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Fizilbert
Learned Scribe
USA
123 Posts |
 Posted - 23 Jan 2011 : 15:31:27
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I'm a relatively new DM. While we've been playing for almost 2 years now, it's at a very casual pace (highest player is only level 4 so far). I've noticed as timehas gone by, I seem to be getting bogged down in the details.
For instance, when I first started DMing I wasn't keeping track of player inventory, but as they found items that they didn't identify or appraise right away, I needed to keep a list of those items, or I would forget what they were and how much they were worth. This has turned into a small notebook full of these items for each player.
I have also noticed that now I have to keep a list of all the NPCs that either I have created for future games or that the players have encountered.
Is this typical for a DM or am I making things too complicated for myself?
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Fiz
Level 10 Vice-president
World of Elethril |
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Arioch
Learned Scribe
Italy
222 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2011 : 15:47:34
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I think it is normal in your evolution as a DM that you change the level of detail of your DMastering...
... it is maybe like being a cook: you start with simple recipes, then you want to make things more complicated and difficult... then you will realize how many things can be simplified and return to the recepies of the beginning, but with much more experience to prepare them 
(just a generalization, of course, with all its limits! After two decads as a DM I changed a lot of times the level of details...) |
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Diffan
Great Reader
USA
4430 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2011 : 15:51:36
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quote:
Originally posted by Fizilbert
I'm a relatively new DM. While we've been playing for almost 2 years now, it's at a very casual pace (highest player is only level 4 so far). I've noticed as timehas gone by, I seem to be getting bogged down in the details.
For instance, when I first started DMing I wasn't keeping track of player inventory, but as they found items that they didn't identify or appraise right away, I needed to keep a list of those items, or I would forget what they were and how much they were worth. This has turned into a small notebook full of these items for each player.
I have also noticed that now I have to keep a list of all the NPCs that either I have created for future games or that the players have encountered.
Is this typical for a DM or am I making things too complicated for myself?
I require my PCs to keep track of the items they aquire over the course of the adventure. To be honest, I don't utilize the Appraise skill mostly because I normally do a re-sell of the items at %70 of the original cost to keep things simple if the buyer has an indifferent attitude. Of course, the price will vary if the buyer's attitude changes.
For more important magical gear, such as a special necklace or a magical sword that does something extraordinary I'll give them the source book and page number to keep track of. I do this so that I know what the item does and so forth. I trust my PCs a lot since they're all good friends of mine and so I don't expect them to cheat intentionally.
As for NPCs and such, yea those should be things you write down for furhter information. This helps you keep track of who they are, what quests they might give out to certain PCs, and or additional info that might be important to your plot. I've gone through this problem before and it can really side-track a campaign if you attempt to locate said NPC or back-track through notes becaue you don't write it down. In this instance go with the flow, chante up the NPC, and exact DM rights to say "hey, i messed up, this is how it is, sorry for the confusion" and move on.
Spread out the book keeping so you can concentrate on the story and NOT gear, etc...
Now if you DON'T trust your players, then a more thorough examination of book keeping might be required. This is just so you know they're not going on unlimited ammo or spell charges from their staff/wand/etc... |
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4686 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2011 : 16:04:00
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It is common, expected and for some NPCs required. One of the joys of being a DM.
The PCs will remember someone they met a month ago, some they will remember for years. As DM you need to remember those NPCs and their reaction to the PCs, also of course locations visited, the town, inn, castle also needs to be recorded.
Something like "Keep on the Borderlands" limited the number of NPCs that a DM has to deal with. This because the area was limited, one fortress to rest and resupply and a set of caves to kill monsters. The larger your game world grows the more notes you will have to keep.
To reduce remembering NPCs and locations in detail there is one thing you can do. As time passes for the PCs so does time pass for locations and NPCs. An Inn can burn down, NPCs can die or move out of the area. |
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Kuje
Great Reader
USA
7915 Posts |
Posted - 23 Jan 2011 : 18:13:44
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| Hells, I have about 15 years worth of notebooks and notes going all the way back to second edition. So yea, it's pretty common, least for me, to have reams of notebooks and binders and notes. But it helps me remember all the changes that PC's have done to my version of FR or the multiverse because I run some campaigns that include the planes and spelljamming, i.e. space travel. |
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The Sage
Procrastinator Most High
Australia
31701 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2011 : 00:44:01
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quote:
Originally posted by Kuje
Hells, I have about 15 years worth of notebooks and notes going all the way back to second edition. So yea, it's pretty common, least for me, to have reams of notebooks and binders and notes. But it helps me remember all the changes that PC's have done to my version of FR or the multiverse because I run some campaigns that include the planes and spelljamming, i.e. space travel.
The same.
In fact, my notebooks practically outnumber my FR resources. And it'll be just as likely for me to refer to a notebook, rather than a published Realms source, when I'm looking to drop new lore into a campaign. |
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Fizilbert
Learned Scribe
USA
123 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jan 2011 : 13:08:07
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| I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who doing these things. I was really starting to wonder if I was just making too much work out of everything. |
Fiz
Level 10 Vice-president
World of Elethril |
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Caught up in the details
