I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for about 4 years. I am very knowledgeable about the rules, lore, etc. I want to try different tactics at my table to expand my skill and see what works best for my play style.
role play. how do you keep role play fun and immersive for everyone.
combat. what tactics do you apply to combat at your table. this includes BBEGs, large numbers of monsters, keeping combat fun and immersive without breaking role play.
arguments. how do you defuse and handle arguments at the table.
dm burnout. how do you keep the DM burnout (and player burnout) low to keep everyone hyped for the next session.
how to make the story feel like it was made specifically for the players. this may include having a friend or relative come up as a NPC. also tying their backstory into the story. this can become especially difficult when playing with large party's such as mine (I run a story for a party of five).
To be honest, the best advice for you right now is to search these things on your favorite search engine - AND here on D&D Beyond. There are tens of thousands of great suggestions waiting for you to find them. They'll do so much more than this single thread.
Do not force roleplay to players who are not fine with it. Description is fine. If you consider players have to roleplay before making a face test you have to request players to fight with real equipment to accept fighting test.
In a description prelude to a fight shorten your phrase little by little to accelerate the rhythm.
Describe with 2 senses minimum. Not everything pass by eye. A strong smell is good too.
List hundred names in case of need. Do not let players think it's an minor pnj. Better, hesitate before naming important pnj.
Role play - I follow the players' lead, I often create NPCs on the fly, and expand on them if the players show an interest in them. But I don't try to force it if they aren't interested. Likewise if they decide to rp with each other I give them the space to do so. Mostly I try to include interesting details that could become something more if the players are curious orjust remain background details if they aren't.
Combat - multiple enemies with different attitudes or goals. The BBEG might be willing to die for their goals, but minions might turn and run to save themselves, fanatics might try to protect the BBEG, while mercenaries might try to find an opportune moment to make their move.
Arguments - we have a social contract that Arguments don't happen at the table. If there is a disagreement the DM makes the decision for now, and we can calmly discuss it later if its really important to them.
Burnout - we play every other week and everyone understands if anyone can't make it. We are all friends so just getting together to chat would be worth it, D&D just gives us a common topic. We also rotate DMs between campaigns to keep things fresh.
Integrating player characters - we don't worry about this so much. Some players don't bother with elaborate backstories and don't mind if they don't become relevant to the story. Others are more elaborate and their backstories become secondary plot points or complications to the main story - perhaps the main plot threatens their home, or someone from their back story shows up and causes problems for the party.
Buy thw game master's guide to proactive roleplay. It has improved my game by 1000000%. For combat, always have less monsters than players and have the combat go player, monster, player, monster, etc
I’ll echo everyone else saying you can’t force role playing on your players. I’ve got a couple of players who do everything first person in character, a couple that’ll only ever use third person “my character does X” and one that couldn’t care less and is just there for the mechanics. We all manage to play happily together but there’s no point pressuring people to play in a way that they’re not comfortable with
I don't think I force role play on my players. Most of my players enjoy role play. They just have a hard time getting into my story due to our very different play styles. I have improved some over time. I'm just looking for more tips to keep improvement at a steady pace.
I have been playing Dungeons and Dragons for about 4 years. I am very knowledgeable about the rules, lore, etc. I want to try different tactics at my table to expand my skill and see what works best for my play style.
To be honest, the best advice for you right now is to search these things on your favorite search engine - AND here on D&D Beyond. There are tens of thousands of great suggestions waiting for you to find them. They'll do so much more than this single thread.
View my StartPlaying.Games profile to see my games!
Do not force roleplay to players who are not fine with it. Description is fine. If you consider players have to roleplay before making a face test you have to request players to fight with real equipment to accept fighting test.
In a description prelude to a fight shorten your phrase little by little to accelerate the rhythm.
Describe with 2 senses minimum. Not everything pass by eye. A strong smell is good too.
List hundred names in case of need. Do not let players think it's an minor pnj. Better, hesitate before naming important pnj.
Role play - I follow the players' lead, I often create NPCs on the fly, and expand on them if the players show an interest in them. But I don't try to force it if they aren't interested. Likewise if they decide to rp with each other I give them the space to do so. Mostly I try to include interesting details that could become something more if the players are curious orjust remain background details if they aren't.
Combat - multiple enemies with different attitudes or goals. The BBEG might be willing to die for their goals, but minions might turn and run to save themselves, fanatics might try to protect the BBEG, while mercenaries might try to find an opportune moment to make their move.
Arguments - we have a social contract that Arguments don't happen at the table. If there is a disagreement the DM makes the decision for now, and we can calmly discuss it later if its really important to them.
Burnout - we play every other week and everyone understands if anyone can't make it. We are all friends so just getting together to chat would be worth it, D&D just gives us a common topic. We also rotate DMs between campaigns to keep things fresh.
Integrating player characters - we don't worry about this so much. Some players don't bother with elaborate backstories and don't mind if they don't become relevant to the story. Others are more elaborate and their backstories become secondary plot points or complications to the main story - perhaps the main plot threatens their home, or someone from their back story shows up and causes problems for the party.
Buy thw game master's guide to proactive roleplay. It has improved my game by 1000000%. For combat, always have less monsters than players and have the combat go player, monster, player, monster, etc
I’ll echo everyone else saying you can’t force role playing on your players. I’ve got a couple of players who do everything first person in character, a couple that’ll only ever use third person “my character does X” and one that couldn’t care less and is just there for the mechanics. We all manage to play happily together but there’s no point pressuring people to play in a way that they’re not comfortable with
I don't think I force role play on my players. Most of my players enjoy role play. They just have a hard time getting into my story due to our very different play styles. I have improved some over time. I'm just looking for more tips to keep improvement at a steady pace.