What common piece of #dnd advice backfired on you?
— M.T. Black (@MTBlack2567) August 30, 2021
There’s a common piece of advice that says DMs should regularly ask for feedback about the game at the end of their sessions. I find this ends the session in a weirdly formal way and often makes people feel uncomfortable. That is spot on.
— Adam Lee (@adamofadventure) August 30, 2021
That’s an outstanding question.
— SlyFlourish.com (@SlyFlourish) August 30, 2021
“Don’t prepare a plot, parties want to sandbox/do whatever they want. Railroading is bad.”
Turns out my players love an overall plot, they prefer the loose “rails” that a structured plot gives them, they like seeing a story unfold. A pure sandbox makes them feel directionless. Mine too! I also found this advice ultimately very unhelpful as a new DM.
— Alyssa Visscher (@alyssavisscher) August 30, 2021
There’s a lot of DMing advice about “don’t prep for more than half an hour” or “just wing it because the party will go off track anyway.” This led me astray for a long time because 1) prepping a lot at the start of a campaign is actually really important and fun, and… …2) the party going off in an unexpected direction and the importance of improv are absolutely not incompatible with prepping.
— Hannah Rose | Tal'Dorei Reborn Jan 18! (@wildrosemage) August 30, 2021