Questions about the non-GM participants in roleplaying games and their behavior.
64
votes
9answers
2k views
How does a player correct a GM mistake without being a rules lawyer or pushover?
You are playing in a game. The GM says that you need to roll a given roll. The rules clearly state something different. I realize one solution is to go along to get along, then tell the GM after ...
5
votes
10answers
568 views
Balancing players' rolls, not characters
I have been the worst dice-roller in my party as far as I can remember. Be it D&D 3.5, 4th Edition, or any other dice based system, the goddess of luck has always been mean to me.
To give you an ...
25
votes
9answers
1k views
1 GM and 1 Player games and game systems?
I'm eager to hear how other people handle this? I do quite a bit of GM-Less gaming in Mythic and some other fringe systems, but, sometimes it's just better to be playing 'other sides' even if you're ...
12
votes
8answers
341 views
Dealing with a changing set of players in a continuous campaign
I have a group of players who have all been integrated into the game. However we all live in different counties and at any one time only a subset of the players can play at any one time.
I try to ...
12
votes
8answers
570 views
How valid is lying to players about the rolls they are making in The Dresden Files?
In last weeks Dresden Files game, the players followed the bad guy using a tracking spell, and found him in the projects at an apartment that they knew little about. Seeing his car, they decided to ...
12
votes
2answers
699 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing a player to play a large creature?
We're playing 4e Thunderspire Labyrinth and we've decided to let the tank play a large (2x2) Minotaur.
He has all of the stats from the Minotaur player character in the Players Handbook 3, but he's a ...
21
votes
6answers
664 views
What GM tasks can be delegated to players to speed up encounters?
My party's encounters (D&D4e - 13th level) take on average 3-4 hours. We chit chat a lot and are pretty easily distracted, and it's not a huge deal because we're all having fun. But lately we've ...
23
votes
18answers
1k views
Overpowered PCs (Gabe's Dilemma)
Penny Arcade recently ran the following strip:
(Original strip here)
While the resolution of this thread hasn't yet been posted, I'm wondering what we think here. How do you game with PCs who are ...
22
votes
11answers
908 views
What to do when your character is just too good?
I'm playing in the Paizo Pathfinder Jade Regent adventure path and we're having a good time so far (campaign blog and session summaries). However, as my character has gone up in power I'm now ...
20
votes
5answers
613 views
As a GM, how do I keep Dungeons & Dragons more interesting for young players?
Currently, my group of players is my children, ages 7+ through 14+ (and several in between). They all are really excited about playing, but I am having great difficulty keeping them all interested ...
24
votes
14answers
627 views
Story Arc vs. Player Creativity
I want to put the players in a challenging spot by putting them in a no win situation and having them captured and stripped of their equipment (assuming they might get it back as they make their ...
21
votes
6answers
403 views
How do you switch from parenting-mode to GM-mode?
Directly related to this question.
My players are my children. A GM has a different relationship with players than a parent does with children. A parent tries to encourage and nurture children; a ...
28
votes
13answers
779 views
What kinds of rules promote good team cohesion?
It seems like a lot of roleplaying games have no problems with players playing antisocial characters who can't really be part of the team. I've been part of groups (in D&D) with both a noble ...
18
votes
4answers
279 views
How to run an encounter where PCs have different observations of the same events?
Some of the discussion in this question got me to thinking about an encounter design that sounded fun but I couldn't figure out an elegant way to pull it off:
In some situation where one or more PCs ...
28
votes
4answers
281 views
How can the players reduce the workload of a game master?
As you know DMs do most of the job for the campaign (maps, plot, NPCs etc) and quite a bit of storytelling.
Players, on the other side, bring in their creativity and add extra spice to the game ...
17
votes
8answers
558 views
How can I motivate my fellow players?
Although I'm very much enjoying the one of the games I'm in, the other players seem to be flagging and losing interest. This is a bit disheartening as their lack of enthusiasm is bringing down the ...
31
votes
4answers
344 views
What policies should be made at the start of a campaign, to define the desired game experience and avoid bad feelings later?
My group and I work on the assumption that a game system's default assumptions are its manifesto, and that by choosing a system we are choosing to let its assumptions stand except where we institute ...
20
votes
4answers
358 views
How to become better at descriptions of what your character is doing?
A (very) common GM question is "What is your character doing?"
How do you, as a player, describe effectively what you character is doing?
What techniques do you use to evoke wonder and spark ...
17
votes
11answers
728 views
Encouraging out-of-the-box thinking in combat encounters
I'm a GM currently running D&D 3.5.
I try to think of situations that present the players with a number of possible solutions.
The players, however, always resort to the same pattern of killing ...
10
votes
2answers
294 views
How can I rescue the game when the player characters refuse to work together?
I am a Game Master, and the characters in my group have started to regularly split up. The group's mage has always been a summoner and recently started summoning smaller demons. The fighter's player ...
20
votes
10answers
402 views
What is the best way to do search, or spot test when players knowing the result of their roll will colour their perception of the result?
What is the best way to do search or spot tests when knowing the outcome of the roll will colour the players' perception of the result?
For example: a Paladin uses Sense Motive to detect lies from a ...
