The Indescribable's Untitled Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master The Indescribable

This thread is dedicated to becoming a better DM, and it's for all DM's not just me. I have realized that I want to work on various aspects of DMing to help get them down before the next time I try running an adventure or campaign, my first thought on this, is making interesting encounters. Interesting boss fights, with interesting characters. Eventually I'll design a short adventure to help smooth out my story telling, etc. So, any takers on wanting to fight an amazonian jungle queen? It will just be some fights, nothing more right now. And if there's an aspect of your DMing style you want to try and fix or nail down, I encourage you to post in here too.

I've never DMd in PbP, but I have done so in Pen&Paper. Since I know my players as they're all my friends, I think it becomes easier.

There's always the player who min maxes the character. I don't particularly like it, but I know it's going to break the game for them if they get their wings cut. There's also always the player who designs sub-par characters with a convoluted and sometimes interesting concept.

So I try to give everyone something to do. I rarely design a boss fight with only one BBEG. There are usually other characters, whether it be weaker enemies to engage less optimal PCs or just to give the sensation of havoc. I also try to add environmental elements that can be used or with which the PCs can interact if they get any cool ideas.

In general, a boss encounter is designed to be harder than they're supposed to face, ideally after they have spent resources previously. If they try to go in head on, they eventually have to slow down and rethink something. This is what gets them the sensation of catharsis, that they overcame the obstacle and they actually accomplished something.

If folks wants tips to being a better GM,
it is sometimes best to observe and or read a few other GM's games and note some of the things they do.

For Me the biggest tip I ever give for making a better game is to work on the world the players will be in.
A living breathing world will interest the players more, then a dead one.
The keystone for me I found for a living world is work on the NPCs, don't just have a their name's be their job,
this isn't Goblin Slayer and playing Dungeons and Goblins, give each NPC a;
name, personality (2-4 defining words will do), relationships to other NPCs, along with; race, gender, appearance, and
some basic stats (encase there are unexpected interactions with other NPCs or PCs) also helps to make a brief history of the NPC.
Also remember NPCs are supposed to be people, they will interact with each other and not always be in the same spot every hour of the day, they have lives and also need to react to events based on what defines that NPC.
Fill in details for the world when you can, and if the game is going long, as a GM I recommend re-reading the game and noting some stuff and use it, as you see fit.

I also recommend using Notepad++ create a text document to help track all your NPCs, and I do recommend grouping NPC families into their own text files for easier organisation and tracking of events with that NPC family and it's members

For PBP, I use generic Aliases, you can see there use in this game I ran long ago.
I still use generic Aliases because I can run any game and NOT need to make any new NPC aliases to run NPCs.
Now you'd need to create your own nomenclature for the generics,
as some will be filling specific roles in each game so it is more obvious what role the NPC is filling.

Now I also use Daz Studio to make character and sometimes scene renders to help the players and GM get a common image of NPCs, rooms, and or events.
I generally like it if each PC gives a description so a height render could be made so everyone has a common image of the PCs and how they compare to each other, believe me it shocks people when they see a height reference to scale in that it breaks what they thought in their mind was right.

----

Now one thing I will say that did help me before going on the Paizo boards with GMing is
I did read a number of helpful articles in paizo's old Dragon and Dungeon magazines.
As a number of them had tips I never thought of and at this point ingrained and it seems common knowledge to me.
New and Old GMs and player could even read these to get ideas that will happily surprise everyone.

I've done a lot of shared campaign judging over the years. Classic RPGA, Living City, Living Jungle, Living Force (called something else I've forgotten), Shattered Empires, Living Greyhawk, Pathfinder Society, and probably more that I've forgotten off-hand.

The two biggest differences between judging those tables and a home group is that the shared campaign tables frequently spend the entire event working out how they best work together and that some players "succeeded" in that environment through amazingly selfish play treating their partners as little more than hired targets.

At every table, you NEED to remember that your job is to help them tell the story of their characters in the world you happen to be playing within. Many players live for the dice and the thrill of a big roll, but even those dice rolls are less thrilling if the story doesn't make them feel like they matter. The judge's job is to tell the story, NOT perfectly implement a rule set. Never let the mechanics dictate the story. The mechanics must adapt to the story.

One of the tables I ran that everyone really enjoyed ended in a Total Party Kill, and they loved playing through it. Surrounding tables actually paused to watch the climax of this table. Intelligent use of Bolster Undead made an evil cleric/undead opposition a much stronger opposition than expected. (How many judges really had bad guy clerics support the undead instead of use them as disposable troops?) By the time they finished off the undead, the party was down to 2 heavily injured active characters vs the cleric who had expended pretty much every useful spell. The cleric managed to drop one of them, a couple of hits were exchanged, and suddenly we reached the point where ANY hit would end the fight. We rolled through 5 rounds like that before the evil cleric hit the PC, with me cheering the player on and asking him to hit me. They didn't appreciate the loss, but they enjoyed it. Why? Because the behavior of the bad guys made sense, and they were in honest suspense over the result, hanging onto every aspect of both the story and the mechanics as they stretched to find a win.

Most players think they prefer easy wins. Most really don't. A few do. That gets back to the know your players mandate.

Okay, I appreciate the tips, but this is on the roleplay section for a reason. I'm not looking for tips, I'm looking to nail down boss building through actually doing it, and then putting up characters against them. It will help me figure out what kind of characters work best as antagonist against certain group types, (such as the classic cleric, wizard, fighter, rogue combo.) I'm looking for players who want to get their hands dirty with one aspect of the game, to help me and other DMs build satisfying worlds, encounters, dungeon crawls etc.

Right now I'm looking to build boss battles, and actually play them against players.

I'm your huckleberry...

Okay, I appreciate the tips, but this is on the roleplay section for a reason. I'm not looking for tips, I'm looking to nail down boss building through actually doing it, and then putting up characters against them. It will help me figure out what kind of characters work best as antagonist against certain group types, (such as the classic cleric, wizard, fighter, rogue combo.) I'm looking for players who want to get their hands dirty with one aspect of the game, to help me and other DMs build satisfying worlds, encounters, dungeon crawls etc.

Right now I'm looking to build boss battles, and actually play them against players.

Sorry but this thread is in the recruitment subforum....

And I did give world building tips, work on the NPCs....
even the ones who's role in the story is to die in a one shot hit to send a clear message to the players to think carefully about their next actions in the game and that fleeing is an option....
might need to remind them about fleeing as an option with a high will save DC (such that they need a 18 of high on the die to save) and have them run when they fail the save/

In a game I'm currently running the players learned a lot from their first encounter....and set a number of factors for the game itself in the player's minds.
It also made sure they started to judge the encounter some before going rushing recklessly into it.

if you want a Good boss encounter it does require planning and planting the seeds of it as early as possible, but also in such a way the players know this is big.
This also means making sure the players are reminded they aren't the big dog in this game world, but a little fish in a big pond.
Now It helps if the players are given the shock they aren't the big dog early in the game.

Sounds almost like recruiting encounter playtesters.

Wilhim wrote:

Okay, I appreciate the tips, but this is on the roleplay section for a reason. I'm not looking for tips, I'm looking to nail down boss building through actually doing it, and then putting up characters against them. It will help me figure out what kind of characters work best as antagonist against certain group types, (such as the classic cleric, wizard, fighter, rogue combo.) I'm looking for players who want to get their hands dirty with one aspect of the game, to help me and other DMs build satisfying worlds, encounters, dungeon crawls etc.

Right now I'm looking to build boss battles, and actually play them against players.

Sorry but this thread is in the recruitment subforum....

not the advice subforum

That's, kind of my point? I'm not looking for advice, I'm putting it here for people to Join so I can nail down various aspects of my game through practical experience. If I'm misunderstanding your point I apologize.

Sounds almost like recruiting encounter playtesters.

Essentially that IS what I'm doing, while opening a space for other DM's to recruit for the same reason. A spot where we can gather players to practice our skills and learn to make better games.

Sorry, but I responded to the contents of your post, where you said you wanted help improving your skills and interaction with your players.

If all you want is people to show up for exercises in dice rolling and short-term tactics, your text asked for something far more meaningful and important.

My apologies for taking your text seriously.

My apologies for taking your text seriously.

Thank you for your passive aggressive attempt to insult me for trying to refine my skills in my own way when I've been looking up tips for months and now want to try my skills practically.

No, I am not merely trying to recruit people for exercises in dice rolling. I want to create bosses, with personalities that I attempt to show in battle, and ask critiques from the players. Once I feel I've nailed down what I'm working on now. I'll move to a different part of the game like actual dungeon crawls.

EDIT: Also, I did not discard your advice, it's just not what I'm looking for in this thread.

I'll be blunt and honest here

Sorry, look at your Opening Post....
It is clearly asking for advice, not test players in how it is setup in the perspective of the many who took time to read it,
as
1) your Title of the Thread is way more like asking for advice, then asking for playtesters.
2) had NO character creation rules in OP.
3) The OP should of been structured and written better then what was posted when looking for test players.
4) All you posts after the OP also tended to being tilted more towards asking advice, not playtesters.
Maybe you should of asked Why you were getting advice rather then playtesters?.

And don't passive aggressively insult those that are trying to help you...
Or you might just burn the bridges your looking for.

--

Also if you looking into being a better GM, drop the idea that you can test each part individually.
They are all more connected then they seem.
I made that mistake early on, and veteran homebrew GMs know that things are more connected then they seem.

If you want a Proper playtest, make the WHOLE adventure, and do one of two things or both;
Compile the adventure (as a module) into a file and have another GM(s) look it over and ask for their opinion, ideas to help fix it, and or ideas to flesh it out some,
or
Run the adventure and have another GM(s) review the game and point things out after it is done.

Clearly, you need no lessons in passive aggressive behavior, but if you have this much trouble communicating your desires to a group of people that are offering you assistance, how clearly are you communicating intent to your players?

Open and clear communication is a requirement to run a game well.

Rarely is the help we need the same help we think to request. Learn anyway.

....

if you have this much trouble communicating your desires to a group of people that are offering you assistance, how clearly are you communicating intent to your players?

Open and clear communication is a requirement to run a game well.
.....

Very True,

This thread is dedicated to becoming a better DM, and it's for all DM's not just me. I have realized that I want to work on various aspects of DMing to help get them down before the next time I try running an adventure or campaign, my first thought on this, is making interesting encounters. Interesting boss fights, with interesting characters. Eventually I'll design a short adventure to help smooth out my story telling, etc. So, any takers on wanting to fight an amazonian jungle queen? It will just be some fights, nothing more right now. And if there's an aspect of your DMing style you want to try and fix or nail down, I encourage you to post in here too.

Since you seem to think I was not clear on what I'm doing, I have bolded the relevant section where I specifically state what I'm going to do.

Now, if you're done telling me my communication isn't clear, and not starting with build rules for a post for all GMs who have any aspect they want to work on, do you have any interest?

To quote your Own OP since the first part is generally the most important and is used as a base for everything else and one sentence buried with the real intent not the best way to ask.

This thread is dedicated to becoming a better DM, and it's for all DM's not just me. I have realized that I want to work on various aspects of DMing to help get them down before the next time I try running an adventure or campaign, my first thought on this, is making interesting encounters. Interesting boss fights, with interesting characters. Eventually I'll design a short adventure to help smooth out my story telling, etc. So, any takers on wanting to fight an amazonian jungle queen? It will just be some fights, nothing more right now. And if there's an aspect of your DMing style you want to try and fix or nail down, I encourage you to post in here too.

if you wanted playtesters the OP should of Been written as

I'm looking for playtesters to become a better DM, and it's for all DM's not just me.I have realized that I want to work on various aspects of DMing to help get them down before the next time I try running an adventure or campaign, my first thought on this, is making interesting encounters. Interesting boss fights, with interesting characters. Eventually I'll design a short adventure to help smooth out my story telling, etc.

....

Character creation rules....

Well, thanks. I sought to work to make myself a better DM, and you've killed all interest in doing that for me.

....

Now, if you're done telling me my communication isn't clear, and not starting with build rules for a post for all GMs who have any aspect they want to work on, do you have any interest?

If GMs are looking for advice on a specific part, ask for advice from a GM, not play testers.

If you making a homebrew adventure/modules and worried about something, compile it together and have a peer review it, and note the feedback from that peer.

I think it's all just a misunderstanding. Everyone had their points and perspectives.

I'm happy to help you, Wilhim.

I've not been a DM (old school) but am very interested in class combinations/synergies and tactical encounters.

Peace!

ps: when you say Amazonian, do you mean... jungle, strapping female warrior or... e-commerce advocate :)

Well, thanks. I sought to work to make myself a better DM, and you've killed all interest in doing that for me.

Don't give up, because if some people's misinterpretation. Some of us did understand your intent. Like this guy:

Sounds almost like recruiting encounter playtesters.

And me. I only skimmed over your 4 1/2 lines of text and immediately started thinking, what kind of character I could offer you...

I'll echo that sentiment. Also, holy hell, my guys. Whatever happened to this being a friendly community here? You're right, this isn't the Advice board, so let's leave the pissy behavior there, where it belongs.

(I kid. Slightly.)

Anyway, I think there's a lot of merit in this idea. Obviously things don't exist in vacuums, but you can get some good experience and practice out of experimental encounters. And I'll always applaud anyone looking to become a better DM, however you want to go about it. We improve through trying, failing, learning, and trying again.

So yeah, I'm game. If also be interested in testing some of my own potential encounters with folks if they're interested. Just let me know what I need to bring to the table and I'll bring it.

Pathfinder Society rule characters just to make it easier to compare. No restriction on paizo classes. In fact, just having three characters would be a good thing too, experience in fine tuning for a sub optimal number of players would be good experience too.

Whoops, should have said, level five. Standard wealth by level

PF 1E?

Dammit. I keep forgetting to say that now that 2nd ed is a thing. yes. first ed.

Dammit. I keep forgetting to say that now that 2nd ed is a thing. yes. first ed.

No worries, confirming because I started using HeroLab and I only have 1E.

Grazie!

I'd be happy to help as well. In addition, I have a very decent amount of system mastery, so I can assist with power level testing.

A little warning though, I offer constructive feedback. As such it will not be sugar coated (not mean, mind you, just direct) . I will bluntly tell you successes and failures. And, should you desire, possible remedies to the pitfalls. If you desire a more fragile approach, I am probably not the right person.

I look forward to hearing from you (OP).

That's fine so long as you aren't insulting about it. Sorry I couldn't get back to you earlier. I've spent the last two days at a friend's helping him clean and watching shows. My mobile device refuses to log into this site for some reason.

Insulting and malice are not conducive to learning. Just send me a message with whatever you need built, or how I can assist you in the "stress test" of your combat.

I think it's great to read the adventures here in the online games, it can give you some tips to know what to do and what not to do.

Of course, not every player waits for the same things from their GM, so someone who is considered as a good GM by some players can find him(her)self at odds with another game group.

I think the most important things are:
1/having fun
1/be willing to learn (mostly from mistakes)
1/be able to improve, and improvise
1/ communicate with the players (in game, between games, after game)

Insulting and malice are not conducive to learning. Just send me a message with whatever you need built, or how I can assist you in the "stress test" of your combat.

What I need is players, so please make a character as stated above. Level five Mostly using PF society rules no restriction on pathfinder classes, standard wealth by level

Low, medium, or high power level?

Are you asking if I want you to min max it? If so, I don't care. My plans aren't about power level, though it will help me nail that down too.

Helix Missionary here with a fire-based, damage-dealing sorcerer. I believe I built to PFS rules, from my knowledge of what they are (don't play it myself). He's built as something of a one-trick pony, but it's a pretty good trick; I also built him envisioning how I'd actually play such a character, for what that's worth. Let me know if you see anything that should be changed.

Saashaa here with a character on the high power level end. Completely PFS legal.

Okay, just need one more entry I suppose.

I need to get to my copy of Hero Lab, but will whip someone up!

@Helix Missionary & Saashaa

What do you want for a 3rd or 3rd & 4th? I'm open... Melee? Ranged? Cleric?

Hey guys, I'm a bit late to the party, and I'm actually a lot interested in this stuff.
I have been DM and player for years on Pen&Paper and recently here as well.
I would like to help, I know the system very well and encounter balance is one of the things I find most thrilling in this game, since there's never a correct answer, it all depends on the players and how they approach to the game. So I could learn something as well.

I really like to optimize and build characters, but I'm also the one who understands and knows that everyone at the table must have fun, and if the party power isn't balanced, problems arise.

If you're interested, I can build anything you want, just let me know :)

Hey guys, I'm a bit late to the party, and I'm actually a lot interested in this stuff.

I think 4 is better than 3.

We have a Sorcerer, Kineticist, you and me. PFS legal, level 5.

What should we make?

Moonwave wrote:

Hey guys, I'm a bit late to the party, and I'm actually a lot interested in this stuff.

I think 4 is better than 3.

We have a Sorcerer, Kineticist, you and me. PFS legal, level 5.

What should we make?

I'm not saying I'm forcing you to do it, but I would suggest at least one of you be a beefy character. Barbarian, Cleric, Fighter, Paladin etc. We are definitely lacking a true tank. despite Obsidian's constitution modifier.

I'd agree--Kineticists have high CON, but between a d8 hit die and Burn, that doesn't go as far as it might seem. My character's also solid for ranged damage, including a lot of short-range AoE, so a frontliner of some kind would be helpful. Beyond that, I think we could use some support (battlefield control and/or buffing and/or emergency healing).

I never played PFS rules, always thought that means a list of banned things. Is that correct?

I believe we can play a solo frontline tanky martial and a divine ranged support or a more offensive martial if the divine is also able to stay in melee range.

I can play both, maybe I can go for Herald Caller cleric if you like, a more ranged divine, but with summons to help melee (hoping it's pfs legal) xD

I can play both, maybe I can go for Herald Caller cleric if you like, a more ranged divine, but with summons to help melee (hoping it's pfs legal) xD

Herald Caller is PFS legal, and the summoned creatures make for great flanking buddies.

I'll create a "tank" or suitable melee character.

Check this guy out... he can dish it.

I know of a great healer build if anyone wants to try it out.

I will post my build today, just have to fix some minor details.

I'd be happy to know about that healer build, though full defensive cleric builds are somewhat boring xD

Moonwave here, this will be the build I'll be using. It's 90% complete, just have to fix prepared spells and minor details.

I tried to follow PFS guidelines on Additional Resources pdf, if I missed something please let me know.

Moonwave here, this will be the build I'll be using. It's 90% complete, just have to fix prepared spells and minor details.

I tried to follow PFS guidelines on Additional Resources pdf, if I missed something please let me know.

Ape is an interesting choice! Please teach it to flank!

Wilhim wrote:

Well, thanks. I sought to work to make myself a better DM, and you've killed all interest in doing that for me.

Don't give up, because if some people's misinterpretation. Some of us did understand your intent. Like this guy:

Markus the Librarian wrote:

Sounds almost like recruiting encounter playtesters.

And me. I only skimmed over your 4 1/2 lines of text and immediately started thinking, what kind of character I could offer you...

Aaand I'm back. I guess I'm a bit late to the party and you don't need a fifth wheel.