With the arrival of 5th Edition in full swing,
many players and DMs are getting in on the D&D action for the first time.
This is excellent because a) it shows that many people are not only interested
in the brand but also are willing to give a whole new edition a chance; and b)
it is expanding the already diverse and impressive D&D audience. I personally
get a real thrill out of meeting first-time players/Dungeon Masters and asking
them what they think about the product and what motivates them to play/run
games.
In that vein, I’d like to welcome the new DMs to our
wonderful world of roleplaying with a few major do’s and don’ts that can easily
make or break an adventure. Keep in mind that a lot of my advice is geared
toward DMs running their own homebrew material and all of it may not apply to
those of you running pre-generated adventures.
1. Don’t Kill the Story Over the Rules
Eventually, every DM reaches a
point where they have to choose between the story and the rules. For example,
the story would suggest that the players need to win a battle in order to move
on to the next plot point. However, the rules are telling you that the players
are about to lose this fight and be wiped out. In my opinion, the story should
almost always win out.
Do Bend the Rules in Favor of the Story
Using the example above, the DM
needs to step in and make a few minor adjustments to the battle. Drop the foes’
hit points, ease up on the spell casting, or maybe add in some extra help in
the form of an NPC. There’s no reason why you can’t make the game challenging
and still keep everyone alive. I find that many DMs, both new and experienced,
seem to think that character death equals a truly challenging adventure. While
there is no doubt that a character death can really sober your players up to
the fact that your adventure is going to be difficult, it is by no means the only
way to do so.
2. Don’t Play Favorites or Give Friends
Special Treatment
One of the fastest ways a DM can
lose the respect and attention of his or her players is to place one or two
characters above the others. This can include, but is not limited to, such
things as: handing out treasure, spending extra roleplaying time, offering
extra rolls of dice or re-rolls, and planning adventures/dungeons so that
particular characters will fare better than others.
Do Keep Things Fair and Random
First of all, there will be
moments in both roleplaying and combat situations where certain characters and
players will shine more than others. That’s perfectly fine and expected. What I
don’t like to see is one or two characters getting the “royal” treatment over
long periods of time. It’s a huge let-down for the ones who don’t get anything
and it compromises your integrity as a DM. Secondly, players and DMs roll dice
for a reason. They are intended to be random and unpredictable. This randomness
is one of the great differences between a tabletop game and a console or
computer game and part of what makes D&D fun. Ignoring, changing, or
altering rolls on a consistent basis renders this whole random dynamic useless
and cheapens the game.
3. Don’t
Delve Too Deeply Into Just Roleplaying or Combat
As I have mentioned many times
in the past, D&D can be broken down into two major components: roleplaying
and combat. Roleplaying is where your PCs interact with each other NPCs, and
monsters on a conversational/social level. Combat is where the PCs interact
with each other, NPCs, and monsters in a round/turn based system designed to
simulate battle. As a DM you must be aware that you are going to run into
players who greatly prefer one component over another and other players who
enjoy both equally. Be aware that if you delve too deeply into one component
over another you may alienate some of your players.
Do Keep Roleplaying and Combat Balanced
My goal, as a DM, is try to hit
that magical 50/50 split. However, I am often happy if I achieve a 60/40
(usually in favor of combat). This means that in a four hour session I would
ideally spend two hours in roleplaying and two hours in combat. Now this may
not always be possible every session, especially if your party is in a dungeon.
However, realize that if you spend an entire session running from room to room
killing undead, you may want to have an all roleplaying session the next week
to balance it out and vice-versa. Different players like different things so
try to keep it varied and don’t fall into patterns.
4. Don’t Try to Make Your Campaign Too Funny
or Too Serious
Players appreciate good humor in
a campaign, particularly after a big moment or battle. Similarly, they also
appreciate getting down to serious business after the humor and laughs have
died out. Too much of either can kill the campaign. I have met a few DMs in my
day that embraced both sides of the coin too much and ended up with similar
results. An excessive amount of comedy in a campaign makes the players think
that they don’t need to take the adventure seriously. They feel as though they
can float around in your world with only “cartoon consequences” and this makes
them ultimately uninterested. On the other hand, a campaign that is too serious
or too intense can actually stress your players and they will eventually reach
a point where they will lash out. This can lead to players quitting, trying to
force the humor out, and it makes them ultimately uninterested.
Do Add a Little of Both to Every Campaign
As a DM or group, there is
nothing wrong with making a conscious decision to have a “serious” campaign or
a “funny” campaign. However, it is important to note that even the most serious
movies, television series, books, plays, and other forms of storytelling have
elements of humor, and vice versa. Don’t get so hung up on the idea that “I
have to make this funny” or “I have to make this intense” that you lose sight
of everything else.
5. Don’t Give In Every Time
One of the biggest mistakes that
a DM can make is to give in the wills and wishes of his/her players on a
regular basis. You can listen to what they have to say, consider their
opinions, but in the end the final say is yours. Don’t give a player the +2 Bow
just because they ask for it every session. Don’t let a whiny player have
his/her way by giving them something shiny. Don’t let players bully you into
making the story about them or what they want to do. Being a DM is a lot like
being a parent in this regard. The more you bend the more spoilt your players
become.
Do Be Tough But Fair
In case you haven’t caught on
yet, the overall theme of this article is balance and this issue is no
different. DMs need to be both tough and fair. Being empathetic, understanding,
and compromising are all excellent qualities for a DM to have but they also
need to be tempered by a sense of fairness, effectiveness, and making the
players earn their treasures. Believe me, a player that had to go through hell
(sometimes literally) to get that +5 sword is going to appreciate it a whole
lot more than picking it up off the side of the road. And, as an added bonus,
you might find that the players respect you more for the trouble.
