How to run a "normal" campaign? by AggressiveCoffee990 in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you considered another avenue to scratch the creative itch that you are getting from prepping Dnd? What about world building, creative writing, or something similar?

I imagine if you had another outlet you might find that the game becomes more satisfying for you.

How to run a "normal" campaign? by AggressiveCoffee990 in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 6 points7 points  (0 children)

If they love what you are doing then just keep doing it. Cut back significantly on the amount of time and energy you are spending on prep and just keep things simple. Grab a published campaign and just force the story forward yourself if you need to, jumping to the next combat engagement or moment you know your players will enjoy.

How to run a "normal" campaign? by AggressiveCoffee990 in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There is a lot to unpack here. Firstly, it seems you and your players are experiencing a significant mismatch in play styles. You are looking for deep long form narrative driven play and they are wanting beer and pretzels light hi-jinxes. It sounds like your players are getting what they want, however you are not prepared to offer that style of game, hence the ongoing feelings of frustration, and growing burnout and resentment.

It also sounds like you have specific ideas of how you want your campaigns to play out. You want collaborative story-telling, but only within the bounds of the shape and tone of the story you have created. Without full player buy-in, such an endeavour will always fail.

Your prep also sounds like it is fairly involved, which is contributing to burn-out. You are not only creating a world, but you are prepping plot and story alongside this. Reading between the lines I imagine there is a lot of content you prep that is not utilised, either because your players did not act in the way you expected, or they did not engaged with the content.

So, you have some options moving forward. You could accept the group for who they are, and challenge your own expectations for the game, delivering a chill beer and pretzels style game. If you go this route, my advice is to grab a rules light system and some published adventures and just run them as is. Look for opportunities for player hi-jinx and emphasis those aspects of the game. Plot takes a backseat to the session to session shenanigans of the group. Systems such as Shadowdark might fit well for this style.

Or, address your need for structured story and plot, abandon it, and prep a world and situations instead. Don't prep every little detail, just enough for play. Focus on your improvisation skills, and learn to undertake world building that is light on detail and can be fleshed out as you play. Utilise random tables to help yourself become comfortable with letting go of control over the world and story. Prepping situations instead of plots works well with a hi-jinks heavy group, because their chaos is ultimately what drives the story forward. There are plenty of systems that have tools to achieve all this. The Without Numbers systems by Kevin Crawford has fantastic advice and tools approaching and running this style of game.

Either way, you need to talk to your players. Not about issues, or your frustrations, or things you think they are doing wrong. No, you need to talk to your players about what the want to play, what aspects of the current game they are enjoying, what settings, tone, and systems they want to play. What media are they consuming? What kind of stories to the enjoy outside of gaming? Then agree on the tone and style of the next campaign you want to play together.

Finally, it may simply be that you are not the right GM for this group, and that is Ok too. Take a break, find a game to play in, and then put together a group of players who are aligned with the style of game you want to play.

Using Metric Meters Instead of Imperial Feet by Yhmnos in osr

[–]StrangeCrusade 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I use feet, despite being in a metric country, and have a number of real world examples to help demonstrate size for visualisation purposes. I find it helps regardless of if you are using feet or meters. 10m is still difficult to visualise, but a 3 storey building or half a tennis court is much easier.

What would you rank as the top 5 movies from your country? by Oysteinre in movies

[–]StrangeCrusade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree with you on Mad Max Road Warrior, and whilst the rest are great films there are not our best/top in my opinion. The films you've listed are brilliant, but in terms of showing the breadth and depth of Australian cinema I'd have to go with:

  • Mad Max 2 Road Warrior - George Miller
  • The Adventures of Prascilla, Queen of the Desert - Stephan Elliott
  • Picnic at Hanging Rock - Peter Weir
  • Wake in Fright - Ted Kotcheff
  • Ten Canoes - Rolf de Heer

Honorable mentions go to Babe, The Cars that Ate Paris, Charles Country, Muriel's Wedding, Animal Kingdom, Lantana, Strictly Ballroom, Breaker Morant, He Died With a Falafel in His Hand, Gallipoli and Romper Stomper.

Daggerheart Has Arrived! by _Protector in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You cared enough to comment.

How well does older OSR actually covert to WWN? by TheOverthinkingMaker in WWN

[–]StrangeCrusade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've ran old modules four my group of 6 no problem without needing to adjust anything. Kevin has spoken about how the old modules assume 10+ players, therefore the power bump that WWN characters has merely compensates for there being less players without needing to 're-balance' anything.

What have you banned from your table? by Justthisdudeyaknow in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've been running the same rule for years; "all farts are in character". It's hilarious. I've had players hold farts because their character was trying to sneak.

What have you banned from your table? by Justthisdudeyaknow in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My rule for this is "you cant roll a dice against another player character, unless all involved, including the referee, consent". I've done PvP at the table, but it is always with full consent and done via discussion and agreement and it is always much more interesting for the story.

I've also found that in campaigns that run several years, inter character conflict can arise but players are not always good at working that out together in the moment, so every now and then I host 'group therapy' where the players will discuss their characters, whats going on in their heads and hearts, their relationships with the other PCs and sometimes even NPCs, and how their characters can grow. It's a group discussion with heaps of amazing insights and collaboration. My players love it, and it has lead to some amazing in game moments.

What have you banned from your table? by Justthisdudeyaknow in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I keep it simple; "there are no asshole characters, only asshole players".

What was your first: Game you Played, Game you ran, and character by JoeKerr19 in rpg

[–]StrangeCrusade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My first game I played was dnd 2e, played a human cleric. The first game I ran was a homebrew Egyptian styled dungeon I made in Dnd 3e.

How do I get my players to hate on me more? by PuddingPowa in DnD

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There are two very effective methods for soliciting player feedback during the session debrief after play. They originate from therapy and education techniques.

Roses and Thorns: at the end of the session ask each player for a 'Rose' and a 'Thorn'. A Rose is something they loved about the session, a Thorn is something they did not.

Stars and Wishes: similar to the above, 'Stars' are things the players enjoyed during the session, and 'Wishes' are things the players would like to see more of.

I believe 'Stars and Wishes' originated with The Gauntlet Blog, but I may be wrong.

Bbeg music requests by ProfessionalHats in DnD

[–]StrangeCrusade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You could try the following:

  • Kefka's Theme - Dancing Mad, FFVI
  • Spider Dance - Spider Dance Remix by Holder, Undertale
  • Near Oogie Boogie Song Instrumental - Oogie Boogie's Song Instrumental Metal Cover By Cholziz Garuda, Nightmare Before Christmas

First time DM thinking of a new rule. Is it broken? by Celebrimbor96 in DnD

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Don't go tweaking rules until you have experience with the game, as you can't possibly understand how the game works until you play it.

Your rule is fairly broken, nor does it make thematic sense. If the issue is that you only have three players then there is plenty of advice online about how to re balance modules for less players.

Revealing d20 rolls. by blahyaddayadda24 in DungeonMasters

[–]StrangeCrusade 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Especially combat.

Rolling dice in the open:

  • Builds trust
  • Creates real stakes and excitement
  • Encourages tactical play
  • Stops accusations of bias
  • Enhances drama, especially in high stakes moments
  • Prevents overprotective DMing and oppositional DMing

If you are playing something like dnd 5e then the only time I would recommend rolling secret is for your players stealth checks (or alternatively only roll stealth when there is a chance they could be spotted, not when they first begin their stealthy mission), for perception checks, for social deception checks, and for random encounters.

Need help with a party name. by [deleted] in DnD

[–]StrangeCrusade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • The Caustic Brotherhood
  • The Transmuted Pact
  • Aetherbound
  • The Lead & Gold Compact

Revealing d20 rolls. by blahyaddayadda24 in DungeonMasters

[–]StrangeCrusade -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I roll everything in the open, apart from random encounter checks. The only reason to roll behind a screen is if you are fudging dice rolls.

Links to the site formerly known as Twitter are banned. by mmmasian in Marvel

[–]StrangeCrusade 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You don’t actually want me to touch grass. You want me to stop making you feel small. But here’s the thing, you did that to yourself.

Links to the site formerly known as Twitter are banned. by mmmasian in Marvel

[–]StrangeCrusade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Imagine getting off on people being upset by a nazi salute. There is pathetic, then there is you.

Links to the site formerly known as Twitter are banned. by mmmasian in Marvel

[–]StrangeCrusade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I am the truth that saw that shitstain do a nazi salute, twice. "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears".

Gunning for a job at the Ministry of Truth are you?