| >> | - It's ROLE PLAYING game for a reason
I stress this point with any group I play with, and I reward them for good role playing. I'm not an asshole who penalizes them for making jokes and things, but I do make it a point to point out before a game starts (usual the start of a campaign) that if you put the effort into RP it'll be more fun, and I'll give them some XP for it. Also it tends to cut back on them using player knowledge.
2.House Rules I have my own house rules that I take with me to every game I DM. It's nothing really that major, just that I make a point to tell my players I want them to role play, and that they'll get XP or other bonuses for RPing, and that I don't allow digital dice rolls.
3. Be prepared for anything It's always good to have a rough idea of where you want your games to go. If you're starting a new game, having a rough idea of what that initial game should be is good, but don't get mad if it doesn't go exactly as you plan. If you're players aren't taking the bait, throw them a curve ball. Also, be ready for the curve balls they'll throw at you, because they will. Basically, don't hinge anything on one NPC or on one specific route the players have to take, because if you offer them a left and right path and you want them to go right, they may want to go left. You may have planned for Jimmy the Bartender to have the vital piece of info they need, but they don't talk to Jimmy because they don't give a shit about him. Always, always always plan for this by shaking things up. Let the players go left, and adapt the story for that. They don't wanna talk to Jimmy, give that same info to another NPC. It'll happen, and if you have the good sense to change and adapt the game as the players make decisions, you'll do fine.
4.Mechanics/Rules Yeah, you may have someone who's read the PH cover to cover and knows all the rules like the back of their hand. More than likely, none of your players will know every rule of the game letter for letter, so you can fudge things if you need to. I never use the encumbrance mechanic because I don't care about it, but I added my own house rule that if PC's didn't sleep within a 48 game period it would start putting them at a -1 for everything. The best rules to know are how combat works, because combat takes for-fucking-ever (at least in 4E D&D it does), it's good to know how it works and how to make it flow. Sometimes you can fudge combat rules if you need to, but it's up to you.
5.NPC's Get ready to improve motherfucker. I never write dialogue for my NPC's. I may have info that the players need that an NPC will give, but other than that, I don't write dialogue for them. If you keep the NPC conversational and if your players are willing to actually RP and talk to you as their character, it makes the NPC interactions more natural. Yes, you'll need to break the dialogue periodically to explain if the NPC is doing something but like I said, if you play into the NPC a bit, it'll be good. Don't worry about accents or voices, unless you're good at that. Comment too long. Click here to view the full text. |