Somehow I missed posting my tweets from November. Below is an archive of all of the Sly Flourish DM Tip Twitter posts for November 2009. Get your own daily DM tips at http://twitter.com/slyflourish!
#dnd tip: Switch a dracolich’s stuns to dazes for most of its attacks except the roar. Players hate stuns. Give him a bloodied nec aura.
#dnd tip: Catch up on your Hitchcock before running an Eberron game: “Man Who Knew too Much” and “North by Northwest” are classics.
#dnd tip: Pick out a theme, even a minor one, for every night’s worth of adventure. What is their immediate goal?
#dnd tip: Use 5×8 cards to print from the Monster Builder and print your room descriptions. They’re handy at the table.
#dnd tip: not every battle has to be against a perfectly sized group of monsters. Throw out a single elite or pack of roaming minions.
#dnd tip: Try using a single initiative roll and order for an entire night’s worth of encounters.
Spending my weekend painting Dungeon Decor miniatures: bit.ly/dungdecor I picked them up on the Ebay. #dnd
#dnd tip: Page 42 DMG limited high damage can make for a suitable end to a failed skill challenge. It’s less hated than taking surges.
@SlyFlourish Free heroic diseases: initorwhat.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-dirty-dirty-world-compilation-is.html (via @deadorcs)
#DND Tip: Let your PCs create a portion of your world. Let them design a tavern or homestead to fill your world. (via @matt_james_FR)
#dnd tip: Don’t forget about diseases. They’re good to keep your players on their toes outside of combat and for failed skill challenges.
@newbiedm That’s actually a bit more complicated to make paper than my method: crumple them up, tear the edges, and soak them in coffee.
RT @newbiedm: Video Tutorial for parchment creation, #dnd handouts, etc… tinyurl.com/yhzocnd from the pirate & buccaneer @tekno …
Great #dnd tips from @newbieDM including paying a lot of attention to auras of your monsters: bit.ly/6LR2os Excellent read!
#dnd tip: Jot down a dozen or so NPC names from a baby name book to keep on hand. You don’t need a huge list all the time.
#dnd tip: Encourage the use of a dice-rolling box to prevent d20s from flying all over the room and getting eaten by dogs.
RT @newbiedm: New dm’s: make sure you read, re-read, and read again every line in a monster’s stat block. Auras, resistances, etc… #dnd
#dnd tip: Give your players a battle where they get to coordinate a defense or attack of a stronghold.
#dnd tip: Read a few modules ahead so you can drop seeds in for future plot-lines.
#dnd tip: Pay special attention to monster auras, immediates, and bloodied reactions. They’re very easy to forget.
New #dnd pics posted from our run through Nightwyrm Fortress: bit.ly/dndpics – I like this one a lot: bit.ly/2dWgpZ
#dnd tip: Don’t be afraid to mess with the math a bit in your game. Just try it out behind the screen first.
#dnd tip: Encourage your players to take camera-phone pics of your game and post them to the net. It helps all of us get better.
#dnd tip: Establish and post clear table rules for your D&D game like the rules they have for Craps in Vegas.
#dnd tip: Ask yourself if you’ve given each player character a chance to shine recently. Add in encounters focused on each PC.
Really great #dnd idea from @newbiedm: Write a one-page campaign synopsis to give to your players before a game. bit.ly/GLe58
#dnd tip: Give your players a battle or two with lower-level creatures so they can feel truly powerful.
@novaugust Consider the budget of std actions – four minions have four standard actions as opposed to a single monster who has one. #dnd
#dnd tip from @hommlet: When designing house-rules, put yourself in the player and DM seat to ask yourself if its fair and just.
#dnd tip: Finish in the middle of an exciting battle or right at the beginning. Leave your players excited to return.
#dnd tip: Don’t push your game beyond your planned time if you finish early. Leave your group hungry for more.
My level 20 Heroslaying Hydra got destroyed in about five rounds by my level 19 group. I should have added 2 green slaads. #dnd
Cool pics from @mike_schiller, a remote Skype player at my game last night: bit.ly/1FXFh1 bit.ly/3vJRvz #dnd
#dnd tip: Build your encounter design checklist: monsters, setting, terrain, environmental effects, flavor text, etc.
#dnd tip: Build out a detailed room but don’t stage a battle in it. Use it for clues or a skill challenge to make your players paranoid.
#dnd tip: Use the “Now or Future?” decision tree: Will your players take an advantage now or take it later?
#dnd tip: Buy some spare costume jewelry to act as a lich’s phylactery or other magical items. Props are always good.
I’m weird. As a DM, I’m always looking to challenge the party with tough. As a player, I’m trying to ensure I never miss an attack. #dnd
@pdunwin it takes a LOT to kill a paragon level PC. One attack won’t do it.
@newbiedm @asmor. I fudge if I feel like a boss monster’s trick will go unknown otherwise. No one likes a total cakewalk.
#dnd tip: A Shadar-kai bard would definitely look like Iggy Pop. “Search and Destroy” is a good theme song for this character.
#dnd tip: Ask your players for their character’s theme song. A theme song can go a long way to define a character.
#dnd tip: Promote the adoption of pets but ensure the pet doesn’t take up a turn. How about a squirrel familiar that grants +1 perception?
#dnd tip: Set up a buddy system to pair up ADD players with players who pay attention so they can work as a team.
#dnd tip: Use Legos as an alternative to tiles and figures for #DnD. gunth.com/brickquest/ (via @4E_DnD_DM)
#dnd tip: Remember, a good DM is a facilitator for group storytelling. Don’t laugh maniacally when a PC turns to stone.
#dnd tip from @healingstirge: Keep Dungeon Tiles in place with rubber mesh bar liner. Reusable, inexpensive. tinyurl.com/yhtu2ky
#dnd tip: Remember that daze, blind, stun, and knocked prone grants combat advantage. Optimize creature mixes to take advantage of this.
