Background: Our group has 7 players, 1 DM, and everyone (including DM) is new to D&D.
Question: My DM is struggling to create random RP & battle encounters on the fly if our group steers away from a particular objective.
Example: Our DM expected us to continue with a particular quest, but our group ended up RPing in town instead. We split into smaller groups and went to different locations doing various things. Our DM was so thrown off and the game slowed down a lot when we each took took our turn RPing. Some of us did side quests, others shopped, and our bard competed in a bardic competition. This took hours for us to complete. While it wasn't a players turn to RP, that player was very bored and the game dragged on.
Any tips for my DM for randomly creating RP & battle encounters?
Personally, I have a table that I'll use for random encounters (both RP and battle ones). There are plenty of random encounter tables that your DM could use that are online, or they could pick and choose the ones that work for the setting to make their own (like I did). You don't even need to roll on it, but could just use it as a reference sheet for ideas.
Outside of that, practice makes perfect. Coming up with encounters on the fly is difficult, but it gets easier the more you do it.
I don’t think this is exactly what you’re looking for, but I keep a list of “personalities” on hand that I can use for any NPC to keep interactions fresh. This is just description, motivation, and method which you can overlay onto any NPC
Examples:
- burly woman with a twitch; resents her work; will take any opportunity for distraction
- shady (Steve Buscemi); loves travel and travel stories; shy
- tall & gaunt; sweet tooth; always fidgeting with ticklish long nose hairs
I find there’s a small amount of meta-game agreement between the players and DM to not overly split the party, particularly with large groups.
When I do run split parties I try to switch scenes frequently rather than spend a huge amount of time with one group. You could work in bio/snack breaks or maybe some other bookkeeping task (leveling up, resetting spells, equipping).
With a group that large, I personally wouldn’t role play the inn keeper/shopkeeper/local healer/... interactions. I would rather just let players buy or do what they’d like, adjudicate outcomes, and then move the story along. This will depend a lot on your table’s preference, of course. Don’t take away something they enjoy and of course don’t drop it if it’s part of the story.
The best tip I have for creating RP encounters on the fly is for the DM to really have a good handle on the overview of their story. Then they can look for opportunities when the players initiate an RP encounter to drop clues and hints that will move the story forward. It's ok with have a completely superficial RP encounter as well, but too many of them can drag things out for players who are not involved or invested.
Also, look for opportunities to do skill challenges as part of non-combat encounters. At my table, players absolutely love story-based skill challenges because it gives them a chance to use things their characters are good at even if it doesn't involve the battlefield. Every player loves a chance to shine and contribute.
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"Not all those who wander are lost"
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Background: Our group has 7 players, 1 DM, and everyone (including DM) is new to D&D.
Question: My DM is struggling to create random RP & battle encounters on the fly if our group steers away from a particular objective.
Any tips for my DM for randomly creating RP & battle encounters?
Personally, I have a table that I'll use for random encounters (both RP and battle ones). There are plenty of random encounter tables that your DM could use that are online, or they could pick and choose the ones that work for the setting to make their own (like I did). You don't even need to roll on it, but could just use it as a reference sheet for ideas.
Outside of that, practice makes perfect. Coming up with encounters on the fly is difficult, but it gets easier the more you do it.
I don’t think this is exactly what you’re looking for, but I keep a list of “personalities” on hand that I can use for any NPC to keep interactions fresh. This is just description, motivation, and method which you can overlay onto any NPC
Examples:
- burly woman with a twitch; resents her work; will take any opportunity for distraction
- shady (Steve Buscemi); loves travel and travel stories; shy
- tall & gaunt; sweet tooth; always fidgeting with ticklish long nose hairs
Rory’s Story cubes are your friend.
I find there’s a small amount of meta-game agreement between the players and DM to not overly split the party, particularly with large groups.
When I do run split parties I try to switch scenes frequently rather than spend a huge amount of time with one group. You could work in bio/snack breaks or maybe some other bookkeeping task (leveling up, resetting spells, equipping).
With a group that large, I personally wouldn’t role play the inn keeper/shopkeeper/local healer/... interactions. I would rather just let players buy or do what they’d like, adjudicate outcomes, and then move the story along. This will depend a lot on your table’s preference, of course. Don’t take away something they enjoy and of course don’t drop it if it’s part of the story.
The best tip I have for creating RP encounters on the fly is for the DM to really have a good handle on the overview of their story. Then they can look for opportunities when the players initiate an RP encounter to drop clues and hints that will move the story forward. It's ok with have a completely superficial RP encounter as well, but too many of them can drag things out for players who are not involved or invested.
Also, look for opportunities to do skill challenges as part of non-combat encounters. At my table, players absolutely love story-based skill challenges because it gives them a chance to use things their characters are good at even if it doesn't involve the battlefield. Every player loves a chance to shine and contribute.
"Not all those who wander are lost"