1001 DM Tips

[jmbrown]

67. When it's not harmful to the flow or fun of the game, just say yes.

[Scow2]

68. DO NOT CREATE A STORY ARC. Let your players tell the story, and just enjoy the show. Mediate as appropriate.

[Talon Sky]

69. Throw trolls wielding flaming swords at the PC's occasionally, just to make sure they're actually paying attention.

[dsmiles]

69. Throw trolls wielding flaming swords at the PC's occasionally, just to make sure they're actually paying attention.

69a. Or a white dragon who resides in a volcano, and only appears to outsiders as a red dragon, with fire giant servants/mooks.

[ScionoftheVoid]

70. Monsters want to live too. If the battle becomes one sided a surrender or bargain is probable.

71. On a related note, decide if killing monsters is okay just because they are monsters, tell the players and stick with it. Paladins do not/should not whine nearly as much if you remind them that you said at the beginning of the campaign that slaughtering villages is not tickety-boo just because the villagers are green.

72. If the players don't tell you the characters are checking the ceiling it is so much more fun to assume that they are not.

[Radiun]

DM notes should be cryptic
Let your players sneak peeks at your notes by leaving them out in the open, your notes should be little more than numbers you've rolled for no reason at random points during a game, characters name, and evil smilies.

[kladams707]

75. If it doesn't move, consider the possibility that they might try to kill it.

[Sipex]

77. When you have an idea, ask another DM about it, your awesome original idea is probably more common than you think.

78. If your idea is common and you're okay with that then no biggie. Ideas are common because they're fun.

79. If your awesome original idea was based around a trap you thought your players NEVER would guess. Like statues which come to life. Change the trap so when they expect those statues to come to life and tie them up, a trap is set off which requires the statues to be untied to successfully disarm.

[Togo]

80. If you need the players to do something - like work together, let them know. If you're happy for them to go widly off-track, then let them know. Railroading, or wandering around trying to find plot, are mainly annoying when they're unexpected. Give the players a chance to cooperate with you and they might suprise you*


*(They probably won't, but it's so nice when they do)

81. Balance needs to be tailored to the party. Some parties really won't be bothered by 1000hp monsters, but will be helpless against something that flies. Design the encounters with the players in mind.

82. Build a random encounter or two, that can be slotted in anywhere, and use it when you need to. If a session is lagging, or you need something to bridge the gap between one big structured encounter and another big set-peice encounter, hit them with your random back up encounter. It doesn't need to be really tough, it doesn't need to be well-rewarded, and feel free let the party find a clue on their corpses that will get them back on track.

[Notreallyhere77]

83. Stat out any and all NPCs that have more than four hp. PCs tend to attack targets you didn't plan to have fight them, and keeping track of stats you make up on the fly is hard. This is where stock NPCs are your friends.

84. Generic NPC stat blocks as mentioned above are totally recylcable. Even if you used them once or twice already. By the third time, you should probably change the gear and one or two feats. This give the impression of an entirely new and unfamiliar threat.

85. Innocent bystanders who get killed tend to have families, friends, and even lawyers. If your PCs are regularly disregarding this, cut off their shopping privelages, wenching privelages, inn privelages, and food vendors, citing the friend or relative that died as the source of hostility, and send them summons to court to hold them accountable until they do right by the departed. This aids in immersion, and reminds them that they are supposed to be heroes.

86. Rule 85 can still apply to villainous parties, but loss of privelages can be overcome by Intimidate.

87. There is always a bigger fish, a bigger threat, and a higher god. Don't be afraid to give the really powerful beings the following stats:
Combat: You lose.
Social: Your arguments are refuted and your attitude is swayed.

89. If the game is normally serious, some comic relief is mandatory. If the game is not normally serious, let the scene go over the top once in a while, but in either case, don't make it a regular thing or you will never get your original tone back.

90. If you go over the top with anything, whether beign humorous, scary, or whatever, go all the way over the top.

Example: If the biggest army ever assembled is coming over the horizon, don't just include humanoids; throw in a bunch of giants, awakened animals, a flock of dragons, retired adventurers, scores of repurposed magical beasts, called or summoned outsiders, constructs, animated objects, walking trees, talking trees, formerly unemployed skeletons, the ghosts of famous actors, walking buildings, and a regiment of orphans trained as battle clerics. This is good.
But going all the way means having an epic wizard cast flame shield on all of them, so that now they are all on fire.

[Oracle_Hunter]

91. Don't constantly mess with Player expectations. Heck, don't usually do it, either!

I've seen a lot of "PCs see through your ploy - use it against them!" but all this does is confuse and frustrate them. Think of your Players like lab rats: watching them run through a maze and react to stimuli is most of the fun. If you constantly flip what a given stimuli means, your rats are going to start ignoring all your stimuli. And then you're going to be frustrated that your rats are trying to gnaw their way out of the maze rather than find the cheese.

That said - mess around with them from time to time just to keep them on their toes. But make it a special thing, not your default response to PC action.

[Morithias]

92. Just like you can make a good movie out of any plot, you can in theory make a good 3 dimensional and deep character on almost any basis. Don't throw out your player's characters ideas just because they want to play a character based on a power rangers villain (hey at least they're not begging you to play Pun-Pun then).

[DeathsHands]

93. If the players must be thrown a bone, have something unfortunate happen after to prevent overconfidence.

94. It's also fine to knock the big guy on his ass once in a while, to keep him in check.

[dsmiles]

90. If you go over the top with anything, whether beign humorous, scary, or whatever, go all the way over the top.

Example: If the biggest army ever assembled is coming over the horizon, don't just include humanoids; throw in a bunch of giants, awakened animals, a flock of dragons, retired adventurers, scores of repurposed magical beasts, called or summoned outsiders, constructs, animated objects, walking trees, talking trees, formerly unemployed skeletons, the ghosts of famous actors, walking buildings, and a regiment of orphans trained as battle clerics. This is good.
But going all the way means having an epic wizard cast flame shield on all of them, so that now they are all on fire.

That being said:
95. Fire makes everything better.

[AsteriskAmp]

96. It's not science. It's gnomes!

97. NEVER involve science if you aren't prepared for anti-osmium.

[The Pressman]

98. If you are going to include a plot, do not suddenly change genres. Twice. You might just be able to get away with once.
99. Just because they're monsters doesn't mean that they can't be civil. However, their definition of civil does not have to be the same.

[Scow2]

98. If you are going to include a plot, do not suddenly change genres. Twice. You might just be able to get away with once.

100. Don't have a pre-designed plot you expect your players to follow. Let them build their own plots.

[DragonOfUndeath]

101. if you are counting on the party too seduce someone they will think s/he is a succubus/incubus and RUN!

102. if you are counting on the party to NOT seduce someone they ALL will (regardless of gender) (sometimes at the same time )

[Morithias]

101. if you are counting on the party too seduce someone they will think s/he is a succubus/incubus and RUN!

102. if you are counting on the party to NOT seduce someone they ALL will (regardless of gender) (sometimes at the same time )

103. People tend to consider remove disease useless, but never stop to think about how many 'diseases' that girl could be carrying. (Come on they had worse hygiene for the serfs back then then they do now.)

[Tvtyrant]

104. Be careful of how many animals you use in encounters. Giving the Druid access to Dire Polar Bear will mangle your game good.

[DragonOfUndeath]

104. Be careful of how many animals you use in encounters. Giving the Druid access to Dire Polar Bear will mangle your game good.

105. giving the PC/munchkins access to DRUIDS will mangle your game good

106. inside every PC is a munchkin cackling evilly

[dsmiles]

107. Improvise, improvise, improvise. It cannot be said enough.

108. When running a published module, be prepared to put it back on the shelf after about 5 minutes.

109. When running a homemade module, be prepared to put it back on the shelf after 10 minutes.

110. Stories are more interesting when the players tell them, you're just there to describe things and be the bad guys.

EDIT:
111. The Random Dungeon Generation in the 1e DMG should be your best friend.

[DragonOfUndeath]

112. dont allow your players to pillage unless its an evil campaign
113. ESPECIALLY THE LG PALADIN
114. if the rogue is smiling add 20 gold coins to everyone's money total immediately
115. if the wizard is smiling it involves FIRE
116. if the fighter is smiling gate in a few Baalors (why would the fighter be smiling in the first place?)
117. if the psionic is smi- wait why do you have psionics in your game? ban them

[Esser-Z]

117. if the psionic is smi- wait why do you have psionics in your game? ban them

Wait what?

[Lev]

118. Be up to date with online compendiums of DM help, namely Fear the Boot.

[The-Mage-King]

117. if the psionic is smi- wait why do you have psionics in your game? ban them

119: Don't ban Psionics. No, not even then. It's a fine and actually balanced subsystem that should be used in every campaign.

[dsmiles]

119: Don't ban Psionics. No, not even then. It's a fine and actually balanced subsystem that should be used in every campaign.

More balanced than vancian magic, at any rate.

[Choco]

120: Be clear right off the bat that you are not allowing RL science/physics in your game, unless you WANT to give the players a way to ignore almost all the rules.
121: If you forget 120 (or are running a modern/scifi game), make the players roll Intelligence/Knowledge checks to determine if their characters would even be aware of the science involved in what they are trying to do.
122: Always describe the world and everything in it exactly as the PC's percieve it.
123: Most monsters and NPC's have INT scores, USE THEM! Don't just have everything run up and swing at the PC's until they die.
124: Dragons have a lot of brute force, but their intelligence, age, alternate forms of movement, and spellcasting are their primary strengths, remember that.
125: If you must give an enemy an uber powerful item and are afraid the PC's will take it, create an in game reason for why they can't (it is destroyed when it's creator/owner dies, it is secretly an intelligent item that takes over the body of whoever first wields it after the previous owner dies, etc.).
126: Tailor your plot hooks and storylines to the desires of the PC's/players, that way you can usually get away with railroading without being accused of it. The players will be tripping over themselves to get to the next destination you have in mind if there is something their characters desperatly want there.

[Chess435]

127. If you introduce a recurring villain, be prepared for the PC's to find a way to kill it in their first encounter. And steal his +3 unholy vorpal longsword.

[Choco]

Man, I forgot this one, which is funny cause I think it should be towards the top of any DM's list:

128: Whatever you do, AVOID PUTTING THE GAME ON PAUSE TO DIG THROUGH THE RULES.

Nothing kills immersion faster than stopping the game in the middle of an epic action scene so you can look at the exact rules on how to do something for 5 minutes. Keeping the game flowing takes priority and is the perfect excuse to exercise Rule 0 and just make a call for the good of the game.

The only exception that I can think of is when this is something you expect to come up often during the session, then it might pay off to look up the rules.

And oddly enough, that leads to:

129: The players expect you to know all the rules in the game, but if nothing else you absolutely must know all the rules related to the traps, monsters, and terrain features you actually use in your game, at the time you use them. I have been in a game before when the DM had to stop and look up the rules for an SLA a monster he PLANNED TO PUT US AGAINST had. NOT FUN.
130: On the flipside, the players are expected to know the rules related to their characters. If a player playing a caster keeps forgetting what their spells do and the mechanics of how the character functions, tell em to either get their act together or play a simpler class.