As soon as my players found out about Hirelings, they've tried to intimdate/convince every since human foe (And tried to convince some undead) to join them, i'm worried them having too many hirelings will bog things down a bit.
Also! Charatcer death, if a PC dies early on, what am I supposed to do? I want them to be able to still play, but I want death to have consuqence.
And Failure, often my PCs will do something, realize how stupid/how not helpful and they'll plead with me to take it back, or they'll get a bad roll that'll cause them to have to fight something, or spring a trap'n they'll whine a tiny bit about it, makes me feel like the bad guy sometimes.
Anyway, thanks for the help, i'm still really new to DMing, and just as new to D&D myself.
As soon as my players found out about Hirelings, they've tried to intimdate/convince every since human foe (And tried to convince some undead) to join them, i'm worried them having too many hirelings will bog things down a bit.
Relegate the hirelings to minions. They can help and support, but they're no longer the focus of the scene, so a single hit can take them out. (A single strike with a weapon can take anyone out, of course, but those who are the focus of the scene have the means to generally avoid the out-of-the-blue lethal blows. That's what hit points represent.)
And Failure, often my PCs will do something, realize how stupid/how not helpful and they'll plead with me to take it back, or they'll get a bad roll that'll cause them to have to fight something, or spring a trap'n they'll whine a tiny bit about it, makes me feel like the bad guy sometimes.
As the DM, you decide how "stupid" or "not helpful" an action is. Try not to decide that things are stupid or not helpful. Ask what they player is expecting to get from the action, and consider giving it to them if they succeed.
If your players are whining about something, they're telling you that you're trying to get them to play the game in a way they don't enjoy. The game works fine and is still perfectly realistic without traps, and without fights being the consequence for failure. Talk to your players and find out what they'd like to encounter, and what kind of failure would be interesting to them. Don't assume they'll enjoy situations you put them in just because the game allows it. And don't assume that they'll seriously complain about any setback or problem. There's a very good chance that there are certain setbacks they're willing to be challenged by.
Just let them bring in a new character. What more consequence does death need to have than losing their character?
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Well, this is where a little bit of the complaining comes in, they put all that effort into their chararcter, they don't want to let it go, and I want it to be meaningful, not just suddenly a new wizard clone pops up out of nowhere.
For example, for whatever reason the adventure we were running had a dragon in it, during the fight the Wizard was low on HP, and the Dragon rolled a 20 and hit him into -20 something, past his bloodied, instantly killing him, we were shocked and suprised. The party did have the coin. (Nor did they wish to spend it. On paying the costs for the ritual to bring him back, so I had a Cleric in the next town able to do it, but they had to help him with something first. (Had they dead Wizard play as the Cleric so he wasn't bored.) That's how I handled it the first time it happen due to lucky rolls, knowing my group they'll be hesitant to completely re-roll charatcers.
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If your players are whining about something, they're telling you that you're trying to get them to play the game in a way they don't enjoy. The game works fine and is still perfectly realistic without traps, and without fights being the consequence for failure. Talk to your players and find out what they'd like to encounter, and what kind of failure would be interesting to them. Don't assume they'll enjoy situations you put them in just because the game allows it. And don't assume that they'll seriously complain about any setback or problem. There's a very good chance that there are certain setbacks they're willing to be challenged by.
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Interesting, but tricky to handle in my mind.(Makes sense though) How do I play this off then? There should be consquences for failure, shouldn't there?
Well, this is where a little bit of the complaining comes in, they put all that effort into their chararcter, they don't want to let it go, and I want it to be meaningful, not just suddenly a new wizard clone pops up out of nowhere.
If they don't want their characters to go, then you don't have to kill them. Death is not the only way for characters to fail.
The fact of the matter is that it's not entirely about what you want. You can't force death to be meaningful, if that's not what the player is interested in. I recommend asking what the players would consider to be an exiting way for their characters to die, and under what circumstances that would leave a character dead and make a completely new one. Then put that in the adventure. If they don't think a way to die would be exciting, then that's not the kind of game they want to play. Either adjust your playstyle to the kind of game they want, or part ways.
Interesting, but tricky to handle in my mind.(Makes sense though) How do I play this off then? There should be consquences for failure, shouldn't there?
Certainly there should, but they don't have to consequences that the players find boring. There are almost certainly interesting setbacks or consequences that could happen that they players would get a kick out of and find to be an interesting challenge. They'd try to avoid these outcomes, but could still enjoy the game after they'd occurred. There's no point in inflicting results that the players aren't interested in. It just leads to the kinds of reactions you're talking about.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
Well, this is where a little bit of the complaining comes in, they put all that effort into their chararcter, they don't want to let it go, and I want it to be meaningful, not just suddenly a new wizard clone pops up out of nowhere.
If they don't want their characters to go, then you don't have to kill them. Death is not the only way for characters to fail.
The fact of the matter is that it's not entirely about what you want. You can't force death to be meaningful, if that's not what the player is interested in. I recommend asking what the players would consider to be an exiting way for their characters to die, and under what circumstances that would leave a character dead and make a completely new one. Then put that in the adventure. If they don't think a way to die would be exciting, then that's not the kind of game they want to play. Either adjust your playstyle to the kind of game they want, or part ways.
Interesting, but tricky to handle in my mind.(Makes sense though) How do I play this off then? There should be consquences for failure, shouldn't there?
Certainly there should, but they don't have to consequences that the players find boring. There are almost certainly interesting setbacks or consequences that could happen that they players would get a kick out of and find to be an interesting challenge. They'd try to avoid these outcomes, but could still enjoy the game after they'd occurred. There's no point in inflicting results that the players aren't interested in. It just leads to the kinds of reactions you're talking about.
I guess that makes sense, it's tough trying to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone, everyone has little to no experience or knowledge, I just happen to read the books so I get to be the DM, but as long as everyone is having a good time, I feel like i've done my job well.
I guess that makes sense, it's tough trying to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone, everyone has little to no experience or knowledge, I just happen to read the books so I get to be the DM, but as long as everyone is having a good time, I feel like i've done my job well.
Yes, it can be tough to make something everyone will enjoy, especially if you're the only one coming up with the adventure. So, tap into their creative brains. Don't ask them about the kinds of things they'd like, because sometimes it's hard to put that in words. Ask them for specifics. Let them look through the Monster Manual for the kinds of enemies they think it would be cool to fight. Ask them about the kinds of movies they like, and run something inspired by those. Etc.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
I guess that makes sense, it's tough trying to make it an enjoyable experience for everyone, everyone has little to no experience or knowledge, I just happen to read the books so I get to be the DM, but as long as everyone is having a good time, I feel like i've done my job well.
Yes, it can be tough to make something everyone will enjoy, especially if you're the only one coming up with the adventure. So, tap into their creative brains. Don't ask them about the kinds of things they'd like, because sometimes it's hard to put that in words. Ask them for specifics. Let them look through the Monster Manual for the kinds of enemies they think it would be cool to fight. Ask them about the kinds of movies they like, and run something inspired by those. Etc.
I got one that I know enjoys kicking faces in and taking names, tries to max out damage, goes for high gold count, very greedy wants to steal or take what he needs.
Then we have the Priest(Wizard soon.) And the paladin. Both i'm not so sure about, I think they themselves don't know what they want/what to expect.
And we have our Ranger, who's calm, collected and doesn't talk alot.
I got one that I know enjoys kicking faces in and taking names, tries to max out damage, goes for high gold count, very greedy wants to steal or take what he needs.
Then you have someone who is very easy to challenge: just put his gold at risk and watch him sweat.
Then we have the Priest(Wizard soon.) And the paladin. Both i'm not so sure about, I think they themselves don't know what they want/what to expect.
And we have our Ranger, who's calm, collected and doesn't talk alot.
Talk to them about movies and stories. D&D can be like a movie or story, so ask them if there's scene or storyline they'd like to be involved in. Sometimes when the ask what their characters see next, turn the question around, find out what the players would like to see, then give that to them in some way.
[N]o difference is less easily overcome than the difference of opinion about semi-abstract questions. - L. Tolstoy
