Not related to any one particular system of rules.
20
votes
7answers
720 views
How to handle wealthy player characters as a GM?
One of the long-standing settings our group keeps returning to is classic medieval fantasy. (Examples are MERP, Rolemaster, The Dark Eye -- But this question is aimed to be system agnostic and is ...
22
votes
5answers
540 views
How can I learn how to negotiate as an NPC?
I'm a new GM (the system is DND 4.0 but that's not relevant here). I've quickly found that I perform very poorly when I'm portraying a negotiation between the PCs and one or more NPCs. Even when they ...
51
votes
21answers
1k views
How can I avoid players spending too much time planning?
Several times when I have played in or ran a game in which the players had an objective and reasonable resources, a lot of (real) time was spent trying to plan for every contingency.
For example, ...
20
votes
10answers
571 views
What are the advantages and disadvantages of develop in play (DIP) compared to develop at the start (DAS) character generation?
Originally, Are you really DIPpy?1
What are the advantages and disadvantages to developing your character in play (DIP) compared to developping at the start (DAS)?
What experiences have you had with ...
15
votes
5answers
469 views
Why the bad guys don't just teleport somewhere drop a bomb and teleport back?
This question could be also How to avoid teleport/drop bomb/teleport back attacks? or How to avoid the use of Dimensional Shamblers as bomb carriers?
Background
Recently my group of players thought ...
7
votes
1answer
116 views
How to describe combat with brutes
How can I describe combat where player characters face multiple opponents? For example, in 7th Sea there are up to six brutes in a squad. I'd like to have some inspiration for how to describe the ...
42
votes
10answers
1k views
Is it fair to press the players for decisions during combat?
My group tends to over-analyse during combat, which slows everything down.
I press upon my players to make their decision and roll the dice quickly. My players are all experienced in the system and I ...
15
votes
4answers
264 views
Good techniques for getting player-character backgrounds integrated into the game?
So I'm starting a new campaign for an existing gaming group soon, and I'd like to actually incorporate character backgrounds that the players will be creating (eventually). These aren't epic-novels or ...
16
votes
5answers
403 views
How to handle the PCs within a large military?
On some level, this might actually be getting closer to RPGs’ roots: I want to try a campaign where the PCs are members of a larger military. There may be need for them to coordinate with other ...
17
votes
8answers
582 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 ...
126
votes
21answers
5k views
How do I get my PCs to not be a bunch of murderous cretins?
Most RPGs teach you that casual violence is the best solution to all your in-game problems. This is so well established a part of the vast majority of RPGs that there are entire satire RPGs like Greg ...
6
votes
9answers
411 views
What are ways player characters could awake an ancient evil? [closed]
Almost any epic level threat will do, but he/she/it should arise as a direct/indirect result of player character meddling (thereby making them responsible to destroy it). Preferable if PCs have a ...
8
votes
7answers
503 views
How do I set the base price in a barter system?
I'm currently working on a homebrew system and one concept I was intending to incorperate is that there is no in-game currency; items are traded using a barter system.
The thing is, how do I set a ...
1
vote
1answer
122 views
What use is a car, with no infrastructure? [closed]
I've got an idea that's not fully formed yet, kicking around in my head. I'm trying to set up a modern character who ends up stuck in a fantasy setting. Through plot-relevant forces, he was abducted ...
23
votes
6answers
1k views
How to deal with players not taking things seriously?
As both a player and GM I play with my group of players (and close friends) on multiple occasions and they will often make fun of either my characters, NPC or a specific situation and won't stop ...
13
votes
11answers
477 views
How can non-magical healers be useful when magic healing is available?
In many roleplaying games the prerequisite to perform magic healing is knowledge, and during action it is mostly limited by magic capacity and sometimes time. Meanwhile the prerequisite to perform ...
17
votes
6answers
554 views
Making magic “magical”
When I work with settings that contain magic, whether traditional fantasy or others, I always perceive something of a tension when trying to portray the magic between the following factors:
Magic ...
24
votes
12answers
2k views
How does a DM correct the balance after accidentally giving the players too much gold?
Inspired by some of the answers to Pitfalls of using the optional 'XP for Gold' rule in a Basic D&D Retro Clone game?
As DM/GM, you slipped up and ended up giving the PCs significantly ...
29
votes
4answers
347 views
Resources for Complex Puzzle-Traps
I'm looking for resources for designing complex challenges - something that's not quite a puzzle and not quite a trap, but somewhere in between. There are tons of resources for really complex or ...
27
votes
6answers
666 views
How can I check whether an extremely adult/mature plot idea would be accepted by players without revealing any details of the idea itself?
I am running a post-apocalyptic zombie game with a dark and mature story, exploring a number of adult themes. I have complete buy-in from the players; some of them have stated it is their favourite ...
0
votes
1answer
168 views
Why does the ghost of a small peasant girl haunt the castle? [closed]
There's your typical fantasy or medieval castle, complete with some lord or lady owning it, his or her castellan to deal with the daily business needs while they are busy doing their lordly and ...
19
votes
9answers
604 views
Dealing with skill rerolls by several players
I could use some advice as a GM on how to handle rolls which get repeated by several players one after the other.
Example 1
The PCs stand in front of a locked door and try to force it open. The ...
25
votes
9answers
1k views
How can I replace a player character with an impostor without alerting the group?
I recently picked up a book of example NPCs (the Pathfinder NPC Codex, incidentally) and came across an entry for a "master spy". In the flavor text, it describes how his "secret identities have ...
24
votes
3answers
322 views
How to support useful Intraparty Conflict
This is a question calling for tried and tested methods for facilitating entertaining CvC intraparty conflict.
Although Player versus Player (PvP) seems to be the accepted term among a large ...
6
votes
5answers
184 views
Modern or future polar horror adventure
I'm looking for a contemporary or sci-fi horror adventure (for any such rpg), set in a polar – Arctic or Antarctic or alternate planet – environment.
Mind you, I'll be trying to come up with my own ...
30
votes
7answers
927 views
How do I avoid clichés while improvising?
Tropes are not bad, but clichés usually are. Sadly, when I need to come up with something on the fly it's much easier and faster to use clichés: if I suddenly need a barkeep, he's probably fat with a ...
5
votes
1answer
194 views
Powergamer to Roleplayer [closed]
I would classify myself as a powergamer. Most of the characters that I make are carefully optimized and crafted. However, the most "Fun" I ever had in a game was when my character was not optimized ...
6
votes
11answers
261 views
Simpler ways to keep track of the player's wealth/purchasing power?
I'm about to run my first game of D&D as Dungeon Master. I've played a few sessions as a character, and one of the things that always annoyed me was keeping track of how much money we had. The ...
11
votes
6answers
514 views
How do I handle a player who plays his character far differently than the character was originally presented?
I'm not asking how to make every character be played as I would play them. I'm asking how to handle a situation in which the character that the player presents to me as a GM (with complete back-story, ...
39
votes
10answers
1k views
What characterizes a “Modern” role playing game or gaming system?
I recently read about D&D clones in another question (I forget where I saw it) and noticed comments referring to gaming systems that were clones of D&D as "Old School" while others ...
2
votes
2answers
168 views
Useful mental frameworks during character creation [closed]
This post on Greywulf's Lair explores the concept of a one axis sliding scale for character building:
One thing that all of these choices brings is the idea of a sliding scale. With 4e D&D, ...
27
votes
7answers
705 views
What makes a character/creature/power/ability/etc. over-powered?
In generic terms, what makes something, regardless of what game it's being used in, over powered?
I hear the term a lot, and while I can recognize it when I see it in-play (often due to someone ...
20
votes
9answers
816 views
How to Manage Player Frustration and Disengagement
Many RPGs have random elements, such as dice rolling, which can determine success or failure of an action. In some of these games, failure basically means the player character does nothing or ...
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 ...
11
votes
4answers
303 views
Adding comic relief
As a GM, I would like to add comic relief to my sessions.
Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.
...
10
votes
10answers
829 views
Is It OK To Sic Assassins On My PCs?
L5R has the most specific example in my immediate memory. In one game, the players were in a diplomatic situation and a Shosuro Shinobi (ninja) was sneaking around to stir the pot. This was a ...
12
votes
9answers
795 views
How to help players who roll really badly? [duplicate]
Scenario: player rolls to attack, rolls a 1. Next round, rolls a 1. Round after that, rolls a 1. Fourth round, rolls a 2.
This really happened today. He was going back and forth between two different ...
7
votes
3answers
145 views
Introducing a complex game world to players unfamiliar with its fiction whilst still hitting the ground running with character creation?
I am preparing to start up a Hellfrost game using the Savage Worlds system. Although I've run Hellfrost before, it has always been for people who are already familiar with its fiction and fluff. In ...
22
votes
11answers
912 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 ...
26
votes
13answers
1k views
How can I deal with players who are reluctant to spend resources?
There's a certain kind of people who like to hoard whatever limited resources they get "just in case"; they usually end up never using them, always waiting for bigger emergency. On the other hand, ...
21
votes
5answers
403 views
Preventing character skill from impeding player enjoyment
Let's consider a player, whom we shall call Bob. Bob loves exciting gunfights and is a big John Woo fan. So he makes up "Shooty McShootenstein," who is a master with a gun. One thing that Bob is not ...
22
votes
10answers
879 views
Crime Investigation in a fantasy world
I am writing a campaign which relies heavily on crime: investigating it, clues, leads, witnesses, evidence, corruption, etc... The setting is fantasy, low-tech, and for the time being - let us leave ...
20
votes
5answers
1k views
How much detail should I include in medieval maps for players?
I am running a campaign in the Eberron (DnD) setting, but really, this question could apply to anyone running a game in a medieval setting.
I wanted to know what level of detail/accuracy to include ...
15
votes
4answers
983 views
Please stop giving the town sheriff a noogie!
Related to this question but more closely related to this question.
How can I get my PCs to not cause a single or small handful of characters to become the butt of a joke when that humor could easily ...
13
votes
7answers
281 views
Advantages and disadvantages in using a one-shot pre-gen to introduce a new system
In questions about how to learn new systems, or teach them, a common suggestion is to run a single-session game with pre-made characters and a pre-made scenario.
In your experience as a GM and/or ...
8
votes
2answers
195 views
What should be considered when deciding if and how to use props?
GMs and players who have experience with props in their games, what do you think about when considering props to use and how to use them?
How might props be used to further the game, instead of ...
24
votes
6answers
908 views
How to deal with overly cautious players?
Recent encounters with hard to hurt opponents have left the party pretty beat up. The player is now seemingly scared by similar encounters and prefers fleeing.
I'm GMing a solo game of Pathfinder for ...
8
votes
3answers
207 views
How do I make a story based campaign revolve around a megadungeon?
I'd really like to make a more story-heavy setting in my next fantasy campaign, but I also love megadungeons. What is a good way to use a megadungeon to tell a story instead of as a place for ...
23
votes
7answers
351 views
How do you get a new player engaged in an old campaign?
A group of three players had been going through my campaign for a year and a half, when a fourth player was added around level 15.
The new player entered in media res: there was a ton of back story, ...
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 ...
