3.5 DM help

[Bladewing2013]

Occasionaly me and some friends play DnD 3.5, however they say I don't play the best I can as DM. Any Ideas? Problem are: No cover, No Imagination (even though not you of them has ever given a back story :smalltongue:), And some minor details.

[Chester]

Occasionaly me and some friends play DnD 3.5, however they say I don't play the best I can as DM. Any Ideas? Problem are: No cover, No Imagination (even though not you of them has ever given a back story :smalltongue:), And some minor details.

"No cover" and "no imagination" are vague. Can you provide a bit more detail?

[GreatDane]

The best way to become a better DM is to DM a lot while getting feedback from your players and acting on it. After every few sessions, ask your players what they did and didn't like about the adventure, and why. (Things like: these encounters are too challenging or too straightforward, the solution to mysteries is always obvious, we don't get enough encounters/NPC interaction/opportunity to use skills.) PCs telling the DM how he can improve tends to be a lot less useful than PCs telling the DM how he can improve the adventure.

The next-best way is to read the literature on it. The forums (this one and many others) are littered with DM help threads (I think you can even search by that tag); read them. Other websites and blogs, like theangrygm.com (http://www.theangrygm.com) are also very helpful.

[Jay R]

Read lots of fantasy literature. Imagination needs something to feed on.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Try running some pre-written modules/adventure paths?

[Bladewing2013]

Thanks :smallbiggrin:

[endur]

Rotate GMs. Have everyone in the group try doing it. Watch what other people do and try to get better from watching what they do.

The players will also learn just how hard it is to GM.

[Bladewing2013]

By the way, the one you complains the most A: tries to cheat and B: somehow killed 4 orcs per turn at first level. :smallfurious:

[ZamielVanWeber]

Try running some oneshots first. Throw in a dungeon crawl (experience balancing monster encounters and using traps), maybe something more intrigue based another time (for skill ruse and RP practice). Don't go putting all of your work in one big bundle trying to write a campaign. Break it up into little chunks.

[Bladewing2013]

Endur, your idea is not the best given 2 are like Belker :smalleek:, and the 3rd constantly changes :smallannoyed:

[crunchykoolaid]

Don't worry too much about cheating, perceived or otherwise, soon they'll realize winning without effort isn't fun. As for DMing, build on whatever your players give you. I generally have an idea about what the adventures going to be, but if something the players do necessitates a change, don't be afraid to throw your plans out the window and make up something new on the spot. I actually had an NPC Wizard the players met several times throughout the campaign, and when they were searching for the lost king of the dragons, I decided that Wizard just happened to be him, polymorphed to live among humans and learn their ways. Also the PCs needed a quick escape from an erupting volcano, so I had him fly them out.

[Brendanicus]

Run a module. It can teach you a lot how to run encounters, do npcs, and the like

[ZamielVanWeber]

Don't worry too much about cheating, perceived or otherwise, soon they'll realize winning without effort isn't fun.
It can be for some people. Power leveling until you crush encounters is a thing. It is near impossible to do in DnD so creativity (and sometimes dishonesty) is required to do it.

Try to stick to core plus a few splat books (core + psionics is decent because most of it is on the SRD, or maybe core + a few completes). Check everyone's character sheet ahead of time; this will help deter cheating, let you understand better what your party is capable of, and give you a chance to veto ideas that would cause you issues.

[jiriku]

Read lots of fantasy literature. Imagination needs something to feed on.

I second this. DMing well is about telling a story collaboratively with your players. If you are a crap storyteller, you will produce crap games. I say this based on my experience of having been a crap storyteller for a long time. :smallbiggrin: The solution is to absorb as many good stories as you can. Read fantasy and science fiction. If you like comics, get into graphic novels that have longer, deeper plots. If you like TV and movies, watch good movies (the ones that have actual plot and don't just depend on flashy special effects) and TV series that have deep and immersive stories. Think critically about what you're absorbing. Pay attention to what builds drama and suspense, and what makes characters interesting and likable. If you happen to watch or read something that's kind of bad, ask yourself where the story stumbled and how it could have been done better. I absolutely guarantee that after you have absorbed 100 good stories, you will be a noticeably better DM, and after you soak up 1,000 good stories, your friends will be bragging to their friends about how much fun your games have become.