DM Tips Twitter Archive: September 2011

by Mike Shea on 7 October 2011

Below is an archive of all of the Sly Flourish DM Tip Twitter posts for August 2011. Get daily DM tips at http://twitter.com/slyflourish!

By the way @dndtweets also pulls from @4eblogs so you probably don't need both or you'll get repeats.

#dnd tip: Work with your group to come up with a party name. Don't simply pick it for them or leave it totally in their hands.

By the way, if you want a flitered list of #dnd tagged links, follow @DnDTweets!

In case you missed it, Introducing DnDTweets.com, your source for the latest #dnd related tweets: http://t.co/mA2NTjum

#dnd tip: Tell your group what the highest AND lowest defenses are for all monsters so they know instantly if they hit or missed.

I'd love to see the #dnd character builder come out with a single-page character sheet: http://t.co/5qw9WfY5

Ran a RP heavy open-ended Gloomwrought session. Not bad but my group likes a little more railroad in their games. Next week, Glorenda! #dnd

Added the awesome maps from Vor Rukoth and Gloomwrought to the Poster Map index: http://t.co/38CFkSbV #dnd

.@dazedsaveends It doesn't make it easy for me to distribute different uncommon items. I still have to agonize about what to give them.

On Mord's Emporium: Love the lore and the power leaps in rare items. Don't like the lack of random charts or advice on loot distro. #dnd

If you haven't seen it, @LearningDM's Brawl Encounter is worth a look: http://t.co/FcPsk0kx #dnd

.@Hzurr In my experience, epic-tier one-shots can be difficult to scale properly but I discuss them in my book: http://t.co/9klYCkw7 #dnd

#dnd tip: When running one-shot D&D or Gamma World games, start them at level 1 to keep things simple and fast.

#dnd tip: Try out Mastermind as an interesting skill challenge puzzle for door traps or arcane locks: http://t.co/3WLBYSic

.@LearningDM limiting people to at-will powers upset them. They felt it was too limiting. The time worked fine. No map might help.

Interesting idea for shorter combats from @LearningDM. Similar to my skirmishes that didn't work very well: http://t.co/5DSca7wZ

Great #dnd tip from my friend @deadorcs. Use old True Dungeon tokens as a new component to your at-home #dnd game: http://t.co/jybOQu1f

By the way, here's a list of the top 50 #dnd tag posters: http://t.co/rVcI2X3r Of course, @bensrpgpile was hacked so ignore that one.

Keeping my #dnd #ff down to one guy each week. This week it's @erikscottdebie, co-author of Gloomwrought and Neverwinter.

Check out @chattydm's level 0 character rules and level 0 adventure: http://t.co/gcEkbPCS - http://t.co/tdvnWe3G #dnd

#dnd tip: Running a one-shot? Try to stick to level 1 PCs. It makes for a much faster game with lots of potential encounters.

#dnd tip: What theme song does your campaign have? Play it often and use it to bring them into the mindset of your world.

#dnd tip: Missing some good hero miniatures? Check out the Reaper pre-painted miniature line: http://t.co/AYU8ta6z

Some excellent #dnd tips in @wizards_dnd's Gardmore Abbey article today: http://t.co/aLqBK5JK

#dnd tip: Missing some good hero miniatures? Check out the Reaper pre-painted miniature line: http://t.co/AYU8ta6z

Excellent and insightful post from @TheIdDM on 1st edition through a 4th edition lens: http://t.co/5HZ49nFN #DnD

#dnd tip: Keep control of the magic items you give out in your campaign. Some of them can be quite a challenge to deal with later.

For websites that want to get on 4eblogs.com: Write useful 4e-focused #dnd posts weekly for two months and drop me a line.

#dnd tip: Auto-hit environmental effects are a lot easier to manage at the table than effects with attack rolls.

After spending a lot of time with it this week, the Monster Manual 3 is a fantastic book. Lots of epic challenges. #dnd http://t.co/YxP7tcWc

#dnd tip: Keep a folio of poster maps and large tiles handy for those unplanned encounter areas that come up during your adventure.

#dnd tip: If you find yourself designing monsters, you can do a lot worse than picking up a copy of the 1st edition Fiend Folio.

Good article by @mikemearls on good and bad players
http://t.co/Hejx1Z9 #dnd

#dnd tip: Take Chris Perkins's advice and "under-prepare and improvise": http://t.co/cZpfYcA

.@raynbow I think there are so many feat slots that it's ok if some are sort of mandatory. #dnd

Excellent Rule of Three that covers feat taxes (which I agree with) and combat speed: http://t.co/XWIRjZE #dnd

#dnd tip: Acrylic sheets work very well above dungeon tiles. You don't even need to use poster putty.

A gift for a Sunday morning. Random Loot Tables for 4e #dnd : http://t.co/9z8lfdG

#dnd tip: Use acrylic sheets from Home Depot to stack multiple maps on top of one another and peel back as your group goes through maps.

Excellent look by my friend @newbiedm on using @DaveTheGame's 5x5 method to plan a Neverwinter game: http://t.co/57D9KfA #dnd

.@ObsidianCrane Paragon is definitely where player power and complexity hits a higher than linear curve compared to monsters. #dnd

My Gloomwrought game is set to go from level 8 to 15 but I may cut it short and it might be my last mini-campaign above 10 for a while. #dnd

@TheIdDM Yep. Level 15 Aspect of Orcus to challenge a party of level 10s. Good idea! I'll get to work.

So I ran a level 24 playtest last night using Essentials Only chars. Monsters still got pinned down. Level 1 to 10 is still sweet spot. #dnd

#dnd tip: Tell your group the highest defense across all monsters as your "magic number" so they don't have to ask if they hit above it.

Check out @jamesstowe's awesome #dnd pre-gen character sheets for kids: http://t.co/5lhi7qE

@KatoKatonian Maybe "the ogre gets tired and goes to sleep. Coup De Gras!"

#dnd tip: Never ever "just end the fight here". Always come up with an in-game reason for a battle to end early.

#dnd open playtest of new miniatures skirmish game. No DDI subscription required http://t.co/tLaiOor

#dnd tip: Sometimes acting like a Boggle (like an idiot) is all it takes to impress people like @katokatonian or @angrydm.

.@icosahedron I think later editions of #dnd were designed for a consistent experience regardless of DM skill when DM skill is paramount.

Love today's "Legends and Lore" by @mikemearls. I do think 4e puts too many rules in place worrying about bad DMs. http://t.co/IwfVTzK #dnd

#dnd tip: Try Fiasco-style character interactions to get your PCs together in some way other than all showing up at a bar.

@TheAngryDM Honestly, my home games are going to move to Heroic and probably stay there. It's a lot more fun from level 1 to 10.

Just ran a lazy DM Gamma World game based on the psychopath superhero from the Supreme Power comics. Worked well!

Just mailed off copies of DM Tips and Epic Tier Games to @blackshard641 my 3,000th follower! http://t.co/led0qML http://t.co/WqS7TRE #dnd

Three tools for the lazy #dnd DM: poster maps, reskinning monsters, the DM cheat sheet: http://t.co/Vwvm628

#dnd tip: Don't assume your group just loves combat. Try a single battle and some roleplaying before and after.

.@DaveTheGame Re: epic monsters; the MM3 and the Dark Sun Creature Catalog have tons of good epic-tier beasts. #dnd

On reskinning: http://t.co/NYfUJmn and http://t.co/VmpPGIV #dnd

That said, the lower level monsters from older books probably work fine. It's mainly as they reach paragon and epic that they fall apart.

Instead of retrofitting old stat blocks, reskin new stat blocks as older monster types. Turn the MV2 dragons into an iron dragon. #dnd

Math alone doesn't improve the design of Pre-MM3 monsters. Monsters from newer books are designed better in many ways. #dnd

#dnd tip: With the Monster Vault, MV: Nentir Vale, MM3, and Dark Sun Creature Catalog, there's no reason to use outdated monster books.

If you enjoyed these tips, take a look at Sly Flourish’s Dungeon Master Tips book or Sly Flourish’s Running Epic Tier D&D Games. You can also use these links to purchase the Dungeon Master’s Kit or the Monster Vault or bookmark this link to buy anything from Amazon.

Need some battle maps? Pick up some Gamemastery Flip-Maps from Troll and Toad, an official Sly Flourish sponsor.

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