Lew Pulsipher tends to repeat his advice, making it hard to track where certain tips originated. Hopefully, this Dungeon Mastering series offers some fresh insights.
What’s it about?
Lew suggests generating ideas by reading the rules and considering their implications—what would you do as a beholder? He recommends carrying a notebook to capture ideas immediately, even if they sit unused for months, and reading fiction and folklore voraciously. Borrowing from other DMs and players is encouraged.
He describes two types of adventures: scenarios built around the characters and site-based environments like dungeons. He advises novices to stick with site-based adventures since they’re more resilient to mistakes. I agree they’re more robust, lacking even the hint of rails.
Preparation is key. He recommends pre-rolling wandering monsters, tracking time carefully, and using index cards for quick reference. Status effects should be noted in advance, and miniatures help clarify combat.
For treasure and experience, he suggests adding variety with ancient coins, art objects, and valuable information. Heavy treasure creates logistical challenges. He notes that few use the DMG’s leveling system due to its high gold costs, so he only applies training fees from levels 5+. For advancement he recommends 2 adventures x the level you're going to as about right and believes high level play is broken. In his view, a good DM maintains control with slow advancement and low character deaths.
In closing, he replaces the initiative system with a custom approach and advises against using burning oil.
Is this a keeper?
Yes. Lew’s advice on keeping a notebook, reading widely, favoring site-based adventures, and varying treasure is all solid. While I don’t agree with everything, this is a ‘best of’.
No comments:
Post a Comment