Sometimes you may need or want to run a scene outside of the main campaign. This could be because a player couldn’t make the session, the information being shared isn’t for everybody or even a player is looking for some extra interaction between games. If used properly, this can be a fantastic way to help improve the flow of your game and the engagement of your players.
Player character deaths happen in all Dungeons and Dragons games and other TTRPGs … don’t they? Should you be worried about killing PCs, or is it fine to let the dice fall where they may? When is it OK to kill a character and how do you make sure the player is still into the game with their new PC? Is it even the DM’s choice? Listen in to hear how Thorin, Tony and Dave handle character death and when/how/why it is OK to kill a player character.
Here at 3WD, many of our articles have been geared towards providing advice and tips on how to improve the quality of your games for everyone involved. But the DM is one of those involved, and often their energy is spent trying to everyone else entertained. So, this time we would like to do something a little different and look at some things that players can do to keep their DMs energized and inspired.
Every good RPG campaign — Dungeons and Dragons 5E or any other system — has multiple factions for PCs to interact with. How do you build them out?
“The four ancient stones near the windmill were erected centuries ago by the valley’s original human inhabitants. Each moss-covered stone bears a crude carving of a city, each of which is associated with a different season. The city of winter is shown covered in snow. The city of spring is arrayed in flowers. The city of summer has a sunburst overhead, and the city of autumn is covered in leaves. If the characters ask any of the priests or scholarly NPCs in Barovia about the stones, the characters are told that ancient legends tell of the Four Cities, said to be the cities of Paradise where the Morninglord, Mother Night, and the other ancient gods first dwelled.” – Curse of Strahd
Foreshadowing is a powerful tool for any storyteller, but it can be hard to use effectively at the campaign table. Whether you’re playing D&D or another role-playing game, you’re really DMing against your players’ distractions. And a table full of food, phones and click-clackety math rocks can hide subtle hints more effectively than the rug you put them under. On the other hand, if you hit your players over the head with foreshadowing, it can ruin your surprises and turn the plot into a running table joke.
3 Wise DMs is taking a little summer Hiatus for 4th of July. We’ll be back with new content next week.
Every DM and GM puts together their campaign to have fun with their players. You want everyone to have a good time. But by chasing that goal too hard, many DMs take all the pressure and responsibility for the players having a good time on themselves, and they lose site of running a game they’ll have fun DMing. This is the problem of the servant DM. If you’re not careful, it can be the fastest path to DM burnout, and even falling out with your players in real life.
One of the best new mechanics in Dungeons and Dragons 5E is the advantage/disadvantage system. It’s simple, elegant and we’ve played several other games that have blatantly stolen it. We think it’s here to stay. But the decision of when to apply discretionary advantage and disadvantage falls on the DM, and the many mechanical ways players have to get advantage themselves sometimes conflict with the DM’s intent when awarding advantage. In this episode, hear how Thorin, Tony and Dave handle advantage and disadvantage along with plus and minus modifiers in their games along with plenty of examples from our gaming history (including the time a PC talked the DM into letting him one-shot the BBEG at 3rd level when they caught the guy simply walking across the road).
Some characters excel while marching to the beat of their own drum but not so much when in a group. The problem is, generally speaking, that D&D is a collaborative game. So, that lone wolf will need to learn to hunt in a pack. This is why we’ve put together a list of tips to help your group of adventurers work more effectively together during whatever path their choices and story takes them on.
