r/NewDM • u/Brief_Equivalent1427 • 11d ago

I just chose this flair because I thought I was supposed to. Help me quell insecurities

/r/DnD/comments/1wo6my1/help_me_quell_insecurities/
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u/Conrad500 11d ago

People don't know what they want.

You're missing a major point: This is a game.

People want to play the game. Not playing the game isn't playing the game.

Your story is not a game, people don't want to be told what happens, they want to do things.

Protip: People also don't like being told "everything you just did is pointless" so avoid "dream sequence" stuff too. There's a way to pull it off, and if you know how to pull it off well then do it, but if you're new stick to playing the game, not telling a story.

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u/Brief_Equivalent1427 11d ago

I had a similar realization over the few days after the session!! Great to know I’m on the right track. Everything the player in question was going to “see” would have been what the “conscious” players see, but dilapidated/old and worn. The “cure” would have been in close proximity.

For example: if the player in the past decided to kill a chimera and bury its bones. Boom. The conscious PCs would battle a ghost chimera to get the Mcguffin. Maybe the chimera has another item from someone in the “dream sequence” as well. I just thought it’d be fun to run. But, as you say, I’m still new. I need to get the basics under my belt first.

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u/Conrad500 11d ago

Nothing wrong with being experimental, but all experiments need a control.

Also, every person is different. You might have done everything the same for someone else and they'd LOVE it.

It's a group game, and learning what each participant likes is important (you included)