Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Archon007 Mar 08, 2015 10:08:21	Since there are a lot of new DMs and a lot of talk about Session Zero (see Iserith's post in my sig), I thought I would share one of the very important things I share with my groups. My goals & gameplay style of how I DM, my DM commandments.    GM Style / Goals "There’s no winning and losing in the Dungeons & Dragons game—at least, not the way those terms are usually understood. Together, the DM and the players create an exciting story of bold adventurers who confront deadly perils. Sometimes an adventurer might come to a grisly end, torn apart by ferocious monsters or done in by a nefarious villain. Even so, the other adventurers can search for powerful magic to revive their fallen comrade, or the player might choose to create a new character to carry on. The group might fail to complete an adventure successfully, but if everyone had a good time and created a memorable story, they all win." (straight from the book)   As a GM I try tell a rich and exciting heroic story that is fun and memorable. Generally my worlds are a more grittier dark low magic fantasy setting. I try to create living breathing worlds, just because you are 1st level (for example) doesn’t mean everyone you meet is also 1st level. I don’t run an MMO level appropriate zone style game. You will meet and interact with people and creatures who maybe higher or lower level than you. Not all encounters are suppose to be fights. Likewise, not all encounters are winnable at your level. I believe the rules are a tool and I will try not to let the rules get in the way of the story. If a rule is unknown or disputed I will generally rule in favor of the player and get clarification later. I Am Not on the Players’ Sides, But I Am Not Their Enemy Either, I will strive to be fair and consistent:  It is my job to create a world and to create a game.  I try create fair challenges and empower the players to overcome them or avoid defeat. I will never give the players a victory they have not earned nor I will ever force a defeat on them that they had no way to avoid.  However, heroes do sometimes die in the telling of a great story, but only through the players decisions and actions.   Gameplay Establish Fiction: I want you to be invested in the story so you will have the ability to establish some fiction in the story.  What I mean by that is if you are looking at a map of a village and there are 8 buildings and one of them is marked Boarhead Inn, another is Brax’s Smithy, and the third is marked Town Hall. Those 3 building are already established fiction, you can’t change that. The other 5 buildings are unmarked; if you think it makes sense and fits the tone and story that there is a general supply store you can just declare it: “I head down the main path and go to the general store here.” Again, it’s important that the fiction you are establishing fits the scene, tone, and story.  Another example would be you are fighting in a large dining hall and you say “I leap off the table onto the chandelier and swing over the guard” Even though I didn’t describe a chandelier in the dining hall that fits the scene, tone, and story. I'm going to trust that you're establishing those things because it makes our emergent story better. If you really think a chandelier should be somewhere because it makes sense and makes stuff better, just assume I'm going to agree. It’s very important that when you are establishing fiction that you build on each other's offers in a way that adds to the scene without detracting from, ignoring, or negating someone else’s contribution.   I’ll do my best to describe the scene and give you any relevant information or knowledge your character would know, then ask “What do you do?” – (“What is your intention?” – “What is your character trying to accomplish?”) Ask me questions if you need clarity on something I have said or described, but try not to ask me questions when describing what your character is doing.  Instead of "Are there any doors?" Just state your characters actions "I look around for doors."  Instead of "Can I make an Intimidation check?" Just say "I get up in his face, grabbing his shirt and yell "Tell me what I want to know!”   If I ask you for a check, I will generally tell you the difficulty of the check and what success and failure look like before you roll. It should go something like:  Example: Player is trapped in a burning building and trying to toss a barrel of water to put the fire out. DM: Okay, it sounds like you're making Strength Athletics check. That’s a Moderate difficulty with disadvantage since you're going to have to stand up into the smoke again. If you succeed, you'll clear the stairs and surround area. If you fail, you put the fire out only on the stairs, but will take 2d6 damage from smoke inhalation as you exert yourself.
#2 Barky Mar 08, 2015 16:24:12	I think consistency, as well as fairness, should be in the commandments as well. Something like "I will try to be consistent in all my rulings and in my campaign world in general, unless there is an in-game reason that explains any changes."   I hate capricious DMs. :-)