DM Tip Twitter Archive: September 2010

by Mike Shea on 8 October 2010

Below is an archive of all of the Sly Flourish DM Tip Twitter posts for September 2010. Get daily DM tips athttp://twitter.com/slyflourish!

Got some cool dungeon 3d accessories from Mage Knight: http://amzn.to/9aCOwI work well with Dwarven Forge.

@newbiedm To get better at DMing and share my experiences and thoughts. To be part of a community of people as passionate as I.

@RockTB I just use Evernote but others swear by Masterplan: http://bit.ly/cA9YUv

Pretty funny #dnd fiction from the New Yorker: http://nyr.kr/bg80ZB from @aquelajames. I'll have to have more stabbings in bread shops.

#dnd tip: Want an alternate skill challenge system? Take a look at the Obsidian system: http://bit.ly/aq60AX

RT @matt_james_rpg: #DnD Tip: Use Intrinsic Motivation when designing your game. Here's a good paper on it -> http://bit.ly/axadQu

@SarahDarkmagic My dungeons tend to be about six to eight large rooms with single hallways between them, though. Not big mazes.

@SarahDarkmagic Designing the end-game dungeon to my current campaign, a level 28 crypt in Orcus's homeworld, was great fun. #dnd

@SarahDarkmagic All my favorite RPGs of old had dungeons: Pools of Radiance; Final Fantasy, Phantasy Star. It's one of the staples of FRPG.

@SarahDarkmagic I like dungeons because they remind me of being 14. Good dungeon delves are RPG fun for me. Not boring or storyless dungeons

#dnd tip: Build in mechanics and monster powers to scale your encounter difficulty up or down as a battle progresses.

@metaDM I love the wisp, the hydra, manshoon, shadar-kai witch, rot harbingers. I love the commons. Good paint jobs.

I feel like Chris Anderson is talking about our #dnd circle here: http://bit.ly/aGWOXa We all get better watching each other.

#dnd tip: Inanimate objects that radiate death make great powerful bosses. You can't stun a pillar!

Here's what I'm proposing for the idea of a 30 minute #dnd skirmish: http://bit.ly/axReUa hardest part is selling it to players.

I mis-spoke: The 30 min #dnd skirmish would use clockwise init, level-2 monster budgets, and no powers EXCEPT at-wills and sec wind.

#dnd tip: One thing my article on solo monsters forgot: Every solo monster should change somehow when bloodied.

Excellent #dnd article by @wolfsamurai on making meaningful encounters: http://bit.ly/bXn1GJ

A reader had a good question. What can prevent a Shaman from using a spirit companion as a movable force shield with resist 15?

The Harrowing Halls #dnd tile set works really well with the Dungeon master set http://yfrog.com/4jofij

I didn't realize the Celebrity #dnd game episodes had all been posted to Youtube: http://youtu.be/Iy8-NNlE80A

Excellent article from our own @sarahdarkmagic on @rjschwalb's blog giving five excellent #dnd DM tips: http://bit.ly/bDEG6H

#dnd essentials feels more like old-school basic D&D where all the other 4e stuff feels like AD&D and I think I prefer basic.

Consensus says that zones are not hindering terrain. Page 207 of the Rules Compendium agree. Thus forced movement into zones is allowed.

Rules question: On page 211 of Rules Compendium it says creatures save when forced into "hindering" terrain. Would this include enemy zones?

@ve4grm I don't even agree with all my tips. This is all one big grand experiment. Glad one resonated =)

#dnd tip: Be nice to your PCs in Heroic, be even handed with them at Paragon, be a bastard to them in Epic.

#dnd tip: Halloween stores are beginning to show up. Load up on cheap props and fake spider webbing.

Awesome Assassin Executioner pre-gen for #dnd encounters: http://bit.ly/cBlL7y

Really loved @rjschwalb's article on dungeon sectors vice typical encounters: http://j.mp/afHZUS #dnd

#dnd tip: Use brothers or twins or a coven of three witches instead of a single boss to avoid a single boss getting ganged up on in combat.

@ChrisSSims I'm actually not a fan of any healing effects for monsters. My players hate to feel like they're not making real progress.

@ChrisSSims @ve4grm @gamefiend I'd probably be happy eliminating resists for both PCs and monsters except in extreme cases.

#dnd tip: Adventure seed: PCs investigate a derelict Chaos Ship that has been buried under a town for 100,000 years. Think Tommyknockers.

Excellent article by @geekken on getting into the head of your monsters: http://bit.ly/c7MM7t #dnd

#dnd tip: Add degrees of success and failure on your DC check rolls. You can use the low / med / high chart as degrees of success.

@Nicap Organize before the game or after? I have an obsidian site (http://bit.ly/9Zwthn) but I do my prep in Evernote: http://bit.ly/dAkYor

In case you missed it, @newbiedm and I discuss running epic-tier #dnd games on the latest DM Guys podcast: http://bit.ly/dzSAzD

It's wonderful to see #dnd products all working together now: adventures, dungeon tiles, and monster tokens all working in harmony.

Excellent #dnd adventure by @rjschwalb set after the Starter set adventures. Uses all Dungeon Tile Master set tiles. http://bit.ly/bIkdYA

Awesome article by our own @chrisssims on the Monster Hunters of Athas: http://bit.ly/9BsnWn #ddi subscription required. #dnd

@Squach If you're careful taking it off, it isn't a problem. I figure they're only $10 so I don't mind some residue.

#dnd tip: You could do worse than building your villain or NPC off of the character Godric from True Blood. 2000 year-old vampire loses self

#dnd tip: Build a dungeon room like Legend of Zelda. Don't be afraid to steal a room DIRECTLY from Zelda. (from @davethegame)

.@morrus I absolutely love the best #dnd 4e threads list in the Enworld newsletter. More please! http://bit.ly/cuhO5E

In the latest DM Guys podcast @newbiedm and I talk about running epic-level #dnd games: http://bit.ly/dzSAzD

The playtest and review of the #dnd Starter set by @neuroglyph is the best I've read.

#dnd tip: Let the story guide your skill challenge, not some X / 3 mechanic. Story leads mechanics, not the other way (from @chrisssims)

What about an eight episode #dnd encounter style season using nothing but the red box. I should get in on this. Thoughts @Chrisssims?

I'm playing the Vampyre album by Midnight Syndicate when @rosamoonshadow and I play Ravenloft. It's awesome. http://amzn.to/czs7Bp

#dnd tip: Don't worry about defining hooks as hooks for your group. Sometimes people want a clearer idea where they can go.

#dnd tip: Give your players meaningful choices: they can kill the big bad guy or save the maiden but not both. (from @chattydm)

#dnd tip: Keep an online "hook journal" for your group so they can keep track of what possible directions they can go as a group.

#dnd tip: We all make mistakes when running a D&D game. Relax and move on - we'll all get better every game we run.

Good review of #dnd Essentials by @neuroglyph http://bit.ly/arKat2 Summary: It's not 4.5, but the PHB is pointless now.

@ThadeousC I use minions a lot for flavor and environmental effects. Minion spawners are a favorite of mine.

#dnd tip: When running skill challenges, stay loose and relaxed. Gauge the table and modify as needed to keep them fun. Make them yours.

#dnd tip: The power of an extra PC above five grows stronger every level. An extra level 26 PC is much more powerful than an extra level 6.

Pretty great story of a mom's misinterpretation of #dnd turning around by @tychobrahe: http://bit.ly/bSmmxa

Check out my fire trap, http://bit.ly/9zF0GW and my three-portal trap, http://bit.ly/d0rgms

The Monster Knowledge Card with monster defenses in clear view of the players sped up the game a lot. http://bit.ly/dAcWE1

Had a great game tonight. Fun battles and traps in the Valley of the Crypt Things, a level 28 dungeon. http://bit.ly/dndpics #dnd

#dnd tip: Don't just call a battle over when it gets long. Have a plan to finish a battle early that makes sense in the story.

I updated my ultimate #dnd DM cheat sheet with the new DCs. http://bit.ly/dmchart It's formatted to print on a 5x8 index card.

I dig @ThadeousC's unboxing of the #dnd Dungeon Tile Master set. No other 3d pieces makes me sad. They need stairs! http://bit.ly/ah8lS7

Awesome #dnd 3D mapping techniques using magnets by @metadm: http://bit.ly/celz3U

#dnd tip: People arguing about the rules of your monsters or environments? Bring them back with in-game flavorful descriptions.

#dnd tip: Need to challenge your epic-tier party? Send three waves of encounters with no short rests. Change the environment to keep it fun.

There's about a thousand #dnd Dark Sun story seeds in this video of the world's oldest living things: http://bit.ly/bRdGkR

Every time I come up with a devious trap or ruthless encounter, I feel bad. Then I remember the PCs are in Thanatos and the feeling passes.

#dnd tip: Speed up combat with an angry gas. Any creature within it grants combat advantage and vulnerable 5 but gains +1d6 dam per tier.

#dnd tip: find ways to make the mechanics of your traps clear. Describe how the massive pump draws a torrent of blood into the room.

#dnd tip: Just because all of your monsters are statistically the same doesn't mean your players need to know that. Pretend one's a boss.

.@matt_james_rpg "I punch him in the face" plays #dnd with top celebrities: http://bit.ly/cVOKfA

Good article on minions by @ChrisSSims http://bit.ly/a2mDRt Twice last night I had 18 minions die with one action and no attack roll. #dnd

Great advice on running #dnd traps by @gregbilsland: http://bit.ly/codTZh

#dnd tip: With the new monster damage charts, worry less about temp hit points, free healing, or player resists trivializing your monsters.

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