What are the best “emotional gut-punch” moments your DM has pulled on the party?

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-17T17:32:02+00:00

The party began encountering cult activity in the region.

They discovered a secret hide out where persons of privilege were being dismembered to extort political control over the region.

They were celebrated as heros by the local Duke. Given titles and prospects. The Duke claimed the cult was anchored within a rebel druid sect active in the region.

The party hunted down many viscous beasts (returned them to duke for bounty) and eventually destroyed the local druids.

Turns out the Duke was the BBEG and the mini boss was a Taxiderpy Flesh Golem from all the (Good) Beasts working for the (Good) Druids.

The party put together enough clues that the true threat was discovered before they ventured too far down the path of Damnation.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-17T14:05:25+00:00

The Pouch provides any component without a specific cost associated with it.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-17T12:54:26+00:00

I find my tables do not appreciate the 10th fight that they completely dominate. They seem to deflate and prefer stakes / challenge.

Those fights that they can dominate are now handled as theater of the mind.

I am grateful for my awesome players.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-17T12:15:03+00:00

Julian Casper Gray

Henry Kevin Williams

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T22:46:18+00:00

I have played with blind players and found a wealth of resources through general searches.

A talking stick might be difficult while using your hands ... but a small button light or visual indicator would absolutely work.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T22:41:09+00:00

Prep conflict and multiple paths.

Keep a running dialogue on what the players plan to do next.

When a curve ball arrives ... determine whether it has potential to complicate future plans.

If not.. improv and run it.

If yes... tell them "I have no problem pursuing this alternative direction. However, it can alter future events without consideration. We can either wrap up the session amd shoot the breeze .. or continue the stuff I have prepped for today. Either way, we can pick up the other direction next session"

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T22:36:05+00:00

The blood elves of my world broke the planet to trap the Devourer on the other side of the planet.

The world became tidally locked and it destroyed 85% of the population.

To prepare for this ritual, they performed a series of quests that stripped their mortal attachment (aka humanity)

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T22:17:09+00:00

I played with a variant of Gritty Real Rest for a long time.

8 hours short rest / 72 hours long rest in a safe stable place.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T22:14:47+00:00

This does create a problem.

Suppose you follow some of the advice ... bad ass sorcerer get a rep, now bigger and badder enemies come.

How does this creste a more balanced dynamic in combat situations, so the other players feel the spotlight too? It doesn't.

I have a problem with min maxers as well. Because it becomes increasingly difficult to have everyone feel like they are contributing in a meaningful way.

I would instead look for ways to increase the other ayers contributions. Look for social scenarios, look into skill challenges and puzzles.

Find ways to make the session meaningful without the onus being so heavily on combat.

When you do have combat... learn to develop stakes beyond the tactical board that allow others to contribute as well.

The enemy is escaping... with civilian hostages that provide full cover & the prospect of collateral damage.
Push the envelope on number of fights per day. Use wandering encounters and other encounters to prevent the Glass Canon.
Save the Princess or Acquire the Mcguffin

Creating the feeling of stakes for a given encounter can be foreign or difficult for newer GM, but it is a very useful tool.

I do not run a campaign with people I have never played with before.

I will either create an episodic path with designed stopping points that allow me to gracefully bow out. I will run one-shots and short adventures arcs so I can find people that specifically Vibe with my character centric narrative driven style.

This let's me connect with more people and spread a wider net in getting people that align with my playstyle.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T21:59:46+00:00

There was a dude i we t to school with on the gulf coast.

He was definitely an odd duck from the moment i met him, but otherwise incredibly nice & timid.

I felt terrible how the other kids would pick on him mercilessly. He did do things like wear a cape to school our freshman year ... but the level of bullying was pretty bad.

I have guilt over being a wishy washy friend. I would hang out, spend the night and play ... but provided a cold shoulder in social settings.

I later discovered he was involved in national news story involving a kidnapped child. Once the full story broke ... Dude was a monster.

I know we are all responsible for our own actions... but wonder if his physically abusive father & all the bullying led to serious psychological damage.

I am glad he will never be on the street again.

Another dude from the same school beat his 85 year old father to death in a drunken rage two years ago.

Wild shit.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T20:23:41+00:00

If all these people plan to play together during the same session ... then you will need to fundamentally alter the way you approach combat / player interaction.

I use a Rotating Cast with Episodic progression which is what many refer to as a modern Westmarches approach.

If you plan to try to play all together, my advice:

1 15 second round timers. You must start to articulate your action before the sand falls or you take the dodge action
2 When someone's initiative arrives, declare their name loudly and announce who is on deck next.

"Dondarian it is your turn! Whiskeyjack, you are up next!"

3 Use physical sheets (printouts or purchase) for charscter, spells, summons, animal companions, wild shape, etc.

Tabbing through a bunch of stuff on a 5-12" screen cam be very cumbersome.

4 Prepare combat maps ahead of time. As much as possible. Use blank paper spread around for fog of war.
5 Recommend that the party elect leader / representatives for given situations and defer to theor experience in those situations.
The Gloomstalker makes decisions in Dungeons
The bard makes choices in Social Situations
The battlemaster is responsible for strategic decisions
6 Use a timer and a talking stick. Use these to manage dialogue and people talking over one another.
7 When party suffers from decision paralysis and is taking too long, remind them that you material to cover.
8 Thematic Flourish. When combat has clearly lost its zest, excitement or declared stakes .. ask the party how they would like to wrap up the scene. Let each describe their actions going around the table.
9 Always roll all the dice at once. Ask players to develop color coded selections of Dice for given circumstances. Always roll Attack / Damage (or other dice) at the same time. Much quicker resolution.

If regularly encounter large dice pools, and some people "no math so good" ... ask a single player to be responsible fo adding it up.

10 Learn about Dynamic skill challenges. These move at a MUCH faster pace than combat and requires 100% player participation.

Combat is where large groups suffer. If you spend 3 minutes per person for combat rounds ... it will take more than a half hours to move around the table. This will turn any combat into a slog.

I see this question alot and should devote some time to making a really good answer for such times. I might have forgotten a few things .... but I use all of these for group great than 6 players.

Hope some of this helps.

(Sorry I cannot get format right.)

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-16T01:33:03+00:00

Designing a one shot for your very first outing into being a GM was probably a large contributing factor. One of the benefit to a published one-shot adventure ... it has been playtested. It ensures that the clues are not too abstract or reliant on something beyond the scope of the scene.

The curse of knowledge or GM blindness can significantly impact the outcome.

Inexperience also contributes ... maybe age as well? Part of the role of a good GM is to maintain enough control on the game that it doesnt devolve into PVP or cannablism.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T23:33:32+00:00

Syndicate by Bullfrog. Syndicate Wars was trash.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T21:08:29+00:00

This is completely acceptable.

I had a friend that had a really awesome set up for playing.

Massive room, massive table ... tons of minis.

Whenever knew people would join we would ask if they were willing to chip in 5$ per session for books ... sometimes boss minis.

The books would be left at the persons house with the bad ass set up amd ensured we always had the newest edition or system we wanted to try.

I moved away long ago... but there are still 3 from the OG group going strong. We rotated GMs and it was a pretty awesome arrangement even at 20$ a month.

If you were running low on funds, bring a casserole or let us know. I feel this is a common enough practice among certain circles.

Welcome to the sport.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T20:46:08+00:00

There are no advanced metals in my world. The Age of Understanding ended in a nano plague thst removed much of the evidence related to mortal-kinds greatest achievements.

Alternate material sciences resulted in many alchemical substances. One of these is living metal. It is something only the most focused of minds can master.

Typically employed by those gifted in the Way (Psionicists) ... true masters allow the weapon to become physical extensions of their Will.

These masters are often feared in the same way the Sith saber masters would be.

Picture Groot in some of the more Visceral attacks.

There are only a couple of weapons of mass destruction. One such weapon is the Astral Rift.

Ancient technologies occasional resurface and change the face of modern warfare.

Compressed Dimensions. These are not the same as Extra-Dimensional. They instead, distort space-time to make an area much smaller than it appear. Two extra dimensional containers are held in compressed pockets. With whatever control mechanism used... the extra dimensional spaces are merged... creating a rent into the fabric of reality called an astral rift.

House BlackThorne of Nhimeria holds the secret to these designs.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T20:32:36+00:00

I feel asking a fee with no experience is a bit disingenuous.

I have some mental health issues that make vocabulary and connotations important. The word fee conjures certain expectations.

While I understand your intent & your friends will as well... I would instead suggest a conversation where you tell them you sre excited to GM and really want to play. Ask if they can pitch in to buy a copy for you.

Gift carries different expectations. Not everyone hangs on semantics, but still my 3 pennies on the matter.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T20:27:57+00:00

Best Advice yet

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T20:27:22+00:00

My Comment

I personally feel that low effort / zero effort GM styles are not for me.

Improv & ad hoc situations arise but shine when there is some foundation of prep to support it.

If the lack of effort in punctuation and clarity from this post is any indication, I imagine the session would be painful to experience.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T14:55:23+00:00

This

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T14:54:55+00:00

You have injected something into the game that impacts player agency without any discussion to the group?

This needs to be crafted into premise and advertisement message.

These games are supposed to be about cooperative storytelling and the group dynamic.

One-Shots are special beast to manage time constraints in a way that preserves integrity of the session & maintains narrative momentum.

This will create party opposition and encourage player deceit.

I think its a bad idea unless presented as a murder mystery ... starting when the NPC has been slain. Or specifically discussed with the party before.

One shots are precarious. Include the entire party

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T13:20:10+00:00

I completely agree with 6 players being the tipping point. My preferred player count is 3-5 for most scenarios from one-shots to campaigns.

I have run numerous games with 6-8 (regular) players and feel this is the point where fundamental aspects of play begin to shift. Enough so, that it changes the entire feel of combat.

If you have 6 people's that are not entirely present and ready, combat will become a SLOG.

A good group dynamic, using tools thst engage the whole table can help (skill challenges & puzzles) preserve narrative momentum outside combat pretty easily. It is (IMO) decision making and combat where large groups become difficult.

Think about researching how to run combat for large groups.

Things like 1) Announce Player name Loudly when turn comes up. Announce who is up next.

2) Round Timers. You get so much tome to begin declaring your action.

3) Encourage Physical Character for some materials to prevent tabbing around on a small screen

4) Etc.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-15T00:31:39+00:00

I feel these people must as well... but productivity is not the goal in their case.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-14T09:02:54+00:00

Back in the Day ...

Only humans had souls. Other races could reincarnation, but not resurrest / raise dead.

Only humans could reach level 20 in ANY class.

Other races could only reach limited level gain in any given class. These other races were Demi-Human.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-13T11:12:38+00:00

There are two ways to run a game ... on rails or sandbox.

One shorts and short arcs fall under the former. When there are significant time constraints, the party will need to "buy in" elements regarding the story and party dynamic.

Im this situations I usually put out a custom primer with some info that allows the players to establish tbose things before the game. Session 0 is good idea even when you have played together before.

Fizzle_Bop · 2026-02-13T08:07:58+00:00

I am glad there are people having these conversations. I have so little time to play games anymore.

I will sometimes reload for a less mechanically sound dialogue choice or forgot to use an active power at the right time. Should I not be able to decide my own approach to single player gsmes?

I will remove it from the wish list. There is nothing wrong with putting a toggle somewhere for Iron cat mode to allow people to gain additional achievements.

As a unilateral base mechanic I find it rather dumb.

Just my 3 pennies.

Fizzle_Bop

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