D&D Project: The Dungeonomicon

Meister · 05-07-2011, 09:58 PM

Tip #1: play with good people.

Tip #2: there are no further tips, do #1 and you will have fun no matter what.

Tip #3: okay there are more tips, gentlemen's agreements between the people at the table trump throwing PCs in jail at every turn or having random superpowerful dragonwizardpaladins show up to keep them "in line" any time. As a DM you shouldn't set that line, you should work with your players and come to an agreement what the line is before you ever sit down and say "you are sitting in a tavern."

e: seriously: if you don't want players to break character a lot, ask them to keep things in-game before you ever start. Remember that everyone slips and if they do get carried away with out-of-game conversations every once in a while, just wait for an opportune moment to drop a friendly "let's get back to the game, okay guys?" Similarly if you don't want PCs that are stuck up on their noble values and boss around everyone else or that roast children over a fire fueled by their orphanage, say so before you start.

If you want stuff to happen where the players can't see it, just come up with something that makes for good plot development and more or less logically follows from facts the players might know. Example: the players kill a thieves guild leader far from his usual turf. When they return to his city later, they might find new gangs have risen in his absence, with his old lieutenants in charge.

If you throw PCs in jail, it should happen as part of a storyline where they break out of jail, because they will try and they will very likely succeed, and planning and executing a good breakout is more fun than sitting at the table going "well here we are in jail, I guess tonight's game sucks." Do make actions have consequences, don't make the consequences not fun because at the end of the day, you still met up to play and have a good time.

If you plan on having your PCs meet the main antagonist of the game, be prepared for an outcome where they manage to kill him then and there. If you couldn't accept this, don't have them meet him. Spending time on a hard fight with no consequences to the plot because whoops, the bad guy had a contingency teleport, isn't fun or dynamic. Also, don't let powerful allied NPCs steal the PCs' thunder.

05-07-2011, 09:58 PM	#4
Meister Pure joy Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Germany Posts: 10,689	Tip #1: play with good people. Tip #2: there are no further tips, do #1 and you will have fun no matter what. Tip #3: okay there are more tips, gentlemen's agreements between the people at the table trump throwing PCs in jail at every turn or having random superpowerful dragonwizardpaladins show up to keep them "in line" any time. As a DM you shouldn't set that line, you should work with your players and come to an agreement what the line is before you ever sit down and say "you are sitting in a tavern." e: seriously: if you don't want players to break character a lot, ask them to keep things in-game before you ever start. Remember that everyone slips and if they do get carried away with out-of-game conversations every once in a while, just wait for an opportune moment to drop a friendly "let's get back to the game, okay guys?" Similarly if you don't want PCs that are stuck up on their noble values and boss around everyone else or that roast children over a fire fueled by their orphanage, say so before you start. If you want stuff to happen where the players can't see it, just come up with something that makes for good plot development and more or less logically follows from facts the players might know. Example: the players kill a thieves guild leader far from his usual turf. When they return to his city later, they might find new gangs have risen in his absence, with his old lieutenants in charge. If you throw PCs in jail, it should happen as part of a storyline where they break out of jail, because they will try and they will very likely succeed, and planning and executing a good breakout is more fun than sitting at the table going "well here we are in jail, I guess tonight's game sucks." Do make actions have consequences, don't make the consequences not fun because at the end of the day, you still met up to play and have a good time. If you plan on having your PCs meet the main antagonist of the game, be prepared for an outcome where they manage to kill him then and there. If you couldn't accept this, don't have them meet him. Spending time on a hard fight with no consequences to the plot because whoops, the bad guy had a contingency teleport, isn't fun or dynamic. Also, don't let powerful allied NPCs steal the PCs' thunder.