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Thoughtbot360
2007-03-17, 04:48 PM
Hey, how many of you are GMs too skilled for your own good? As Viscount Einstrauss was told by his players "you're the only guy I know how can run six to seven concurrent character plots."

This thread humbly asks of such GMs: " post some those directions individual characters took here. Pleeaase?:smallredface: "

Jade_Tarem
2007-03-18, 12:46 AM
Hey, how many of you are GMs too skilled for your own good?

You may want to consider rephrasing this. If you actually want people to post on this thread you'll need to word the OP in such a way that anyone responding to it positively doesn't look like a jackass. Anyone affirming this condition might as well fire up a boom box:

"I'm... too sexy for one plotline, too sexy for my players, so sexy it huuuuuurrrrts."

While a testament to another DM's ability is no problem, proclaiming one's own skills just sounds like bragging, especially in a text format where it's difficult to portray things like sarcasm and humor.


"post some those directions individual characters took here. Pleeaase?:smallredface: "

Character last seen both ways go hot is not that? Welcome are you.

Could you clarify this?

daggaz
2007-03-19, 05:44 PM
Character last seen both ways go hot is not that? Welcome are you.

Could you clarify this?

Laugh, Out, Loud!

Fax Celestis
2007-03-19, 06:02 PM
Rules I DM By:

NPCs Are Dynamic
Your NPCs should at the very least have an approximation of level, stats, appearance, general alignment, and personality. They are dynamic indivduals in the same way that the PCs are, and should be treated like such.

That being said, not every NPC is going to speak with the same inflection, use the same words, have the same accent, or even want to talk about the same things. Make sure your NPCs are unique individuals who are interesting in their own right.

The World Is Dynamic
Just as NPCs are characters in their own right, the world is also not PC-centric (unless you're playing a god-campaign, but then you've got a whole mess of other problems). Things happen without the PCs. Time passes, people age, seasons change. Just because the guy the PCs know as the mayor was the mayor last time they were in town doesn't mean he's the mayor now (or even that the town is still there).

Not Everything Is Critical
Continuing the previous two rules, things happen that aren't earth-shattering (or aren't even related to the plot-at-hand). Maybe in the midst of a plague epidemic, a new church has arrived in town and they have nothing to do with it. They just showed up at the wrong time.

The PCs Are Not Important
Perhaps the hardest to accomplish is that the PCs may be the center of the game, but they're not necessarily the center of the world/country/organization. The king is not going to want to meet with every troupe of adventurers that waltzes through his city gates, nor is he going to proselytize himself for a bunch of no-name wannabe dragon slayers.

Magic (And Similar) Is Commonplace
Unless you're running a very particular kind of campaign, magic runs rampant throughout the world in a variety of forms (arcane, divine, invocations, maneuvers, psionics, incarnum, shadowcasting, truenaming, binding...). The common man is not going to be terrified of something he sees every day, even if it's something he can't use himself. Further, sometimes magical creatures are more than encounters. Why shouldn't a large city equip a division of its watch with trained pegasi? Why shouldn't a village pay tribute to a young gold dragon in exchange for it's protection? Why shouldn't a tavernmaster be known as "Tom the Bugbear Slayer", after he took out that bugbear that wandered into town (who cares if it was a lucky shot)? Since magic is so commonplace, it'll be as known to the common individual as mercantile trading is: it's just another job.

Matthew
2007-03-27, 06:36 PM
Good advice there from Fax. Running a successful game relies on a great many factors, not least of which is the experience of the players and the contract between them and the DM to play the game within certain limits and suspend disbelief.