Master_of_Plataea's page

Anyone using the PF rules for a future style game and if so, how is it working out for you? I'm thinking of running a space age PF game, for a change of pace.

I've been DMing for two years and even though much of my campaign setting is fleshed out, sometimes I feel like I missed the smaller histories in order to focus on the larger histories (abysmal invasion, creation, death of a god, etc.) Also, since I've taken a sabbatical from DMing, long boring story, I thought it would be nice to write out some useless details my players may never see! :D oh yeah, I'm that kinda DM lol

Really, I'm just looking for ideas for my short stories. For any responders interested, try to include a protagonist, an antagonist, an obstacle for the hero to overcome (optional), and the type of story it should be (comedy, tragedy, etc.) So bring on the coolest, darkest, craziest, or weirdest topics you can think of. Cheers.

-Canis

I have posted this on the DnD forums, but I thought I'd post it here as well to see what my Paizo friends think. Enjoy.

Be advised! This post is part rant, part ramble, and part instructive notes, hopefully, on how NOT to DM. This is drawn from my experiences alone and does not necessarily mean the things that did not work for me won't work for you. I intend this as a warning to young DMs; however, some shared stories or possible solutions from older DMs would be greatly appreciated. You have been forewarned.

My name is, well it's irrelevant, but for the sake of any possible repliers, call me Canis (it's easier to type than Master_of_Plataea). I've played in two editions as well as Pathfinder and DM'd for PF for two years.

In only two years, I've started and cut short too many games to recall, most of which were generic, cookie cutter adventures that any novice could have ran, but not I. Why, you may ask? Simply put, I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I was so caught up in unimportant details "The devil's in the details," goes the old adage, and for me, there were always endless details. The best way to explain this is to give one of my better, terrible DM moments as an example:

In one of my first games, I was using a premade adventure to supplement my homebrew campaign. I was making a few NPCs to really flesh out some encounters, I was trying to look like a well put together DM for my group. Vanity, thy name is Canis (mistake 1.) As a sidenote, I choose to make a level 2 NPC from scratch because, according to my reasoning, all "real" DMs made their own NPCs so I had to do it to be like them (mistake 2.) Before I had even rolled a stat, I ran into a roadblock: what is this NPC's name? Yes, I know those who read this will probably laugh at something this trivial but at the time, this was a serious problem. So what do I do? The only thing I can do, dangit, I fire up the ole' web browser and look for names (mistake 3.) Completely abandoning stat creation, I launch into a two hour search for the "perfect name." Not just a name that sounds cool, oh no, too easy. This name must be racially correct, as well as correct for class, place of origin, and alignment. Why? Because that is how you do it, according to my naive reasoning (mistake 4.) After researching countless campaign settings, mythologies, and regional name guides, I finally gave up and went to bed, assuring myself I'd "get around to it soon." (Mistake 5)

I never got around to doing any preperation, showed up to the session with no idea of what I was going to do, and ended up cutting the night short. The adventure lasted two more sessions before I scrapped it altogether. Not one of my finer moments.

To wrap up, let me return to my example and explain the mistakes I made (for those young DMs who may not fully grasp these mistakes and maybe even for some of you older DMs who have some idea of what is about to come):

Mistake 1: Rather than trying to impress your players with how acccurately you can quote rules or how prepared you are, let your adventure "do the talking." A lackluster adventure with a rules lawyer in the DM's seat will lose everytime in a contest with an awesome adventure run by a DM with a working knowledge of the game. In other words, don't try to memorize every rule, learn naturally as you DM.

Mistake 2: Use the resources at hand rather than tailor making NPCs just to ensure every last skill point is where you want it. Most NPCs won't matter in 3 sessions.

Mistake 3: Avoid needless distractions during prep time. Set attainable goals, work at your own pace, and don't overload yourself with too much at once.

Mistake 4: Don't try to make every NPC, village, or region completely perfect. Your players will rarely, or more likely never, notice that the orc they just killed doesn't have an orc name.

Mistake 5: Before stopping prep, evaluate what you have completed and consider if more prep is needed to ensure a good session. If you don't think you have enough to run with, set time aside within the next few days.

I think that about does it for this post. Thanks for anyone who struggles through the ramble and I hope it helps someone out there.

-Canis

In my games, we use a house rule called "Max damage re-roll" and it works like this:

"When rolling damage, if you roll the maximum amount of damage on any given dice (4 on a d4, 6 on a d6, etc.) you may reroll that dice for more damage. The number of times you may reroll max damage is equal to the number of faces of the die you are rolling (4 times on a d4, 6 on a d6, etc.)"

Some people believe this can lead to things getting out of hand quickly. I neither agree nor disagree to this statement, that isn't the focus of this post. I would like to see what the community at large thinks of this house rule. What are the pros and cons to using this rule and would you use it, given the opportunity. Alright, go! lol