Mistakes I've Made As A DM, And What I should Have Done Differently.

I let a player torture a goblin for hours in game.

One of my first mistakes as a brand new DM was letting a PC torture an innocent goblin for hours in game. The player left the party and stayed behind to torture my poor NPC. Even after the party had already gotten the info they needed. I don't remember the details of the story or even what the player was asking about.

I played the goblin, saying over and over that the players already had the info. I don't know anything else! The player continued to stay separated from the party and described in detail what he wanted to do to the goblin, like putting the point of a dagger under the goblins fingernails.

 The player didn't get my hints and continued to try to torture this poor guy even after he knew that the goblin didn't know anything else. It was really creepy and weird. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth to this day, over 15 years later.

Since I was new to the game, I didn't know what to do or how to handle it. My only strategy at the time was to repeat over and over again that I didn't know anything. I felt so uncomfortable and just wanted the player to get back to the group and on with the game.

Back then my stories and sessions didn't get very far. But I'll never forget this creepy torture players choices. It was really weird to me that someone would do that. Weird power fantasies I guess. I don't know how long it took in real time, but it felt like forever.

Looking back, there are a lot of things I could have done.

Most simply, I could have just said "You torture the goblin for a few hours and you get no other information from him. Now back to the players who are actually playing the game..."

 I let this gross player hog the spotlight and hog my attention instead of focusing on the players who were trying to advance the story.

I could have made the goblin suddenly get a lot stronger and just beat the player to a pulp. Good revenge, right?

I could have made that player miss out on the next battle or loot cache. He wasted so much time in game that I could have ruled that he wasn't there to join in with what the  group was doing.

I could have said, "The goblin doesn't know anything, you would just be wasting your time."

But being the nice guy I am, I let him role play that nastiness. Never again.


I stopped a fight mid-battle because I wanted to move on to the next dungeon. 

The players were around level 3 in Pathfinder. They were fighting some large trolls and the BBEG who was a female elf wizard. My plan was to set up how powerful the villain was by having her kill some NPC's and ultimately capture the players. I wanted the players to wake up in the next dungeon so I could get them to where the plot needed them to be.

The plan didn't go well.

I was being really lazy that day and didn't put any energy into the baddies goals or characterization. So the battle was droning on, and I got bored. I cut the fight so early that I didn't even get a chance to establish how powerful the enemy was. The players had no idea that they were supposed to lose.

I had no clue how to plan for this. But I know now what to do.

During battle, on my turn, I should have made the enemies hit harder right away. Establishing the story and plot points in round one.

I should have told them that there would be a transition cut scene, and they would get a good chance to escape afterwords. If the players knew this, they probably would have trusted me more as a DM and enjoyed the story.

Instead of a cool story scene introducing the bag guy, it was an awkward and abrupt cut mid-battle. The players didn't know what was going on.

I didn't communicate to the players and I didn't put any energy into telling a good story.

In the end. I told them that they were captured and left in a dungeon. I got them to the content I had prepared so the game would be easier for me, at the cost of some great storytelling.

I had no patience for myself, and the lack of confidence in telling the story.


I gave my players a powerful magic item and two MacGuffins without making them work for it.

I felt bad because that session only had two players, and they ran into a really hard encounter without the rest of the party to help out.

The encounter I prepared was hard because the PC's had just gotten to 5th level in 5e. They all got to attack twice per turn now. So I decided that all my enemies had multi-attack as well as a few hell-hound creatures that have a powerful fire breath weapon.

Since it was pretty hard and there were only two of them, I let them sneak past a few enemies and let the players find some magical stuff like a broom of flying.

Since I let them sneak past a lot of my encounter, I didn't have anything else specifically prepared and I wanted to wait until the next session for the other players.

I also didn't have much of the world prepared and I definitely didn't plan on the players having the power to fly wherever they wanted.

Most of the session had to be improvised and role-played because I let them skip past the prepared content. Since things weren't prepared properly, I was panicking about what to do.

 They were searching for MacGuffins and I gave those to them relatively easy too. I let them charm and steal from two different NPC's I had just made up and neither of them put up a real fight.

I knew beforehand that a player wanted a magic broom, and I should have prepared for it. I should have made them go on a quest for it. Make them explore and work for their items instead of just dropping exactly what they want in front of them.

In that session, I became a pushover DM. I knew what the players wanted and I gave it to them. Without any real obstacles in their way.

I screwed myself over in 4 ways. Giving them powerful items, Preparing an encounter that depended on a specific player who didn't show up, and letting them sneak past the obstacles that was supposed to be the entire session of content, and Improvising pushover NPC's who didn't have specific goals or character personalities. Therefore the NPC's were really lame obstacles that the players easily got past. These are all bad ideas.

In my career as a DM I have gotten more and more scared of railroading. In that fear, I have tried to say "yes" to just about anything my players want to do. Usually I can improvise my way out of most situations and get the players back on track, but this time, I let it go too far.

I became out of balance with my preparation and my improv.  My neediness to allow players to make  choices destroyed the session.

Overall, I think the players still had fun, they had a great time role-playing and charming NPC's. They were freaking out because the battle was super hard. The session had ups and downs like any good story. And at the end of the session they did ultimately beat the baddies, after I fudged the dice and lowered some HP. The fact that they were worried the whole time mad it an intense experience.

I also could have given players more hints to make the battle easier for them. "Do you have any spells or items that don't use up spell slots?" "Do you have something that does ice damage to hurt the flaming hell-hounds?"

The main lessons I have learned here is to plan correctly and follow that plan even if the story becomes a bit too linear. Communicate better with players to tell them where to go and what to do.

I always give advice to people about not planning too much and now it's bitten me in the ass. I still think you should only prepare for no more than 2 or 3 sessions at a time, because you still won't know what might happen. In my case I didn't prepare a single session properly.

I have grown a big ego about being able to improvise my way out of most game situations. This situation got me into trouble because I was too nice and unprepared.

How to handle players that are too powerful. (Killing the villain before its time.)

   Good job! They win. Game over. Go home.

  You have a high level werewolf that you set up as a big bad? But the players somehow kill him before the final boss fight. Let them do it! Give them a victory, especially if it is a very clever way of winning. Being a good DM means being adaptable and working with what the players want to do. Within reason. Don't let them burn down your city. But Let them kill your big bad early. They'll feel accomplished for taking down something powerful and they'll appreciate you for allowing them to be creative. Anyway you "had a plan" all along.

   Maybe the werewolf was part of a pack of werewolves that the players will now have to deal with. Maybe the werewolf infected a bunch of towns-people who now need to be saved before they turn. Just because a big bad is dead, doesn't mean the story is over. It means you will have to adapt and improvise your way through the story. Use a new boss with the same exact stats you already prepared. The enemies should be adaptable too. They heard about what the players did and now the new boss can prepare for that situation.

   The vampire lord, that got killed too early, has an evil step sister who now wants revenge for her brothers death. Use the same final battle you had planned with the same stats but a different character. The story isn't over. In the star wars books, the emperor cloned himself. Final battles for days! There will always be one more power orb to destroy, one more magic weapon to find. One more town to save. The story isn't over. The players might have killed your robber baron but they still have to find the deed to the ranch. The Players still need to clear out the dungeon of kobold minions and evil cultists who were working for the dead boss. Don't give up and don't let the players stop your game. There is always something else that needs to get done.

   Fudge the dice! Change your stats mid-battle! This is one of the best powers a DM has at her disposal.  If you have 5 players attacking one bad guy, that's 5 attacks versus the bad guys one turn.  If you see the players are doing too much damage to your big bad, ending your epic fight too early, give your big bad 100 extra HP. Your baddies can take a powerful healing potion! Give your bad guys resistances or a powerful magical shield that the players can't penetrate until you decide when the baddie gets hurt. Use your plot armor wisely.
 
   Give the big bad an extra spell every turn. The players won't know. This can become a problem at higher levels when the party gets too strong. Let your big bad get in an extra attack or special spell to control the flow of battle. Let your boss go into a rage that lets him deal out extra damage. Have a second or third wave of minions come in to help the boss out. The players can't take down your big bad right away if they have to deal with his bodyguards first. Let the big bad run away. The big bad can use a teleport or fly spell to escape a loosing battle.

   Make sure the players have a goal that is more complicated then just killing the bad guys. They need to turn off the doomsday machine before time runs out. Dispel or de-power the magic orb the enemy was using to open portals. If you have set goals, you can put in as many obstacles in the way as you want. This way when the boss does die too early, your story can continue and the players still have things to do.

   If you need more time to prepare, send some skeletons or robots after the party. They won't be able to talk or charm their way out of battle with mindless creatures. During the battle you can have some time to think up whats next.

 Take a 10-15 minute break to think up something new.

Article inspired by this story.

Make Your RPG Battles More Exciting and Memorable

Use different weapons and levels of terrain.

Do you have a battle prepared with bandits on the road?

 Sounds simple. And boring.

 Instead of all the bandits lining up and using swords, have a few bandits in up the trees. Having archers shooting down onto the party adds a new level to the combat.

 Players will have to defend from above and below. Have the same types of enemies use different types of weapons. Place the battle on multiple levels of terrain.

Use more magic.

Place a bandit who is hiding in the trees with a wand of magic missile to shake things up.

Spell casting can add a lot more obstacles to a simple battle.

A bad guy can cast entangle or a fog cloud.

 Some more powerful enemies can heal themselves with potions and magic.

 Letting the enemies use magic will always be more memorable than a couple grunts with swords.

Use Traps.

  Maybe the bandits placed traps in the road for the players to avoid or disable.

 The terrain itself can end up being an encounter on its own. Use traps, pressure plates, caltrops or simple trip wires to slow the players down.

Getting attacked by swords is fun, but a sword fight where you have to avoid traps is a lot more engaging.

Maybe the players will have to get around a cloud of poison gas. Get through a couple locked doors.

Have spike traps that pop up every other round or a magic trap that damages players every turn until a puzzle is solved.

Use The Environment.

  Make the land itself more exciting. Fighting bandits on the road in the forest? Good start. Perhaps the road is now on the edge of a cliff, or the bandits attack on an old bridge.

 Maybe the fight takes place in the fire swamp where everyone will have to avoid quicksand and fire traps.

How about a duel inside a building on fire with the roof crashing down on the combatants. Maybe a cave is collapsing around you.

Diversify your monster types.

Have monsters with different abilities fight alongside the bandits.

A sword fight against bandits just got weird when one of them changes into a werewolf.

Maybe the fight disturbs a nest of giant spiders or an owl-bear. It's not so simple a sword fight anymore when some wood nymphs are trying to protect their trees.

The fight with the wizard just got more complicated when you find out he has an ogre body guard or he commands a tribe of knolls to fight for him.

Add Personality to your bad guys.

  Make the enemies more human and relate-able.

Give all the random bandits some names.

John and Erin get sad or angry when they see their comrades die in battle.

 The enemies can talk to the players on their turns and try to make deals.

Maybe they decide to run away and get revenge on the players later.

 Maybe the bandits were just following orders and don't want to get killed in a random battle.

   When a goblin gets killed, another one suddenly cries out, "Gratz! Don't die today! you are my only brother!"

 This is great for adding detail and world building. They aren't just random enemies anymore when they have thoughts and feelings.

The NPC's aren't just simple meat for the grinder. The best battles will mean something to somebody. Including enemies.

   During the obligatory tavern brawl, the players might have accidentally killed the daughter of a nobleman. Now it's not just a random bar fight, its part of the story.

  -The players will have to figure out what to do when the guards come asking around.

   -The nobles could do a lot to try to get revenge.

  -They could send assassins to kill the players.

   -The nobles could outlaw weapons and magic items throughout the land.

  -The players could get arrested for murder.

Put more obstacles in the players way.

The players might need to solve a puzzle or get past a magic portal or gate before they can kill the bad guy.

Make the players fight through a few waves of enemies before they reach the boss.

Give the big boss a shield or force field the players need to take down before they can hurt him. All while the boss can still hit them.

Make the players cast a ritual spell that takes more than one turn to cast.

Give the players an objective that is different from just killing enemies.

The party needs to get the contents of a treasure chest before the bandits do.

The players might need to solve a puzzle or get past a magic portal or gate before they can kill the bad guy.

The bandits could have hostages that the players need to save.

Maybe a bandit is using a weapon or magic item that the players need for their quest.

The players could be tasked with stopping an evil cult from performing a ritual before time runs out and the bandits are in the way.

Create some kind of time limit will make a battle more intense. They only have 4 rounds before the magic orb explodes.

Save the hostages before they get killed.

Stop a magic artifact before it burns down the whole forest.

 Add narrative flavor and to the attacks and movements.

focusing on the numbers can get boring really quickly.

 Explain why the goblin rolled a 1 and missed his attack.

 He just saw his fellow tribesmen get slaughtered by the PC's, of course he would get a little rattled.

 If a roll is close but doesn't hit, talk about how the arrow hit the armor and bounced off.

Talk about how the player was just an inch away from dodging a sword to the face.

Everyone likes to explain in detail how they hit a guy. Describe the misses too.

Make it personal.

  If you have ample time to prepare an ongoing campaign, make each encounter personal to the characters back story or the goal of the current mission.

A player is on the way to find their missing brother?

 Erin the bandit used to work with the missing brother and has info on him.

If you are a good DM you can make this stuff up on the spot.

Have the characters talk during battle. John the bandit might know the location of the lost dungeon the players are looking for.

The missing brother could have owed money to the bandits or there was a secret love triangle with some of them.

If you plan this well, you won't ever need random encounters. The villains goals can be just as much a part of the story at the players.

 You don't have to add all of these things to every battle of course, that would make things complicated very quickly.

Help out and communicate with your players.

Give players hints about monster resistances and other special abilities.

The game will go slowly if you have skeletons who resist piercing damage and all the players are using swords.

 Let the players notice that the swords aren't effective.

Have them roll perception checks or knowledge checks to realize that a hammer or club would do a better job.

There is no need to waste your players time. 

Don't let the battle go on forever when each player is only doing 3 damage.

Players will appreciate the help and feel more accomplished when they figure stuff out. but you have to give them clues.

Characters have a lot of abilities and sometimes players won't know about them, or won't know what they do.

 It is your job as the DM to give hints and suggestions.

Have more experienced players help out the group to free up your time.

Speed up the battle.

 Delegate everything to your players to make the battles go faster.

Have a player keep track of initiative for you.

Have a player check the stats of each other character so the players know what they have.

If you have a small battle with goblins that are not imperative to the plot line, have a player keep track of the goblins hit points.

This gives you extra time to plan on whats next, or role play a conversation during battle.

 Have players draw maps for you.

Ask for a players help to move around minis and other game pieces.

Most players are always willing to help, and you should let them. It frees up your time and the players feel more involved.

  Tell players that you expect them to know what dice they are rolling and what modifiers and bonuses to add.

The DM should take time at the beginning of the game to help players out so it will run smoothly later on.

   If players are ready and know what they are doing, you can shave off some extra time in battle. Have players roll all their attacks and damage dice at the same time.

I have a way to use initiative that speeds up the battles and helps communicate whats going on in my games. Maybe you should ask about it.