Ep 44: DMing for Dummies

It is very helpful episode. Best ruke about the rules of d&d are Suggestions not set in stone. If you want to change how things work change them. If you want to nerf a monster or make it more powerful then do it.


I also wrote a novel for my first d&d session. It is really hard not to. Hiwever when we pick up next time i will just have bullet points also. Thinking up characters on the fly is quite fun.


Also... I love making up voices. It brings more to the characters. Voices don't have to be different pitch or weird sounding, it can be anything from just changing the tempo of your voice. My players love when i have different voices. It woukd be very bland game if every one sounded the same.

Love your quote DMC. For me the only time you should use an absolute is when describing when to use an absolute, NEVER. Great info in the episode, and is one of the best jumping on points of the show so far if someone were to be foolish enough to not want to listen to every episode intently. Or even as a great place for people to start and then go back and listen to them all! 

Thanks Almarianknight for letting me be inspired to toss in some Monty Python clips!

I agree with you, but I do see where they are coming from.  As a player, if I thought the DM were making the creature weaker so I wouldn't die I'd feel cheated.  Or the flip side, if I thought we were doing really well so the DM buffed it up instead - I'd feel like my actions didn't matter as much.  I was actually in a big fight and found out later one of the roles was fudged a bit in our favor, and it did take something away (although we might have been in trouble).  I think as a DM I want to preserve the integrity for the players sake so that their accomplishments are real.....however....

You're absolutely right that everything I said above should not be an absolute.  And I think they did a good job in the episode explaining that you really shouldn't allow a total party wipe just because you made a mistake in judging the balance of the game.  Or allow a big story plot to be deflated by a villian that goes down too easily (in a situation where he shouldn't).  I think your points sum it up well.  You really have to know your players, and be able to logically weigh the current situation as well as how it fits into the overall campaign scheme.

Indeed! Let me say, that as a person, I love watching a movie's Behind the Scenes extras. I spent hours, literally hours, watching the LOTR and Hobbit "Making Of..." sections of the Extended Edition BluRays. (As a sidenote, those films are the Gold Standard when it comes to extras.) However...as a player, I don't want to see behind the curtain. I want to be immersed in the story, with the DM as the Director/Producer. And as a DM, like you said, I want my players feeling like they accomplished something.

I too subscribe to the "Don't ever let the player's know what happened." mindset. I try and have a good blend of PC bad-assery, and BBEG tough challenges.

Also agreed.  If everything's been balanced, with no need to make adjustments, and critical moments hang on the simple random roll of the dice, I too will roll in the open. It definitely adds to the dramatic tension. And I likewise agree with you about shifting things before those final moments. Usually there's pretty good indications on how things are going before the drum-roll moments.

My only alterations from the MM tends to be that if I'm running multiple creatures of the same type (Orcs, Goblins, etc.), I will usually have a few in there that have +/- the average hit points shown in the book. I do that just to keep the players from metagaming how much damage they do vs. average HP of the creature. I also telegraph to them by describing to them some apparent differences.

"You stumble upon a group of 10 orcs. 4 of them look crudely bandaged. They all have a mish-mash of various armors and weapons, with 3 of them looking a tad burlier than the rest."

For me, I know 4 orcs are wounded and not at full HP by a few points, and 3 of them are stronger by +1 to hit than the book says. This allows me to have in-game reasons why the PC may or may not be able to hit them, letting me fudge it a little...if needed at all. Ok so the wounded orcs may not be at full HP, but perhaps they have better AC, etc.  There's a few ways to make in-game adjustments that also spice up the sometimes dreary "Same old..." encounter.

Alright, some thoughts on this week's show:

22 minutes) On top of what the guys said, the GM is also a social mediator. He needs to be able to recognize when people are not having a fun time, to recognize conflict between players, and how to fix that crap. He needs to be impartial to everyone. His wife and best friend might be sitting at the table, but they get treated just the same as the friend's friend. 

26) Knowing the rules: You don't need to know all the rules, but you ought to know enough that you aren't spending more time in the rule book than you are playing the game. Yes, even before your first session IMO. If the system has a core mechanic (e.g. the d20 in DnD), make sure you understand it without referring to the book. I recommend getting comfortable with the dramatic systems too (i.e. combat and skill use) once you have the gist of character creation.

HIGHLY recommend you make a group of your own PCs and play a few combats by yourself. It will be time consuming, but is the fastest way to master the system. Start with a 1v1, then do a 4v1, and finally a 4v4. By the time your first session comes up, you should have a grasp of how combat flows.

If you have a player at the table who is already experienced with the system, the above notes aren't so important. Don't be embarassed to ask him questions.

32) Preparation: Agreed that over-preparation is better than under. But before you run your first game, run a session 0. Your players are participants in a game, not a captive audience to your story. Make sure you're all on the same page with whatever prep work you've got, and be prepared to adjust. You don't need to spoil anything, but check this out and think about how it can help you.

40) Encouraging role play: Good ideas, but the key word here is encourage... not force. If your players never really get into the improv theater part of the game, don't stress it. They probably enjoy the combat more, or at the very least, the comraderie of the table. It's one thing to nudge someone out of their comfort zone, but don't shove. In my personal opinion, you should never reward 'good roleplaying' with in-game benefits unless everyone at your table consents to the notion.

49) Resolving combat rules: Another idea is to assign one of your players the job of consulting the rule book. Having more than one copy of the main rule book is handy for this, but not necessary. Make this person your "rules lawyer." If possible, nominate someone who gravitates toward that sort of thing already. This isn't obligatory, so don't worry if no one steps up.

64) Too much treasure!: I just want to restate what the guys were talking about. Be stingy in the beginning, because it's a lot harder to take away (without seeming adversarial) than it is to give.

69/83) Changing monster stats/fudging rolls: I'm in the camp that vehemently opposes this for any reason. Fudging monsters/rolls is to RPGs what plagiarism is to publishing: a cheap shortcut to make a poor product look better (even if that product was randomly determined in the case of dice rolls) look better, that ought to weigh on your conscience (cheater!), and will make you look bad if you get caught. 

A better solution to fudging the mechanics, and one that makes you look competent if it is discovered, is to fudge the narrative. It's a fantasy world, and your options are unlimited to keep the story going in whatever way you decide, regardless of what the dice say. Granted, this is a more advanced technique, not necessarily something new DMs master quickly. My advice: stick to the monster stats/dice results, learn from your mistakes, and get practice on fudging the narrative early, rather than later. 

78) Food: FOOOOOOD!!!

89) Mistakes will be made: Listen closely to this section. That's all.