Which 3-4 Questions Would You Ask a Propsective DM?

[NecessaryWeevil]

Suppose you're considering joining a D&D game. Aside from logistical questions (should I bring snacks? Are any classes/races banned? etc.) what 3-4 questions would you personally ask to determine whether the DM is right for you?

I'm thinking mine might be:

1) How do you handle intraparty conflict, including stealing, hoarding and concealing loot?
2) How do you handle illusions? For example, if I use Phantasmal Force to convince someone that poisonous spiders are swarming all over their sword hand, are they just going to say, "Ho-hum, 1d6 poison damage, I have more important things to worry about?"
3) How do you handle enchantments? For example, is Suggestion always going to fail or be at disadvantage because it comes from an opponent?
4) How do you handle stealth? Should we even bother?

Curious what yours might be!

[Keravath]

Most of the questions you listed are house rulings on how things work. You might want to lump that together into

First ask the DM politely ...

1) Can I ask you a few questions about your playstyle? :)

... and indicate that you are just trying to figure out if you'd be a good fit in their group. (A decent DM will actually recognize that this is a reasonable approach to take).

2) Do you have any house rules you like to use?
- ask about handling illusions as an example if you are specifically interested in that one

However, the main question is whether you will have fun playing with a particular DM or not.

3) Have you had any TPKs?
- this should be rare for a decent DM in most groups since most players do not find it fun to lose characters they have invested a significant amount of time playing .. on the other hand "killer" DMs exist and enjoy regularly setting deadly encounters .. but that play style isn't for everyone).

4) Do you prefer combat or roleplay or a mix of both?

5) Do you have any concerns if the players go "off-script"?
- some DMs are very linear when running things and have everything written down. Some take it personally when the players don't decide to go to the obvious dungeon but go off script either for roleplay reasons or because something else caught their attention. How does the DM prefer to handle these kind of situations?
- this also gets at the question of DM style ... some folks are very detail oriented and follow the script like in published modules while for other DMs it is more of a living dynamic world and certain aspects end up being written as they happen sometimes in response to player actions.


So ... in general, I would say focus less on possible rules arguments (unless these are deal breakers for you) and focus more on whether your playstyle and that of the DM are reasonably compatible ... will you have fun :)

[Callak_Remier]

1) what race & classes do you hate
2) what race & classes do you play
3) did you make the campaign yourself
4) how much time have you spent reading the lore of the existing DnD universe

[Corran]

Tell me a bit about your game world, so I can play something that fits. Also, I'd like to hear a bit about the campaign plot -if there is anything you can share without spoiling it for me- so that I can think of a character that has a stronger motivation than ''I am all about adventuring cause adventuring is fun!'' Also, cause I would not like to play the guy in the heavy armor if the campaign takes place at sea, I wouldn't like to play the pirate if the campaign took place in a desert, I wouldn't like to play the ''cop'' if we start as members of a revolution, etc etc.

Do you like to improvise if things don't go the way you had anticipated? (this is asking politely if they are railroading a lot; also, it will lead you to better conclusions, as very few DM's who railroad would answer that they railroad in such a straightforward manner -not cause they are liars, but because they narrow down the definition of railroading too much-, usually you would be told something about the importance of the story, etc etc)

[PhoenixPhyre]

4) how much time have you spent reading the lore of the existing DnD universe

I take strong exception to #4. In my opinion, the only lore that matters is the lore of the universe actually being used. This could be completely different from the published lore, and that's not a problem.

My setting, for instance, answers the fundamental questions about reality very differently. For one (small) thing, all the planes cover a volume about 4 AU in radius (about the same as the inner solar system). I also have no alignment at all, not even for angels and devils. Etc.

Internal consistency is what matters, not matching some published details.

[Pex]

Usually the DM answers my questions for me when he describes his game. He'll speak a bit about the game world and his DMing style. If I like what I hear then I stick around and ask for clarification as needed or comment on a particular thing I didn't like anyway. What he says is important but also important is how he says it. If he's willing to acquiesce to my concerns, great, but even if he doesn't as long as we had an honest discussion about it and not criticize that I dared to criticize I can decide for myself if I can live with it to play and I often do.

I suppose that's my answer then. For me it's not about what questions I ask but how the DM answers them. How he answers says a lot about how he runs his game. I want to be sure he will play with me not against me. When I know I can get along with him then I can think about the details.

[MilkmanDanimal]

1. How do you handle conflict within the party? Can party members steal from each other, attack each other, or do you enforce a more cooperative game?

2. How often do PCs die in your campaign? Knowing lethality is an important thing.

3. How many short rests tend to be in your average adventuring day? If a DM doesn't do short rests, it makes Warlocks and Monks significantly less attractive as class options.

4. Do you use homebrew extensively, or do you largely just rely on Rules As Written?

[PhoenixPhyre]

1. How do you handle conflict within the party? Can party members steal from each other, attack each other, or do you enforce a more cooperative game?

2. How often do PCs die in your campaign? Knowing lethality is an important thing.

3. How many short rests tend to be in your average adventuring day? If a DM doesn't do short rests, it makes Warlocks and Monks significantly less attractive as class options.

4. Do you use homebrew extensively, or do you largely just rely on Rules As Written?

1-3 I agree with and find important. #4 has more nuance--there's a layer of rulings between homebrew (content not in the book) and RAW. This is especially true in 5e with the emphasis on rulings over rules. Asking what standing houserules or homebrew they have is important, however.

[Legendairy]

1. How do you handle conflict within the party? Can party members steal from each other, attack each other, or do you enforce a more cooperative game?

2. How often do PCs die in your campaign? Knowing lethality is an important thing.

3. How many short rests tend to be in your average adventuring day? If a DM doesn't do short rests, it makes Warlocks and Monks significantly less attractive as class options.

4. Do you use homebrew extensively, or do you largely just rely on Rules As Written?


Basically agree, but 4 could include “how do you view the rule of cool as well?” I guess that could fall into #4 but things like jumping on a giant scorpions back with a spear. Or riding a dragon down as you hack into it about to fall. I’m a bit proponent of “the rule of cool”. Personally I like my fantasy full throttle, but I dunno if I’m in the majority.

[MilkmanDanimal]

1-3 I agree with and find important. #4 has more nuance--there's a layer of rulings between homebrew (content not in the book) and RAW. This is especially true in 5e with the emphasis on rulings over rules. Asking what standing houserules or homebrew they have is important, however.

Yeah, agree, but what I'm largely looking for is really just a simple "I tend to follow RAW" vs. "I homebrew a lot", as I've been involved in campaigns were DMs had done a lot of rewriting of the rules, and I'm not really into that. It's really more of a leading question to see what the general idea is. I figure with most rulings it's too much detail to hear about up-front, I just want to know if I at least have a vague idea of what the road we're heading down is.


Basically agree, but 4 could include “how do you view the rule of cool as well?” I guess that could fall into #4 but things like jumping on a giant scorpions back with a spear. Or riding a dragon down as you hack into it about to fall. I’m a bit proponent of “the rule of cool”. Personally I like my fantasy full throttle, but I dunno if I’m in the majority.

I kind of like the way you phrase that, as I'm very much a Rule of Cool guy. I don't have a solid mechanical reason why I decided to pull a Mezzoloth from an earlier campaign and drag him to the Prime Material Plane as an imp with a New York cab driver accent to guide the party on a revenge quest to stop a demonic cult that had screwed him in a deal, and it's probably not mechanically possible the way I did it, but it did turn into an evening where a Barbarian, a Fighter, and a Paladin (all INT 8) basically stumbled through an arcane-fueled evening like the dumbest three stooges of all time, and wound up at the end with a Paladin wondering why he agreed with the imp half the time and the Barbarian being convinced his new trident was a magically transformed dog and was a Trident of Dog Command. None of it made sense or fit the rules, but it was hilarious.

Maybe #4 should be rewritten to "how much laughter and fun is at your table, or is it a far more serious campaign?" Might capture the idea pretty well.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Yeah, agree, but what I'm largely looking for is really just a simple "I tend to follow RAW" vs. "I homebrew a lot", as I've been involved in campaigns were DMs had done a lot of rewriting of the rules, and I'm not really into that. It's really more of a leading question to see what the general idea is. I figure with most rulings it's too much detail to hear about up-front, I just want to know if I at least have a vague idea of what the road we're heading down is.

That I can agree with. I'd probably phrase it as more "how much of the content is lightly-modified book versions vs full custom designs" or something like that to avoid pitting homebrew vs RAW (mainly because I dislike the term RAW and what it stands for. But that's a conversation for a different thread).

[MrStabby]

What levels do we begin and end at?

Is there any content you would prefer to not see used?

How many people are there in the party?

[Legendairy]

I kind of like the way you phrase that, as I'm very much a Rule of Cool guy. I don't have a solid mechanical reason why I decided to pull a Mezzoloth from an earlier campaign and drag him to the Prime Material Plane as an imp with a New York cab driver accent to guide the party on a revenge quest to stop a demonic cult that had screwed him in a deal, and it's probably not mechanically possible the way I did it, but it did turn into an evening where a Barbarian, a Fighter, and a Paladin (all INT 8) basically stumbled through an arcane-fueled evening like the dumbest three stooges of all time, and wound up at the end with a Paladin wondering why he agreed with the imp half the time and the Barbarian being convinced his new trident was a magically transformed dog and was a Trident of Dog Command. None of it made sense or fit the rules, but it was hilarious.

Maybe #4 should be rewritten to "how much laughter and fun is at your table, or is it a far more serious campaign?" Might capture the idea pretty well.

Yeah possibly, don’t know if that conveys what we are getting at tho. See nights like that are just a blast sometimes. I tend to shift spectrums from serious to funny fairly often so the rule applies in awesome situations too that by the rules wouldn’t work. We had a githyanki paladin/rogue in our group basically sacrifice himself in a way that wouldn’t be rules possible at all. They basically fought a BBEG that had been giving them problems for the last 8 real months of the campaign and on the BBEG’s turn he was going to plane shift away (he was a homebrewed-ish death slaad) but they paladin asked if he could attack him one last time as a reaction (with no mage slayer or anything) , the party just couldn’t handle that he was right there almost dead and was about to get away. So he asked if he could use his inspiration to get a reactionary attack. I said sure BUT he is plane shifting and you will have disadvantage, if you miss you effectively shift with him, if you hit and don’t kill him you shift with him....the party offered up other characters inspiration to take away the disadvantage so I said yeah and I told him his target ac and how many hp the slaad had. Anyway he missed by 1 and went to the slaad home plane and killed him there with his other attack. The scene was described as him jumping through the air blade up, going into the self portal with the slaad, the slaads look of pure terror on his face as he realized he was about to die on his home plane, he looked at the closing portal and the gith coming in for the death blow, the last think the rest of the party saw as the portal closed around them was the giths silver sword impaling their long time enemy and the gith smiling at them as it winked out. Like, none of this is rules legal, but it made it epic, the players all loved it, the player of the paladin was ecstatic that if his character was to go he would go fighting the masses of slaad after taking out a leader type in their home plane...and it led to more side adventures of trying to find a way to get his character back!

[nickl_2000]

1) What is your name?
2) What is your quest?
3) What is your favorite color?

If the DM can't answer these in true Monty Python fashion, that isn't a table I want to play at.

[Callak_Remier]

I take strong exception to #4.
In my opinion, the only lore that matters is the lore of the universe actually being used. This could be completely different from the published lore, and that's not a problem.

It's not a problem but it is a question I ask that gives me insight into the Person who could potentially DM a game for me. Adaptability is important but without a foundation in the traditional you limit player interaction with the game an could turn it into All the players complete dependency on the DM for common knowledge. I don't join games where I can't be an active participant in the creation of the story. Sounds to me like I wouldn't enjoy playing a game at your table.



My setting, for instance, answers the fundamental questions about reality very differently.

Which specific questions? Highlight the differences



For one (small) thing, all the planes cover a volume about 4 AU in radius (about the same as the inner solar system).

I would say that is irrelevant information for the purpose of most campaigns



I also have no alignment at all, not even for angels and devils. Etc.

Is there a Reason given for this change? Is it part of the foundation of the world and shapes things differently and if yes how so.
Or was it removed due to alignment annoyance factor?



Internal consistency is what matters, not matching some published details.

The Published Details are left vague in areas for you too make personal additions. We all signed up to play a game we all have different ideas about what the game is.
But if you ignore pre existing parts of the game that other people have accepted as part of it you risk alienation.

[guachi]

What kind of campaign are we playing?

That's the most basic. Though usually you don't ask that question as most DMs will tell you straight away.

Then I'd ask about houserules/rulebooks allowed.

Any answer to either question is acceptable. Because really what I'm looking for is *why* the DM is doing the thing he's doing.

[GaelofDarkness]

Being only half-serious:

1. What's your favorite movie?

2. What's your favorite book?

3. What's your favorite video game?

4. Do you want to gossip about the drama in your life right now?


Why? I honestly find the first three tell you a lot about the style of games people want to play in terms of tone, player agency, how they view conflict (in the world as well as within the party) and emphasis of different aspects (political vs. dungeon crawl vs. swashbuckler). This came up a while back when we noticed that the people on opposite sides of the age-old "Which is better: Star Wars or Lord of the Rings?" debate fit into the other disagreements REALLY well for a lot of things.

The last one is deadly serious. If they are going to tell you about their terrible friends and their terrible family and their terrible colleagues, chances are that the true terrible person is the common denominator and that's not a GM you want.

EDIT: also 100% ask the DM what kind of campaign and setting is going on - I would like to know if we are at sea! - but I'd ask that after it was decided they'd definitely DM.

[Tanarii]

1) Have you read the DMG chapter 8?

2) Are we likely to face adventuring days far outside the norm, either in encounters or resting?

3) What DC do you consider "normal" for checks?

4) How often will you let the entire party roll checks or the highest bonuses roll for the entire party? Aka One check to rule them all checks. Especially for Int/Lore or Cha/Social checks.

Edit: only the first is likely to affect my willingness to play. The others affect what character I'll make.

[UrielAwakened]

1. What are the themes of your campaign going to be (central conflict, symbolism, what sort of story are we telling here).

2. How optimized on a scale of 1 to 10 is the rest of the party.

That's all I really need to know.

[DivisibleByZero]

- Have you seen my baseball?
- Have you seen my baseball?
- Have you seen my baseball?
- Have you seen my baseball?

[Corran]

I do not mean to pry, but you don't by any chance happen to have six fingers on your right hand?

[Laserlight]

"How often do you have sessions?" because if the answer is "once a month" or "every now and again" or "It's been tough lately"... No. I want a reliable schedule.

"How long has the group been together?" If you're constantly shedding players and having to recruit new ones, that's a warning sign, although it depends on the circumstances.

"What rating is the campaign, G, PG, R?" I don't want lavish description of which of the orc's body parts you just crushed or split, how far the blood splashes or what sounds the victim makes. I'm okay with seducing NPCs but keep the details offscreen--"I take him upstairs to my chambers till next morning" . I can tolerate some profanity but if every sentence needs to be bleeped, it's tiresome.

"How often will I need backup characters?"

[Darth Ultron]

While rules specific questions are ok, they do just fall under ''what houserules do you use?"

And a lot of other stuff is tricky, to say the least. A lot of words are misunderstod, or mis used or have other meanings to people. You really need like a hour to explain each word.




1. What's your favorite movie?

2. What's your favorite book?

3. What's your favorite video game?


These are the important questions. And they are much more honest then the game or rule questions. Most DMs will give 'stock' answers like ''my game is 50% combat/50% role play" or "my game is an awesome sandbox".....and, maybe they might have some truth to them.

But what the DM likes, gives you a peak into what they are like. Movies, books and video games give a good indication of what the game will be like.

Though, you also have to interpret the movie, book, game answer too. As it is not just the answer, but you need to consider why they might have said that. Like if a DM wants to sound ''classic and cool" he will use the stock answers of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Lord of the Rings, and Gauntlet.

Often, if they are ''locked" into only giving "D&D" answers, either as that is true or them OR worse they are just picking their favorite D&D related only things....that is a good red flag. Same way if they say ''Moon People" is their favorite book. Or if ''Waterworld" is their favorite movie. Or their favorite video game is "Shaq-Fu"

[Glorthindel]

I like that most questions people have put forward go both ways, and what would be a good answer for one person would be a terrible one for someone else. For me:

If I fail my death saves, what is the likelihood the character stays dead? (Note: for me, this would be an automatic dealbreaker, if there is no threat of permanent character death, there is no point in the game to me)

How much humour and 4th wall breaking can we expect? (I am fine with such things, but they have to suit the tone and feel of the campaign in general - if it is sudden vignettes incongruous with the rest of the game, then it will immediately shut me off)

How descriptive do you get in fights? (I am probably contrary to the current fashion, but when we are rolling dice I want the action to keep moving, and I find it tiresome for it to be dragged out by finding a hundred different ways to describe doing a dice worth of damage. Not a dealbreaker, but it will inform how much tolerance I have for other things)

How much room is there to be creative with magic? (this wont change whether or not I want to play, but it certainly informs what and how I will play)

[Asmotherion]

1) Do you make efforts to avoid PvP?
2) How do Casters Stand in your Word?
3) High Magic? Low Magic?
4) Permanancy of Death?
5) Any other Homerules we need to know before we start playing?

I am particularly interested in Casters and Magic, because I don't play D&D without playing a Caster, so I want to know what I'm in board for.

I also want to know about permanancy of Death in a scenario; Basically if I'll bond with a character I play, or if I should consider him replacable at any moment.

Finally, I want to know that the DM will make an effort to avoid PvP, as it is something that is not fun for me, wasting a session to watch PCs fighting each other.

[opticalshadow]

1) Are you allowing homebrew in this campaign?
2) How long have you DM'd, how long have you been a player?
3) How do you prefer to deal with Metagaminig
4) How much RP can i expect from you?
4b) How do you handle enemies? i.e do you take their lore canon personalities into account for their actions? do you play them according to their intelligence?


*) [if playing wizard] How do you rule illusions

[Knaight]

I figure I'd get more from more open questions (assuming that I have at least some knowledge of who the DM is as a person, and don't need to weed out jerks first). So:
1) How would you describe your general DMing style, philosophy, or whatever?
2) What's the appeal of the game you're pitching, in broad terms?
3) Why did you pick the system you picked*?

*In this case 5e, but that question is pretty broadly applicable.

I'm willing to take a wide range of answers for all of these, but there's a couple of things I'd look out for. The biggest of these is just not having any idea - they don't really have a philosophy, don't know why their game is likely to be fun, and didn't know they were picking a system because they didn't know there were other options. That said there's also specific answers that would either raise flags or drive interest.

[Kadesh]

Given that the assumption is for a 5e game, and that i am aware of the setting the general nature of the adventures we are going to be taking.


What do you consider the relationship between the players and the DM: antagonistic with the intent on beating the players, or sympathetic adventuring?
Do you play RAW, or allow Rules of Cool and/or common sense to participate
What first party content will you allow/ban, and does this extend to setting specific limitations?
Will you allow homebrew with the proviso it is checked and reviewed following its use in play?

[MThurston]

1) How do you handle intraparty conflict, including stealing, hoarding and concealing loot?

If you asked me this question, I'd tell you that you would not fit well with this group.

[MThurston]

1. How often do you play?
2. What classes are being played?
3. What is the group doing at the moment and what is their history?
4. What level will I start at compared to the group?

[Legendairy]

Honestly, I doubt you could ask questions and see if it’s right or wrong, different people have different wants from their game, player and dm alike. With that being said I’ve played in POC heavy games and super dmnpc railroad games, and have had fun for a time doing both...heavily home brewed and blah blah. Aside from my earlier mentioned “rule of cool”, the only real deal breaker is how do you handle rape and or sexual/gore details. I am “okay” with bad things, including rape happening in an immersive interactive world but, saying it happened is enough. There is absolutely no cause for vivid descriptions of rape/sexual play...the gore portion just becomes tedious, you can only get so creative on how this orc or that dies. Now I save my gore for dramatic moments if it fits the story and narrative of the moment and it can add to the experience. The other things I absolutely will not tolerate as a GM or a player. Saying your bad character rapes and pillages is enough, saying you take the bar wench to your room for the night after seducing her is enough, for me, period!

[Tanarii]

If you asked me this question, I'd tell you that you would not fit well with this group.
Because you allow it?

[Legendairy]

So which what’s been said what would a generalized or standardized list look like?

How do you handle intraparty conflict like; stealing/skill checks against players/pvp. I think some intraparty conflict is ok but others can just destroy any cohesion a team might have.

What is the ratin from a Y7 to XXX, a balance of narrative violence is ok, having your players indulge in your sexual fantasies/curiosities and whatnot is not cool.

How long have you been dming and playing, out of that time what’s your longest running campaign.

How do you handle rules questions during game? Does the game stop and everyone look up the rules, do you make a call and then say you will review and change it later if necessary? How much out side of RAW do you flex, from home brew to RAW and RAI.


I realize this is a slew of questions in 4 different areas but honestly I think a lot needs to be addressed and I think you need a session 0.

[MThurston]

Because you allow it?

I have found that people who always steal from the group are not very good team players. They end up ruining the game for everyone else and tend to find enjoyment from screwing over the other players.

If you have 4 people working together to accomplish something, it is a waste of their time to have another player working against their goals.

Not going to waste 3-4 hours of peoples time when 4 people walk away unhappy and the 5th is happy about how they screwed the rest of the group over.

[Kadesh]

I have found that people who always steal from the group are not very good team players. They end up ruining the game for everyone else and tend to find enjoyment from screwing over the other players.

If you have 4 people working together to accomplish something, it is a waste of their time to have another player working against their goals.

Not going to waste 3-4 hours of peoples time when 4 people walk away unhappy and the 5th is happy about how they screwed the rest of the group over.

That wasn't the question, though, you jumped the gun and assumed that was what the question was about. You said someone shouldn't play in your game, because they asked what your response would be if someone decided to PVP them, for reference.

[Tanarii]

I have found that people who always steal from the group are not very good team players. They end up ruining the game for everyone else and tend to find enjoyment from screwing over the other players.

If you have 4 people working together to accomplish something, it is a waste of their time to have another player working against their goals.

Not going to waste 3-4 hours of peoples time when 4 people walk away unhappy and the 5th is happy about how they screwed the rest of the group over.
Your refusal to answer a question of someone looking for exactly that, kicking them out instead, would result in you getting MORE players likely to do that kind of thing.

[MThurston]

Your refusal to answer a question of someone looking for exactly that, kicking them out instead, would result in you getting MORE players likely to do that kind of thing.

Haven't run into that at my table when DMing.

Had a guy try to screw over the one shot at a Gencon though. Tried to get the party killed. Luckily the DM seen it coming and didn't let him get what he wanted. The player refused to participate in the final fight.

But my answer would be this. Are you looking to steal from the group or worried about others stealing from you.

If it's stealing from the group then you will not be welcome.

[Tanarii]

Haven't run into that at my table when DMing.If you kick out people asking how you handle PvP, so they'll know they're safe from it at your table, you're going to end up with PvPers eventually.

Edit:

But my answer would be this. Are you looking to steal from the group or worried about others stealing from you.

If it's stealing from the group then you will not be welcome.
Totally. That would be my first response too.

[KorvinStarmast]

1. What books are allowable?
2. What races/classes are OK?
3. (kind of important) Which PHB / DMG variants and optional rules are you using?
4. How many people?
5. How many games have you run before?
6. How do you handle different understandings of the rules between players and DM?
7. Do you already have some optional rules/rulings/house rules? If so, what are they?
8. Published adventure, or your own adventures?
9. How often do we meet? Where? When?
10. What's your favorite beer?

and for me, real important

11. How can we hook or weave my character's background/backstory in to the campaign? I'd like to work with you on that (off line, via email etc), particularly if it's your own home world.

[Legendairy]

1. What books are allowable? Most if not all, 3rd party can be ok too if I get to read it first, it’s subject to hangs if it is too disruptive though.
2. What races/classes are OK? I’m ok with most things except at will flying races out the gate, unless the whole group wants to playing flying races.
3. (kind of important) Which PHB / DMG variants and optional rules are you using? Ooo that’s a good one, feats come to mind obviously, depending on the campaign may go to the gritty rest rules to benefit SR classes as well, again depends on the group and game.
4. How many people? 3 minimum and no more than 5.
5. How many games have you run before? A lot...over 21+ years I’ve lost count, or do you mean actually games or dnd campaigns?
6. How do you handle different understandings of the rules between players and DM? If it’s during gameplay I will make a call so it won’t slow down that session and burn time. Afterwards we can discuss our different points of view, I’m flexible if it can make sense, as long as you are willing to listen to mine as well.
7. Do you already have some optional rules/rulings/house rules? If so, what are they? Depends on the game, but I play loose with lighting and stealth a bit, I do “rule of cool”.
8. Published adventure, or your own adventures? A mix of the two, I would rather run a large homemade story arch but I like to mix in a few modules here and there.
9. How often do we meet? Where? When? Once a week, roll20(used to be at home), we will figure that out based on all the characters schedules
10. What's your favorite beer? Guinness draught

and for me, real important

11. How can we hook or weave my character's background/backstory in to the campaign? I'd like to work with you on that (off line, via email etc), particularly if it's your own home world. Elements will slowly appear and I like to write in complete arch’s and quests involving each pc specifically to bring their background to life for not just them but give the other players/characters to understand them a bit more.

Answered in bold, and I’m not being mean or anything but I think this is enough to get most people to the table, but out of those many campaigns how many have lasted longer than a month/week/session? Am I adversarial? Do I have a DM vs Player attitude? It’s just soo broad it’s hard to narrow down. Thank you KorvinStarmast for your probably unwilling participation. lol.

[KorvinStarmast]

Thank you KorvinStarmast for your probably unwilling participation. lol. I like those answers. When are we starting? :smallbiggrin:

If it’s during gameplay I will make a call so it won’t slow down that session and burn time. Afterwards we can discuss our different points of view, I’m flexible if it can make sense, as long as you are willing to listen to mine as well. I wish more people would consider this the default. :smallcool:

As for Guinness: well, that seals the deal. You, sir, are a gentleman.

[Legendairy]

I am far from a gentleman but we can all strive for something right?

And you can get a good feel for my style maybe, but no matter what you always need a session 0 and as a dm and player if at session 0 people take issue....it’s ok! Not everyone has to gel, you don’t have to fold or settle. Try to find the game you want to play in bottom line. I know some people don’t have the options because of the area they live in and whatnot, for you guys I’m sorry. I am in the backwoods of North Carolina and can’t find a tabletop group (outside of my current wushu washy friends lol) so I rely a lot on roll20 these days. Sorry about the rant and tangent.

[KorvinStarmast]

I rely a lot on roll20 these days. It's the only way I can play at present, since wife dislikes the game, but if I am home she puts up less of a fuss.

[Legendairy]

It's the only way I can play at present, since wife dislikes the game, but if I am home she puts up less of a fuss.

Same with mine and two kids.

[Metamorph]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

[Legendairy]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

Nope, I tend to get their input.

However, I will say sometimes I have a big plot/story in my head so I lay it out and ask if they want to play in the game. They still get those questions but I customize what I already have to suit the group as opposed to making something from scratch for them.

[Knaight]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

No. I generally start by asking what genre people are feeling like playing. That said the question presupposes a prospective and presumably largely unknown DM (at the very least someone unknown as a DM), which creates a bit of a different dynamic.

[PhoenixPhyre]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

I always run in the same setting, but I lay out a selection of "seeds" (events going on with short descriptions and ask them OOC which seems most interesting). My school club groups are more narrowly focused, but the adult groups are free to go in whichever direction they like. The theme and seriousness vary strongly depending on the group--I've had ones where the best thing was knocking people over with containers of soup (and gathering pets along the way) and another where they were serious diplomats despite it being laid out as an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunt through a ruined city. Instead they made alliances with a bunch of formerly hostile groups to cleanse the city of demonic presence.

I don't plan "plots" or "stories"--I plan things going on that they might react to and they make their own rails.

Part of it is that they're in a living campaign--I have usually 2-3 school club groups and often an adult group going simultaneously. What one does affects the next iterations, or one might hear about what another's doing. Old characters often become NPCs that other groups might interact with. Or they make changes in the world.

[ciarannihill]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

I stole and slightly modified Matt Colville's method of this for my own use. I'll decide on 3 or 4 potential campaign styles, initial adventure hooks, or published adventures (since I lack the time to totally homebrew adventures anymore) and "pitch" them to the players with ratings (***, **, * for high, medium and low degrees respectively) for each of 3 aspects:

Politics - The presence of multiple factions and the goals they have coming into conflict around the same axis as the primary narrative thrust. (Dragon Heist would be *** while LMoP might be *)
Tactics - How combat/dungeon crawl heavy is the game and/or the frequency of mechanical mastery coming into play. (Tomb of Annihilation would be closer to *** where Dragon Heist is closer to *)
Self-Direction - How much of the campaign is dictated by the characters' goals in particular. Are your characters the cause of the narrative or are they reacting to things happening outside of themselves. (This tends to vary a lot based on how you run the campaign and what characters your players make, so it's a bit more difficult to give examples, but a homebrew game made almost entirely by weaving together your players' backstory would be *** where SKT might be more in the * range, depending heavily on the party, obviously)
I know that last one is likely contentious, but I have had (and currently have) players who prefer to be a character thrust into an unrelated extraordinary circumstance and having to figure things out and such.

Then I let my players vote on which one they prefer to play (not by saying "which is your favorite?", but by asking "which one would you be satisfied with?"), and move on from there. I find it helps make sure that we're all spending time playing a game we're all happy to be playing.
To give an example, me and my group are starting up Dragon Heist tonight (don't have the time anymore for 100% homebrew), but before we had decided I gave them these three options:


Campaign Option 1:
Tactics: ***
Politics: *
Self Direction: *

Campaign Option 2:
Tactics: **
Politics: **
Self Direction: ***

Campaign Option 3:
Tactics: *
Politics: ***
Self Direction: **

I didn't tell them anything else, but to give a little extra information option 1 is LMoP, option 2 is CoS and option 3 is WD:DH. They picked option 3. It's not a perfect system, and it's based exclusively on my impressions of the campaigns (sometimes having played them before and sometimes having not) but it works for my table.

[Tanarii]

and for me, real important

11. How can we hook or weave my character's background/backstory in to the campaign? I'd like to work with you on that (off line, via email etc), particularly if it's your own home world.
Oh yeah, that reminds me:
5) Do you require a backstory, or just personality?

If backstory, I'm out. I'm here to play a character with a fictional personality moving forward, not write a story about a fictional character's past.

[Knaight]

Oh yeah, that reminds me:
5) Do you require a backstory, or just personality?

If backstory, I'm out. I'm here to play a character with a fictional personality moving forward, not write a story about a fictional character's past.

It might also be worth probing a bit to see what is meant by those terms. I've seen "backstory" used to describe single sentence descriptions before, the sort of thing that I'd usually roll into "character concept". I'd imagine something like "peasant pressed into military service who became an adventurer when the fighting stopped" is well within what you'd find acceptable in terms of fleshing out a character ahead of time, particularly as it provides a fair amount of useful fodder for personality traits, conflicts with particular NPCs and organizations, etc.

[UrielAwakened]

Quick question:

Am I the only DM who is modelling an adventure 'for' the groups likes?

I mean, I always ask my players (before we start a campaign) what they like or dislike on movies/games/books, which setting they would like etc.

I wait to see what their character backgrounds are going to be. I look for common themes in that and then marry them to a concept or idea that I care about to decide what sort of story it will be.

Most recently I had players with strong ties to the primal spirits in some way (shaman, barbarian, warden, and druid), as well as some that had ties to gods in various ways (Tiefling warlock tied to Asmodeus, cleric of Kord) so I decided the campaign would be about the struggle between the gods to regulate the world and the primal spirits that want to allow it to do its own thing.

That ties into the conflict of man vs. god, as well as the inter-party conflict of where their loyalties truly lie, how do they serve a greater purpose that don't understand, and plays into the idea of even the good gods and their followers actually being adversaries without anyone strictly being evil.

The current campaign is basically just a story about how everyone can kind of want to shape the world in the way they think would be best for it without anyone being truly evil, and then how evil can exploit that conflict for its own gain.

[Tanarii]

It might also be worth probing a bit to see what is meant by those terms. I've seen "backstory" used to describe single sentence descriptions before, the sort of thing that I'd usually roll into "character concept". I'd imagine something like "peasant pressed into military service who became an adventurer when the fighting stopped" is well within what you'd find acceptable in terms of fleshing out a character ahead of time, particularly as it provides a fair amount of useful fodder for personality traits, conflicts with particular NPCs and organizations, etc.
Yes, theres a major difference between background, like you just described, and backstory. Some people do seem to use the later to mean the former.

[Legendairy]

Oh yeah, that reminds me:
5) Do you require a backstory, or just personality?

If backstory, I'm out. I'm here to play a character with a fictional personality moving forward, not write a story about a fictional character's past.

That’s interesting, may make another thread discussing this! For me backstory helps me to enjoy the character. On my phone right now I have 8 character backstories ranging from 3 to 8 pages. It also depends on the level I’m starting a character at, if we start at a mid tier it helps me to know why my character is where he’s at or why and what motivates him/her.

As a dm I don’t require a long backstory, I’m good with Knaight’s example. However, and this may be wrong of me, I favor those with larger backstory/backgrounds because I like to involve them in my world and whatnot, I use hooks that were planted and let them drive parts of the game.

[Tanarii]

5e personality already includes Bond as a background character hook to work into the campaign.

[Legendairy]

True, they do not give the who, what’s, why’s, and where’s. Obviously the dm can make it all up, again personally I feel better if I make these connections to my character and let the dm do with them what they will.

[Tanarii]

True, they do not give the who, what’s, why’s, and where’s. Obviously the dm can make it all up, again personally I feel better if I make these connections to my character and let the dm do with them what they will.

As a DM, I'm probably biased by seeing about 5 new characters a week. Theres no way a detailed backstory can be fit into the campaign at that rate.

As a player, I'd rather figure it out on the fly when it becomes relevant to actual play.

The important thing is, anything not happening at the table isn't very important. Spend a little time on it if its going to affect table time, but not a lot.

[Legendairy]

Different strokes and all that. We don’t have that kind of turn around.

[Demonslayer666]

Suppose you're considering joining a D&D game. Aside from logistical questions (should I bring snacks? Are any classes/races banned? etc.) what 3-4 questions would you personally ask to determine whether the DM is right for you?

I'm thinking mine might be:

1) How do you handle intraparty conflict, including stealing, hoarding and concealing loot?
2) How do you handle illusions? For example, if I use Phantasmal Force to convince someone that poisonous spiders are swarming all over their sword hand, are they just going to say, "Ho-hum, 1d6 poison damage, I have more important things to worry about?"
3) How do you handle enchantments? For example, is Suggestion always going to fail or be at disadvantage because it comes from an opponent?
4) How do you handle stealth? Should we even bother?

Curious what yours might be!

What's the setting and the cinematic level of the game? (high fantasy like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, or gritty and realistic)
Sandbox or Storyline driven?
How do you handle absent players and character death?
Are there magic items? Can you buy and sell them? Do you give them out randomly, or evenly?

[NecessaryWeevil]

If you asked me this question, I'd tell you that you would not fit well with this group.

Interesting. What would you infer from my asking this question?

EDIT: Posted from my phone and didn't realize there was already a second page. As others have said, you'd have lost a player who completely agrees with you.

[GlenSmash!]

Oh yeah, that reminds me:
5) Do you require a backstory, or just personality?

If backstory, I'm out. I'm here to play a character with a fictional personality moving forward, not write a story about a fictional character's past.

I like to pick my background personality traits, bond, flaw, and Ideal and decide why my character became an adventurer (typically in as few words as possible). I think that provides plenty of hooks for a DM to create scenarios pertaining to my character.

I also roll with what the DM decides. If I say I'm all about bringing glory to my clan and my dm says we run into my clan and says so-and-so is my cousin I'll say "Hey, cuz. How's the clan? Getting a lot of Glory lately?".

[Legendairy]

Either can be fun, as a DM it doesn’t overly matter I’ll figure something out. As a player I like to have more story in the background, this does depend on the game/DM/group and a few other factors tho.

[Tanarii]

Different strokes and all that. We don’t have that kind of turn around.
Yeah. If I was running one game a week (or less) for a single group of players (and PCs), that weren't playing any other characters, it might be different.

Personally I find it is most often players that care about writing back stories, more than (most) DMs I know. And it's because they've got time on their hands and they like writing little stories. The few DMs that are into it tend to be story writers too, or adventure writers that are customizing their adventures to their players in advance.

The same way that many players will make builds. You take your fun where you get fun. Personally I get mine playing & running games as a general rule, not in prep.

[MThurston]

Interesting. What would you infer from my asking this question?

EDIT: Posted from my phone and didn't realize there was already a second page. As others have said, you'd have lost a player who completely agrees with you.

Then the person worded the question wrong. I answered this on page two. Towards the top.

I would infer that you are looking to steal from the party and that you take pleasure in putting people through the act.

Let me go further. There are three types of roleplayers, the ones that play themselves in every game they play, the ones that try to play different characters then themselves but fail and those that play the characters personality.

So if someone is asking me this question, they most likely steal from all the games they play in.

[Knaight]

Then the person worded the question wrong. I answered this on page two. Towards the top.

I would infer that you are looking to steal from the party and that you take pleasure in putting people through the act.

Let me go further. There are three types of roleplayers, the ones that play themselves in every game they play, the ones that try to play different characters then themselves but fail and those that play the characters personality.

So if someone is asking me this question, they most likely steal from all the games they play in.

That definitely read like someone who disliked PvP heavy groups, had been in a few, and who were really gun shy about potentially joining another one to me - which was later confirmed.

[MThurston]

That definitely read like someone who disliked PvP heavy groups, had been in a few, and who were really gun shy about potentially joining another one to me - which was later confirmed.

I'm not gun shy at all. I believe in a game group everyone is working as a team to accomplish a mutual goal.

If someone is taking advantage of that then the other people at the table are not going to like it.

If you have someone that finds a sword after combat and they don't have proficiency in it, do they sell it or give it to the fighter? Finder keepers.

Most groups I have played with give magic items to the person it is best for. If they don't want it, it goes to the next person. If no one wants it, it is sold.

I have no issues either with player conflict with each other. Just as long as it's in character and not a personal thing between the two.

I however am not for players ruining the game for others. That family sword that the Paladin uses shouldn't be stolen by the rogue to throw away or sell.

[Knaight]

I'm not gun shy at all. I believe in a game group everyone is working as a team to accomplish a mutual goal.

Not you. The person you're responding to, that you're assuming wants to be a problem player* reads like someone gun shy from dealing with precisely that kind of problem player* and not as a problem player* themselves. This was later confirmed in this very thread.

*In the specific context of your style, and also theirs.

[MThurston]

Not you. The person you're responding to, that you're assuming wants to be a problem player* reads like someone gun shy from dealing with precisely that kind of problem player* and not as a problem player* themselves. This was later confirmed in this very thread.

*In the specific context of your style, and also theirs.

Yes and I answered it at the top of page two.

You could scroll up and read it.

[Knaight]

Yes and I answered it at the top of page two.

You could scroll up and read it.

I did. My point is that everyone but you is reading it one way, which fits the intention of the person who actually wrote it. Meanwhile you read it another way, which didn't, and then subsequently managed to misread another post.

Why, exactly, should I think the communication problem is on their end?

[MThurston]

But my answer would be this. Are you looking to steal from the group or worried about others stealing from you.

If it's stealing from the group then you will not be welcome.

Here is my responce for those that didn't scroll up.

[KorvinStarmast]

1. How do you handle conflict within the party? Can party members steal from each other, attack each other, or do you enforce a more cooperative game?

2. How often do PCs die in your campaign? Knowing lethality is an important thing.

3. How many short rests tend to be in your average adventuring day?

4. Do you use homebrew extensively, or do you largely just rely on Rules As Written?
Point number 1 seems to me a discussion for the whole table, DM and all players alike.
Point 2: yes.
Point 3: very much yes.
Point 4: Uh, those two do not exclude each other. The DM is Master of Rules (that's written in the book. :smallbiggrin: )


I have found that people who always steal from the group are not very good team players. They end up ruining the game for everyone else and tend to find enjoyment from screwing over the other players. With one exception, I've found the same. We had a prankster in one group, back in OD&D days, who (due to being a fun, funny, and generally nice guy) would play little pranks but never be a jerk about it.

If you have 4 people working together to accomplish something, it is a waste of their time to have another player working against their goals. I have learned that players need to apply peer pressure to grief players. And a DM ought to take such grief players aside and counsel them about being a jerk. (My Guy Syndrome, etc).
Had a guy try to screw over the one shot at a Gencon though. Tried to get the party killed. Luckily the DM seen it coming and didn't let him get what he wanted. The player refused to participate in the final fight. Wow, what a (censored).


Are you looking to steal from the group or worried about others stealing from you. If it's stealing from the group then you will not be welcome. This looks like a DM to player discussion, not a player asking the Dm about a game question? :smallconfused:

It might also be worth probing a bit to see what is meant by those terms. I've seen "backstory" used to describe single sentence descriptions before, the sort of thing that I'd usually roll into "character concept". I'd imagine something like "peasant pressed into military service who became an adventurer when the fighting stopped" is well within what you'd find acceptable in terms of fleshing out a character ahead of time, particularly as it provides a fair amount of useful fodder for personality traits, conflicts with particular NPCs and organizations, etc. Depth of back story (at chargen) can be as long or as short as suits the people involved. I can do a one paragraph backstory (after I have picked bonds, traits, flaws, ideal and background); I can do a one page (about 3-4 paragraphs) .. or more. Depends on what the Dm wants, and what muse strikes me. I like to summarize how the character went from "background" to "this class, here, doing this" ... with an eye to how the four (ideal, trait, flaw, bond) are rolled into that.

Oh yeah, that reminds me:
5) Do you require a backstory, or just personality?

If backstory, I'm out. I'm here to play a character with a fictional personality moving forward, not write a story about a fictional character's past. see above, completely agree that overkill is not needed. Dialogue between DM and player necessary.

Yes, theres a major difference between background, like you just described, and backstory. Some people do seem to use the later to mean the former. Good point.

That’s interesting, may make another thread discussing this! For me backstory helps me to enjoy the character. Me too. It is also worth taking the suggestion made up thread about fleshing out the back story as the campaign goes on and the character grows ... seen that work very well in a variety of situations. Maybe another thread?

As a DM, I'm probably biased by seeing about 5 new characters a week. Theres no way a detailed backstory can be fit into the campaign at that rate. As a player, I'd rather figure it out on the fly when it becomes relevant to actual play. That works too.

I like to pick my background personality traits, bond, flaw, and Ideal and decide why my character became an adventurer (typically in as few words as possible). I think that provides plenty of hooks for a DM to create scenarios pertaining to my character.

I also roll with what the DM decides. If I say I'm all about bringing glory to my clan and my dm says we run into my clan and says so-and-so is my cousin I'll say "Hey, cuz. How's the clan? Getting a lot of Glory lately?". Another good technique.

[Kadesh]

Then the person worded the question wrong. I answered this on page two. Towards the top.
They did no such thing.

[MThurston]

They did no such thing.

If I read it one way and you another, then the question was not well worded.

[Knaight]

If I read it one way and you another, then the question was not well worded.

Either that or you read it poorly. Signs point to that.

[MThurston]

Either that or you read it poorly. Signs point to that.

I love the way people say things on the internet that they wouldn't to people's faces.

Trolling pretty deep.

[Knaight]

I love the way people say things on the internet that they wouldn't to people's faces.

Trolling pretty deep.

Let me sum up the conversation so far.

You: "They miscommunicated."
Various people, including me: "You miscommunicated."
You: "You're accusing me of miscommunication? Obviously you're all just internet trolls hiding behind anonymity."

I'm not sure just how much deference you're accustomed to that nobody would say that you miscommunicated to your face. Either that or they do say that to your face, but you fail to understand them, whereas the direct format of text that's repeated has actually broken through that barrier.

[MThurston]

Let me sum up the conversation so far.

You: "They miscommunicated."
Various people, including me: "You miscommunicated."
You: "You're accusing me of miscommunication? Obviously you're all just internet trolls hiding behind anonymity."

I'm not sure just how much deference you're accustomed to that nobody would say that you miscommunication to your face. Either that or they do say that to your face, but you fail to understand them, whereas the direct format of text that's repeated has actually broken through that barrier.

Now let me.

I responded. Others questioned my response. I elaborated. The poster didn't see response. I pointed him in the right directions. Trolling. I reposted my response. More trolling.

Language is a wonderful thing until it's not clear. Being clear to some but not all doesn't make the ones that read it a different way simple.

Now I could tell you I went to a military school that had a 55% drop out rate and I wasn't one of the drop outs.

But I have typed way to much to interfere with your trolling.

[ciarannihill]

Now let me.

I responded. Others questioned my response. I elaborated. The poster didn't see response. I pointed him in the right directions. Trolling. I reposted my response. More trolling.

Language is a wonderful thing until it's not clear. Being clear to some but not all doesn't make the ones that read it a different way simple.

Now I could tell you I went to a military school that had a 55% drop out rate and I wasn't one of the drop outs.

But I have typed way to much to interfere with your trolling.

The reality is that this is off the rails of a reasonable discussion that had previously been taking place.

The question was simply the question. You assumed an implied meaning they didn't intend, imply or state outright as a part of the question. Other people clarified that they meant to imply the opposite of what you had assumed, and this off topic line of discussion should have ended there...

Continuing this line isn't helpful since you two don't actually disagree about the core point which was that knowing whether a DM will allow that sort behavior or not is important information for the sake of deciding if a group/campaign is right for you.

[MThurston]

The reality is that this is off the rails of a reasonable discussion that had previously been taking place.

The question was simply the question. You assumed an implied meaning they didn't intend, imply or state outright as a part of the question. Other people clarified that they meant to imply the opposite of what you had assumed, and this off topic line of discussion should have ended there...

Continuing this line isn't helpful since you two don't actually disagree about the core point which was that knowing whether a DM will allow that sort behavior or not is important information for the sake of deciding if a group/campaign is right for you.

100% agree it's trolling. Wink

[Kadesh]

1) How do you handle intraparty conflict, including stealing, hoarding and concealing loot?


If you asked me this question, I'd tell you that you would not fit well with this group.

The two quotes in question, MThurston. You chose to interpret the question as the OP asking if they could engage it.

Everyone else read it as though the OP was asking what the DM would handle intraparty conflict.

I think the answer for you is 'not very well' given your recent exchanges, but that might be putting words in your mouth.

Have a nice day everyone :)

Also lol @Military school.

[willdaBEAST]

I love the way people say things on the internet that they wouldn't to people's faces.

Trolling pretty deep.
No one is trolling in this thread but you. You've been passive aggressive in multiple posts, made a veiled threat and have misrepresented several statements.

But I agree with ciarannihill, it's really not productive to derail the topic further. I do think it's a good example of how quickly things can escalate, despite both sides agreeing about an issue.

[MThurston]

And the trolls continue to march.

[Metamorph]

Aaaaaand because I feel like I started the off topic discussion, here are my questions:
1.) Which will be the starting level and to what level will be play?
2.) How does the setting look like (world, history, politics, religions, ...)?
3.) How often will you play?
4.) How much experience do you have?

[GlenSmash!]

1) Have you read the DMG chapter 8?

2) Are we likely to face adventuring days far outside the norm, either in encounters or resting?

3) What DC do you consider "normal" for checks?

4) How often will you let the entire party roll checks or the highest bonuses roll for the entire party? Aka One check to rule them all checks. Especially for Int/Lore or Cha/Social checks.

Edit: only the first is likely to affect my willingness to play. The others affect what character I'll make.

I've found these questions are the ones I most want to answer as a DM.

I don't know if that means you ask good questions, or just ones that are easy to answer :smallwink:

[MrStabby]

As a natural follow on, what as a DM do you want to tell your prospective players.

For me:

Smart enemies know what PC abilities might be (e.g. they have a consensus view on what the best spells are and prepare for them) and will behave accordingly. This includes targeting unarmoured peoe in fights, picking on races that tend to have higher casting stats etc. and be able to infer that the guy effectively smashing face with a big axe is more likely to fail an intelligence save than a strength save. A smart enemy will also ask if, given the available information, something is more likely to be real or an illusion (they may also mistakenly ignore real threats this way).

Bad guys will seek magic to protect themselves. If they see heroes as a threat then the damage they will seek to protect themselves against will be radiant followed by fire. In terms of support effects they will want to not be caught so expect spells like misty step to be relatively common.

The campaign will probably cap out at level 12 to 14.

The campaign contains an element of a race against the clock at the strategic level. Just because you can rest doesn't mean you should.

I expect players to enjoy a mix of plot/story, scheming and smashing face in combat. Some dungeons will not have people who will surrender or negotiate- maybe a lack of realism but helps not bog down the smashing face bits with moral qualms. Plenty of time for those in the other parts of the game.

Death may not be entirely permanent but it really sucks. I will enforce penalties for resurrection and the time taken to find a cleric may have strategic implications. Dense encounters, all of combat, social and exploration means that 4 days to recover from a return to life can take a lot of sessions.

To hide you must be invisible or hiding behind something. You may dash from cover to cover.

Lighting and hiding rules are a little changed to avoid the worst counterintuitive results. Check with me for details.

I have a weird initiative system for adding enemies mid combat.

No PvP. No characters designed to work against the party. No unconstrained evil.

Players are expected to give me enough back story to work in some character specific plot elements. Should be something but doesn't have to be a lot.

Open to homebrew but we build it at the table as a group. No third-party content.

Rules are PHB and errata. All else is my judgement. Feel free to discuss beforehand.


I think this is a list of what I would want prospective players to know. I don't know that there would be a huge number of surprises after this.