Ted is our dice wizard and our forever DM.
Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Vampire the Masquerade, if the game is played on a tabletop, with dice, Ted will run it.
When we let him out of dice jail and give him a break from designing our pretty sharp edge dice, we put him straight in the DM's seat.
We're not sure if he likes it, but he keeps turning up so 🤷♂️
He wrapped up our 7-year campaign recently (we hear he's working on a new one - chop chop story boy), so we asked him to record his top tips for running a game.
1. Yes and.
With players who know each other well and understand boundaries, the word 'no' should rarely escape a DM's lips. We're at the table to create magic and memories, while the level 1 barbarian probably shouldn't be able to 1v1 a Lich (Ted's favourite creature). Saying yes to a player's wacky, creative, beautiful, sad, painful ideas is usually the start of a great story, either for the characters or the players.
The 'and' part comes from managing how it plays out. Saying yes doesn't mean it always has to work, though. Ted is big on consequences.
2. Mess around, find out.
If the DM has built a living, breathing world, expect it to bare its teeth if you, as a player, decide to do something outrageous.
Ted doesn't believe in punishment, as long as everyone is moved by the story they're playing, he's happy.
But, stakes in a game can be important. If choosing option A still means you get to do option B, that's boring. Instead, choices and consequences demand player buy-in, attention, and creativity.
A style like this is best discussed at session 0, Ted would add. Which leads us to 3.
3. Set expectations.
We all know the importance of session 0s.
As the DM, tell the players what you expect beyond the basics (showing up, communicating, no PvP). What stories do you want to tell with them? How painful can they be? Are there any areas that are off limits?
Now the DM's done talking. It's the players' turn. There's no room for abstention in this part; ideally, each player should be able to explain what they do and don't want from the game. It can be vague, but the more effort you put in here, the bigger the rewards later.
That's all for now, Ted needs to go huff paint fumes and resin. Maybe we'll make this a recurring thing. ❤