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2 years ago ::
Apr 27, 2011 - 9:12PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Jul 11, 2010
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I've been DMing for a little while. And I've just always found it overwhelming at some points. Combat, etc. isn't the problem, it's really keeping track of other stuff. NPCs and how the respond, what happens during past events, keeping people RPing and moving forward. I usually forget to tell hte player's the lighting and other stuff. I find prereading encounters helps, but not a lot. I find during the encounters I really miss stuff and can't change it after.
I guess, to sum up that verbal diarhea above is I find the encounters and the adventures overwhelming, and so I missing out on important, or even minor, details that could really change(or just add too) an encounter.
Does anyone have a better system or sugesstions to help me organise everything better so that I avoid missing stuff so much.
Thanks in advanced for whatever comments people send my way guys! :D
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2 years ago ::
Apr 29, 2011 - 7:44PM
#2
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Date Joined:
Mar 10, 2011
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I've never tried it, but I've heard some DMs swear by delegating "busy work" tasks to the players: keeping track of initiative and monster damage, looking up rules in the rulebooks, setting up maps and moving miniatures, and so on. That will take a little bit off your hands, at least. As for keeping track of the rest, you might create a little quick-reference bullet list for each room, which includes only the most important information. (Only key details; if you have an elaborate "fluff" description you can't remember, that's no disaster: you can always wing the description of any non-essential information.) For example:
- Room 32 (Monster Laundry Room)
- shadowy torchlight (+2 to Hide for characters in shadows)
- loud noises from washing machines (+4 to Move Silently)
- plenty of hiding places
- draft in nw corner (secret door, roll 12 or better to find)
New DM Tips
Show
- Trying to solve out-of-game problems (like cheating, bad attitudes, or poor sportsmanship) with in-game solutions will almost always result in failure, and will probably make matters worse.
- Gun Safety Rule #5: Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy. (Never introduce a character, PC, NPC, Villain, or fate of the world into even the possibility of a deadly combat or other dangerous situation, unless you are prepared to destroy it instantly and completely forever.)
- Know your group's character sheets, and check them over carefully. You don't want surprises, but, more importantly, they are a gold mine of ideas!
- "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." It's a problem if the players aren't having fun and it interferes with a DM's ability to run the game effectively; if it's not a problem, 'fixing' at best does little to help, and at worst causes problems that didn't exist before.
- "Hulk Smash" characters are a bad match for open-ended exploration in crowds of civilians; get them out of civilization where they can break things and kill monsters in peace.
- Success is not necessarily the same thing as killing an opponent. Failure is not necessarily the same thing as dying.
- Failure is always an option. And it's a fine option, too, as long as failure is interesting, entertaining, and fun!
"Broken or not, unbalanced or not, if something seems to be preventing the game from being enjoyable, something has to give: either that thing, or other aspects of the game, or your idea of what's enjoyable." - Centauri
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2 years ago ::
May 01, 2011 - 8:03AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Feb 22, 2009
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This software really made being a dm a walk in the park so to speak. wiki.rpg.net/index.php/DnD4eCMthe new monster creater doesn't export monsters in rtf like the offline version did but they may change that soon. 
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2 years ago ::
May 06, 2011 - 5:51PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Jul 11, 2010
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Thanks a lot guys. I'm gonna use all of your suggestions, I've already made a quick referance sheet. Thanks a lot guys! :D
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