By now, I hope that you guys have all learned a bit about my DM style. I've hammered on my "everyone has fun" rule, I've taken an active role in backstory and character creation, I've discussed tone and my concerns that everyone feels welcome and comfortable at my table. I like to think I'm a good DM. But I want you guys to get a more full picture of how I run my games, so I'm going to address some common issues of gamerunning. Feel free to chime in with any questions! Bookkeeping: I hate it. I didn't join this world of magic and swashbuckling so I could track how many weeks of rations you're carrying, how many arrows are in your quiver, or how your encumbrance rating affects your land speed. Haaaaaaaate it. For this sort of stuff, I take a common-sense approach: your normal gear isn't going to weigh you down much, but if you pick up a large chest full of gold pieces and carry it around with you, there's gonna be some modifications to what you can do. You track your own ammunition, and I trust you on it. I can't imagine a worse feeling than playing an archery-focused character and suddenly becoming useless because you didn't say you were stopping in town to buy 10s worth of arrows. I assume your characters are intelligent enough to properly prepare for long journeys. If I want stuff like this to become an issue, it'll be for a cool reason, not because you guys didn't focus on every bit of minutiae. Dice: I roll in secret. Sometimes, dice rolls need to be fudged for narrative purposes. I try to do it rarely, because I am a gamesman, but I'm a storyteller at heart, and if the dice tell me something's going to happen that will not be good for the story, well, fuck those dice. That being said... Death: I'm currently developing a story that prominently features your specific PCs at the center of it. They are integral to the story. But if things go against you, if you do something really, really stupid, your character can and will die. Of course, this is D&D -- there are ways to bring back the dead. And being dead is no fun for a player, so I will be quite happy to allow you to play a temporary PC until your primary character makes it back to the mortal coil. Just know that I'm not going to coddle your characters for the sake of storyline; death is absolutely a possibility in my games. Switching characters: I'd really prefer we not do it, but if you truly feel like there's no fun left to be had with your PC, talk to me about it. We'll arrange an awesome exit for your character and figure out a way to work your new one in. Again, though, the story does revolve around your specific PCs, so try not to change horses midstream. Disputes: The most important part of a game is flow. If we're stopping every five minutes to look up rules, it's going to go from a dramatic, action-packed campaign to a reference party, and no one likes reference parties. During play I reserve the right to make rulings immediately in the interest of game flow, and will make a note to find the proper rule later. Of course, if you see a rules issue coming and your combat round is a few turns away, feel free to refer to the rules and have the proper rule ready when your turn comes around. I am a big believer in DM fiat -- I have the final decision in all game matters -- but it's my responsibility to only use that power to make the game more fun for you guys, not to cause trouble. Respect: We're all human (though many of our characters are not!). We all have feelings, and we all say stupid things sometimes. I love cracking jokes and gently teasing people, and I'm sure we'll have a good time at the table together, but if I start to feel a malicious vibe going on, I may talk to you privately about it. If someone is making you uncomfortable and you don't want to talk to them directly, come to me and I'll talk to them privately. If I'm making you uncomfortable, please tell me! Like I said, my goal here is that everyone has fun, and if I'm doing something that is impeding your fun, tell me and I will stop. I haven't seen anything so far that would indicate that this is going to be a problem -- all of you seem like genuinely great people -- but I want to put this out there so you all know how I deal with such things. That seems like pretty good coverage. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to provide further insight!