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4 months ago ::
Jan 18, 2013 - 9:58PM
#31
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Date Joined:
Jan 13, 2013
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I make my own Campaigns, but much of it is just reused plots and characters from stories my PCs haven't read. I get complimented on my creativity often.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 18, 2013 - 10:57PM
#32
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I often use the DM screen to hide the fact that I have blank paper in front of me.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 12:12AM
#33
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Date Joined:
Jun 19, 2004
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I roll in the open, I don't fudge hits but I sometimes fudge damage. I play very quickly so Im not sure my players ever notice (not why I play quickly I just like to get monster turns over fast and get back to the PCs).
I won't kill a PC over bad rolls. I will kill a PC over bad actions. You choose to keep on going when you know its likely a deathwish? Wish granted.
I make up my monsters during combat. Normally I have some type of ability in mind and when I describe them to the PCs I wing the description at the time and give them powers based on their descriptions.
There has to be more, I just can't think of any right now.
Edit: Ooh, remembered one. I give the PCs puzzles with random details and no solutions. They just have to make up a good answer that fits the clues they have and generally that works.
Currently working on making a Dex based defender. Check it out hereSpoiler:
Show
Need a few pre-generated characters for a one-shot you are running? Want to get a baseline for what an effective build for a class you aren't familiar with? Check out the Pregen thread here
If ever you are interested what it sounds like to be at my table check out my blog and podcast here
Also, I've recently done an episode on "Refluffing". You can check that out here
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 5:11AM
#34
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All my NPCs have the exact same voice! Plus, they all seem to have a similar vocabulary....I'm glad I've gotten that off my chest.
That sounds like me!
actually that's not entirely true. Some of my important NPCs have unique accents, but that's about it.
I won't kill a PC over bad rolls. I will kill a PC over bad actions. You choose to keep on going when you know its likely a deathwish? Wish granted.
i do that as well. i remember one time I had a player poke his weapon into the demon mouth in the tomb of horrors. I gave him a strength check to see if he could hold on to the weapon, then I gave him a dex check to see if the sudden pull caused him to fall down (and thereby NOT fall in), then I gave him a wis check to determine if holding on to the weapon was a good idea. He passed all three. Then I flat-out asked him "do you want to let go of the weapon?" And he said no.
so I reached over my screen, took his character sheet and told the rest of the group "you see him disappear into the mouth." And to this day I've never told any of my players what happened to him.
Next thing you will tell me Browbeat  is bad.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 6:47AM
#35
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Date Joined:
Jan 18, 2013
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And to this day I've never told any of my players what happened to him.
Now that has me curious as to what happened to him, lol!
My 'confessions'
I run 3rd Ed exclusively. We know it, we love it, no reason to fix what isn't broken.
I have fudged dice rolls when the players are getting the shaft unnecassarily. Bad enough that I put them in rough situations as a DM, but when they can't catch a break from their dice and they're losing characters, gotta stop the bleeding somewhere. Of course, this is earlier in a campaign. Later on in the campaign they are on their own.
I have made alterations on the fly when a situation presents itself for better story telling. Likewise, I have railroaded players for the sake of a section of the story.
I'm sure that I've committed more transgressions, but they seem to be lost to the gremlins in my brain, sooo....
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 7:05AM
#36
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Date Joined:
Jun 19, 2004
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More confessions: I use this table for determining monster defenses:
| Toy |
+16 |
vAC |
Difficulty |
Easy |
Med |
Hard |
Gimmick |
| Chunk |
+16 |
vAC |
Range |
4-7 |
8-12 |
12-14 |
15+ |
| Hiwi |
+12 |
vFort |
MaxAC |
23 |
27 |
30 |
31+ |
| Jack |
+13 |
vRef |
MaxFort |
19 |
23 |
26 |
27+ |
| Vynn |
+14 |
vWill |
MaxRef |
20 |
24 |
27 |
28+ |
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MaxWill |
21 |
25 |
28 |
29+ |
Rather than pay any attention to the creature's written defenses I just pick how easy it should be for the group to hit them and then place it on the scale. (I don't account for CA, so its slightly easier than it looks). Ex: A typical solder has defenses of Med Max/Med/EasyMax/EasyMax or, for my group, 27/21/20/21.
Currently working on making a Dex based defender. Check it out hereSpoiler:
Show
Need a few pre-generated characters for a one-shot you are running? Want to get a baseline for what an effective build for a class you aren't familiar with? Check out the Pregen thread here
If ever you are interested what it sounds like to be at my table check out my blog and podcast here
Also, I've recently done an episode on "Refluffing". You can check that out here
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 7:25AM
#37
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Date Joined:
Mar 31, 2010
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I fudge hp/dmg/powers because it makes the combats more fluid.
I am intrigued by Matyr's idea of puzzles with no legit solutions, just requiring something that makes sense...
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4 months ago ::
Jan 19, 2013 - 7:36AM
#38
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Date Joined:
Dec 31, 2007
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- I don’t fudge dice roles, but I usually roll behind a screen nevertheless.
- Often I take inspiration from dice-roles on random tables from previous editions (or self-made ones)
- When it comes to dragons, I’m a killer-DM (I mean it is the iconic monster and should always be a very tough boss-fight)
- I don’t like classical dungeons because I find them so hard to justify (I do lairs and mini-dungeons like mansions and temples instead)
Edit: I remember “cheating” only once, when I tuned down a random encounter from a group of trolls to one lonely troll.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 20, 2013 - 11:47AM
#39
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I don't think it is wrong to "fudge" some dice rolls or adding to an encounter to make it appropraitely challenging, so long as the DM also adjusts the XP the encounter accordingly. This is in accordance with the players wanting to be chalenged and the wanting to be fairly rewarded for it.
It should, however, be a last resort. The ussual expectation is that a DM be familiar with the parties abilities and be able to plan ahead of time, so if you find you are doing this all the time, then you need to evaluate how you are buildign your encounters.
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4 months ago ::
Jan 20, 2013 - 1:54PM
#40
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Date Joined:
Aug 24, 2012
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I'm a very very lazy DM.
I prep as little as possible.
- I make up most things on the fly because I can't be bothered pre-preparing.
- I fudge rolls sometimes but try to avoid it.
- I'm too nice. I hate telling my players no... To anything. Haha. And as a result I have a PC running around with a brown bear skull crudely tied onto his head as a hat, and a giant snake head strapped to his shield purely for "flare".
- NPCs generally start with a particular voice or accent but generally lose it about 2 sentences later. Again, mainly due to laziness.
- If things are dying too fast I'll add on an extra 10hp to keep the fight going.
- I make up all DCs on the fly.
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