New answers tagged gm-techniques
3
votes
How to make the exploration loop more interesting (exploring rooms etc.)?
As a DM: skip to the fun stuff.
There are loads of exciting things to interact with in an adventure so when the players are somewhere dull I let them know so that we can get to the parts that are fun.
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1
vote
How to make the exploration loop more interesting (exploring rooms etc.)?
As a player, I find I'm easily turned off by this kind of exploration. As a DM, I notice the same with my players.
Frame challenge
I don't think the issue is that your loop isn't interesting, it's ...
- 8,245
6
votes
How to make the exploration loop more interesting (exploring rooms etc.)?
Keep a room description short
My players, which I think are fairly average, tend to tune out after the second or third line of a room description, so it's critical to get right to the point with the ...
- 70.1k
13
votes
How to make the exploration loop more interesting (exploring rooms etc.)?
Searching must cost something
The optimal strategy in D&D is often to go though a dungeon and in each room search until you are pretty sure that you have found everything interesting. This is a ...
- 11.9k
3
votes
How can I make combat more tactically interesting for me as a DM?
There are already many excellent answers, but I didn't see a couple of resources I regularly use, so I will point them out.
The monsters know what they're doing.
https://www.themonstersknow.com/
This ...
- 8,245
2
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
What is winning?
In the fight, they were going to lose, but through the use of clever strategy managed to cause the enemies to use up most of their resources too [..] saved by an important plot NPC [....
- 2,172
3
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
It sounds like you and the group have fundamentally different expectations of game-play; start by addressing these.
It sounds like you're striving to tell an epic story with harrowing and difficult ...
- 2,803
11
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
The Deus Ex Machina is the problem
You have explained that the fight was set up in such a way that the players either will win on their own or that they lose and get rescued. The latter is a Deus Ex ...
- 34.5k
31
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
In Hindsight
I'm going to start with some advice about what should have happened during the fight that upset your players, not because you can go back in time and fix it, but because it's useful to ...
- 22.3k
5
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
Storytelling isn't rigging
Nitsua60's answer covers the importance of being on the same page with the players, but as part of that conversation I would also talk to them about storytelling vs combat ...
- 125k
62
votes
How do I convince my players the fight wasn't rigged?
You don't, because the fight was rigged.
In comments PixelMaster asked if the players "couldn't really lose" and your response was "yeah, basically." The party might have won ...
- 99.6k
0
votes
I have two players that enjoy each other's company to the point they're ignoring other players turns, ideas, and RP in general
Stop telling them what they missed. If they're RPing with each other, their characters missed what was going on. Their fellow PCs are probably sick of it in game, and random NPCs have no reason to ...
- 97
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