Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Vecna, lord of secrets 02-10-04, 05:49 PM	i have not been playing long, about 9 months but i love this game and i have been given the chance to DM and i am having a few problems 1. The party dislikes combat after combat after combat, but dislike diplomatic missions and are bad at stealth, what should i give them, I have no other non puzzle ideas and that will get boring fast 2. all of the party wants to use the bastards of bloodlines and monstermanual so i have a grendal a hound Acrhon, a centaur, and most likely a fire joven and I have 2 problems with this a. they aren't the most tactical fighters and if i send an apporpiate challenge they will die b. thier is a player who likes halfings that compared to these are too weak to be useful, how do i handle him p.s. i have already run by the basic seven races only idea, most of them will not play, this will elimante group thanks for the support, and if you help it willl be appericated
Aucturos 02-11-04, 01:21 AM	You know, I just got an idea... Okay, it's not the most original by far, but it would make teh campaign interesting. Why not have your group be the random monsters PC's are always encountering? It sounds like most of them are monsterous characters anyway, and it would make for some intriguing situations if some of the campaign was fighting off "heroes" that have come to slay the evil beasts. Like a normal campaign, except you play the monsters and not the heroes... "Normal PC's point of view": "You see a ragtag band of creatures, a hound archon, a grendel, a centaur... etc.. and a halfling. Their motive is unknown, but for some reason they seem hostile. As a Knight of the Thorn, it is your duty to rid the world of evil..." As YOUR PC's point of view: "Your mission to assassinate the corrupt King of the Thorns, however, while traveling through the wilderness, you stumble upon a group of human adventurers, most likely hired to slay you and bring you back as a prize of to receive their reward. You see a Wizard, a Cleric, a Knight of the Thorns, and a Halfling Rogue..." Get it? Roles reversed sort of thing... Plenty of RP opporotunity as they try and go around convincing people they're really NOT evil and that they can be trusted... etc. Plus plenty of battle... I mean, normal race PC's stumble upon random encounters all the time...
Fixxxer 02-11-04, 01:24 AM	Originally posted by Vecna, lord of secrets 1. The party dislikes combat after combat after combat, but dislike diplomatic missions and are bad at stealth, what should i give them, I have no other non puzzle ideas and that will get boring fast Get yourself a published adventure module and run it. They're usually a very good mix of combat, stelth, diplomacy, etc. 2. all of the party wants to use the bastards of bloodlines and monstermanual so i have a grendal a hound Acrhon, a centaur, and most likely a fire joven and I have 2 problems with this Ask them politely if they would mind playing standard races just long enough for you to learn how to be an effective DM. Tell them that you're having problems balancing the game the way it is and you would like their cooperation for a while. If they're not willing to help, tell them you're not willing to DM. As a side note, using the Effective Character Level (ECL) rules might help curb the overusage of non-standard races.
Joe Khol 02-11-04, 12:09 PM	Originally posted by Vecna, lord of secrets 1. The party dislikes combat after combat after combat, but dislike diplomatic missions and are bad at stealth, what should i give them, I have no other non puzzle ideas and that will get boring fast The trick is to mix things up; a bit of combat, a bit of diplomacy, a bit of stealth, a bit of puzzles. You can adjust the balance to your players preference but few groups will enjoy an adventure made up of any one style of play. Originally posted by Vecna, lord of secrets 2. all of the party wants to use the bastards of bloodlines and monstermanual so i have a grendal a hound Acrhon, a centaur, and most likely a fire joven and I have 2 problems with this a. they aren't the most tactical fighters and if i send an apporpiate challenge they will die Erm, tough! They'd better learn to be more tatical or take their hits. That's the life of a monsterous character (and if you explain that to them the borning old basic races might appear more appealing). Originally posted by Vecna, lord of secrets b. thier is a player who likes halfings that compared to these are too weak to be useful, how do i handle him That shouldn't be a problem with two major conditions; 1) You are applying level adjustment correctly - the halfling should have a whole load more class levels than the other guys. 2) You are not playing a pure hack-and-slash fest - halflings will loose out in combat situations but in other areas they are at an advantage (which goes back to mixing things up in your adventures) Originally posted by Vecna, lord of secrets p.s. i have already run by the basic seven races only idea, most of them will not play, this will elimante group If that is true then your players are a bit sad. They can't make an interesting character unless it is some weird race? It is so often said (but so rarely listened to) that anything which takes you beyond the PC standard races, classes or alignments makes things harder for the DM and an inexperienced DM has enough on his plate as it is. I would really suggest starting a DM career with the standard stuff rather than jumping into monsters as PCs and the like. If your players really won't budge then you (and they) have to expect there will be problems with balancing things and getting the challenge level right. The best I can do is wish you luck - it does get easier with practice.
Gothic_Demon 02-12-04, 06:12 AM	The party dislikes combat after combat after combat, but dislike diplomatic missions and are bad at stealth, what should i give them, I have no other non puzzle ideas and that will get boring fastSo your players don't like combat, stealth OR diplomacy? Play monopoly or cluedo on gaming night, because there isn't all that much else to DnD.
Ankalagon 02-12-04, 09:09 AM	Do they actually want to play D&D or do YOU want them to play. If you vary across all elements of the game like has been suggested then they will accept and adapt if they truly wish to play. My suggestion is a bar room brawl, great fun and easily started with 'freaks' as characters. It will also give you the chance to get NPC's involved and start to develop plot hooks. Beyond all of the above Gothic_Demon has handed the best advice. Drive down to Park Lane and charge some rent.