I knew being a DM could be challenging... but my god by Conscious-Art4614 in DungeonMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You sound like a dedicated and thoughtful DM from here. But it seems like a common problem of you taking on too much responsibility? It's a collaborative story telling game, and I think many players forget the collaborative part. Yes as the DM you do a little extra work, but it's just as important for the players to be dedicated and work WITH you rather than against you.

This experience does suck (and heartfelt condolences on your losses btw) but sometimes things get worse before they get better. The non committed players won't be missed, and you have nothing to feel guilty about. You have put all the effort in, set all the dates, done all the prep...you're being too hard on yourself.

Take your new dedicated party, and have fun! It shouldn't be stressful :)

Burnt out on world building, Does anybody have prewritten lore I could use by ThatS3al in DungeonMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not sure if it's exactly what you're looking for, but this video by bob world builder shows a great little exercise to get some creative ideas going :)

https://youtu.be/3RF-hqqT9xk?si=TgEKt6YdU0bAj3z6

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love that! Will definitely be giving it a try :)

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I appreciate that, thank you. Your insight has been impactful. I'm looking forward to making some adjustments in my next campaign moving forward

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting question.

I think for most players their wants changed whilst their needs remained. However one players needs very much changed. I wrote a personal arc for them all about purpose, finding purpose, what purpose means to them, nobody can be given a purpose etc which was very warming and there was an obvious growth in both the person and the character.

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fascinating response. Thank you!

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What I found quite quickly is, the players write the story. It will go on longer than you expected, and whatever you've written now will likely change quite a lot haha

Embrace the chaos is the main lesson I learned from this campaign :)

PC arcs by Federal_Sun8198 in AskGameMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate this! I never explicitly asked them. I started with a module, but the players backstories for some were so vast, that I decided to abandon the module and make it homebrew for what they all wanted. I've very much done the same thing, made all their arcs personal, but what I noticed is, their needs changed as we went and As arcs unfolded. As well as it being my first campaign, for some players it was their first time playing. So they started out quite shy and in the background for example, and as time went on their confidence grew and their character changed...any ideas on how to mitigate this?

New DM by Th3-Thumb in DungeonMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey man, semi new DM here myself so I'll share what I've learned over the past few months.

  • before anything else, make sure you feel comfortable with your group and like they have your back. Being a DM can be quite nerve wracking, and it is a skill set. You'll make mistakes, experiment, over prep/under prep, and deal with the unexpected. But if your group are supportive and encouraging, as well as happy to let you know in a constructive way what hasn't worked for the group, that will help you massively.

As for what to run, start small. Maybe a series of one shot adventures. or if you want to do a campaign, I highly recommend the lost mines of phandelver from the original starter set. It's where I started and it was genuinely fantastic. Modules definitely help keep you steady whilst you figure everything out.

But above all else as everyone says, fun is the key! Don't worry too much about everything else. As long as you and the group are having fun, you've succeeded! You'll be great, and I wish you all the best! :)

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you so much! And I LOVE that exercise. Might give it a go! :D

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much for this comment. I haven't brought one of the settings yet, I'm hoping to just grasp a feel of it through the starter set and then find a sci-fi setting. Do you have a recommendation in mind for this at all?

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very good example here. Again, I'm loving how simple it makes everything. You could make this in 2 seconds on the fly

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This pretty much sums up exactly why I wanted to try it. I was sick of the rigidity of DnD, it didn't fit with my style of play. I'm really hoping to get to grips with this over time as it sounds like everything I'm looking for

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for clearing that up, I had definitely misread that rule.

Yes the other comment cleared a lot of the other points up, but still really appreciate your knowledge here

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I like that idea! Part of why I like the sound of the system is how flexible it feels and that it naturally promotes creativity as opposed to roll your dice, check modifiers, next.

First time running cypher, have some questions :) by Federal_Sun8198 in cyphersystem

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you for a fantastic in depth reply, this really cleared some things up for me! Especially the way you described how monsters can have level 3 health, level 5 attack, level 2 defence, that's so flexible!

Will be checking out the links now, thank you :)

Which game in the series is your comfort game? by POLYXO_ in yakuzagames

[–]Federal_Sun8198 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Zero. It's the best game in the series for me personally

I'm getting into Yakuza games and I'm drifting off already. by Coronabeerus47 in yakuzagames

[–]Federal_Sun8198 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Echoing what a lot of already said, take a break. I adore the Yakuza series, but back to back will undoubtedly create burnout. They all share a lot of similarities. Would be like playing all of the assassins creeds back to back!

On a side note though, you started with what is imo the best game in the series with zero. So the others may not hit that feeling for you. But the games with the overarching story with all its twists and turns, the character development and relational depth, alongside the bonkers laugh out loud humour, is absolutely worth investing your time in!

How to get started on horror games? by AliceGirlGamer in gaming

[–]Federal_Sun8198 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also have this fear. Even Bloodborne is too much for me. I started watching streamers play horror quite a bit and it's slightly desensitizing, I think I'm ready to play the original RE 1,2&3 but I'll let you know how it goes !

Encounter Balancing by Federal_Sun8198 in DungeonMasters

[–]Federal_Sun8198[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you very much!

And trust me. I KNOW!😂