You know..I have a game where I had a huge plan of what the story beats were going to be...and literally everything the players did changed EVERYTHING. They caused the fall of an Empire, they started the process of an evil God reviving, they have destabilized a delicate power structure in a major city. Where the game has gone is completely different from where it was originally planned. The mark of a good GM is "When the players change things, they never know you didn't expect them to do that.."
"Your players drives the story" It's a good point. But every now and then I like to give them a bit of "What? What have I done?" kind of moments. It's amusing for the entire party, and it's great stuff for character development!
That "aha!" Moment mearls is talking about makes me think of the wizard of oz when they pull back the curtain on the funny little man pretending he is all powerful...
I still like the idea of the big twist at the end, but there should still be sufficient clues beforehand to have it make sense in retrospect. There might even be enough clues that the players figure it out, but it's still just conjecture. There can still be doubt until the very end.
Kinda funny, since I'd (and himself) say Matt Mercer is a prime example of a DM who drives the story pretty hard and plans arcs pretty long ahead of time.
@mats olsson The first season of Critical Role could have started exactly how Mearls suggests planning a campaign. It was supposed to be a one shot that expanded to a campaign. Mearls basically said plan the first arc and then see where that takes you. That is especially true in groups where the players have not played together much or at all. Mercer doesn't have that problem. His players are in for the long haul and he doesn't have to worry about chemistry or scheduling conflicts.
I've just started DMing for a group, all of us are relatively new but i'm the type that when we try something, I do all the research and organizing for the group to kick us off, so i'm fairly knowledgeable on how most interactions technically work, but in the big picture of DMing i'm inexperienced to say the least. I could really use some help on how to introduce roleplaying into the group because right now it feels like a school dance where everyone wants to start dancing but is too embarrassed to start. I've put a lot of time into making the world and characters, a good two months of prep work, and I think it's really depriving everyone at the table including myself of the potential for fun if we don't use that, especially the personality of the PC's. How do I shake off the cold feet?
Late response so you've probably found out by now, but a lot of the Adventurer's Leagues modules are written in this way. Sometimes two or three sessions at most, if you want something longer but not too long.
may I suggest a video about prophecies, oracles, vaticines and all the veritable vase of pandora of possibilities that opens up when it comes to predicting the future?
I like to ask my players what their character's ultimate goal is before starting a campaign, like becoming rich, famous, visit wonderful places, find love, etc. And by doing this, it usually makes the players wanna stick to some agenda of their own later on and bring more interesting interactions and surprises during sessions.
A sentient construct has been created and now has meticulously calculated that the only way to save the races of the world is to destroy them. The PC's must now rush to stop the construct from dropping the very heavens on the races of (insert setting here).
A powerful cult has allied with Dragons and begun to mercilessly sacrifice massive portions of the population, spawning a rebellion that is horribly outmatched. PC's must make pacts with gods and do quests to gain magical artifacts in order to help to save and grow the rebellion.
A cult of Vecna has possessed the Dwarf King with the spirit of their dark lord, who commands the king to wage war on the elves. A dark cult of Kas arises to oppose it. The PCs are hired by a war-torn elven council to investigate the disappearances on a chain of islands on a sea dividing the elven kingdoms. Turns out, the cult of Kas has decided that the best way to fight the Dwarven Vecna adherents is to turn the elf populace into vampires.
I like to plan out my Big Bad for each stage but let player actions determine what happens. For example : Levels 1-5 they are fighting gnolls lead by a gnoll barbarian chief, when he is destroyed the find he is working for... Levels 6-10 An oath breaker paladin and grave domain clerics with an army of undead, they work for ... Levels 11-16 a fiend who is too powerful to defeat but the goal is to find and destroy an artifact he is trying to acquire Levels 17-20 is the showdown with the fiend. What happens at each stage is the result of player actions. This keeps it dynamic and level appropriate.
I am a fledgling dndplayer/dm (I am dming for a bunch of other noobs so it's more like fumbling for a lightswitch) An issue im having is fleshing out npcs. My npcs are subpar enough that even I forget some of them. What can I do to flesh out these characters?
Wesly Z When ever I have an NPC introduced I will jot down there name. Giving them a good description, something recognizable as a feature, accent, or physical feature. I like to develop a personality trait for them like a character trope, a flaw, or a bond. And then there motivation. Everyone is motivated by something in life.
Give them a quirk. Does the NPC speak quickly? Are they condescending? Are they cheerful? Is the elf a bit racist? The dwarf greedy? Does the gnome keep fidgeting with a clockwork trinket? Does the human stink of sweat and dirty garbage? Is the half-orc wearing fancy robes and smells like rose petals? Is the old man constantly tapping his foot? Does the young guard look unsure & nervous.... Simple stuff like that makes the NPC more memorable.
My players are very hard to dm because they would kill someone for money for example the baron asking to kill the orc chieftain if the baron gave them something of value they would kill the orcs even if they did nothing.
Игры
You know..I have a game where I had a huge plan of what the story beats were going to be...and literally everything the players did changed EVERYTHING. They caused the fall of an Empire, they started the process of an evil God reviving, they have destabilized a delicate power structure in a major city. Where the game has gone is completely different from where it was originally planned. The mark of a good GM is "When the players change things, they never know you didn't expect them to do that.."
A bad DM is forgotten in a month. A good DM is remembered for years.
I dunno. I remember bad DM's for a long time as an example of what not to do. But the great ones, I remember them fondly and try to emulate.
Yeah, I'd say a meh DM is forgotten in a month.
Sam is right. Stories about our Bad DMs are almost as much fun to share as stories about our good ones.
A very bad DM is never forgotten at all.
That’s why all of my friends routinely forget my identity
"Your players drives the story" It's a good point. But every now and then I like to give them a bit of "What? What have I done?" kind of moments. It's amusing for the entire party, and it's great stuff for character development!
He sounds like Matt Colville and How to be a great game master rolled into one
Mike Mearls is awesome! Thanks for the advice and the thoughts; and thank you Todd Kenrek for all the stellar interviews!
That "aha!" Moment mearls is talking about makes me think of the wizard of oz when they pull back the curtain on the funny little man pretending he is all powerful...
This was one of the most helpful tips I’ve ever watched dnd
I still like the idea of the big twist at the end, but there should still be sufficient clues beforehand to have it make sense in retrospect.
There might even be enough clues that the players figure it out, but it's still just conjecture. There can still be doubt until the very end.
Many of the best moments in my games have been generated by unexpected player choices, not planned out dialogue
He's wearing a critical role hoodie . . .
Just felt like pointing that out.
How doth thou know?
He rolled a natural 20 on his perception check.
Kinda funny, since I'd (and himself) say Matt Mercer is a prime example of a DM who drives the story pretty hard and plans arcs pretty long ahead of time.
mats olsson critical role has brought more people to d&d than a 5 year long advertising campaign from WotC. Im pretty sure he is a fan
@mats olsson The first season of Critical Role could have started exactly how Mearls suggests planning a campaign. It was supposed to be a one shot that expanded to a campaign. Mearls basically said plan the first arc and then see where that takes you. That is especially true in groups where the players have not played together much or at all. Mercer doesn't have that problem. His players are in for the long haul and he doesn't have to worry about chemistry or scheduling conflicts.
Great advice for running a compelling villain
I've just started DMing for a group, all of us are relatively new but i'm the type that when we try something, I do all the research and organizing for the group to kick us off, so i'm fairly knowledgeable on how most interactions technically work, but in the big picture of DMing i'm inexperienced to say the least. I could really use some help on how to introduce roleplaying into the group because right now it feels like a school dance where everyone wants to start dancing but is too embarrassed to start. I've put a lot of time into making the world and characters, a good two months of prep work, and I think it's really depriving everyone at the table including myself of the potential for fun if we don't use that, especially the personality of the PC's. How do I shake off the cold feet?
Will WoC ever make "one-session" modules for 5E like TSR did back in the 1980's?
Late response so you've probably found out by now, but a lot of the Adventurer's Leagues modules are written in this way. Sometimes two or three sessions at most, if you want something longer but not too long.
may I suggest a video about prophecies, oracles, vaticines and all the veritable vase of pandora of possibilities that opens up when it comes to predicting the future?
Nice! that's great advice
I like to ask my players what their character's ultimate goal is before starting a campaign, like becoming rich, famous, visit wonderful places, find love, etc. And by doing this, it usually makes the players wanna stick to some agenda of their own later on and bring more interesting interactions and surprises during sessions.
Can you give some examples of high stakes campaigns you've run? Would be interesting to hear some how you do it!
Mny `thks!
A sentient construct has been created and now has meticulously calculated that the only way to save the races of the world is to destroy them. The PC's must now rush to stop the construct from dropping the very heavens on the races of (insert setting here).
A powerful cult has allied with Dragons and begun to mercilessly sacrifice massive portions of the population, spawning a rebellion that is horribly outmatched. PC's must make pacts with gods and do quests to gain magical artifacts in order to help to save and grow the rebellion.
A cult of Vecna has possessed the Dwarf King with the spirit of their dark lord, who commands the king to wage war on the elves. A dark cult of Kas arises to oppose it. The PCs are hired by a war-torn elven council to investigate the disappearances on a chain of islands on a sea dividing the elven kingdoms. Turns out, the cult of Kas has decided that the best way to fight the Dwarven Vecna adherents is to turn the elf populace into vampires.
I like to plan out my Big Bad for each stage but let player actions determine what happens. For example :
Levels 1-5 they are fighting gnolls lead by a gnoll barbarian chief, when he is destroyed the find he is working for...
Levels 6-10 An oath breaker paladin and grave domain clerics with an army of undead, they work for ...
Levels 11-16 a fiend who is too powerful to defeat but the goal is to find and destroy an artifact he is trying to acquire
Levels 17-20 is the showdown with the fiend.
What happens at each stage is the result of player actions. This keeps it dynamic and level appropriate.
I am a fledgling dndplayer/dm (I am dming for a bunch of other noobs so it's more like fumbling for a lightswitch) An issue im having is fleshing out npcs. My npcs are subpar enough that even I forget some of them. What can I do to flesh out these characters?
Wesly Z When ever I have an NPC introduced I will jot down there name. Giving them a good description, something recognizable as a feature, accent, or physical feature.
I like to develop a personality trait for them like a character trope, a flaw, or a bond.
And then there motivation. Everyone is motivated by something in life.
Give them a quirk. Does the NPC speak quickly? Are they condescending? Are they cheerful? Is the elf a bit racist? The dwarf greedy? Does the gnome keep fidgeting with a clockwork trinket? Does the human stink of sweat and dirty garbage? Is the half-orc wearing fancy robes and smells like rose petals? Is the old man constantly tapping his foot? Does the young guard look unsure & nervous.... Simple stuff like that makes the NPC more memorable.
My players are very hard to dm because they would kill someone for money for example the baron asking to kill the orc chieftain if the baron gave them something of value they would kill the orcs even if they did nothing.
Is that a Critical Role hoddie?