Personal Guidelines as a DM

[Beelzebub1111]

Do you DMs have any promises that you make to yourself and your players that you will never break?

My promise is that I will never use a prestige class, spell, or feat, that I would deny my players if they qualify for it.

[Emmerask]

If you use it your enemies will use it too someday...

[dsmiles]

Yeah. I promised my players that anything they can do, the monsters can do too. It generally makes them think twice about trying to break the game.

On the plus side for the players: anything the monsters can do, they can do too.

[Oslecamo]

On the plus side for the players: anything the monsters can do, they can do too.

With what costs? If the plot involves the BBEG doing some super custom ritual that he has taken centuries to prepare, I would allow the players to replicate it, but they would need a lot of work to make it work as well.

My personal guidelines:
-I will never put the players into a situation where they cannot run away/surrender if they choose to.
-All rules are guidelines...But some rules are more guidelines than others. WBL in particular. If the party breacks in a palace and ends up with more money than they should, I won't rain down magic thunders to destroy the extra loot. Bounty hunters, on the other hand...

[dsmiles]

With what costs? If the plot involves the BBEG doing some super custom ritual that he has taken centuries to prepare, I would allow the players to replicate it, but they would need a lot of work to make it work as well.

Hey, if they really want it, they can spend the same amount of time researching/preparing it. Doesn't mean that they can't do it. They're just not likely to.

[Yuki Akuma]

Hey, if they really want it, they can spend the same amount of time researching/preparing it. Doesn't mean that they can't do it. They're just not likely to.

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

[valadil]

Story, combat, roleplay, and mechanics can be prioritized however you like, but player enjoyment always comes first. Any time your story trumps the PCs having a good time, you're doing it wrong.

[Danin]

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

On the list of things to never do as a super villain, keeping detailed notes of your evil plans is right up there with "Though shalt not have hero sized heating ducts"

Personally, I always resolve to never guarantee the death of a player. There is always a way out. Finding it, however, may vary in difficulty. I will also never deny something that a player has worked towards out of hand. That said, I have players warn me at least 3 levels in advance of any multi-classing / prestige classing and they have to clear feats with me in advance.

[Emmerask]

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

even if you have the notes there is still some research required to understand them exactly, or would you use anything a bbeg has left without exactly knowing what will happen?

Perhaps the second page of the notes is completly false and will transport you directly to asmodeus or somesuch

[Mushroom Ninja]

I will never:
- Use Disjunction. Seriously, it's not worth it.
- Use Holy Word/Blasphemy/Dictum/Word of Chaos without giving the PCs ample time to prepare.
- Ban a class/PrC/race/feat arbitrarily.

[Guinea Anubis]

1. That I will never just kill them, there is alwes a way out.

2. Rules work both ways and anything a PC can do so can the monsters/NPCs.

[Temet Nosce]

If you die, it was your fault, I often have enemies/NPCs that are completely disproportionate power wise to the PCs (both ways) and this can lead to high lethality, but the choice to get involved with these things, and whether to risk death in how they engage them in always theirs and there are always multiple other options.

I'll always say yes, but be warned... I'm the DM, and I actually know what I'm doing. If *you* can do something, I can do it a thousand times better.

[Choco]

Intelligent enemies learn. For example, if word gets out about how the ubercharger can kill Tarrasques with a single charge expect enemies to do things like ready spears, employ spiked chain trippers, cast quickened walls of force with a readied action, etc.

The way I see it, if the PC's are fighting allegedly intelligent enemies and the same tactics work flawlessly every time, the DM is doing something wrong.

[The Demented One]

Two quotes, which are basically the heart of running games.

1. Find out what your players want to do.

2. Find and invent reasonably plausible obstacles that stand in the path of the desired goal.

3. Add more obstacles if the players are winning without feeling proud of it (because it was too easy).

4. Remove or weaken obstacles if the players need a morale boost.

5. Apply logical consequences. Bad ideas shouldn't be punished arbitrarily, but in a way that highlights the actual problem so that Pavlovian conditioning can take place.

6. Reward clever fun-building ideas, especially when they change the playing field (which is nicer to say than "when they wreck the game"). Those are the ideas that players will feel the most pride in, so you KNOW they will be excited if the plot goes there. Furthermore, such ideas are usually rife with the holes and flaws of any improvised plan, which means plenty of places to attach plot.

Establish a covenant. You will give them opportunity to change the world at every turn and you will hold them accountable for doing so (or failing to do so). You will let them lose and learn from that loss, but you will spur them toward greatness. Promise them you won't ever use fiat as a way to dominate, and that if you set them up to lose, it's a prelude to an even more badass victory.

Don't forget that it's supposed to be fun! Make sure there is humor to lighten serious moments and drama to add pathos to the nonstop action-movie rollercoaster. Keep checking in with the players about what they want to do, and whether they feel challenged. Give them what they want. Yes is a more useful and powerful answer than no. Iif you say yes most of the time, then sometimes yes means you get something you want. Sometimes it means you get something you didn't want after all. Once yes becomes the default, the players can no longer trust you to be their insurance policy against bad ideas. You won't veto them. You'll let them do it, and see for themselves what happens. This isn't an encouragement to have anything be possible. You can't have consequence unless effect feels like it follows from cause. But whenever you feel the urge to say no, stop and look for a path to yes. You'll get a better story for it most of the time.

[Yukitsu]

I once told my players the following. Keep in mind that I'm the resident power gamer/rules lawyer, so what I'm about to say is relevant.

1: I will nerf all builds that I make no less than three times before you have to face them.

2: I will only have one adversary that heavily uses shadow magic, and if so, he may not have any of the following: Invisible spell, shadow weave related feats, gnome illusionist, he may not have a castle made entirely out of illusions and or shadow conjured objects etc, and he may especially not use all of the above to make a cubicle maze of varyingly real walls around the PCs house.

3: I will never use riddles.

4: I will never incorporate a DMPC.

5: Custom made NPC enemies will be counted as 1.5 times the standard assumed CR.

6: I will not plan out plots or gambits longer than 2 hand written pages for the villains, even if they would be totally in character. (Later erratad to especially if it would be totally in character.)

7: Do anything that irritates me too much, and the above is null and void. Especially the last portion of number 2.

[Oslecamo]

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

Yes. Trapped crypted cursed notes at the deepest of his dungeons with a self destruct trigger and disguised as a culinary book in the middle of a hundred other culinary books just in case, not a publication in nine diferent languages with clear ilustrations marketed in the whole kingdom.

[Yahzi]

Do you DMs have any promises that you make to yourself and your players that you will never break?

My promise is that I will never use a prestige class, spell, or feat, that I would deny my players if they qualify for it.

Same here - my NPCs use the same rules they do.

I also promise them I will never fudge a die roll to save their lives. However, I cheat on that one when they're not looking.

[aivanther]

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

Evil Overlord Rule #158

I will exchange the labels on my folder of top-secret plans and my folder of family recipes. Imagine the hero's surprise when he decodes the stolen plans and finds instructions for Grandma's Potato Salad.

[Rixx]

The rules will never work to the detriment of the story.

Similarly, the rules will not be used when the result is a foregone conclusion.

[Ormagoden]

1. I shalt always make sure the players are engaged
2. I shalt always make sure the players are having fun
3. I shalt always make sure I am having fun
4. I shalt never bring to bare Illithid monks against the party
5. I shalt respect my player and my host
6. I shalt not covet thy player's GF
7. I shalt not break for more than one minute in making a rules decision
8. I shalt not start a campaign unless I intend to finish it
9. I shalt not allow characters created with or rules from the TOB
10. I shalt not allow any player to play a truenamer
11. I shalt grant EXP for bringing me food
12. I shalt grant EXP for making the campaign a better place
13. I shalt grant EXP if pudding comes out of my nose
14. I shalt not take a nap when the players begin "planning"
15. I shalt not allow cyberzombies
16. I shalt use cyber ninjas as little as possible
17. I shalt not allow vehicle creation using Rigger 3
18. I shalt not allow my players to "own a laser"
19. I shalt have mushrooms and extra cheese
20. I shalt make subtle references that the players are in the latest twilight/lordoftherings/starwars/pixar movie until I feel they are finally paying attention again

[CockroachTeaParty]

The only promise I make my players is this:

I will never fudge the dice, for good or ill.

The rest of this pretty much can be filed under 'Rule 0.'

[Delwugor]

My only promise is that I will do my best to ensure the group is having a good time with my campaign and gaming sessions.

My only demand on the players is that they tell me if they are not having a good time and suggest ways to improve it.

My one internal promise is to try and give my players what they want, but never to do it in a way they expect.

[Saintheart]

About my only rule is that, first and foremost, I am a servant to the players. I am their means of having a good time. If they have a good, enjoyable session, I am equal to the finest DMs who have ever lived, because I have achieved the primary purpose behind every rulebook ever composed.

[Sila Prirode]

If you die, it was your fault, I often have enemies/NPCs that are completely disproportionate power wise to the PCs (both ways) and this can lead to high lethality, but the choice to get involved with these things, and whether to risk death in how they engage them in always theirs and there are always multiple other options.

I'll always say yes, but be warned... I'm the DM, and I actually know what I'm doing. If *you* can do something, I can do it a thousand times better.

It's like you stole the words from my mouth That was, from letter to letter, what I meant to say.

[Satyr]

I will stay true to my campaign. I will not compromise my idea of a good game for the wishes of any players. I will treat everybody equal, and fair,but in my games, I am the primus inter pares. I will give my best to make sure that the campaign I run is the best I can come up at the moment, based on what I feel is the best. I will always favor the interest of the group as whole over the singular interest of any single player, including myself, but I will also always favor drama and an interesting story over superficial fun. I will treat the camaign with respect, and try to make it an outstanding experience. I will not abide shallow entertainment for solely entertainment purposes, nor will I make bad jokes to lighten up the mood. I try to keep as concentrated as i can and I will never expect anyone to contribute more to the game than mysef, or less then necessary. I will listen to your criticism and if it makes sense, I will try to use it to make the campaign better, but the place for criticism is not during the game session. I will try my best to keep the standards of the game high.
If you are willing to get involved in a roleplaying game that takes itself serious, and maybe too serious at a time, you are wellcome. If you just want to have careless fun, look elsewhere.

[Gamerlord]

1. Kill the PCs in as cruel and painful- but fair, way.

[Krazddndfreek]

Why would they need to research it? The BBEG probably kept notes.

My BBEG would have eaten them.

[9mm]

1. I shalt not allow characters created with or rules from the TOB

WHY?!?


also my rule is simple:

everything is open; however, I know I am a better optimizer then you; if I have to work to keep things balanced, I will not hold back.

[Talyn]

Interesting...

I am definitely a fan of "if you die, it is your fault or your bad luck." (Like the poor warlord who forgot he wasn't a tank, rushed a position filled with elven archers, and died a pincushion...)

I will reward good roleplaying by making you a bigger part of the story, with all the attendant benefits and drawbacks.

I will reward clever ideas with circumstantial modifiers, or, if I can't think of any, an action point.

So long as the PCS are paying attention, I will do everything I can to keep them entertained.

I will play my monsters as smart as they ought to be. Gelatinous cubes will not make intelligent tactical decisions, but hobgoblins certainly will.

I will make my game newbie-friendly. I will recruit my veteran players to assist me in doing so.

I will do my best to let the players feel like Big Damn Heroes, should they choose to try to be.

I reserve the right to say "no," but I am willing to be persuaded on any point. Game balance is important to me, but so is player free will.

[Zaq]

I will make sure that no party member feels useless. You may not always be useful in the way you want to be, but if you work with me, there will be something for you to do.

I endeavor to make the game fun for everyone. However, if you feel that you are not getting enough spotlight time, it is your responsibility to let me know how you feel. Once you let me know how you feel, I will take steps to accommodate you, but I will not presume to know your comfort level. If you're taking a backseat role and don't say anything, I will assume that you are happy there.