Tagged Questions
6
votes
2answers
113 views
Methods for round-robin style DM'ing?
Round-robin storytelling has been around for a while, and something I have always been interested in experimenting with a variation of DM'ing where players take turns becoming the DM in the same ...
17
votes
10answers
973 views
How do I encourage a GM to use the rules as written?
Related to this question, there are some game masters who either don't know the rules or ignore them properly. They come into conflict with rules lawyers, players who know the rules well and expect ...
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" ...
5
votes
2answers
137 views
Balance between planning and improvising [closed]
What is the ideal balance between planning out an entire session of playing, complete with music scoring and conversation detailing, and winging the entire thing?
As an example, I'll cite one of the ...
11
votes
8answers
439 views
How much plot guidance is too much?
I've played in many games that were extremely railroaded. There was basically only one feasible course of action and we, as players, were expected to take that route. (The GM would get very upset if ...
17
votes
3answers
430 views
How does a GM fix the rules when they goof?
I think it happens to the best of us. I'm not the best of us, so I get to goof a bit more often. The specific example I'm going to mention was using Dresden Files (a derivative of FATE for those who ...
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 ...
18
votes
5answers
384 views
How do I learn to do accents?
I've always enjoyed playing in games where the GM/DM/ST makes use of a variety of accents to differentiate between NPCs. I've always wanted to learn how to do that, but I realize that I'm not ...
12
votes
4answers
299 views
How do DM's avoid burning out? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do I deal with GM burnout?
Currently I am the single DM of a smallish group of irregular players. Although I enjoy DM'ing, I'm beginning to burn out and really wish ...
14
votes
5answers
293 views
Rules for player inventions
To illustrate what I mean, let me give a quick example:
In the-dark-eye, there is a Staff Ritual named Hammer des Magus (No idea what the term is in english). Its effect is that everything ...
11
votes
9answers
797 views
Best way to use a GM Screen nowadays?
This may just be me but I like the feel of having an old school GM/DM screen up. However, between laptops, mountains of books, and more frequently having to see the battle layout, I find that within ...
15
votes
7answers
479 views
Techniques for skimming through travel (fast travel) without meta-teleportation
In most of my group's campaigns, we spend a lot of time traveling. Unfortunately, this leans one of two ways:
Uninteresting or distracting obstacles. If you want to spend time but keep it fresh, ...
6
votes
0answers
170 views
How do I effectively portray multiple characters in conversation? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How do you handle verbal exchanges between NPCs without taking the PCs out of the spotlight?
You should be familiar with this set up: All the characters are at a party ...
22
votes
5answers
474 views
How do I increase role-playing during combat?
Right now, the group that I GM for is very, very tactical combat focused. To some extent we may as well be playing a dungeon crawl boardgame for all the role-play we manage.
Now, in itself that's not ...
4
votes
2answers
172 views
As a GM, how do you establish the reality of your world? [closed]
Having a discussion with a friend about our views of GMing, I realized that we take very different approaches to what our worlds are.
My view is that when I GM, the world exists as-is before the ...
8
votes
3answers
183 views
How can I resolve dangerous journeys without playing out every battle in detail?
Here's the situation: The PCs are investigating a mystery far from town, in the dangerous wilderness. Against my expectations, they decide to go back to town, recruit some help, and return to continue ...
24
votes
13answers
950 views
When would PCs choose to walk instead of ride?
I'm putting together an adventure where the PCs are on a time limit. As such, travel times become quite important and I want to make sure that I've understood the different means of travel beforehand.
...
15
votes
2answers
219 views
What are the consequences of letting players be characters from a work of fiction?
What are the consequences of letting players be characters from a book, movie, or other pre-existing work of fiction?
For example, how would I handle a campaign based on the X-Files where the PCs are ...
8
votes
3answers
167 views
Good source for a dark/weird dryad concept?
I'm working on an adventure that involves obtaining the wood from a dryad's tree, and would like to present the dryad as something other than the typical depiction. I have some ideas, but am curious ...
5
votes
4answers
272 views
Building Campaigns to Characters' Strengths and Weaknesses
When I GM a game, I try to make sure that the skills the characters have can be used. If someone takes "Music", then I make sure there's a point in the campaign where someone needs to impress someone ...
9
votes
2answers
429 views
Where can I find a horror adventure/campaign writing guide?
I seem to remember an old (ebook format?) book I read, with instructions on how to write a quality adventure based in the Ravenloft universe. The book was distinguished by writing in a general style, ...
