| #1mentis_veioNov 05, 2009 16:09:36 | Dear Wizards, (and fighters, and clerics, and rogues, etc...)
My friends and I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for about 10 years now. Together, we've been through many campaigns and missions, as well as thwarted attempts at adventure. Recently, however, we just can't seem to buckle down and get through a campaign. Everytime we start, we encounter things like: players not being satisfied with their characters, dungeon masters losing their enthusiasm for the game (or players losing their enthusiasm for the DM), a deepening of the rift between those players who like role-playing as opposed to those who favor mechanics, etc. As a result, many a campaign ends after the first two or three missions, and is then followed by a campign plagued with the same problems.
Our inquiry is this, and it goes mainly for those players who can successfully keep a game running: Have you ever experienced the same situation as us? Did you overcome it with the same group you had been gaming with for years? How? In short, what advice can you give us to salvage our sessions and keep the dice a-rollin'?
Thanks for reading this,
Mentis |
| #2MalcadonNov 10, 2009 5:44:02 | Your question is complex, as it has a number of points of opposing views, and no one can see eye-to-eye. All I can think of, is to take a different approach, and be flexible. A good way to expand your DMing ability, is to experiment with some old-school principles. The original game played VARY differently then what we have today, and such freewheeling might benefit the players. This is a guide book for younger gamers (from the past 10 years) to get into OD&D, but it lays out a way of playing D&D without the rules getting in the way.
One way I keep my games fresh, it to disregard any notion of "game-balance", and keep the players on their toes. It might sound crazy at first, but the idea that they might face something that would totally **** them in direct confrontation, or traps that could kill them outright, then that would force the players to really think about what they are doing, and an element of danger and mystery is really exciting. I'm also not above adding elements of retro science fantasy (which is not for everyone), and elements of H.P. Lovecraft.
When I need ideas for an adventure, I read, read, read - not just that Tolkien stuff, or that sh!t WotC passes off literature - I'm talking about Edger Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, Michael Moorcock, and so on. If you need a start, read Red Nails - that story is as D&D as you get!
I hope that this was useful for you? Good luck with your efforts! |
| #3mestapholeasFeb 11, 2010 4:48:42 | I have been DMing now for about 30 years and, of course, not with the same group. Acutally some of the players are 3rd generation having grown up watching their parents play. People change and some move on and others stay the same. I can give you, though, a few ideas that work for me and my group. First, take a break . I only run my campaign from February until October, which gives everyone a break for the holidays. I finish up the season with a Halloween dungeon, where the players must dress as their characters. I also have themed food like BBQed ORC toes, a Drow Blood cake, and maybe some Drow blood punch.
During the off season I decide whether to continue adventures in the same region or go to a different country or even a different timeline. This year they're going 2000 years into the past (with new characters). My job is to make sure the legends that they knew previously as players are created properly when the time comes (either by them or an NPC). This keeps the group busy and excited because it's a new venue and new characters. I then create some low level dungeons with dangers that they won't expect and with a history they may not know. I then inform the players as to what to expect from me and my world.
Try to keep your adventures to no more than once a week, on a sepcific day and time with a definite cut off time and then time stop (if needed) until next week. This keeps them thinking about it. Make it a day and time that still gves them a chance to do other things, but let them know that it requires a commitment on their part. Penalize the character if they're later or absent for no good reason. Charge their character for hiring an MU to teleport them to the party.
Use a candle when playing. When the candle is lit, they are their character.
Don't get side tracked on in-town day to day stuff like visiting the merchant. Keep their characters active and adventuring. Special request or special equipment should be done by note and answered the following week. Don't get bogged down answering notes int he middle of play unless absolutely necessary. Make sure when you create an adventure it's not all hack and slash. Make them think on their feet , even in the middle of a battle. Don't make conquest easy, make it hard. If one character is always leading the party, design an adventure that stars one of the other classes.
Don't let the players run roughshod over your world. You've spent hours and weeks planning it, roll with the punches (and the wrenches) but if the MU is thowing spells all over town, maybe the Council should outlaw magic within the city limits. Let the thief try to pickpocket a retired NPC thief that is now a merchant. See what happens. Most importantly, keep yourself excited and it will filter
down to the players.
Hope at least some of this helps. Good luck and keep playing. Most important, HAVE FUN. |