dndfreak:

filbypott:

fuckyeahdnd:

The DM’s job puts you in control of the bad guys. The important thing is to note that as a DM you’re not really the bad guy: to borrow one of the principles from Dungeon World, your job is to actually be the players’ biggest fan.

You don’t put them in adversity to strike them down: you put them in adversity to see what they do, because you actually want them to succeed but their success will seem all the more sweeter if they really have to fight for it. If they survive through the day, albeit beaten and tired, you’ll share the joy of their victory. Should one of them fall, you will lament their loss as well.

Your job is not to foil their plans: your job is to give them a fair chance at trying to pull whatever half-baked scheme they have and give authority over to the dice. Should the dice favor them, let them have their victory because, again, you’re actually there to share in their victories! Should the dice not fall their way you’ll get to see what they do to get out of the mess they’ve gotten themselves into!

Remember, you’re not the bad guy. However, your players don’t need to know this!

As much as you are your players’ biggest fan, you are to pretend to be their worst enemy! When they strike down your big NPC boss feign indignation, ham it up and shout stuff like “Curses!” or “You may have won this time, but I will get you yet!” like a bad 80s cartoon villain. Their victory will seem all the sweeter for it!

But how do you resolve pretending to be a villain when you’re actually on the players’ side? Simple: the rules! They are impartial, they don’t care about whose side you are on, they just dictate how things go. Don’t let yourself actually become the bad guy: let the rules take the fall for that.

And while you’re pretending to be a bad guy, have fun! Even though you’re secretly rooting for the players and hoping they succeed, do your best to pretend to be the villain! Really ham it up!

This is my #1 problem with Gary Gygax’s approach to early D&D: he actively encouraged DMs to try and “beat” their players, and his own players had to have a bunch of backup character sheets for their PCs’ inevitable demise. See Tomb of Horrors for the absolute worst of this style of combative DMing.

Always play the game for your players. You’re responsible for the story telling and for making the game enjoyable for everyone. Killing people off for fun is never and should never be the goal of the DM.