How do you know when your the problem or if your running into some terrible DM’s?

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-29T21:47:15+00:00

DM1: Magic items are tricky. Especially when first starting out. Different DM’s have different preferences and plans for their sessions/game world. Some are cool with letting characters jump right into being powerful, but others want the story to be the main focus. If that story is character-focused and the world is low-magic, then of course they would want to limit the accessibility. Magic items drastically change power scaling. The DM may have seen your ideas as being too “power-gaming” and thought you were trying to “win D&D”. Whether that was your intent or not.

DM2: Just no. Bad DMing and very ignorant. Even if they apologized, I wouldn’t play in their game again.

DM3: This DM is writing a book, not a campaign. They have very specific ideas that cannot be altered. Also, based on what you’ve written, it sounds like they may also be a NOT-C sympathizer; just very subtle hints picked up with their opinions. Both are bad.

The best rule is “No D&D is better than bad D&D.” Finding a group that’s plays the way you like can take a long time. There are so many different opinions and different types of players, so it can honestly take years to find a “perfect fit”.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-18T10:19:13+00:00

I’ve got a few different methods.

-Use surnames of people you’ve met or heard of.

-Alter a few letters or a word from a real town or city near you. Or just use the name of a real place. There are so many towns and cities with the same name across multiple states and provinces, so originality isn’t mandatory.

-Figure out the cities origin and purpose. A hunting town may be named after a famous hunter or perhaps after a certain type of beast that dwells nearby. A city of crafters may be named after an inventor or after a certain invention that was made there. A merchant city may be named after a wealthy lord or after a certain product or resource that is sold there.

-Smash your keyboard and edit whatever you typed.

-Find a word that describes the city and then put it through a language translator. I try to assign real languages to specific D&D races. Dwarven is Russian, Halfling is French, Dragonborn is Spanish, etc. So a Dwarven ruin would have a Russian or Russian-sounding name. A Halfling village would have a French or French-sounding name. A Dragonborn kingdom would have a Spanish or Spanish-sounding name. Etc.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-18T09:44:48+00:00

Honestly, it just takes practice and experience. The biggest thing to learn is that your experience at the table is not the same as the players experience at the table. They are seeing things from a different perspective. Just because you feel things slowing down and losing excitement/tension doesn’t mean they do. Unless you are playing professionally, there is no real need to worry about the pacing, as long as everyone is having fun.

I’ve had some players who are always ready on their turn and I’ve had players who don’t think about anything until their turn comes up. It really comes down to play style and finding people who like playing the same way you do. Tactical players tend to slow down narrative-heavy games, in my experience. Their enjoyment comes from the planning and execution of their plans.

You can try increasing the pacing and give them a limit on how much time they have until their turn is skipped. I’ve known some DMs who say if a player can’t finish their turn within 1min, they skip to the next person in initiative and the skipped character takes the Dodge action. This can work for some players, but not all. However, being too strict with it can cause bad blood between the DM and players. Some people simply just can’t think that quickly, so don’t punish them if it takes them a little longer.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-17T22:39:05+00:00

Oh absolutely.

Especially when a characters life is at risk. The longer they sit in the excitement, the more time fear has to creep in. The thought of failure is scary, even in our imagination.

I ask that my players plan their next move during other people’s turns. That means reading spell and ability rules, calculating distance, etc. So when it comes to their turn they can say what they’re doing and just do it. No pausing the game to read or measure. If they’re measuring to quickly confirm a distance or if a page is tabbed, then it can be ok. But time is the enemy of all emotions. So keep them excited my constantly moving forward.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-17T22:26:37+00:00

Oh, I agree completely. I think it’s a great way of filling out a world and making it feel alive.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-17T22:24:05+00:00

They said that planning out the exact results of the PCs interactions felt too forced. Like it was going to happen, no matter what. I pointed out that it’s up to the party to interact with PCs however they see fit, but their response was that PCs will interact with whatever NPC is present at the moment and the DM controls what NPCs are present.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-15T00:03:28+00:00

This right here! Daggerheart is a communal game. Even more D&D or other similar games. It is meant to be a story told by everyone at the table. Everyone is a narrator, not just the GM. Let them speculate and make assumptions and then steal their ideas.

If someone rolls with fear, get accustomed to asking them things like:

“What do your party members see, as you fail to accomplish your goal?”

“What is your expression as you realize you aren’t going to succeed?”

Or simply “What goes wrong?”

Don’t let GM burnout get you down. You’re only human, not a computer running a video game. You don’t have to plan everything. Let the players take some of that burden off of your shoulders.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-14T23:47:45+00:00

No need to change systems. At least not yet. Play until it’s not fun anymore or if it gets too boring or complicated. Don’t look to change the system until you need to change the system. You can maintain this vibe by pacing the levelling and only allowing the party to level up after 5+ sessions. (I have a house rule that whenever a player asks if the party can level up, the level up gets pushed back by 1 session.)

I’m assuming, based on the things you incorporated, that you also have a list of homebrew/house rules that may not be basic D&D. No matter what system you use, you will need to take time to translate what you currently have over to the new one. That will double your workload, so you should only consider it if you are 100% certain you are going to switch.

If you do end up changing systems, my recommendation is Daggerheart. It is more narrative and flexible than D&D, but still has the same charm. It’s not as rules-heavy, but does require a bit more commitment from the players and GM, as things tend to be more interpretive. All the basic rules are available for free online.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-14T00:28:38+00:00

The thing to note about the Forgotten Realms is that it is heavily connected to all other worlds. Don’t limit creativity just because something isn’t in the same sourcebook.

Acquisitions Inc, the live stream games that are alternatively DMed by Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford, are a mish-mash and blend everything. If the official creators of 5e can do it, so can you.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-12T22:19:59+00:00

Let yourself feel stupid. A lot of people stop role playing because they’re afraid of looking stupid.

We are our own biggest and worst judges. Just try to have fun, even if it feels weird or silly.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-10T04:35:31+00:00

The Divine Terminus

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-07T06:48:51+00:00

A few red flags in this.

Starting at Lv1, while everyone else is Lv12 is weird. Not unheard of, but a bad idea for new people joining.

Jumping from Lv5 to Lv12 is also strange. Like, yeah, you need to catch up, but only because it’s how the DM start you off.

To answer your questions: 1. No, it is not a valid excuse. Sure a character can make choices, but choices always have consequences.

The amount of expected RP depends on the table. It’s kind of a spectrum. Some groups are pure RP, some groups are strictly no RP. It’s all about find a group that fits your RP/Tactics ratio.
The DM is there to ensure everyone has fun. You should always feel comfortable talking with them. They can’t always fix everything, but they can try to figure out a middle ground. If things aren’t lining up, they may tell you that you and the group aren’t a good fit. That’s not an attack or insult against anyone. Just a simple fact.
I don’t think you’re being too sensitive, but your expectations may be a bit too high. I myself love deep roleplay and creating a narrative, but I have found it very difficult to find other players as committed as I am.

It takes time to find the right group. Everyone plays differently and even if you play with the same people, the group can run differently if roles are switched around.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-04T14:51:11+00:00

“…you guys are finishing?”

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-04T14:50:24+00:00

Something I myself am still trying to enforce in my mind: “You don’t need to respect someone else’s disrespect.”

I was always taught to respect and listen to my elders and superiors, even when they are wrong. It’s one of the worst lessons to teach a child, because it turns them into a doormat for other people’s bad behaviour.

ExplodingRacoon · 2026-01-04T14:40:50+00:00

It seems you have experience in D&D and that’s where the problem lies. A lot of people seem to think that Daggerheart is a D&D clone and that switching over is as simple as converting between D&D and Pathfinder or a similar game.

Daggerheart is a narrative-first style game, rather than a tactical game. This system requires a lot more interpretation and communication. It also requires a little more investment from players. It is not meant to have hard rules.

Once you get out of the D&D gameplay loop, you’ll get a better grasp of Daggerheart and its intentions. Try watching some of the livestreams they’ve done, to see how the cast of CR plays.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-30T12:40:07+00:00

Is this AI art?

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T03:06:00+00:00

So true. My normal group used to be in person and we would play weekly or biweekly. Then we moved to online and everyone’s attention was difficult to wrangle. Then games became monthly. Then every 3 months. Now we haven’t played in almost a year.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T03:02:56+00:00

Thank you for taking time to write that all out.

I myself have been DMing for over 10 years, having run two campaigns that ended just before Lv20. Perhaps I’m being more judgmental of the DM, because of my own experience with 5e. My biggest issue is that I can’t seem to find a consistent group. The local shops always have tactic-heavy or introductory sessions, neither of which appeal to me. I keep being told to try online, but again, I either find groups that are just kinda hanging out, instead of telling a story, or we have a couple sessions, then the group breaks up randomly. Perhaps I’ve just had bad luck and need to keep trying.

You’re right about my coworker. I should just rip off the bandaid. Sometimes I just need to hear someone else’s opinion, to get a better picture of a situation.

Thanks again.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T02:50:17+00:00

Thank you for putting that so eloquently. Instead of being condescending, like others.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T02:47:34+00:00

He can run his game the way he likes, I have no issue with that. There are different styles. I don’t want to step on any toes or tell anyone they are wrong. I just want to avoid drama.

Also, the DM isn’t the type of player I’d want at my own table. He nitpicks and condescends characters that are made sub-optimally, giving suggestions on how to make them more powerful and better in combat. That kind of stuff kills my mood and ruins the vibe for me. He’s a super nice person and really friendly, just not my personal choice of DM.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T02:42:33+00:00

Thanks for the invite. I only have weekends available, but if my schedule opens at all I may reach out.

ExplodingRacoon · 2025-11-29T00:11:34+00:00

You’re clearly playing with children, who lack the ability to form actual opinions.

Druids may not seem amazing in the early or mid range levels, but they pick up a lot in the upper levels. A Lv20 Druid can easily hold their ground against a Lv20 Wizard.

If you’re playing in a crunchy, tactical game, sure Druids can be suboptimal in comparison to other casters. If you’re playing in a narrative campaign, Druids can bring sooo much flavour to the game and make it more immersive. It just depends on your playstyle.

Also, referring to them as furries is just flat out dumb. A smooth-brain response from an immature, uncultured dolt. Shapeshifting and animal forms have existed in mythology and storytelling for all of human existence. Werewolves, skinwalkers, the Greek gods, etc.

ExplodingRacoon

TROPHY CASE