As if DMs do not have enough to worry about when running their games. A major point that all DMs should keep in mind is their players. We all come to the gaming table to have fun, our reasons may be different but the end goal is the same. The end goal is to be entertained and have fun with our fellow players.
I decided to start musing some of my thought patterns in my pathfinder game I am currently running. It has been many years (maybe even a decade) since I DM regularly. I was nervous for my first gaming sessions, only two players were able to make the session. My first thought was that I wanted to respect their time and make sure the game started on time.
So let me give you a little background information on my game before I tell you how the session played out. I am running a custom Pathfinder game of my own creation. I explained to all my players that they would be starting at first level and to roll two (2) characters for me. I still am not sure what I will be doing with the second characters but I figured it never hurts to have extra npcs 😉
I also explained to my players that the story will revolve around their actions. While I have some stories that I can sprinkle in for them to complete, the world is wide open and focus on them. I stressed the fact that I wanted them to be able to build their reputation and care about the town they start in. The town name is Abilene and my campaign is called the Heroes of Abilene.
I personally want my players to be happy 🙂 I want to challenge them and reward them for their efforts as well as scare the crap out of them with the safety (or lack thereof) of their character. So when both of my players showed up on time I rewarded them 100 experience to their characters. We started the game a minute later 🙂
I explained to my players we will handle any questions on character tweaks at the end of the session. I had only plan to go two hours for our first sessions but we went three hours and it flew by! I presented my players with several options for quests to do in the town and was intrigued by their choices.
As the DM I had notes on each of the encounters and would be ready to flesh it out depending on how many players were present. Fortunately we only had one encounter and it was easy to tweak it down. I nearly killed one of the players 🙂 We all had a good time 🙂
So why was my game so successful? I really want to say it was because I am such an AWESOME DM 😉 Truth be told, it was because I had such INCREDIBLE players 🙂 With players such as mine who were engaged and eager to play it made the whole experience enjoyable!
So I said all this to say, as a DM take some upfront time to discuss your game with your potential players. See what they like and dislike, what do they yearn to see? Take all these suggestions and try to weave them into your game. You can still have the grand quests! You simply wrap what the players want to do into the quest. At the end of the day it is about the players having fun, which includes the DM 🙂
I love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below 🙂
It’s a tricky balance between story and combat. I’ve been in games where is it all one or the other. Those can be good games but the best games I’ve played in have that balance. Your game Nexeh had a great balance of story, mystery, and action. I’m looking forward to,the next session.
Yep, almost died. Didn’t because of Greytome’s timely intervention (thanks again), but it was a close thing. That’s what I liked about the encounter: there was always the chance that one or both of us would die. Yes, it would be hard on Abilene if we both died, but heroes should face death so that others won’t have to. Can’t wait to see what Nexeh has is store for us.