Ask an amateur


Gamer Life General Discussion


This is a thread where amateur gamers can answer the same questions posed to the pros in Paizo's blog.

Here are the first four questions, followed by my own responses. As new questions are posted we will address those as well. Let's have some fun and spread some sage (or not so sage in my case) wisdom.

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?


1. I usually just say what is seen or heard to the whole table, but make it clear who hears what, and they can have their character tell other characters if they wish.

2. Both, it really depends on the situation. If the players are just gather information, I don't necessarily play out every interaction, but if they are interacting with a meaningful NPC, then I'll do it in character.

3. Well I don't discourage it. I don't for example feel if a player mentions their character's family that the family must be murdered in the game. If a player does give me hooks with their background I do try to work it in if possible and that makes the story more interesting for them, so in that way they are rewarded.

4. I never fudge the rolls! I roll in the open and they know the nature of the beast. If the TPK happened totally by a weird chain of events, then the players would have the choice to make new characters (destiny is not always what you think) or if they want to stick with these maybe they are brought back after a time by people searching for the "heroes of lore" or something. Or maybe a quick "ghostwalk" couple of sessions till they can devise a way to come back. But let me say that I believe a TPK is in most cases a failure on the DM's part. The DM should be able to handle the situation in a believable way without having to TPK the entire party. Maybe the foe just captures the last few PCs or stops attacking and drags off the fallen leaving the last survivor(s) to escape with their skins.


pres man wrote:


1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

1. I do both. If there is some particular reason to attempt to build tension, or I think that a party member will act differently if the other party members know about something than if they don't, or the party is separated, I will take people aside. Sometimes this can result in some fun role-playing opportunities.

2. Both. For any important NPC or interaction, or if I happen to have a sudden inspiration, we will switch to first person dialogue mode.

3. Not particularly, but if they do, I will sometimes try to work them in. My last group did these anyway for their own benefit, and honestly when I play I do too.

4. I will fudge. That said, my players know that sometimes I will and sometimes I won't, it depends on my mood. (Although I fudge more often than not in these circumstances. I agree that a TPR is a horrible thing, and really want the PCs to succeed.)

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

Cool idea for a thread, pres man.

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

Generally I tell everyone because 9 times out of 10, the player is just going to say something like "okay, I tell you guys what the DM just said." If it's something that the PC wouldn't want everyone to see or wouldn't be able to communicate, I'll take them aside.

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

Generally in character, though I often use third person for female NPCs.

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

I try to, but I also try to meet each player type halfway. Some people just want to show up and kill things, so I try to make sure they get to do that. I reward people who take the time to create hooks and backgrounds by picking up those hooks and giving those characters more of a starring role in the game.

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

I roll everything in front of the screen and don't fudge rolls. If we get a tpk, I'll ask the group what they want to do and, frequently, replay the fight that resulted in the tpk but not give them any xp for it.


1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?


5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

Generally, if there are characters the PCs are not interacting with directly, I fudge it. Though I generally have an idea of the combat abilities of those NPCs involved and that is taken into account as well. For example, 4 orc warriors versus a halfling farmer, probably means the halfling is going down. 4 orc warriors versus 4 city guards probably means a 50-50 split in a round or two.


Good stuff, man!

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

Depends on the player and what is perceived. If the PC is one who I know uses knowledge to their own benefit, I'll let just that one know what is going on. If someone notices something that an obvious reaction to would tip the party's hand, I'll tell just that player(s). Otherwise, it's a "Are you going to let the rest of the party know? If so, I'll just say it for everyone to hear."

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

I prefer in-character as much as possible, as I am a bit of a ham.

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

I prefer and encourage it, especially from players I know can deliver. I like to use any tidbits anyone drops about their past in the games to make them fell connected. However, if someone wants to just bash monsters and take their stuff, I'm good with that too.

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

Wow. I'd like my gaming group to make it to the first comma in that question so that a campaign-ending TPK becomes a possibility!!

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

My rule of thumb - any combat or other activity that doesn't involve the PCs will move at the speed of plot. If I need to village to take a beating, it will. If I need the Orcs to just bloody the village's nose, then there's gonna be more wounded than dead and very little of either as the Orcs set buildings on fire. If I need the PCs to impress the locals with their abilities to help, there'll be a lot of wounded to tend. If I need to PCs to show off their battle-smarts, etc etc.


Doc_Outlands wrote:
...will move at the speed of plot.

I like that.

Liberty's Edge

pres man wrote:

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

1. Usually I just say it, unless it is something that really shouldn't be common knowledge. My players are prone to meta-gaming.

2. I really try to go first-person, even going as far as changing pitch and accent; but sometimes I get lazy and just go third-person.

3. Yes, but it doesn't happen often. Orphaned loners are very popular in the adventuring world.

4. This actually happened in my current Age of Worms Campaign. Zyrxog took them all out - everyone failed against his Mind Blast except one player, and she was badly wounded. Instead of killing them all and ending the campaign, I had Zyrxog "mark" them as his agents and they were on his psychihc leash for quite a while.

5. I never resolve "off-camera" combat with dice rolls, only the events directly involving the PCs


1. I usually just call it out. But, sometimes I write on a small piece of paper, wad it up and throw it to the specific player to read, and let her decided what to do with the information. It is situation dependent.

2. It depends upon how thick my skin is when I try to deliver lines in character. I can only go so far, before I have revert back to 3rd person. I'm not an actor.

3. I don't discourage it, but we generally consider background to just be pointless.

4. I usually roll in the open. I'll begin to change the BBEGs tactics to one of capture and submission if a large chunk of the party has kicked it.

5. I like to roll for everything given the time and motivation, but will and do switch to making blanket announcements about results of combat in the interest of keeping it fun(er).


1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?


6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

I'm sure I've used it from time to time, probably unintentionally. But I wouldn't say I think it is a great way to go. Like with the TPK question, I'd probably like to find someway to work around the issue using the characters/situations already involved.


6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

Speaking as an amateur, what is 'deus ex machina'? Is that anime

Scarab Sages

pres man wrote:

This is a thread where amateur gamers can answer the same questions posed to the pros in Paizo's blog.

Here are the first four questions, followed by my own responses. As new questions are posted we will address those as well. Let's have some fun and spread some sage (or not so sage in my case) wisdom.

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

1. It depends on the situation, if it's something minor, I will just say it outloud, if it's something especially devious (or playing Paranoia) Pull them aside or pass a note.

2. That usually depends on my mood, I LIKE to do in character lines, but I'm horrible at portraying women in person, and not every NPC is fleshed out in m mind.

3. God YES! I fully encourage the players to have backgrounds, it gives them direction. (I have implemented a flaw system so I can have more hooks)

4. TPKs I would have to fudge, unless it's a final encounter...A single death here or there, it happens...


Nasty Pajamas wrote:
Speaking as an amateur, what is 'deus ex machina'? Is that anime

deus ex machina

]literally "god from the machine") is a plot device in which a person or thing appears "out of the blue" to help a character to overcome a seemingly insolvable difficulty.[/quote wrote:


1. Usually out loud, but I have some small laminated sheets I can use dry erase on for building tension. This was particularly useful in War of the Wielded when the telepathic sword got 'captured' and no one knew the swashbuckler was in contact with it.

2. Third person, my writing is better than my acting. though their are a few characters who get voices.

3. Bonus feats to characters with a background. I also work tidbits into the story, usually in NPCs or found treasure.

4. Has not happened yet, but I figure I would have each death end in 'green mist dissolves around you' with the final character waking up from the mist only to remember being in a fortune telling seance. I guess that means fudge the rolls.

5. Speed of plot, but I had not heard the term before this thread :). I sometimes make rolls so it does not look like railroading though.

6. Dues ex machina is boring and takes the PCs from the protagonist role so I hope to never need it but it might be useful for the TPK question.


1. I simply say it out loud. If they were in a situation where communicating that knowledge to those who didn't succeed on their check would be impossible or unwise, I might point that out to them and would make sure they act within their character's knowledge.

2. I prefer in-character dialog, especially when the NPC has been built up as important. I am certainly not above using third-person quasi-dialog for casual interaction, though.

3. At the beginning of the campaign I encourage, but never enforce this. If my players want to feel more invested in their character, I'm happy to facilitate that.

4. This depends entirely upon the campaign, and the will of the players. It's tough to imagine a situation where I'd prefer to scrap the whole campaign due to a TPK, so if the players want to continue I would push to either have them roll up new characters, or to accept a deus ex machina resolution to the TPK crisis.

5. I'd avoid representing a conflict like this tactically, especially if the PCs weren't involved. I might insert the PCs into a small portion of the village map and have the handful of orcs I want them to fight facing off against a handful of villagers. This creates a microcosm encounter setting that gives them the proper feel without overwhelming me as a DM and without making the fight drag on forever.

6. Absolutely. Intervention by forces outside the actors' control is too valuable a storytelling mechanic to simply discard out of hand. It should be used sparingly and should advance the story in a compelling way. It should never be used to the point where the players feel like they are no longer in control of what they do. I always try to ensure that at least the illusion of choice is present.


1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

7. You are running an Adventure Path, and one of your players is ignoring the obvious hook. Do you gently nudge him in the planned direction, or do you go with the flow and see where this digression might take you?


pres man wrote:
7. You are running an Adventure Path, and one of your players is ignoring the obvious hook. Do you gently nudge him in the planned direction, or do you go with the flow and see where this digression might take you?

Well, I rarely run Adventure Paths. If I was running one and the players started to wander, and they had a plan for something, then I'd go with it, while trying to lead them back to the path (perhaps later down the road). If they were just wandering aimlessly, then I'd drop a bigger clue to get them back quicker.

Most of the time though I run a more open game. I listen to the comments of the players, especially the off-hand comments and then try to craft the situations with those ideas.

An example might be, say thieves have been breaking into various stores, the most recent one was a cheese store. One of the players might make an off-hand comment like, "It was probably some were-rats looking for some cheddar, ha ha ha!" I would think, "Well I was going to make it goblins, but how about were-rat goblins? MMwwhhaaa (evil laugh)!" Later when they find the thieves and they turn out to be were-rat goblins the player says, "Man! I knew they were-rats!" and they think they outsmarted me.


pres man wrote:

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

7. You are running an Adventure Path, and one of your players is ignoring the obvious hook. Do you gently nudge him in the planned direction, or do you go with the flow and see where this digression might take you?

1) At the table I usually tell everyone, unless the player who saw it might keep it secret, or if there is some reason why they can't communicate. On pbp though, it is easy to keep it separate with PMs, then I let the players roleplay telling the others, which is fun because sometimes what the players repeat is not the whole truth, nor always accurate.

2) I use voices alot when directly interacting, though I'll use third person for minor things, such as a servent telling them dinner is ready, or for the result of gather info.

3) I do indeed encourage this. I love taking different things and seeing how tightly I can connect it together.

4) Never had a TPK, so I don't know. Then again, I always warn players that if they something, it might kill them, and I make int checks when they do something stupid like run towards the maw of an elder dragon, and I might say something their character just realized, such as immanent death lies at the maw of the dragon 15 levels above you.

5) Depends on what I need for the encounter.

6) I don't generally do it intentionally, but I do have a loose idea of what the other factions of the world are doing, and sometimes they cross paths with PCs, which can be a lifesaver for the PCs.

7) Only once did I ever run something premade. I simply told the players, "this is the hook, so make sure your character has some reason to care." Then I let the players tie their backstory to the hook. Better than trying to fiddle around the issue of convince them of something.


pres man wrote:

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

7. You are running an Adventure Path, and one of your players is ignoring the obvious hook. Do you gently nudge him in the planned direction, or do you go with the flow and see where this digression might take you?

(Disclaimer: My experience is much more heavily weighted toward playing than GMing, especially when it comes to in-person games. Still, answering questions is fun.)

1. My IRL group tends to have a very team-oriented approach to play (our current GM was a Navy Seal, and that special-ops attitude tends to be fairly prevalent), so most of the time, it can be assumed that if one person knows, they're going to tell everyone else assuming the situation allows it. We're also very good at separating player knowledge from character knowledge - in fact, we enjoy making sure to act how our character would regardless of what we know. So generally telling everyone isn't disruptive in any way. If something needs to be secret, I'll usually use notes rather than pulling someone aside, as our gaming space isn't very big. In my PbP games, I just use spoilers to hide information that people may not know and trust that players will be able to keep that information separate if they do peek.

2. First person, especially in play-by-post. I'm no actor, so doing it in-person is a bit more difficult for me, but I vastly prefer it even if it's hard. (I don't do accents well, though. Cockney and upper-crust British is about all I have, and I can't even maintain those long.)

3. If people come forward with deep, well-thought out backgrounds, I'll do whatever I can to include that information in the campaign - it makes things so much richer. But I also get that not everyone is a writer, and sometimes people just want the bare bones so they can get into fighting things with a minimum of fuss, which is fine too. Just know that the less you give me to play with, the less I'm able to personalize the campaign for you.

4. It'd totally depend on what the group wanted. Hasn't happened to me yet, though. (I've never died in a tabletop RPG. I've only gone into negative hitpoints...twice, I think?)

5. I've never been involved in a fight so large that it was prohibitively difficult to have everyone take turns. (The closest I've come was my last character's wedding with about a hundred guests, but they weren't combatants, just panicked bystanders that we had to avoid making into collateral damage.) It would depend a lot on what purpose the fight's supposed to serve - whether the fight itself is what we're supposed to enjoy or if it's just one scene in a more important overarching story.

6. Hmm...if it is going to be used, there at least needs to be a reason, not just hasty improvisation. Prefer to avoid it if at all possible.

7. I play and GM all published material, and I make sure when I'm starting games that I give very clear information about what characters appropriate to the game should at least be willing to go along with. (The AP Player Guides are a big help in this.) My IRL group also tends to be fairly good at going with the overarching flow of published material - we don't have a strong aversion to railroading. That said, though, if there's diversions within the story (book assumes left and party goes right at a fork in the road, book assumes starting with one hook and party chooses another) I'm perfectly willing to let those chips fall where they may and see where it takes us.


pres man wrote:

This is a thread where amateur gamers can answer the same questions posed to the pros in Paizo's blog.

Here are the first four questions, followed by my own responses. As new questions are posted we will address those as well. Let's have some fun and spread some sage (or not so sage in my case) wisdom.

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

1. Takes time away unless its scenario where someone gets dominated or a PC wants to initiate their own subterfuge. I nail excessive META when I spot it.

2. In-Character for significant NPCs, Third-Person for Secondary/Tertiary -establishes priority for Players.

3. Nope! If they want one I will brief them further and compromise on their entry (backgrounds are precious to some because that character may be a recurring concept - my only condition is that it complies with the main game company for that product)-otherwise it's an En Medias Res introduction gripped with the action casual Player wanted. I HATE Tavern-drops.

4. The Campaign ends -no shame because run Absolutely Fairly, the House Wins eventually. A new one begins, typically with survivors. I've adapted the same "cell" mentality from multiple games and across settings.


pres man wrote:

1. When you call for your players to roll Perception checks, do you pull those who succeed aside, or do you simply look at them and say, "You see/hear...?"

2. When delivering the lines of NPCs, do you prefer in-character or third person?

3. Do you encourage your players to create well-thought-out backgrounds complete with hooks that you can insert into your campaign?

4. You have been playing a campaign for many months, and your group suffers a TPK. Do you fudge the rolls, contrive a reason for them to be brought back, have them create new characters and pick up where the others left off, or just scrap the campaign?

5. You have a scene where a large orc tribe is attacking a village. You have all of the orcs and various NPCs represented on the map. Do you roll for each and every orc and NPC, or do you, in the interest of saving time, just decide how many of each side dies each round?

6. Many GMs feel that deus ex machina is cheap, and simply refuse to ever use it. Others feel it is okay if it is properly set up ahead of time. Do you ever use deus ex machina as a storytelling device?

7. You are running an Adventure Path, and one of your players is ignoring the obvious hook. Do you gently nudge him in the planned direction, or do you go with the flow and see where this digression might take you?

1. I do both, depending. Usually I just say, "You see..." However, if I'm trying to build tension/paranoia, or if something weird is going to happen, then I will either pass a note or pull the player aside for a side-chat.

2. It depends. If it's a major scene, then we'll play in first-person. If it's not, then I'll do third-person, unless the mood strikes me to switch to first-person.

3. Absolutely. In fact, I more-or-less require it.

4. My motto as a GM: "Never let an inconvenient die roll get in the way of a good story." Also: remember that a TPK isn't necessarily the end. My go-to solution is to turn the TPK into a "Total Party Capture," and then run the next session as a jail-break adventure. Unless a TPK is a fitting end to the campaign...

5. If it's happening in the background, it's a story element and should be treated as such. I'll just describe the carnage as a background element. There is absolutely no need to play out the combat while your players sit there and watch you roll dice and write down numbers.

6. Not a big fan of deus ex machina, unless it's central to the plot. And by that, I mean, the PCs are on a quest to summon some form of divine assitance for some reason. Yeah, the gods intervene, but only at the completion of the PCs' quest.

7. I'm a firm believer in the illusion of choice. If the PCs don't take the obvious plot hook and go looking for something else, they'll usually find a different plot hook that will send them down the same path. Especially if I'm running a published adventure. Of course, if I am running a published adventure, I tell my players that ahead of time, and ask for a decent level of cooperation that that they don't regularly go off the rails for no good reason.

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