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#1 zombiegleemax Nov 26, 2004 17:05:21

We all know how wonderful it is to do 3,600 fireball damage in a single round, or sneak attack a player for 500d6...that is, unless you are an experienced gamer. A frequent problem many table-top fantasy games have in their less experienced players is a lack of self-control in balancing power to achieve consistency. Why does your druid burn down forests by summoning volcanoes? Wasn't your rogue on a quest for revenge, not for that +10 keen, vorpal, brilliant energy dagger? Even the best roleplayers slip up and want their characters to have better statistics, it's simply one of those things in the game that happens. However, it can easily go overboard and ruin a perfectly run campaign, unless you take the following precautions: 1.) Consistent Campaign Settings: This is a must. If you are playing base Dungeons and Dragons and allow a samurai who wandered over the desert to find his lost wife, that's fine. However, when you allow a player to summon Fu-Leng from Jigoku to distract Hieroneous long enough to sneak attack him, something is a miss. Although some elements can be presented into a campaign, remember to present to your players what kind of world you are in before beginning your first game. You don't need to be prepared for everything, nor do you have to be a stickler about the campaign setting, but when King Arthur stumbles upon an airship piloted by Vash the stampede and Neo, it will begin to hurt the game. 2.) Abide by a set of books: Before the game starts, ask the players what books they want to use, and limit the players to only those books. Essentially, good books include the DM guide, players handbook, all official monster manuals, all "complete" books and any other non-campaign setting oriented book published by wizards. Of course, little Timmy who just bought Magic of Rokugan might complain that he can't get a Slayer knife, but there are many ways to deal with such scenarios, including exchanging lots of gold, experience penalties, and just saying "not in this campaign, but we can do it next time." Monsters are many times an exception to this rule, as long as they don't have any new feats, spells, skills or items that break the rules of your campaign setting. 3.) Stick with your edition: If the fine folks at Wizards release new material, save it for the next campaign. If it's not an errata or used to nerf an ability, simply ignore it IF and only if it will drastically present large changes. This includes new spell lists (("I'm exchanging 'gate', which I use each and every combat round as my key spell, with 'transmute rock to lava'!")), prestige classes (("Can I lose 5 levels and take 5 levels in fate spinner?")), feats (("This feat would make me stronger, please let me have it in place of that other feat")) and even new rulings for older classes. This prevents players from using things from wherever they want and doing whatever they please. 4.) Modify the game only if you're the DM: If you are the only DM, it's fine to modify certain abilities if no errata exists. An example of this is the slayer ability ("Doubles the amount of damage done with sneak attack class ability") combined with the lingering wounds ability ("The round after a creature takes sneak attack damage, it takes the same amount of damage again") essentially multiplying sneak attack damage by 4! This is obviously too strong, and it's up to you to stop it. 5.) Don't give in: The ultimate rule of thumb for all DMs is to never give in. If a player really wants an artifact, new race, custom item or new class, don't simply give in when you know it's wrong. Follow your gut instincts and just say no. Even if they players appear sad, remind them of the game balance. They will thank you in the end. 6.) Reward XP: If your group is pure powergamers, rewarding more than the standard 50 XP per level per RP instance is a good idea. Just don't go overboard. If a Courtier diverted an army from destroying a town instead of letting the wizard in the group meteor swarm them, 50 XP won't do these poor epic characters justice. 7.) Be consistent with the DM: Have a "head DM" to oversee the others if playing with new players. That way, when other players wish to DM with characters in other games, they can't drastically change the storyline. 8.) Remember: the players are the final word: If a player doesn't approve of your DMing in any way, shape or form to such an extent that you are yelling or threatening to leave the party/campaign, slow down, backtrack, and look for a good medium to settle on. Most disputes can be settled with common sense. Although the DM has total game authority, the players all have the almighty class abilities: Ignore DM [ex], Leave [ex], Find a New DM [sp].