Did you ever feel like you were a bad player or DM? I'm DMing for some friends and even though they say they like the campaign, I can't help but feel like I'm doing poor.
what specifically are you unsatisfied about with your performance
>>47766617
this is me rigth now!
after a session im like did you guys have fun? do you guys have any critics? was it to slow etc.
they said it was fun but one combat encounter was slow and i agree but i feel like there should be more complaints given i have ran two sessions in total surly im fucking up on alteast something?
>>47767999
>that watermark
>dem trips
mixed feelings
>>47767999
hey why not answer this question
>>47766949
>>47766617
I think it's in the nature of creating to loathe everything you create after a certain point. I've rewritten older parts of my setting a few times as I got older and more experienced.
In the immediate sense, chances are you're making mistakes only you can see. If the players say they like it, trust them. Invite critique, take nothing personally, and they'll talk to you if they're unhappy with the game.
>>47768058
>>47766949
im not really sure but i feel like surely i must be doing things wrong because im new as fuck right?
maby they dont want to tell me im shit but im asking for it so i can inprove because i love it.
i think balancing encounters is my biggest challange and making narraetive explinatons and hints last "hint" "deralied" the party for about 30 minutes which didetn really do any thing i loved to hear them disscuss different options and stuff.
>>47768090
okay so the players seem to be having fun and they say they are having fun
...
I don't see any role for /tg/ here
try /soc/ for validation?
I am a rather bad dm but I'm still DMing because everyone around is even worse. Like much worse.
And when a player, I'm usually cringing in shame when I recall my characters from while ago. I guess its developement, nothing but the best may satisfy me, and when I finally overcone one limitation, memories of what i was doing under its influence become pain. Also, sometimes I get aware of some flaw in the middle of the scene, like I realize it could be roleplayed better but I don't fully know how, or are unable to for some reason, or it's already too late to change anything and this is fruatrating as hell.
>>47766617
>dear /tg/ have you ever felt insecure
I know the feeling. Been running one game for 4 years now (with some break of course) and sometimes I just couldn't muster the energy even though they keep saying that they like it. I'm slowly getting out of the burned out feeling I have accumulated but I still feel like my plots are getting too convoluted and I should just make things easier, more fun etc
>>47768128
well any tips for making fluid and fun combat encounters? like any general tip on the subject because the combat encounters are slow and dragged on for 1,5 hours
>>47768128
any tips, general tips for making a fluid combat encounter? if im comming of like some high mighty /soc/ fag that not what im saying the players are new too and im new i know i can be much better and i want too
>>47768220
Don't play D&D
>>47768220
>>47768275
why dident my first post show up for like 5 minuties....now i posted two
>>47768275
Dont play d&d or other crunchy games with bazillion dice rolls per encounter.
Make fights rare, 1-2 combat encounters
per session.
>>47768220
players often like the crunchiness of D&D combat
what seems boring to you as the DM may seem like their chance to really shine to a player
look for signs that players are bored with or disengaged from combat encounters
if they seem to into it then the problem is most likely that you are bored
>>47768326
okay thank you
>>47768300
thats also great tips thanks to you aswell
>>47766617
Keep feeling that way, you are perpetually unsure of your efforts then you will strive to improve and never get lazy with your execution.
>>47766617
Oh god, tell me about it.
Every time one of them guesses a twist, I feel terrible for making it so obvious. Every time I accidentally under or overscale an encounter and make it piss easy or too difficult, I feel terrible for dragging them through something unfun. Every time something gets resolved I worry I didn't "Wow!" them enough during the build up and finish.
The only thing I've ever actually felt like I did right was one encounter with a werewolf, and the ending to that probably left a fair amount of vitriol.
It's hard for players to notice what they don't enjoy after one session. Unless something is really grating or your players are picky, don't expect much critique after a session or two. I've played with the same DM for almost two years now, and it's taken this long to realize he can't balance combat for shit, hardly ever roleplays npcs, and jumps around incoherently in the story. He's been our DM for 2 years and we're just now realizing this.
The best advice I can give you is just make sure you have fun DMing, because likely you'll get burnt out or too worried about the campaign before the players do. You'll never get to the point where they can complain and help you improve if you burn out first.
>>47768850
thanks for your input i will remeber this
>ran my first real session as a DM
>Currently dming for the two perma DM's I know
>Did a zero level session with each
>They loved it except the stressful situation I put one guy into was apparently railroaded
>He felt that there was no other response than murder
>I didn't want to upset him so I just agreed
>I'm wondering was it really too railroaded or was he just complaining
>Worry about repeating this in the larger campaign
I'd say 8/10 overall. They really fleshed out their characters and were visibly emotional throughout.
>>47768220
I found this PDF, dunno if it's good or not
>>47768989
i will defenetly give it a look thanks alot man!
>>47766617
Every damn session. My pc keeps lagging out and forces me to restart, and as I grow frustrated with that I forget to have enemies actually use their abilities intelligently.
But my players seem yo be having fun, so I guess things are okay.
>>47768300
I feel like you can have some sessions that are combat heavy. But in general I agree with this guy.
If your players are interested in the story of the game, have the combat encounters always moving the plot forward. That way, if you do have a session that is heavily entwined in combat, the plot doesn't stall.
>>47768990
>defenetly
>>47768910
zero level sessions sorta need to be railroaded, since the ending to them is them meeting the rest of the party. Don't worry about railroading all that much, every DM has their style and some have more constricted stories than others. You'll learn what style suits you best, but the only way to find that out is to fail and recognize your mistakes afterward.
Also, if the "perma DM's" really haven't played as a player in months/years, they may be saying 'railroad' because they're used to having more control over the game. Some people just don't like being a player as much as being a DM, so don't assume you did anything wrong just yet.
>>47769166
Kek english is not my native language
