Saturday, June 29, 2013

Tips and preventing derailing

Ways to prevent Derailing
Sometimes, no matter how good of a Dungeon Master you are your villain or BBEG (big bad evil guy) will just get into a bad situation or fall victim to planning (or luck) of the party. As a DM I don’t like to take away victories or even punish the players. Remember that they are supposed to be the action heroes. Here are some tips that you can use to prevent those things or even having to explain to the group “Well I didn’t count on you killing him”.
·        
             It’s ok for the Villain to outsmart the heroes
1.      Maybe he anticipated his demise and has a double or clone
2.      That evidence that they just found? Perhaps it’s to trap them

·         Even a seemingly perfect plan can still fail
1.      Maybe what the group is stealing isn’t quite what they thought
2.      That guy they just broke out of prison? He’s not who they thought

Some basic DM tips
·         
            Let the party think they can do what they want without actually letting them.

1.      Basically write up plans for dungeons and monsters and let it be open where they are.
The party says “Oh you want us to go into the town and enter the dungeon?” “We’re going to head into the forest!” “What do we find?”

Oh you find this entrance to a dungeon!


Lastly, remember that above all, you are there to provide a fun experience for everyone, not just to stroke your own ego. These are just my tips for DnD and roleplaying in general. If you have your own style that you use then go with it! Just because these methods work for my games does not necessarily mean they will work for you. Have fun friends!