All Questions
Tagged with gm-preparation gm-techniques
59
questions
2
votes
0
answers
82
views
How do you all make travel interesting for players? [duplicate]
I'm curious on how you all make travel more interesting for your players. I want to honor the geography of the world (aka you don't just teleport anywhere) and I've tried some things that have been ok,...
- 161
8
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How can I make online combat more interesting?
I'm a fairly new GM, this coming Saturday is going to be about my 4th session, I think, and I'm playing a 5e reskin of a video game with a good group online via Discord and the Owlbear Rodeo VTT. So ...
- 89
2
votes
0
answers
567
views
I want to pivot our campaign to Curse of Strahd, but the party is level 13. What should I do? [closed]
I'm a newbie DM running a remix of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. Our version of this adventure is less about speedy chases and clock ticking, but more about politics, alliances, mystery and deception. We'...
- 1,929
10
votes
7
answers
7k
views
Is it appropriate to bring a player character back after they had been "killed"?
A player character "died" in battle early on in this current arc I'm DMing, and I had already decided that either this character would be in pursuit by the big bad or would be taken captive. ...
- 111
4
votes
1
answer
165
views
How do node-based scenarios interact with the GM vs. Players turn system in Mouse Guard?
With node-based scenarios, you plan multiple nodes and place three or more clues from the current node to adjacent nodes. The Alexandrian has a good series on them, that starts here.
From what I ...
- 13.7k
50
votes
12
answers
9k
views
What to do when a player roleplays an extremely persuasive argument, but flubs their Persuasion check?
I have been the DM of a wonderful group of Stack Exchange friends playing an urban fantasy campaign of D&D 5e for some time now, and a question came up in our group Discord that has got me ...
- 713
30
votes
2
answers
3k
views
As a GM, how do I make sure a self-contained session (an episode or one-shot) reaches its completion within the designated session length?
I'd like to convert my campaign over to more of an episodic format -- a complete hook, story, and conclusion in each session, with each session feeding into a bigger story/arc, just like a TV series. ...
- 1,221
12
votes
1
answer
472
views
As a GM, how do I build a complete group of players that fit my style and preferences?
I've been GMing for some years now. During that time, I feel like I've developed somewhat of a style/preference with the kinds of games I like to run. While I feel my games can be enjoyed by a variety ...
- 1,221
1
vote
0
answers
57
views
When writing and preparing a campaign should I include all the side stories and all possible encounters? [duplicate]
I have worked out an entire world with a story and several side stories (they'll be optional) should I just put them in the middle of the story of where they'd be available or should I put them into a ...
- 378
29
votes
1
answer
952
views
How do I accommodate a blind player at my remote table?
For remote play at our table, we use a camera stuck on a microphone-boom-arm that we can rotate by 360°. We found out that we prefer it to have our rest position at about 45°, instead of top-down ...
- 19.7k
7
votes
1
answer
285
views
Gathering Intel - Strategies on balancing social time for different types of players?
I am both a DM and player for our group in two separate campaigns. Some of us are brand new and some are semi-moderately experienced.
I have a noticed a pattern in both games where some players, (...
- 469
31
votes
6
answers
8k
views
I feel like my DMing skills are making the game less enjoyable
I'm DMing a party of five, a rogue, cleric, wizard, fighter, and a ranger that comes every other week. Everything goes well for the first hour and a half, but then after that I can tell my narrations ...
- 411
7
votes
2
answers
881
views
Allowing your party to plan their own mission
Based on some feedback from my players, I'm going to allow them to plan their next mission, which will be a 'seemingly' straight forward heist affair onboard a moving vehicle (limiting their ...
- 185
13
votes
6
answers
484
views
Mind-maps conventions, best practices and approaches
I encountered this issue when prepping for a big arc in my campaign, let me explain:
The players are entering a place where there are three main factions (A B C) and possibly minor ones (D E). The ...
- 1,895
1
vote
2
answers
466
views
Assign mini 'secret' quest to one of the party members? [closed]
I'm planning a Dungeons and Dragons campaign set in a province undergoing a separatist insurrection. I want the theme/shtick of the campaign to be the idea of choices and unintended consequences. The ...
- 763