin's Code without coming off as a insensitive GM? [closed]
It all started when we were going through a premade adventure's flavor text and got to the bit when the party walked into the town of Night Falls. One PC, a paladin, used his class ability to detect ...
13
votes
7answers
548 views
How can I increase tension during roleplaying?
In my games, I tend to run into a problem at least once per session. My players just seem to follow the dice and make no effort to either engage with combat or chase adventure. They let the dice fall ...
11
votes
5answers
467 views
What is a challenge to a Perfect character?
Solars are Perfect at whatever skills they choose to develop and use. This doesn't make the job of the storyteller easy. Perfect in this case means a charm that allows them to avoid a roll entirely ...
15
votes
2answers
436 views
How does “failure” work in Dungeon World? How does it move the story forward?
I am having trouble understanding the specifics of failure Dungeon World. According to the rules, a GM should "make a move" against players when they fail, and that's alright, I get that.
What I ...
0
votes
1answer
89 views
How many XP points should an enemy have?
How can I assign an amount of XP points to an enemy that I have created for a campaign that I am writing? What would be a good way to decide, and still be fair? The campaign that I wrote is for the ...
32
votes
9answers
1k views
What is 'railroading', and is it a bad thing?
What is 'railroading', and when is it generally considered to be something negative?
34
votes
6answers
825 views
GMing a setting when your players are more familiar with it than you
My players often ask me to GM games in specific settings we all like. Most of the time, they know FAR more than me about that setting. They will object to events I have happen or how I play an NPC, ...
24
votes
11answers
764 views
How do I create a great fantasy villain?
In my early years of GMing it was simple enough to say that the badguys were evil and that was all the justification we needed. They are attacking the village because they are evil, they are stealing ...
8
votes
2answers
228 views
Mechanics and methods for playing a quantum-superposition of worlds
I'm looking for game mechanics and story telling methods that convey the atmosphere that characters don't just live in one world, but in a multiverse adhering to something similar to the many-worlds ...
18
votes
5answers
305 views
What field-specific puzzles can I give to engineering and psychology students?
A few sessions ago, I gave my players a puzzle that involved converting a decimal number to binary to figure out the correct sequence to open a door. Since my group consists primarily of computer ...
9
votes
3answers
476 views
How do I deal with two players who dislike each other and disrupt the game?
I have lately had a problem with some players in a campaign I am running. Basically, they don't get on well together, for various reasons. I don't really understand it, but then again, I am looking in ...
43
votes
14answers
1k views
How can I help my PCs remember clues that they found?
I'm a new DM running my first adventure (it's D&D 4.0 but that's not relevant to my question). I've heard of the "three clue rule", that there should be at least three independent pointers to any ...
34
votes
15answers
1k views
How can I make my PCs flee?
My players never run away or avoid conflict. Ever. I throw them ridiculous encounters, they will stay and fight. If I tell them, "You know you're not gonna make it, just run," they stay and fight and ...
39
votes
7answers
686 views
How can I quickly get a player back into a session after their character dies?
As a GM, what kind of techniques could I use to help a player re-join the gaming session after their character dies? I want to avoid any major interruptions to the flow of the adventure. I would also ...
11
votes
6answers
577 views
How can I make my adventures more bard-inclusive?
For whatever reason, it seems that no one in my campaigns ever chooses to play a bard. I am beginning to wonder if it has something to do with the adventures I construct as our game's DM. These ...
9
votes
12answers
498 views
How do I design a Christmas-themed horror adventure?
'Tis soon the season and I want to treat my players to a Christmas-themed adventure as part of my ongoing horror campaign. I want to keep the horror element, but I don't mind mixing in a bit of humor ...
