Weekly Tip/Trick for Friday, October 19th, 2012
- Don’t Be Afraid to Say Yes, No, or Ask for Help – One of my biggest flaws as a DM is that I have a tendency to be too generous. I love rewarding players, but sometimes it can get out of hand. This works both ways though. If you are constantly saying no and/or taking away from the players, it can get equally out of hand. The key is to balance the two. If you don’t know something, never ever be afraid to say “I don’t know” or ask for help. The players aren’t going to expect you to know everything. Here are some examples of instances of when it may be hard to say yes, no, or ask for help and why:
- Don’t be afraid to say no to a magical item a player chooses when making their character, especially when starting out at higher levels. For instance, you may not want to allow a player to have a ring of invisibility, because you think he/she will over use it or that it will take away from the game. On the other hand you may allow it, but give it a certain amount of uses per day. There is a reason they cost 20,000 gold, so it never hurts to ask why. If they are a rogue be prepared for them to use it for sneak attacks and stealing things from merchants. It’s always fun to make the ring cursed as well. This is of course just one example.
- Don’t be afraid to ban certain things. One spell I usually never allow is teleport. I don’t hate the spell, I just feel like getting there is half the fun. If you can just teleport, then where’s the fun in that? I usually either ban the spell or replace it with a lesser form of the spell, or I will give them a single scroll with teleport they can use if they need it. Again, just because it’s in the book doesn’t mean you have to allow it. Just make sure your players know what you are banning and explain to them why.
- If a player does something and it doesn’t make sense to you, ask! Sometimes a player will surprise you with an elaborate plot to do something and it won’t make 100% sense to you. If you are asking yourself, “How can he make his spell do that?” or something along those lines, then just ask. The player should be able to explain how they are able to do it. After they explain, you may feel a certain skill check is required.
- Along the same lines, sometimes a player will ask to do something unexpected, like set the groups wagon on fire and push it down the hill into the building you are trying to attack. Don’t be afraid to allow thinking outside the box. Have them roll the necessary rolls and make it a cool experience if you want. This really helps get the players thinking outside of the mundane and shows your creativeness as a DM all in one sequence.
There are hundreds of examples I could write down here, but the bottom line is nothing is permanent. If you gave a powerful ring to a player, don’t be afraid to take it away if it is taking away from the game. Just don’t get in the habit of doing so. Sometimes a little preplanning can go a long way. If unsure, have items progressively get more powerful. Using the above example, if someone wants a ring of invisibility, have it only last a round or two, (6 or 12 seconds) until they figure out how to make it more powerful. Just remember you are the DM and have all rights to say no, but also can say yes! If there is something a player wants to do that sounds cool, don’t worry about what the rules may or may not say. Allowing certain events to take place can really help give your game a boost. Next week we focus on one of the hardest things to do as a DM.
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