Role-playing Games Stack Exchange
Role-playing Games Stack Exchange

Most Popular

more tags
1500 questions
54
votes
12 answers

How can a GM prevent growing disillusioned with their own game?

I recently began a new game in which I gave the players much more free reign in designing their characters than I might have in the past. What I wound up with was a very morally-diverse party, with each of the characters having extremely different…
asteri
  • 3,474
  • 21
  • 29
54
votes
6 answers

How can I check whether an extremely adult/mature plot idea would be accepted by players without revealing any details of the idea itself?

I am running a post-apocalyptic zombie game with a dark and mature story, exploring a number of adult themes. I have complete buy-in from the players; some of them have stated it is their favourite role playing experience ever. One of the PCs took a…
Wibbs
  • 17,766
  • 6
  • 51
  • 102
54
votes
12 answers

Is a fumble on a natural 1 an official rule?

I am currently a player in a D&D 3.5 game where rolling a 1 on any attack roll is not only an automatic miss, but also means that something "bad" happens – such as dropping your sword, falling over prone, etc. The DM insists that this is part of the…
user19
  • 2,831
  • 4
  • 26
  • 20
54
votes
5 answers

How do I prevent myself from freezing up during a game I'm DMing?

I'm a new DM/player with only a few weeks of experience in playing the game at university. My flatmates and I decided that we should all have a D&D game after I explained the concept to them. They elected me DM, as I'm the only person in this group…
NoobDMnPlayer
  • 533
  • 4
  • 6
54
votes
6 answers

How do I deal with being envious of my own players?

I am the problem GM in question. I haven't played for a long time. My last two attempts at it were with GMs that represented "no" rather than "yes, but" approach. Often railroaded to the point of lacking the ability to decide in what order party…
Mołot
  • 24,136
  • 5
  • 82
  • 164
54
votes
6 answers

How can I make my enemies feel real and make combat more engaging?

As a newer DM, I have trouble making some of the more routine combats feel unique or urgent. I believe this is because the enemies my PCs are fighting tend to act like an AI, or just attack until they have been defeated. Lets take the first…
SaggingRufus
  • 4,313
  • 3
  • 27
  • 36
54
votes
2 answers

Does a natural 20 on the attack roll still automatically hit if the target is wearing adamantine armor?

My Fighter (Battlemaster) Warlock (Hexblade) build character has just acquired a suit of +1 adamantine plate armour. From the description of adamantine armor (DMG, p. 150): This suit of armor is reinforced with adamantine, one of the hardest…
Vnmrtn
  • 501
  • 1
  • 4
  • 4
54
votes
10 answers

Running games for a constantly unreliable group

My RP club has been going on for many years, which has the unfortunate effect of us getting older. Many members of my club have started to acquire a 'real life', with more of their time devoted to partners and new families. I am currently GMing…
Macona
  • 2,731
  • 1
  • 19
  • 27
54
votes
11 answers

How to handle loot disputes as the DM?

Context Most of the time, Loot distribution is Players' and PCs' problem. From my point of view, I'm responsible for putting the chest with X loot in the dungeon. The PCs being able to find it and how they are going to handle it should be their…
HellSaint
  • 36,995
  • 18
  • 155
  • 265
54
votes
12 answers

How can I reward a character that doesn't want magic items?

So I've got a campaign where one of the characters, a fighter, severely distrusts magical items. The party level is 6+, and it seems difficult to figure out a way to compensate this character in non-magical treasure (as the challenge ratings of the…
Zachary Yates
  • 1,958
  • 2
  • 17
  • 19
54
votes
13 answers

My DM has removed heavy armour from the game. How can I make a Paladin work or convince him not to do this?

I am starting a new game with a good friend as DM. In my play group, I am almost always the DM, but this time one of my players has decided to run his own game with me and two new players. In order to fit his "gothic" theme, he has removed heavy…
BoxyCrab
  • 573
  • 1
  • 4
  • 9
54
votes
13 answers

How can I keep a player from "shutting down" after a streak of bad rolls?

In my sessions I've repeatedly noted that after a few bad rolls, one of my players (age 20) seems to become reclusive and stop paying attention. Now I've tried various methods to get the player to pay attention again, but it seems that no matter how…
tuskiomi
  • 5,064
  • 6
  • 33
  • 64
54
votes
8 answers

My Wizard is conjuring a piece of the sun. How will this affect my setting?

In my game there is a high level wizard conjurer. He wants to cast a force wall around himself and the party, then use minor conjuration to create 10 pounds of the center of the sun, which he scried earlier,1 outside of his wall of force. I'm…
Jayjaxx
  • 893
  • 1
  • 7
  • 10
53
votes
11 answers

How do I deal with a player whose character wanders off for no reason?

I'm a new DM looking for advice on a potentially(?) problematic player. One of the players in our group consistently has their character run off. She sees herself as "the wild card" and likes to break off from the focus of the rest of the party. …
The King of Sparrows
  • 621
  • 1
  • 5
  • 6
53
votes
14 answers

How do I get better at improvising city features?

A common situation is that the party is in a big city (maybe one you created yourself, maybe one from a published source) walking through the streets, just roaming around. And then the question is asked: "What do I see?" I always have trouble…
Fabic
  • 1,139
  • 1
  • 8
  • 15
1 2 3
…
99 100