DM Tips and Tricks

I actually just picked up this tip a few weeks ago;

Put essential info of each character onto index cards; like saves, HP (So you know when you might wanna pull a punch), etc.
Then, rearrange those for initiative. Helps everything go much faster.

Also, practice. Seriously. The more the better.

>>53271223

It is vastly less important to speak in-character as an NPC than it is to communicate clearly. So honestly toss that sacred cow on the fire-- if you feel awkward and unimaginative when inhabiting an NPC's voice, ditch the voice and use exposition.

And practice out of the game. Find an improv group, have conversations with yourself in the car, that sorta thing. You will seem like a crazy person and it absotively will help.

Also.
>My players seem to be enjoying it
Stop right there. You're doing a good job. Anyone can always do a better job, but if they're enjoying it you're doing something right. Remember that. Hold onto that. Your game will never be as cool as it is in your head but that doesn't mean you aren't giving joy to your players.

well I'm not sure how in depth you plan but i always plan out a main route, and do a thin outline of other possible routes i can think of. but sometimes the players take an unforeseen route which leads you to have ti improv, sometimes you can route them back onto your main path if it was thin enough.

i would personally love to steal some of those battle maps? I'm a terrible artist.

in game delivery, what holding you up? is it Dialogue? Combat? Quests?

i was very bad at NPC's and improv when i started out too, it takes quite awhile, what helped me the most was constantly saying that it wasn't good enough, no matter how much fun the players had. i wanted to keep going until it was as good as i could possibly get it, 3 years later I'm super happy and the players say the game spectacular.

for the NPC's just commit to a single personality if theyre a side character it makes it a lot easier to just respond and guide the players if all they have is 1 basic trait and a funny accent. sometimes you dont need an accent especially if you're not comfortable with voices yet.

that being said i always say no matter how bad you sound always commit to the character, you'll become more comfortable and after the first few times everyone will be used to voices. its only awkward and funny at first.

improv, that something you can improve with practice or taking a short class, thats always helpful.

my final tip of advice, never let it get to you, as long as everyone is having fun then just keep telling yourself that you're gonna get better. it only becomes more fun to GM when you get better.

>>53271223
>>53271353

Fuckit, I've been playing this game for literal decades. I'm gonna keep throwing advice at you.

>Let them know the stakes
That should even be capitalized. The Stakes. What is at Stake. What the consequences are. Do not hide these, do not try to trap your players with consequences they could not have anticipated; before the player attempts diplomacy with the King, that player should know the consequence of success and the consequence of failure. They should know the Stakes.

>Clarify player intentions
This is the flip side. Know what the player intends to accomplish with any given question, action, or plan. This will help you build reasonable Stakes around it. If you can't intuit it--if you have the merest doubt--ask them. This and the above advice are meant to make sure you and the players are always on the same page. You want to be playing the same game. Intention + Stakes.

>Repeat information
If you want your characters to remember Duke Amberhallow's name, make sure to use Duke Amberhallow's name whenever Duke Amberhallow comes up. Rule of threes is a good one-- anything worth knowing should crop up in clusters of three.

The Book of Drazh'Kol speaks of a crystal pyramid which houses an ancient wizard's soul, there are reports of a translucent pyramid coming out of the Low Marshes, an old adventurer fondly recalls when he helped plunder an ancient wizard tower which was left undefended after its occupant was defeated by the Great Drazh'Kol.

>Don't get too up your ass with names
No one will remember the name of the city of Tel'Talaerenol of the Whyregyre Clan. They will remember simple--almost mnemonic--titles and places, especially if they cohere to already established setting facts. The town that looks out over a lake? Lakeside. The city near cliffs of chalky white stone? Whitecliff. The city where the last king of the region died? King's End.

>>53271511
>No one will remember the name of the city of Tel'Talaerenol of the Whyregyre Clan
I've found a fun comprimise to this when it comes to foreign names for people or places, I figure if the players can't be bothered to learn it, most people in the setting can't either and give it a second, simpler name. As such it's still perfectly in character when they call it that, but I get to keep my weird-sounding fantasy naming conventions

Thanks for the tips guys, I'll take them to heart.
I guess my biggest problem is clarity. I try to sprinkle hints so my players can figure out the mystery on their own, but a couple times they've misunderstood and taken a route to the opposite direction. I don't want to flat out say "not that way, think again" but i also don't want to waste session time on a wild goose chase.
How do I steer them in the right direction?

Also, how do you guys track initiative? When my party of 5 is fighting 10 monsters, it gets clunky and takes 5 minutes just to set up, disrupting the immersion. I've thought about doing just turn-based entire team vs entire team. Thoughts?

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>>53271223

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>>53271798
>>53271223

>>53271798
>>53271827
These are awesome thank you

>>53271223
one of my friends who also dm's said he got some tips from this one guy called matt colville on youtube. he apparently has a playlist of dm tips and tricks and such

one I'm using is to always have players roll initiative at the beginning of a session. that way you can seamlessly jump into the first fight of the session. repeat during the first break after each fight.

do this even if you don't anticipate fighting during the session.

>>53272425
You're welcome

>>53271768
>How do you guys track initiative?

Grab a sheet of paper.
In pre-planned encounters, roll individual monster initiative before the session, and write them down in advance. See "WRITING IT DOWN" below.
(I usually give my monsters distinguishing traits so I can describe and track them better: "crooked dagger goblin", "pierced ear goblin", "tall goblin", etc.)
Players roll initiative.
In improvised encounters, roll 1 die per monster type before the battle. All monsters of that type act in succession.
Tie between players? They decide who goes first. Tie between monsters? Same. Tie between monsters and players? Players go first.
Ask your players what they rolled, clockwise. (Let's imagine: Alice 7, Bob 15, Carol 21, Arthur 2; the unexpected goblins all get 8)
On sheet of paper, write down every number at the top in order. (Ali7 B15 C21 Ar2 g8 g8 g8 g8 g8)
Then do it vertically, in order, on the left half of the paper.
Don't waste time, follow your gut. Higher numbers go higher, lower numbers go lower. Use abbreviations.
WRITING IT DOWN:
C21
B15
Ali7
Ar2
G8 dagg.
G8 ear
G8 tall
G8 short
G8 fat
On the right half of the paper, you can keep track of ongoing status effects and all that jazz.
Congrats, you're tracking initiative like a pro, and you didn't even need fancy schamncy index cards or whiteboards.

>>53273187
Hang on, no, the order should be:
C21
B15
G8 dagg.
G8 ear
G8 tall
G8 short
G8 fat
Ali7
Ar2

That's what I get for writing while in a hurry.

But seriously, this will last a minute, tops. What are you doing that takes five?

>>53271223
Don't overplan and work on improvising.

>i haven't had more than a sheet of notes for each of my sessions over the past two years
>each session is ~6 hours
>the players have no idea

The only thing I keep plotted out is the end and a general overarching part of the plot.

I don't think many people do it this way but GMing comes to personal preference.

>>53273443
This.

Also, when planning encounters, work on scenario rather than specific set pieces. This way, if your players go off the rails a bit, you can still have your planned encounters seamlessly taking place in a variety of areas.

>>53273620
Improvising is a learned thing more than anything else. It's more like giving your kids a sandbox rather than a storybook. Sure the storybook can be fun to read but they don't do anything.

Problem with the sandbox is they eat the damn sand.