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Muz
2011-01-13, 05:44 PM
Note the topic: LITTLE things you're loath to do when DMing. If you're like me (and God help you if you are), there are certain things you either just can't quite bring yourself to do in a game you're DMing, or really dislike doing but hate to do anyway. I'm not talking about big things like railroading players (or not railroading players), or allowing/disallowing certain classes. I mean the little things that, for whatever rational or irrational reason, just don't feel right to you.

A few examples of my own (note, I mostly play 2nd edition):

1) Make it rain when the PCs are traveling somewhere, even if it's only a mention of the weather that doesn't wind up affecting a darned thing. Sure, I know it's unrealistic that it's always sunny, but darned if the idea of the characters hiking (or somehow worse, flying) through a miserable downpour just doesn't make me feel sympathetically depressed. (Granted, I live in Seattle, so perhaps I feel the need to lump sunshine into my fantasy world.) :smallwink: I'll do it every once in a while when I nag myself into it, but otherwise...naah.

2) Roll 1s for hit dice, on anything. NPCs, monsters, or newly-created PCs (whether I'm rolling their hp for them, or they're rolling it up themselves). It just plain sucks, and I won't stand for it!

3) I'm the one who does the rolling against the chance to learn a spell when a PC mage tries to learn a new one. I hate, hate, HATE rolling above the percentage chance (and thus having to tell them that they don't learn this spell that they really wanted). This is one that I DO go through with, if it happens, but I really hate doing it.

I'll probably think of more, but for now, what are some little things YOU avoid/hate doing?

Kansaschaser
2011-01-13, 05:49 PM
I hate having to come up with names for every random person the players encounter. And, my players like to go talk with lots of people. Lots!

<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.
<Me> Um...

LordShotGun
2011-01-13, 05:50 PM
Well I straight up tell my players that I WILL mess around with dice rolls and such if I think it will make the game more fun. Usually my players trust me enough that things work out just fine but I do love/hate it when my players are smarter then me and ruin a half hour of prep time because they figured a way to use a magic item or a spell in ways I didnt think of.

For example, my players decided that instead of going through doorways in my dungeon, they had their cleric use his adamantine hammer to bash through the wall next to it (they didnt have a rouge or anyone with trap finding and I do not allow them to sacrifice animals without taking a hit towards evilness). This caused problems because I had planned for a teleportion trap to split the party so one character could have a chance for a backstory quest away from his friends.

So although I hated to do it, I just had him randomly get teleported away and just said "a wizard did it".

Comet
2011-01-13, 05:53 PM
Talk for any extended period of time.

It feels really, really, really awkward to just deliver an infodump or dialogue between NPCs and have the players stare at you and listen quietly.

I usually allow the players to interrupt me at regular intervals. Usually every time I finish a sentence or stop to draw breath.

I like it when players are active in driving the story and dialogue and all, with only the starting set pieces and minimal input from me. I don't like to listen to my own voice, I suppose, at least when GMing.

GoatBoy
2011-01-13, 05:56 PM
I hate having to come up with names for every random person the players encounter. And, my players like to go talk with lots of people. Lots!

<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.
<Me> Um...

I can help you there.

Just do a Google search for My Little Pony's. (http://www.brunching.com/pornorpony.html)

Pink
2011-01-13, 05:58 PM
Coming up with random costs. I don't like doing it cause I'm never sure how reasonably I'm getting at. As an example. The players in my game recently did a quest for a NPC who is basically a realtor of types (except that he actual buys and sells the houses instead of just acting as an agent). They had the option of getting 100 gp (which isn't much for them at this point), or they could get a house and the land it stands on in town. Considering that this is a mega-dungeon campaign, this town is the nearest civilization and their base, and they've been living out of an inn thus far, they took the house. This is great, it's a nice bit of RP and gets the party closer integrated with the town (cause there be plot bits in the town, not just the dungeon).

That being said, it's been unused for a time and it's in need of renovations for the party specifications (everyone wants their own room, plus we have an alchemist who wants a lab, plus we have a crafter wizard who wants a workshop).

Next proceeds 10 minutes in which I'm trying to figure out the cost of materials and labour and such. Essentially I just rolled dice and added until it felt like a good number. The party was rich enough (and this was coming out of the party fund) that it was easily accepted, but I'm just bad and apprehensive at pricing out miscellany sometimes.

Muz
2011-01-13, 06:03 PM
Talk for any extended period of time.

It feels really, really, really awkward to just deliver an infodump or dialogue between NPCs and have the players stare at you and listen quietly.

I usually allow the players to interrupt me at regular intervals. Usually every time I finish a sentence or stop to draw breath.

I like it when players are active in driving the story and dialogue and all, with only the starting set pieces and minimal input from me. I don't like to listen to my own voice, I suppose, at least when GMing.

Ooh, likewise. Especially when the PCs are just choosing to listen and I wind up having conversations with myself while I wait for them to break in. (Well, okay, so sometimes I like doing that, depending on the NPCs...)

Also, I thought of another one: Having to describe what an NPC is wearing. I'm a terrible costumer. Heck, it's a wonder I can dress myself!
:smallbiggrin:

grarrrg
2011-01-13, 06:03 PM
<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.


Mandi
Brandi
Candi
Margaret (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OddNameOut)

valadil
2011-01-13, 06:56 PM
Summarize. It's just lazy. Sometimes I tell players the gist of what an NPC says instead of speaking through the NPC. And then I wonder why my NPCs have no personality.

Attachment. I don't mean attachment to a pet NPC. I mean I get really attached to a plot. When that plot or scene resolves, I lose interest in the game. I'm really good at building to a specific point and then past that I just let the game end.

nedz
2011-01-13, 07:00 PM
I love/hate it when, after introducing a pair of NPCs, my players deliberately manipulate the conversation so that I end up talking to myself.:smallsmile:
We can all see it coming.:smallbiggrin:

Necroticplague
2011-01-13, 07:02 PM
Coming up with random costs. I don't like doing it cause I'm never sure how reasonably I'm getting at. As an example. The players in my game recently did a quest for a NPC who is basically a realtor of types (except that he actual buys and sells the houses instead of just acting as an agent). They had the option of getting 100 gp (which isn't much for them at this point), or they could get a house and the land it stands on in town. Considering that this is a mega-dungeon campaign, this town is the nearest civilization and their base, and they've been living out of an inn thus far, they took the house. This is great, it's a nice bit of RP and gets the party closer integrated with the town (cause there be plot bits in the town, not just the dungeon).

That being said, it's been unused for a time and it's in need of renovations for the party specifications (everyone wants their own room, plus we have an alchemist who wants a lab, plus we have a crafter wizard who wants a workshop).

Next proceeds 10 minutes in which I'm trying to figure out the cost of materials and labour and such. Essentially I just rolled dice and added until it felt like a good number. The party was rich enough (and this was coming out of the party fund) that it was easily accepted, but I'm just bad and apprehensive at pricing out miscellany sometimes.

Reminds me of one of mine:nonoptimzers, and when I have more books than the players. For me, part of the fun in a game is when me and my players try to out munchkin/optimise/power eachother. When it comes to hand barred, their are only 2 rules:1. strict Raw, don't rely an a favorable houserule and 2: I won't resort to TO if you don't.

By the way, there are rules for that in the Stronhold Builder's Guide.

Nanoblack
2011-01-13, 07:06 PM
Coming up with random costs...

This particular case brings the stronghold builders guide to mind. Pretty much everything you need when pricing buildings.

Dragonmuncher
2011-01-13, 07:27 PM
I hate having to come up with names for every random person the players encounter. And, my players like to go talk with lots of people. Lots!

<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.
<Me> Um...

I've heard some DMs just go come with a pregenerated list of names. I'm positive there are websites, or baby books, or whatever. So you have 50 names, and just cross them off as you use them.

PairO'Dice Lost
2011-01-13, 07:35 PM
I hate having to come up with names for every random person the players encounter. And, my players like to go talk with lots of people. Lots!

<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.
<Me> Um...

This one. My one psychological block when DMing is that every name has to have some significance to the NPC it's attached to; I feel terrible pulling names out of thin air, and it's painfully obvious when I do it. Heck, I usually come up with a list of 20 or so names that basically mean "random and unimportant background character" so I can use them for random and unimportant background character.

sana
2011-01-13, 07:37 PM
1. Talking to myself, But my players love it! especially when the characters from a campaign long ago are talking to each other...

2. Pricing on items, really... just grab the pdf and look it up i supplied a complete list of every item thats available... but no they think i know all prices just by telling me "I want a potion of XYZ".

3. Not making wizard jokes... Come on! Our last campaign died because of the wizard and he played as if he was a Tier 5. To this day they think a wizard is weaker then a fighter because of that guy...

4. Combat, really i can't think of every possible outcome and when YOUR character has an AoO or not please read the rules and tell me when you have something against the puny little Goblin!

okay and more to that I don't ever think about whether or moon constellations except for such things as a solar eclipse since thats on the NASA homepage.

Lemonus
2011-01-13, 08:34 PM
I really hate it when the PC's ask for the name of a place, but I don't remember it, and it would take too long to look through my notes, so I have to come up with a pretty bad name instead of the really cool name I had planned.

WarKitty
2011-01-13, 08:39 PM
I hate giving up my long descriptions of places...I have every detail mapped out, and then the players don't want most of it...

Defiant
2011-01-13, 08:40 PM
Mandi
Brandi
Candi
Margaret (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OddNameOut)

Why did you do that??? I'm supposed to be meeting someone tonight!!

*grumble grumble*

grarrrg
2011-01-13, 10:07 PM
Why did you do that??? I'm supposed to be meeting someone tonight!!

*grumble grumble*

Because I had to. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife)

Defiant
2011-01-13, 10:20 PM
Because I had to. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TVTropesWillRuinYourLife)

Seriously, I was at home, waiting for her to pick me up, and it was getting close to the time we agreed on. I started reading through it, and actually thought "man, I really want to finish reading this article, I'd rather she didn't come right now"!



(of course, everything went alright, so my life is not quite ruined. yet)

DisgruntledDM
2011-01-13, 10:33 PM
I hate having to come up with names for every random person the players encounter. And, my players like to go talk with lots of people. Lots!

<JohnFighter> I want to go talk to the hookers at the brothel.
<Me> Okay. There are several to speak with.
<JohnFighter> I introduce myself and ask for their names.
<Me> Um...

I can't think up names worth crap. An assassin in one city's name is "Frank the Dirtbag", who has a slaver brother named "Lenny the Dirtbag", who owns a ship called "The Dirtbag".

If I ever have to come up with a scottish-esque character he'll probably get the name Groundskeeper Willie or Drew McIntyre.

wayfare
2011-01-13, 10:36 PM
I like to describe my creatures in great detail, and since my group often plays horror themed games, my descriptions are appropriately creepy. But sometimes this backfires, as i describe a creature that simply looks cool but isn't a real threat and the party goes into the fight lobbing their best...when the real threat is waiting 2 doors down. This trend worries me.

I must admit, I am loathe to create truly good characters in my campaigns. I'm more likely to introduce slightly benevolent neutrality, or charming sociopaths who are aimed at a common foe than honest to god goodness.

Cealocanth
2011-01-13, 11:22 PM
l absolutely hate it when I have to solve a situation by Deus ex Machina. I mean, seriously, I put a riddle in front of the party, something like The Desert sees all and they stop. Nothing. The entire dungeon flies to a halt trying to figure out what it means.

I mean seriously, almost all of the clothing and weapons on all of the creatures in the dungeon contain a Desert symbol that contains an eye surrounded by a blazing sun, and they can't realize that maybe, just maybe, this symbol with an EYE and a SUN has something to do with the riddle that mentions the DESERT SEEING something.

And thus, coming to the part I hate, I have to solve the riddle for them, and make them run a perception check to notice the symbol and realize that this may be the way to solve the riddle and unlock the chamber door.

Akal Saris
2011-01-13, 11:22 PM
1. It's really hard to make myself say, "OK, you spend a week walking and you are now at the city of Poxwiggle." It's very difficult for me to let PCs get anywhere without rolling for random encounters or seeing something strange or interesting on the way. It drives one of my PCs nuts, since he doesn't care about the trip his character is making, he just wants to overthrow the local overlord already.

2. I hate giving the PCs free unlimited healing. Even though I know that making a party of 16th level characters count charges from their wands of Cure Light Wounds is absurd, I also don't like the idea that HPs are an infinite resource in between adventures.

3. I don't like making rolls in secret, even when I know the roll should probably be hidden.

4. It's a little thing, but I never fudge dice rolls, instead I tend to have NPCs make tactically dumb moves. This goes as well for NPCs who probably shouldn't die yet but sometimes do, which I've noticed leads to a lack of reoccurring villains.

BobVosh
2011-01-14, 12:50 AM
I don't like using things that didn't exist in a splat book or someone else's homebrew. Even though my players apparently like my stuff I make up.

I roll like Akal does, openly and without fudging.

I hate, absolutely hate, naming locations. Its the town of...Nottingham. The wizard Tower of,...uh Spite. The Copper Ante Inn. Ye Olde Goate Heade. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe)

Hyudra
2011-01-14, 01:25 AM
I can't think up names worth crap. An assassin in one city's name is "Frank the Dirtbag", who has a slaver brother named "Lenny the Dirtbag", who owns a ship called "The Dirtbag".

If I ever have to come up with a scottish-esque character he'll probably get the name Groundskeeper Willie or Drew McIntyre.

It's worth having a baby name book on hand (or look online).

For D&D, I tend to use something like the random name list from Final Fantasy Tactics (http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_Tactics_Random_Names) (another list with slightly different/differently translated names here (http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps/197339-final-fantasy-tactics/faqs/16311), but kinda messy with quotes, too). Half of it is due to bad translations, but you do get a good supply of names there, that sound a little offbeat from the norm.

TheCountAlucard
2011-01-14, 01:50 AM
I don't dislike coming up with names - I feel it helps me to exercise my spontaneity... though honestly, I cheat a little by using title-names half the time. "The Twisted Tall," for instance, was the name of a nine-foot-high aberration-man I'd built. :smallamused:

I do dislike summarizing the gist of what an NPC says to the PCs, but I have a habit of doing so if the guy was otherwise-unimportant. :smallfrown:

Smeggedoff
2011-01-14, 01:59 AM
Allowing players to live?

oh right, small stuff.

The name thing I guess. Nearly every campaign I've played in has a Nightclub/pub called the Pink Parrot.

I hate talking to myself and am still a bit squeamish about explicitly taliing like a woman (stereotypically that is)

I hate saying No, even if I should. Afraid of being a tyrant I guess.

The Vorpal Tribble
2011-01-15, 01:44 PM
Me? I hate when I have to make PCs do things because otherwise there is no initiative. I could run an entire game on the fly, but I gotta have someone ready to play along or I might as well be writing a book. Play all sorts of tricks with me, screw the adventure, but at least DO something.

There was at least one game where everything, up to and including the paladin just kind of shrugged and walked away from even the smallest adventure hook. They were content to sit in a bar or tent and make monosyllable responses to any NPC. I've yet to figure out why they were even there or what they wanted out of the game. I finally just dropped it and told them to go do something with their lives.


This one. My one psychological block when DMing is that every name has to have some significance to the NPC it's attached to; I feel terrible pulling names out of thin air, and it's painfully obvious when I do it. Heck, I usually come up with a list of 20 or so names that basically mean "random and unimportant background character" so I can use them for random and unimportant background character.
As you've probably noticed in my games I'm the total opposite. I have a psychological need to name every insignificant NPC and write their description, background story and place in the world.

Then again, in my games being a named NPC doesn't grant them an ounce of protection. If they happen to get in the way they get squashed just like all the ensigns :smallamused:

PairO'Dice Lost
2011-01-15, 01:54 PM
As you've probably noticed in my games I'm the total opposite. I have a psychological need to name every insignificant NPC and write their description, background story and place in the world. I have to forcefully stop myself, otherwise nothing would get done.

Then again, in my games being a named NPC doesn't grant them an ounce of protection. If they happen to get in the way they get squashed just like all the ensigns :smallamused:

Oh, I have no problem at all coming up with backgrounds on the fly, and I can take a random NPC and give him an appearance, a personality, a family, and a short bio in 30 seconds or so. I just cannot bring myself to come up with non-meaningful names for some reason; if I have to name someone the FR equivalent of Joe Bob the Fighter, it really bugs me for the rest of the session.

Dralnu
2011-01-15, 02:08 PM
1) Letting my BBEG immediately die to a string of nat 1's. I don't fudge rolls, so this annoys me. I'll try using celerity next time if this happens.

2) Playing DMPC's. I can handle piloting 8 mooks at a time, but if you suddenly recruit an NPC to fight for your cause and expect me to pilot him too, you're crossing the line!

3) Playing complex mooks like high level wizards. As a player, these are my favorite classes. As a DM, I don't like stalling the game as I shift through all the mook's options and choose the most efficient response.

4) RP'ing females. Because my group will hit on her, or even knock her unconscious and then... Yeah. Because of that, all females that are hit on now automatically turn into toothless hags. Mixed results there.

5) Turning on DragonForce during a battle. My players love it. I quietly put up with it, while giving my mooks all a +1 annoyed bonus to all their attacks / damage / saves. +2 if it's Through the Fire and Flames.

6) Making up random names. Seriously, you're not going to remember their names anyway, why are you asking for them? Can't you call the settlement "elf town"? And that random dude "bearded fat one"? You'll remember it better!

The Vorpal Tribble
2011-01-15, 02:12 PM
Ah, well, if a name doesn't come to mind what I do is figure out from the background where they came from and what race.

Dwarves are almost always Nordic
Half-Orcs are Cherokee
Fey are Celtic
Fiends are Low German
Celestials tend towards Hebrew, etc.

Those I choose are usually a meaning for something relevant to the character. Like this wealthy farmer with levels in druid who had many kids, productive orchards and fields, and loved growing and raising things. I named him Chaim, which is a Jewish name meaning Life or Fertility.

agentnone
2011-01-15, 02:29 PM
Coming up with random costs. I don't like doing it cause I'm never sure how reasonably I'm getting at. As an example. The players in my game recently did a quest for a NPC who is basically a realtor of types (except that he actual buys and sells the houses instead of just acting as an agent). They had the option of getting 100 gp (which isn't much for them at this point), or they could get a house and the land it stands on in town. Considering that this is a mega-dungeon campaign, this town is the nearest civilization and their base, and they've been living out of an inn thus far, they took the house. This is great, it's a nice bit of RP and gets the party closer integrated with the town (cause there be plot bits in the town, not just the dungeon).

That being said, it's been unused for a time and it's in need of renovations for the party specifications (everyone wants their own room, plus we have an alchemist who wants a lab, plus we have a crafter wizard who wants a workshop).

Next proceeds 10 minutes in which I'm trying to figure out the cost of materials and labour and such. Essentially I just rolled dice and added until it felt like a good number. The party was rich enough (and this was coming out of the party fund) that it was easily accepted, but I'm just bad and apprehensive at pricing out miscellany sometimes.

Might have been mentioned already, but I'm on a slow connection and can't whiz through all the posts. So if it has, I appologize, but if not, well, then enjoy.

Stronghold Builders Guidebook by WotC has all the prices for things like this. Alchemy labs, blacksmith workshops, libraries, etc...

PairO'Dice Lost
2011-01-15, 02:48 PM
Ah, well, if a name doesn't come to mind what I do is figure out from the background where they came from and what race.

Dwarves are almost always Nordic
Half-Orcs are Cherokee
Fey are Celtic
Fiends are Low German
Celestials tend towards Hebrew, etc.

Those I choose are usually a meaning for something relevant to the character. Like this wealthy farmer with levels in druid who had many kids, productive orchards and fields, and loved growing and raising things. I named him Chaim, which is a Jewish name meaning Life or Fertility.

That's basically what I do for my meaningful names (though with different languages for the species in some cases, and I tend to change the spelling and some vowels to hide the origin), and most of the time naming isn't a problem because I usually DM with my laptop to project maps and hold my notes and thus the magic of Google Translate comes to the rescue. There was one session I remember, though, where my laptop was out for repairs, and when the party decided to go to a city I hadn't prepared for at all populated by a race I hadn't used in the campaign yet, I had to call a snack break to give myself time to figure out the naming convention for the new ones.

Some other things I don't like doing:

1) Placing difficult terrain and other minor modifiers. I can do gigantic caverns with lava falls, huge natural bridges, and other big-picture stuff, but when it gets down to saying that this square is difficult terrain and those two squares are high ground and that area is sloped, I never feel like I can make them random or natural enough. I much prefer to have the entire battlefield on a slope, or put it in a building or other artificial environment where I can justify ordered patterns in terrain, or things like that.

2) Giving NPCs equipment. I use a lot of classed NPCs for my major villains and their important henchmen, and I try to build them to be as equipment-neutral as possible (using permanent buffs, templates, contingent spells, intelligent items, etc.) to avoid dumping great loot on the PCs all the time. On the few occasions I've been a player in my RL games I've been helping teach new players, so I run a support caster who stays in the back and handles utility and buffing. This means that the only items I'm really familiar with are the basic items like stat boosters and belts of healing and such, so coming up with good items that will help out minor NPCs and the PCs once those NPCs are defeated is a real pain.

J.Gellert
2011-01-15, 02:54 PM
I hate needing to tell my players "Yes, you can do that, no it's not a scripted video game, yes you have every option you can think of, no there is no way to ruin the adventure so stop fearing that you might."

I also generally dislike roleplaying the NPCs. Come on! I'm telling you what the guy lets you know, do I have to mimick his voice as well? Coming up with 500 random names is one thing, 500 accents/mannerisms/signature phrases/voices is a pain! At best I'll do a unique greeting, and some key phrases for people that are important to the story.

Keinnicht
2011-01-15, 03:56 PM
1. I let players have one free 18 if they don't roll one for ability scores. I just like characters to be good at something.

2. I frequently "forget" fast healing and DR at lower levels because I hate it when characters are just ineffective.

3. Also I'm often lazy, so I just tell players what the magic items they find do.

Arbane
2011-01-15, 11:47 PM
I can't think up names worth crap. An assassin in one city's name is "Frank the Dirtbag", who has a slaver brother named "Lenny the Dirtbag", who owns a ship called "The Dirtbag".

If I ever have to come up with a scottish-esque character he'll probably get the name Groundskeeper Willie or Drew McIntyre.

This might come in handy:

Kate Monk's Onomastikon (Dictionary of Names) (http://www.gaminggeeks.org/Resources/KateMonk/)

Dozens of civilizations' worth of names, and they don't sound like WoW rejects.

BayardSPSR
2011-01-16, 01:50 AM
Fudging and retroactive-player-life-saving. Both I have done exactly once, and hated doing. The fudging was when the players misread the roll (somehow) and I went with it, killing one of them (who then survived). The retroactive-player-life-saving was obvious, but his fault: he chose to dive off a a boat during an ambush on a river in a sheer-sided ravine, and the gnomes on the cliffs rolled a ridiculous number of shots in his direction. As I had not yet resolved the shots, but just determined the number aiming at him, I had an NPC stop him (for which I rolled). And then I felt bad about it afterwards.

Oh, and by the way, this


Kate Monk's Onomastikon (Dictionary of Names)

is awesome. Thank you, Arbane! Thank you lots.