Tuesday, January 11, 2011

DMing 101

According to the guys at Penny Arcade as a DM you can either quit in a huff, or just kill your players. and revel in their pain and suffering.

I know which one I have more fun with?

So after a hiatus of 21 years* I returned to the table as a DM, and with both a world and adventure that I created myself, albeit with lots of very Geeky references. So what happened...

Well basically, not a single PC died. The treasure remained largely intact due to a lack of searching and/or a reticence on the PC's part to "adopt a heroic pose" and instead cower behind discretion. Also no NPC's were killed in the making of the adventure. So I have to wonder, have I lost my touch? Maybe I need to add a Dragon?

Perhaps more importantly, in terms of campaign planning, what did I learn about my players approach to play?

Well, they are, generally,

  • Cautious, and fearful when there is no danger.
  • Eager to rush headlong when there is, and,
  • No body (is wise enough) to carry a 10' pole.

So the big question now is, what do I do next with the party? How do I toy with their petty lives? Or rather how do I lead them too dance to a tune of my making?

* It might actually be 22.

2 comments:

  1. Well I for one look at it this way: If you're not in the shit, you want to avoid jumping in the shit, whereas once you're in the shit, you might as well stomp through it as quickly as you can :D

    (It was a great time)

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  2. So this is what I find when I just kind of randomly stalk old personas when they come to mind. (I'm good eh? Reeeeally good.)

    Glad you're still around and now...NOW! I finally got the answer that's been plaguing me for years. What the A stood for at the end of the emails.

    Hope all is well with you, international man of mystery.

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