DM GEAR Plantronics 326 headset $14.95 <a href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S" rel="nofollow">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9S</a>... Item number 9SIA19P0NU4120 DM ERRORS DMing by the seat of your pants or DMing on-the-fly . Having nothing written down creates problems, shows a lack of creativity and is just bad DMing. Always commit your adventure to paper. Work out the details, otherwise it can lead to DM cheating, or changing things to suit yourself during game play which in turn puts the players at an inherent disadvantage. Don't do it! Use the honesty system for both players and DM, it makes for a pleasant environment, diminishes cheating and min/max playing. Not providing enough details. Try to avoid merely relying on the map as all that is available to your players. Too many times, DMs fall into the trap of lack luster performance by failing to provide the players with everything they need to know. Be sure to provide all the senses: sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch when possible. Most DMs do remember to provide the dimensions of the area they see, but forget to describe it's construction (wood, metal, stone, glass, etc). They may provide the ceiling height but forget to describe what, if anything they see there, or if it is obscurred in darkness. What about color? Is the air rank? Does it have the smell of mold, smoke or even the stench of death and decay? When you walk do the footsteps echo endlessly because of the stone construction? Is it windy enough where it's hard to hear each other as voices are dissipated? Is it overly quiet? Is there a sweet tasting odor in the air...accompanied by the buzz of flies? Is the floor covered with carpeting? Is it soft to the shoe? Is it rough, bumpy or cause sharp discomfort with every step? These are just examples. Also don't forget to ask the player to describe their attack in detail when it is successful or provide that when left out. This imagery can make for interesting stories later on. Needless over-planning . Putting hours and hours into world building, intricate detail, story planning, etc. which usually never ends up happening when the players choose to go a different way. Remember the campaign is not your game. The players are the stars, your role is to enable them and making it happen. Don't try to stick to your story, the players will drive it for you. Have fun anyways when the players ruin everything you made. Don't try to do everything yourself. Use pre-made materials when possible. You don't have to be the creative driving force in everything, you'll get burned out, lose interest and then you won't have any fun when you're buried under work. Some time ago, I posted in the DM101 forum examples I used as group rules. Feel free to use and modify them as you see fit. I've been doing this nearly as long as I've been DMing. Always, state your expectations by having a DM Player Notes handout. This serves as a one-stop place where the players can find everything they need for your game. This will of course contain your rules, the books you'll be using, links to additional reading materials, etc. Specify, what your parameters are. Campaign setting details. Level of magic (alot or minimal). Alignment of the party, if evil is ok. Necessity for mixed classes. Lengthy In Game Rulings . Don't spend too much time on that topic. Move the game along, and take care of mechanics in your forum between sessions. Maintain control of your table, don't let it get out of hand. Take a break if necessary. Pushing the campaign along at a breakneck pace . Give the players a chance to absorb what all is happening, which can happen quite easily when you have as many adventure modules as I have, and want to expose your players to the work of the masters. Back track if necessary, try to put the in town stuff into your forum unless there are opportunities for role-playing, then of course, always handle it in-game. That may be an opportunity for them to ask questions while taking care of business, and gain insight, clues, warnings, tips, rumors, and other interesting data to really bring your campaign to life. Don't miss those parts they're just as important as overcoming a challange. Lack of role-playing . A game without NPCs is not as enjoyable of a game as it could be. Use NPCs to your advantage, they become vehicles to share information, ideas, suggestions and the like with your players. They can help move a game along without having to tell the players the solution to the riddle, or how to find their way, etc. Not being flexible . Saying no can always be a starting point, until at some point later on you might be able to recant and restate your position. This group is a study in two things. Game mechanics, as specified from the game creator,s and adventure module development. By continuing to watch the following group each week, you will see both revealed over time. [which reminds me, I need to lower the count of planned adventures from 400 to 397 to go, since we just finished a trilogy] DMs that over talk . Let the players carry the conversation and roleplay amongst themselves. Step in when the conversation is dying out, moving off topic, or if it's just one, or a few players doing all the talking. Your sessions should be inclusive, everyone should be able to have their moment in the spot light, don't let it be needlessly monopolized the chatty cathy's or folks with a healthy dose of the gift of gab. They'll love the game if they have time to love their character. Let the players have fun. Sit back and let them enjoy themselves. Don't interject and interrupt. Let the fun happen. Remember, the players fun is your fun. By creating an actively engaging experience, you will have successfully done your job. Like any good boat operator, just man the tiller and stir the proceedings along.
