Gameplay lubricant

ITT: we share and discuss methods we use as gms, pcs, and/or hosts to make games run smoother

As gm
>keeping everyone's ac, current hp, and passive perception written down
>having a large pool of names to draw from at the ready for npcs and locations

As pc
>knowing how to use your spells, cantrips, and abilities or at least keeping their decscriptions handy
>keeping track of npc names and important details on a sheet of paper

As host
>keeping cold water bottles or a large jug of cold water handy with cups for everyone
>stockpiling napkins beforehand
>keeping towels under or near the table incase of a spill
>having a playlist already set up for music

Pretty average stuff for me what do you do to make the game run smoother?

Bump

as a GM

i do a few things, but i think the one thing i do the most is never actually roll. behind my gm screen i roll a d20 but only for show, instead i throw out a number i think would best fit the situation.

combat dragging too long? enemy gets a 2 (instead of the rolled 17)
want to make a boss seem badass have his first roll be 19
was a players description of the event so fucking epic, and everyone is banking on this to succeed? look at that, a NAT 20!

making it the perfect narrative type hame

>combat dragging too long? enemy gets a 2 (instead of the rolled 17)
>want to make a boss seem badass have his first roll be 19
You are a god among men. The past few DM's are hard core dice nazi's. We've had encounters drag out for hours because nobody can fucking hurt nobody.

What do you mean by "passive perception"?

At that point you're no longer playing a game.

Well, good if it works for you but I would never have fun GMing like that.

This is mostly relevant in online games, but I always keep a personal message window open with the GM. If I have an idea as to how I might approach a situation, I'll suggest it to them in private to get their thoughts on it and see if they think it fits into the scene well enough, which lets me tailor the idea to the context as well as giving the GM time to prepare. Sometimes it goes the other way, too, the GM asking me to help steer things in a particular direction, and I have no problem playing patsy at times if it keeps the game going and creates fun situations.

Anyone have tips relating to Discord? I'm thinking of running a game on it and as it's my first time GM'ing anything to make it go smoother would be a godsend.

I can see the value in this, but IMO it's a sign of a bad system that things can bog down so badly.

>IMO it's a sign of a bad system that things can bog down so badly.

Could be, but it could also happen in any system depending on what the GM throws at what players.

i don't follow? everyone is still getting together and having fun, they're still rolling on their ends. every things the same except for minimizing the "random chance" element that can make a peasant defeat your demigod to a select few occasions.

why not? you think its funner when things are just entirely random, regardless of wether the players are enjoying whats happening? or even worse when a random 1 on a simple check leads to a catastrophe ruining everything?

not attacking, genuinely asking.

I can see the merit in occasionally fudging a roll in extreme cases, but yes, generally I prefer rolls to actually be random. To me, one of the biggest strengths of RPGs over other narrative media is that in RPGs thinks can actually happen because they happened, not because the authors decided it would happen. A 1-in-a-million-shot succeeding feels a lot more special when it happened "naturally", not because you decided it should.

I would do something similar. I'd usually stick to the dice, but I might fudge the numbers one way or the other if it would make a better story

Maybe have a map of each area to send to the chat so players can get a bit better feel for their surroundings, i dont really know since i play in person and use a dry erase grid tp draw up areas. Good luck though!!

1. If you brought snacks, don't offer to share just fling them at people. If you offer it politely they'll say no and you'll just have an awkward back and forward of "ah go on have a sweet" "nah i'm fine". However if you chuck it at them they cant say no and you've got a conversation going. Even if that conversation is about how you almost took their eye out.

2. As a DM, go out of your way to make an ass of yourself as soon as the game starts. Make the first npc ridiculous, with a funny voice, that will let your players know that it's ok to use voices and not take themselves too seriously.

3. Use a projector. This is more of a personal gimmick but I find that using a projector or tv to show npc art goes a long way to helping immersion , especially for new players.

4. You need more dice. no matter how many dice you bring with you, you will wish you had just one more set, especially is you need to lend out spares to new players.

I'd worry that I'd be falling into the same numbers over and over and the game would be too formulaic. Some of the most fun encounters I've played have involved having to work with unusual rolls.

I guess I'd reserve it to emergencies, like if the combat has been dragging on for a really long time, or for brief flavor, but I couldn't do that all the time.

I kinda agree with the snack thing of they show up late, otherwise i like to take the group out to pick stuff together, it works well as a pregame icebreaker

I feel like as long as you get into a relaxed and joking mood with your group before starting the sesh, theyll be more willing to do voices and junk

A projector?? What am i rich?

Can never have too many dice when it comes to high level spell casting

Projectors cost like $30 on ebay

>as gm
>index cards with mook-stats that are easy to refluff
>index card for each player/character so you can write important details on them as they come up
>large book of nice blank paper for drawing maps, sketches, diagrams, etc. and also for refreshing people's memories at the beginning of a new session
>pre-rolled random encounters/tables also on index cards
>fucking love index cards
>take a break every few hours as appropriate, let people stretch their legs, use the bathroom, smoke, etc.
>rotate who's turn it is to make/bring snacks

>as player
>forevergm

I play online so
>Have every enemy, NPC, etc that might be relevant to an area already in the GM layer ready to pop up, so you don't have to dig through your token list during the game.
>Include relevant and distinguishing factors between these things in the token description/gm notes of the creature. Like when I have a bunch of identical bandits using different statblocks and weapons, there's a link to that statblock or just the weapon's stats typed out if I click the token
>Use spreadsheets, short scripts, and/or have bookmarked a bunch of useful generators for when you need to come up with an improv dungeon, loot hoard, random encounter, etc. At worst you have to update your own stuff every 4-5 levels, at best you can use someone else's tool.
>Organize general setting knowledge and information into charts, timelines, and info documents that all players can access.
>Be sure to include your houserules/character creation rules/allowed materials list with this so they have easy reference.
>Keep a separate timeline of the PCs progress and major events. I also use mine to update the season and keep track of major annual/seasonal events in game.

Thats $30 i could be saving to throw at pedals

Out of all the things we do wrong in our group to fuck up cohesion, I think our only thing that we do good is "don't pick on the fucker with a funny accent."

Does anyone else mix drinks for the table? Its easy to over do but getting everyone just buzzed enough really improves thw flow imho