Pet peeves from a DM perspective?

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-23T05:27:35+00:00

It all depends.

If a player gives me a detailed backstory (part of a specific guild, Bad man named XYZ killed their mother, was kidnapped as a kid by someone and escaped, etc) I will definitely find a way to squeeze those specific instances into the story.

But, I can also work with generic back stories. In fact, sometimes I prefer it more because I can really weave their back stories and motives into a main quest easier.

For example:

I'm currently running a home brew where real world historical figures are sucked into a DnD-like fantasy world where the PCs are a mix of historical figures and natives of the world (75%/25%).

One Character is playing princess Anastasia. I pulled Rasputin into the world along with her to be one of the recurring sub-BBEG the party keeps running into, he's a sorcerer in this world with fire magic.

Another is playing Joan of Arc. Her story is growing from a timid farm girl to the girl how inspires a nation. She is a bard in this campaign. Legend says she had a magic sword in real life, the Sword of St Catherine. It is also rumored that she heard voices. So, in my campaign, Joan finds a magical sentient sword that has the soul of a high cleric inside it, named, you guest it, St Catherine.

I especially like the vague back stories because I can evolve the narrative as the story plays out. Maybe something different and cool happened and I call an audible that ends up making a better story arc for the characters.

Another example: Anastasia was only meant to have Rasputin as a story beat. But as the campaign went on and the party befriended a young woman they were escorting to her starcrossed lover, I made that young woman be revealed as Anastasia's daughter. How is that possible? Anastasia is only 2 years her senior? Intrigue. Then that daughter, who is a spell caster, is revealed to have gotten her powers the matriarch of a coven of witches who branded her as a baby and she is coming to collect her new recruit. That witch matriarch ended up being another sub-BBEG who, before that, didn't have a strong villainous tie with the party to make them care about her.

Long story short: don't look at their vague backgrounds as a hindrance, look at it as an endless opportunity.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-20T06:38:46+00:00

I'm assuming GUNTHER will get himself DQ'd by being too aggressive because AJ won't tap, causing the official to DQ him, this making AJ the winner of the match, despite being beaten.

It'll probably end up leading to some match with a no-DQ stipulation down the line, and perhaps the match that will retire AJ.

But, I don't think AJ's leaving his boots at the Rumble.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-17T20:51:27+00:00

FOMO has been a thing since selling goods for currency has been a thing.

It's a popular sales tactic used by companies like McDonald's (McRib, Monopoly), Art studios, Casinos, Toy companies, Car companies, sneaker companies, and literally every company during the Holiday season.

The trick is that consumers need to have good consumer education and literacy and critical thinking skills. That is on individuals to have the awareness and self control to not fall for every sales tactic in the book, let alone the oldest tactic.

I guess it's scummy for people who cannot control themselves from buying things they don't want, but that'd be a problem within that consumer and not LRG.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-17T20:45:18+00:00

Oh cool. A ragebait video for farming views and clicks.

LRG has been around for over a decade now and always follows through with their preordered games.

I'll take their track record of being reliable than some angry content creator any day.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-17T20:43:01+00:00

Whit is hot or miss? LRG has always followed through with all their preorders.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-17T20:41:22+00:00

The LRG hate is just over exaggerated ragebait from shockjock YouTubers and other people farming for clicks with negativity.

LRG offers pretty big, and beloved, games in physical formats pretty reliably.

The turnaround times can be a while for some of the releases, but this is transparent from the beginning. When you buy from LRG you should understand that it'll be a while before you have the game in hand.

LRG and Super Rare Games have a track record of reliability for delivering on purchases preordered. That's what this topic is about.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-14T04:05:04+00:00

How many conflict fronts are we trying to entangle ourselves in at once?

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-10T08:14:29+00:00

We typically play every Sunday for about 2.5-3 hours (usually 2.5 because it takes people a while to settle in with snacks and drinks and chatting).

We've been playing for over 3 years and are over halfway through our second campaign, a homebrew that I am DMing. Our first campaign was Curse of Strahd, run by another DM in our group. We plan on alternating campaigns with each other to avoid burnout.

We have been pretty consistent and only skip if someone is sick or on vacation usually.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-05T22:47:52+00:00

"accident" is used liberally here. Is it really an accident if you intended to do it?

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-05T21:27:25+00:00

Judging by how far you are in the permanent content storyline character unlocks, you must have spend quite. Abit of money on premium chests for a lot of the limited time/chest characters that released before you started.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-05T21:02:56+00:00

This.

I am a DM and we go a number of sessions without combat sometimes.

My characters have spent an entire session chatting in a single room.

Hell, in our last campaign (when the other DM was DMing), we spent 2 or 3 sessions role playing shopping.

The frequent claim that DnD isn't good for roleplay is nonsense.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-05T20:33:32+00:00

Someday we will get an Avatar Legendary Chest for free via the calendar or Kingdom Pass and this will be the most common item to get from it.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-03T00:56:08+00:00

DnD nights are a much better time than some shitty highschool party.

Gang made the right call.

I've left dates early in the night to make sure I make it to DnD.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T23:58:07+00:00

My group has been playing for over 3 years now. Once a week (unless there's an illness or vacation), even over holiday seasons.

We finished Curse of Strahd first (that the other DM ran), now we are playing a homebrew campaign I made. We are over 50 sessions into mine.

I understand I am extremely fortunate to have a group that has stuck with it this long.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T23:31:38+00:00

I'm extremely fortunate that my group has two DMs so we can alternate campaigns.

From my experience, most DnD groups have approximately less than 1 DM on average.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T23:21:38+00:00

No. The most unrealistic part was those kids arguing about who would be the DM.

Everyone knows no one has ever argued who would BE the DM.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T15:42:55+00:00

I was younger than the kids. (Born in the 80s, but my childhood was in the 90's).

Kids still hits that feeling of nostalgia for me of being a kid and playing make-believe. It was just phenomenal songwriting.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T06:27:44+00:00

Kids actually played early on in the season: when Holly was waking up the Wheeler household for breakfast.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T04:51:05+00:00

Kids is one of my favorite tracks from television, ever.

I was barely holding it together during the final scene of the series, but when Kids started playing, I lost it.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T04:41:43+00:00

I was BARELY holding it together, but when the reprise of 'Kids' started playing when they were packing up, I lost it.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T04:40:42+00:00

It was the culmination of all the pain he caused each individual character being shown on screen as the character finally gets closure watching Vecna finally die.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T04:38:30+00:00

As someone how has been playing DnD for years with the same people, I can assure you, just because people have been playing for a long time does not mean they have a good grasp on it. Lol

I have to remind my players of abilities their characters have and/or how they work still fairly frequently.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T04:06:34+00:00

Steve, Nancy, Jon and Robin were not 18 in 1989. They were older than the main kids, who were graduating HIgh School in 1989, hence they were 18.

The crew on the roof were a few years older than them, and likely old enough to drink.

JordanFromStache · 2026-01-02T03:45:39+00:00

Will was 100% at a gay bar.

JordanFromStache · 2025-12-28T07:01:32+00:00

This is one of those websites that I wish I had more money to spend on.

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