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Post by friartook on Dec 11, 2015 15:28:57 GMT
We've all been in that interview where the person asks, "What do you consider your greatest strength in the workplace?" We have to come up with some sort of answer that doesn't sell ourselves short, but also doesn't sound like self aggrandizing BS. They they always follow up with, "Great, how about your greatest weakness?" and we have to come up with a non-generic answer that doesn't sound too much like BS but also doesn't contain too much truth (after all, why would one ever be 100% honest with that question?). Well today, I am your annoying interviewer! So, I ask you Blockheads: What is your greatest strength as a DM?
Your greatest weakness?
I'll start: I think my greatest strength as a DM is my ability to improvise story and plot on the fly. I'm frequently amazed at my ability to come to the table with nothing prepped and still run a compelling session. One of my players recently paid me a very high compliment by telling me before a session that I was really good at improvising plot (emphasis was his, not mine). Of course he then proceeded to spring a one shot request on me the next time we were missing too many players to do our campaign. I came expecting a board game night; I had nothing prepped at all! We had a great time  I think my greatest weakness is understanding the crunchy bits of encounter balance. I have not taken the time to thoroughly read up on this subject in any of the RPGs I've DM/GMed. I make up for it by being willing to narratively balance encounters as needed ("narratively balance" being a euphemism for "hand waving difficulty of opponents"). |
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Post by lasersniper on Dec 11, 2015 22:53:57 GMT
Hmmm lets see, I think my
Greatest Strength
Is being able to creating flowing lore. The stories and the bardic tales that keeping the worlds narrative flowing.
Greatest Weakness
Is I may sometimes just a little bit stick to closely to the lore and become resistant to my players trying to change it. The worst case of this is when I was running and Edge of the Empire campaign and was to stuck in the canon then what my players wanted. Though I am getting better I still have a bad habit, especially when it is with established works like Star Wars, Eberron, Dragonlance, ect.
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Post by Tesla Ranger on Dec 13, 2015 22:18:36 GMT
Strength
Probably creating really in-depth worlds and lore packed with detail. It's often my inclination to go farther in this regard than is really merited for a DM game. I often have to cut back and say "Maybe I won't plan out every tavern the party might run into along this route". I make use of lots of hand-outs and props to help the players keep up with all these details. And when players want to do something that might seem counter to the lore at first, I'm usually pretty good at finding a way to make it happen within the bounds of canon.
Also, I might be the only GM who might be good at, and even enjoys, coming up with good names on the spot. >_>
Weakness
This could be a long list but at the moment I think my biggest area to improve on is making stories that are more flexible. I've been using a branching model for the past year (if the players choose Door 1 then this, if they choose Door 2 then that). More recently I've been trying to outline the first 1/3 of an adventure and leave it to the players to figure out how their going to get through the rest. It's been mixed results so far but I'm hoping it'll give the players a greater sense of control over the narrative; less like they're playing their way through a novel.
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Post by Vulash on Jan 5, 2016 20:10:27 GMT
Strength
I don't mind PCs going off track and doing things completely different than what I planned. I can go with the flow well. I'm also pretty good at being able to ad hoc appropriate level encounters on the fly. I often create my own creatures so that is helpful, and I don't end up stuck looking at CRs. I also think I create pretty cool stories that hit the characters personally and create certain kinds of tension - as well as truly hate-able and creepy NPCs and monsters.
Weakness
I tend to let details bother me. I'll have a great idea for a hook and have trouble bringing out all the small details so that the idea makes sense from every conceivable angle - instead of just letting go a little. This sometimes costs me being able to use the ideas I really want to use. Also, the farther a game goes along I have to keep reeling myself back into perspective of everything I'm hoping to accomplish as far as mood and theme.
I'd like to be able to create good tension with Non-evil NPCs and more personal tension better. In other words - the villain that isn't the villain. I'm not very good at that.
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Samuel Wise
Demigod
Ready to Help...
Posts: 989
Favorite D&D Class: Warlock
Favorite D&D Race: Mousefolk
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Post by Samuel Wise on Jan 5, 2016 20:33:31 GMT
How did I miss this? Great questions! Especially with this year with the 2016 elections.  Strength
I love acting out and putting voices to non-playable characters. I enjoy adding that extra theatric flare to campaigns, even if I am horrible at doing it. I try to make characters. I am great at coming up with fun, dynamic, and unique NPCs on the spot. If little else. Weakness
I am sure anybody who has played in my campaign could attest that my weakness is combat. It is not that I cannot make tactically interesting combats (indeed, I come to D&D straight from Warhammer, battles are what I've been doing for years), but I just don't want to. I rather skip over combat and go directly to story. Because of this my combats take two forms: unbeatable, too easy, or puzzle-based combat (puzzle, in the sense, that an enemy has some sort of weak point that can take it out easily). |
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Post by dmxtrordinari on Apr 9, 2016 7:10:56 GMT
Greatest Strength: I like to think my greatest strength is that I can make interesting and/or challenging scenarios to run with for the next session.
Greatest Weakness: Procrastination in terms of prepping the sessions ahead of time. I generally have only the slightest clue what the next session will entail and even if like I mentioned above I have a solid idea I want to go with that lack of planning/preparation may mean that I overlooked something or didn't do justice to the session.
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Post by donosaur on Apr 12, 2016 15:15:43 GMT
Strength: creating plausible motivations for the most thinly sketched out villains and NPCs. I have to actually reel it in sometimes, otherwise every minor thug or loser becomes someone the party wants to investigate or rehabilitate.
Weakness: A combination of having trouble "going with the flow" when my players go off the script (if I plan for 4 possible outcomes, my players will pick a 5th, or do something to invalidate my 4 options before they even get there), and managing the table. I have a few players who tend to take the most initiative, so to speak, and I can't always draw out the shyer or less engaged players in the middle of a session.
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