The practical arts and methods applied to gamemastering.
11
votes
5answers
331 views
Variants of letting players shop for items
During a game (at least during DnD), there always comes a time when characters need to re-supply, sell stuff, and buy or upgrade their items. I've seen a couple of different variations of how to do ...
15
votes
11answers
902 views
How do you keep the party on the map?
I'm running a fairly sandbox game, where the party can wander around easily from place to place. When the party visits areas I've prepared something for, they generally have a good time. When they ...
17
votes
7answers
371 views
Fantasy and magic in a primarily realistic setting
I'm running a game that's best described as "medieval fantasy," in the sense that we're actually trying to have the lives of people in the setting strongly resemble the historical Middle Ages. There ...
17
votes
6answers
444 views
Difference between writing a one-off scenario and writing a quest for a campaign?
I want to get some of my friends into roleplaying by running a self-contained single-session game with them rather than an actual campaign opener (for lack of a better term, I'll refer to this sort of ...
8
votes
3answers
369 views
Role playing/plot focused one shot sessions
I am faced with a challenge with creating a one shot session for a couple of friends. From experience I can see that it is difficult to indulge players into setting, plot, world, characters in a ...
20
votes
7answers
563 views
How can I convey the nonsensicality of a dream world?
Soon I will be GMing a campaign that allows the players to move freely back and forth between the "real" world and the "dream" world. I do not want this to be a secret or try to confuse the players; ...
11
votes
8answers
496 views
GMing an unorthodox setting the players know NOTHING about
Just a while back, there has been a question concerning GMing a setting the players know better than the GM. Now, let me ask you sort of an inverse of that question. I.e. how to introduce and ...
8
votes
5answers
1k views
Standard monster tactics for 4E D&D combat
In a similar vein to a question on tactics sources, I'm interested in knowing what are common tactics for monsters to use. The DMB and the MV mention monster groups, which are very useful, but I want ...
11
votes
3answers
266 views
Are there tips on reconciling the playing differences in this group?
My Werewolf game is going along quite swimmingly to the point that the players will ask that I keep the server (We play using maptools) open so they can discuss the plotline for hours after each ...
8
votes
2answers
208 views
How to make rituals a part of everyday life
I would like to know how to make it clear that little, non-magical rituals such as a blessing before eating, drawing water, harvesting grain, starting a fire and the like are a part of everyday life, ...
4
votes
1answer
212 views
How can I represent the use of fire being misrepresented in a campaign?
This is an extraction of one of the central questions arising from my original (overly broad) question.
I would like to know how to best represent the concept that there is a god who is, through a ...
8
votes
1answer
218 views
How does monster hiding work when some players detect them and some don't?
In one of our battles in DnD Next, I had some bugbears hiding in trees trying to attack the players.
The bugbear rolled a 21 on its attempt to hide. Four of the players rolled less than 21 on their ...
8
votes
5answers
437 views
Starting a campaign at higher level
It's been difficult for me to start a game at higher level than level 1-4 in Pathfinder.
At higher level, the scale of the game changes. In the beginning of level 1-4 you save a village or a clan ...
7
votes
3answers
182 views
How can I GM in Faerie with True Fae PCs?
I'm running a game where the PCs discover that they're actually Fae. Obviously this isn't strictly canonical - Fae in CtL leave fetches in place of children, not their own young - but I'm otherwise ...
19
votes
5answers
500 views
How to handle diverging expectations on “background density”?
Sorry, this is lengthy, but I want to put this into context.
After many years (try 15) of not GM'ing a group of my own, I recently made an attempt to return to the head of the table and shake off ...
13
votes
2answers
310 views
How can I efficiently manage Ship to Ship Tactical Combat and Boarding?
I'm planning a campaign that will involve a fair amount of ship to ship combat and boarding. My group is accustomed to using a square grid battle mat, and I'm concerned about the mechanics of the ...
21
votes
8answers
545 views
What can I do to give the players the same feel their characters would have about wilderness travel?
I find that in a lot of our group's games, traveling long distances through wilderness is too easy. In real life, it's quite arduous traveling overland. No one who's just walked a hundred miles is ...
30
votes
12answers
588 views
How do I allow player agency in situations with predetermined outcomes?
One of the current members of our group joined a little later than everyone else. His character's history wasn't developed too well, so I am running a one-off session so that the group can play out ...
8
votes
6answers
381 views
Giving Players the Game They Want
Currently I am running a game of Legend of the Five Rings, 4th Edition that is an extension of my 3rd Ed campaign. The current setting is a courtly endeavor, which dredges up certain problems. When ...
8
votes
3answers
260 views
So I'm finishing a campaign…what now?
The D&D campaign I mentioned in another question has been ongoing for 2 1/2 years and the next session is the last. While we're waiting for everyone to be available for said session, we're playing ...
14
votes
0answers
175 views
How can a GM calm down the group when they're chatty? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
When and how should I get the players to cut back on their out of character chatter?
Now and then the groups I play in or GM can get rather chatty. They're talking and ...
32
votes
14answers
1k views
How can GMs make their game worlds more inclusive?
Many published roleplaying settings reflect our own cultural biases, for example, by putting white people in the "core" of the setting with "exotic" (i.e., not white) cultures around the less-detailed ...
32
votes
10answers
563 views
Helping new players learn a setting on the go
I started a new Eberron campaign last night, and I quickly ran into the problem of my players not knowing much of anything about the campaign setting.
What is the Mournland?
Where is the Eldeen ...
20
votes
7answers
508 views
Building a good comedy adventure?
I was wondering how to build a comedic adventure for D&D (or at least get some tips on it). The DM guide mentioned the multiple ideas for campaigns and one of them was comedy! I tried to start ...
30
votes
15answers
1k views
How do I keep NPCs from just sounding the alarm?
When I design adventures, I often come up with situations where the NPCs could realistically thwart the PCs quickly by sounding an alarm. This is especially common in science fiction settings, where ...
11
votes
7answers
899 views
How can I deal with a “goof-ball” player in my WoD group?
I am a storyteller in a World of Darkness group, and I'm about to start designing a new scenario. However one of my players (let's call him Eric) is worrying me. Eric usually goes the goofball route ...
10
votes
6answers
696 views
How do I pick monsters of appropriate CR for parties with superior armour?
As background, my low-level PCs managed to come into a "king's ransom's" worth of cash (due to poor planning on my part as DM, I'll admit) and now have purchased armour/enchantments that give them ...
15
votes
8answers
431 views
Treasure that's hard to put a price on
(We've been playing D&D, but for this answer I'm looking for a system-agnostic answer that works for a premodern setting. Let's say 1500 AD or earlier.)
Most of the treasure the party gets from ...
7
votes
3answers
314 views
As a GM, how do you deal with or manage Stirges?
As a GM, how do you deal with or manage Stirges? Equally, how do you make use of them? For them to be a relevant threat, do they have to be in such numbers that they become unmanageable?
12
votes
2answers
450 views
How do I help my players get more engaged in the story?
I play in a group where we routinely switch out GMs. When I GM I tend to prefer story-based games with lots of character building and descriptive role play. We tend to run Paizo's Adventure Paths ...
13
votes
7answers
328 views
How can I bring in new players on the fly?
How can I smoothly bring in a new player and character with little or no notice? I run a semi-public game shop pathfinder game, and I sometimes have people show up to play I hadn't planned on. Often ...
23
votes
8answers
437 views
Creating emotions
In the group that I GM, I ran an adventure a few months back that was generally considered very good by everyone involved (Including myself, which does not happen often). It included a little girl ...
7
votes
6answers
252 views
How do you come up with attribute values and skills for your NPCs
I have been playing PnP for some years now and also had one session GMing (my first) and I discovered that my biggest problem wasn't creating a world, inventing scenes or reacting fast if my players ...
5
votes
4answers
248 views
World Development - A Fresh Start
If this is not the place for this type of question, redirect me - I am new here, and apologize in advance.
So. My group is looking for something new. Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 in my own setting is our ...
11
votes
4answers
306 views
Maintaining balance with a very large group
I played DnD 3.5 while in the military and due to a shortage of DMs, was constantly flooded by players. Some of my games would include up to 10 or 11. I discovered quickly that balancing for this in ...
21
votes
7answers
458 views
It is possible to have one player lose control of their actions (get possessed) and have the other players not know it?
One of the players in my group is getting rather fond of a very powerful and clearly evil sword that gives them great increases to strength and magical ability. As a consequence, I would love to have ...
36
votes
8answers
2k views
How do I deal with PCs who use kidnap and torture as an investigative technique?
I'm running a game in a modern setting with emphasis on the paranormal (Conspiracy X). The player characters are part of a secret government organization and are tasked with investigating & ...
21
votes
14answers
834 views
How to deal effectively with a player unable to lose?
How do you effectively handle a player that overreacts to any loss of his character (level drain, death) ?
15
votes
8answers
707 views
My necromancer keeps dying (and can't raise himself)!
Sometimes in the course of running an adventure you will run into an encounter that calls for a summoner to bring on a horde of undead (often minions).
I have a simple problem: My summoners die in ...
9
votes
5answers
737 views
How do I represent semi-realistic gun fire-fights using Pathfinder/D&D 3.5 cover rules?
I am running a sci-fi/fantasy game using Pathfinder. The setting is firearms and future weapons focused. It's also being played on a virtual battle-map with tokens and will be run very tactically.
...
18
votes
8answers
480 views
What to do when your PCs skip an important part of the story line
In the earliest stage of my new duet campaign, I thought I had "rail-roaded" the PC into the first important encounter, one that leads to a major story line for the campaign. Specifically, the PC was ...
29
votes
7answers
804 views
How can DMs effectively telegraph specific dangers in D&D?
There are some play-styles of D&D in which the spectre of player-character death is considered a feature of the game rather than a bug. For my own reasons (which aren't the point of the question), ...
12
votes
4answers
375 views
How to succesfully make one quest naturally lead to the next?
My old GM used to make our quests highly modular and separated. While this had some advantages, it gave the feeling of running through a video game with discrete levels where we just popped from one ...
21
votes
9answers
2k views
Traps specifically for Smart characters
Does anyone have examples or suggestions on creating traps that are harder for Smart (High INT/WIS) characters?
Example: My NPC necromancer has set up his lair. In his arrogance he believes that ...
12
votes
3answers
343 views
How do I respectfully make use of non-Western accents?
I pretty much exclusively alter my voice to represent characters' speech in-game, both as player and GM. I have a pretty good handle on most of the numerous Western accents - probably due to the ...
12
votes
3answers
11k views
Calculating and balancing challenge ratings
Are there standard rules for calculating CR of groups? For example, in my Pathfinder bestiary, a single Stirge is listed as CR 1/2, and a group of 2d4 (average 5) of them is listed as an average CR 4.
...
40
votes
14answers
1k views
How do I get the PCs to stop focusing on a red herring?
Okay, I'll cop to it -- this is totally my fault. I get a little excited at the slightest opportunity to expound upon the setting, and in this case I added a small mausoleum to an otherwise boring ...
14
votes
4answers
301 views
How do I signal a flashback?
I have several flashbacks planned that introduce the characters to a backstory that is too complex for a typical plot dump. The problem is that the flashbacks are triggered in the context of the ...
7
votes
1answer
166 views
What are the potential pitfalls and errors as a first time DM of a Dread Game?
I am getting ready to run my first session. We are going to run a game of Dread. I have read the Dread book and am planning on running the first published scenario.
What kind of pitfalls should I be ...
12
votes
7answers
547 views
Dealing with a problem player not playing to their character aspects
A player in my Dresden Files game joined the group with a kick-in-the-door, "shoot-first-ask-questions-later"-style cop. The character had some fairly "meh" & a couple of potentially OK aspects. ...
