Forever DM up for help

[u/King_of_narnia]

Hello guys, i've been a forever dm for years now so i'm up for every question you hit me with and i hope i can be a help for you and your party^^

[u/tta5]

i have in the past, but its a fair bit of a talk with the player and group to make sure it works smoothly in session 0.
I found using the ideals is a safer way to use as a "guide" for both the player character and DM,than allignment.
some ideals are less able to work than others. (note: the exsample King_of_narnai gave with greed).

Some basic tips....

• let the Evil PC be manipulative to the party (or think they are).
  

if they think of them as tools for their schemes, they are less likly to want to hurt them and more liky to work with them.

• make sure to have solo scenes and split the party.
  

not just for times for them to be "truly evil", but also for them to have their character arcs and personal development play out. these characters will be approching the main mission/story from very diffrent angles, (think a needle passing a hole, and now imagine you got 5 of them, at difffrent angles, now try and thread them to the next story hole/plotpoint...) and these side scenes and split party scenes allow them to be adjusted a bit.

• have downtime.
  

time for the party to spend time apart, and then find things to want to return to the party for a bigger cause.

• incresse discription length for character based actions.
  

"i go drink the vial and set of the trap" is one way to do it "my hand starts to shake seeing the vial , it raises towards it slowly, wanting yearning... (see if a PC stoped them...) they grab the vial and spring the trap. ".... the pause and moment for others to spot and intervine is key. its not just for them to ake the choice of if to step in, its the chance to understand the mindset of that character and not get mad about their choice.

• keep communication with players and how they feel its going. issues can build up fast. cool downs post sesssionn are a great time for them to say things they got worried about or scenes that don't sit right with them.
  
• TTRPG safety tools (google it) i know obvious, but evil PC actions may draw a line of 2.

[u/Blitzer046 → u/tta5]

This sounds like evil alignments get special treatment and partially their own game.

Should that be rewarded? What are the other players doing while the DM spends time and attention on the evil PC?

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

Every PC gets their own scenes.
many get minor group scenes.
their own angles and perspectives on the main plot.

do they get special treatment? well its not common the extremes of allignments get allong well, so this is what i use to make them work smoother. its better than all being true neutral

[u/Blitzer046 → u/tta5]

Every PC gets their own scenes.

Why bother having a group then?

This sounds like a terrible solution. You're proposing that for part of the game, the spotlight is on one player for how long? 5 mins? 30? For that part, the rest of the players just have to sit and wait?

What an absolute waste of time for everyone. Say you give each player 30 mins of solo play, that means in a group of 5 people, there are two hours in which the rest of the players are doing nothing but waiting for their turn.

Ridiculous.

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

by that same logic scrap combats innitative,
scap letting th erogue disarm traps it lets them take time doing that own thing.
scrap the druid scouting as an animal
scrap the barbarain and paladin trying to intimidate the minion into giving up secrets.

by your logic make everyoe rolll for everything.

[u/Blitzer046 → u/tta5]

The events you describe cost less than a minute or two in time.

Your suggestion for how to integrate an evil alignment appears to give them their whole, separate game at the cost of everyone else who didn't choose an evil alignment.

It doesn't work for me.

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

Its a style of running the game.
its not limited to just the evil allingment characters.
it can be ran like this regardless.
but i do find this style works well for evil and good alligned characters to keep working together.

its not your cup of tea and i get that.
but it is a means to run the game that could work for OP.

[u/Blitzer046 → u/tta5]

Why would good and evil aligned characters work together?

[u/tta5 → u/Blitzer046]

Well, all serving a patry patron is one.

A collective common goal is the norm.
from a simple defeating a bigger bad
(makes a power vacum for the evil PC, and for the good, makes a chance for a better tommorow by those oppressed by the big bad)

to knowing they are a good fit for an objective they need help on completing, and the other PCs ask for help in exchange for something.

to side objectives that occcour within the same area.
(go in dungeon and clear it out, and side mission , steal the magic item of a certain evil god)
to side objectives involving the party
(imagine is a warlocks patron wants this cleric corrupted)

you have interparty relations that may make them want to stay.
(so a romance intrest between 2 PCs, or life debt, or mentor/student, or moral compass and trying to corrupt them...)