Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Zobek 07-18-05, 11:59 PM	This is my 1st post, so I'll do my best to get my thoughts across clearly. This may turn into a long read... :D I've been gaming since 1982 when my 1st character to last more than 4 sessions was Egor the High-Elf Fighter-Mage-Thief (4-4-4). My wife started in 1991 with 2nd edition. Since 1993, I have been the DM because it is just her and I that play. I was in the Navy, so we moved around alot and haven't found anyone near us that we'd let into our house to play with us regularly. So, as you can imagine, for me, it is getting increasingly hard to come up with plot ideas that are new, or that I haven't used less than 4 times already for my wife to adventure on. Our kids aren't quite able to grasp the concepts yet either and my youngest just wants to "hack-n-slash" while my wife wants to RP... you can't RP with an 8 and 12 year old... I need plot help, and something more than "here is a cave, it is filled with goblins, roll init." I've been using alot of undead and recently found out that my wife is tired of killing giants... The system has changed drastically (I really like the new Psionics system) and generally use E-Tools to quick generate NPCs, even though it is just off with what it generates with the new changes in 3.5. An example of this is that a level 16 mage never has more than a +1 quarterstaff and a ring +2. Give me a break. I tend to run very high-powered chanpaigns and find it hard to tone it back. I start out toned down, but that usually doesn't last long. I get overwhelmed with the flood of monsters out there, yet can't seem to tie some of them in to a plot-line in a way that makes sense. This is because my wife focuses on running 1 character and not a large party. Or even a small one. So, I end up running all the enemy, and the good guys too, if any others. This severely limits the types of plots I can create and keep track of. Ok, I think that is long enough. Any positive help is greatly appreciated. I'm starting to feel a little DND burnout, which i never thought I'd hear myself say. Thanks! -- Zob 22 Blackguard of Shar
Phrennzy 07-19-05, 12:33 AM	If she wants to run just one PC, let her. And let that be the only PC. Run a solo campaign. This frees you up from running the rest of the good guys. It's easily doable, and is also very fun. I think you should introduce the kids, too. If they are old enough to want a hack and slash game, then they are old enough to play. They'll pick up the roleplay parts as you go. Especially if you explain that sometimes you have to talk to people so they can tell you where the monsters and the gold are.
weasel fierce 07-19-05, 12:56 AM	As far as monsters go, pick out a few critters that make sense. Assuming you are building a dungeon, you may have it be an orc lair. A troll or a few ogres would make sense, maybe a giant spider for that tolkien feel. Some vermin and disease-ridden giant rats, maybe a few human mercenaries. Pick things that fit together, and could coexist without eating each other (unless an ongoing war is the idea of the dungeon)
Gedrin 07-19-05, 01:58 AM	I would recomend trying a campaign that is more centered on the characters in it. The story need not be about saving the world or kingdom or whatever, but perhaps about the character and the adventures that character has while overcoming some more personal challenge. Instead of thinking about the story arc of the campaign in terms of what is happening with the cult that wants to steel the gem of hate, think about it in terms of a character's struggle with desires of revenge (or whatever other paralell you might find/create). My current campaign's action does involve the dealing and daring do that may or may not save a kingdom, but the stories are framed from the point of view of characters that are seeking redemption and trying to come to terms with their families.
da beast 07-19-05, 02:29 AM	You could probably get the kids in. I played dnd when I was 12 (Actually i think i was, and still am the only dm in jefferson county ohio) and, although it wasn't epic lotr shadowing stories, they were pretty good. As long as you don't expect them to sit throue a 50 paragraph speech that dosn't pretain to the best way to kill everyone monster in the MM. The 8 year old could probably be compitent enough to make some discisions for his charicter seeing as I used to play with my 5 year old brother... (what? There are only like 20 people in ohio I had little choice) and he did pretty good as long as I did all the math and dice rolls. (and didn't give him anything to complicated)