GOOD DM CAN CURE BAD BEHAVIOR
by Thomas Griffith

A vicious battle is raging. Cries of anguish
reverberate off the plaster walls of
the large room. Hatred gleams in the
warriors’ eyes as they try not just to vanquish
but also to humiliate their opponents.
The non-combatants suffer too.
Shattered by the turmoil, they will go
sadly home, their hopes shattered.

Is this an epic battle between Law and
Chaos? Not quite. It’s the result of a
spoiled D&D® game — and the damage
inflicted is to the friendships between
the players.

Because a DUNGEON & DRAGONS®
game is open-ended, controlling the actions
of players presents problems not
encountered in most other games. A lack
of fixed rules often leads to arguments,
especially with the Dungeon Master but
also between players themselves. Without
individual “turns,” one player can
dominate play while others get bored.
Overindulgence in food, and especially
drink, can lead to sloppy play and rowdy
behavior. Players can become so attached
to their characters that they become
angry or upset when the character’s
life is threatened. In the interest of
helping to solve these and other problems,
the following suggestions are offered
to make D&D games run more
smoothly and be enjoyable for all involved.
 

(1) The Dungeon Master should neither
argue with the players nor change
his decisions. Like a baseball umpire, the
DM must make a lot of close calls and,
inevitably, he will miss a few. If he
changes his judgements in reaction to
player objections, he will only encourage
more complaints. Even just arguing
with a player, without necessarily giving
in, spreads the idea among players that
making judgements is not the exclusive
domain of the referee. This can only lead
to further conflicts of the same nature.

In discretionary situations, then, the
best policy is “Never change, never
argue.” After the evening’s play is over
the DM can discuss the situation with the
players and, perhaps, even admit to a
mistake. In non-discretionary matters
like determining the range of a spell,
however, the referee might change his
decision, and rightly so, if a timely objection
is made.

(2) The Dungeon Master should write
the scenario in advance and should not
make it easier or harder as he goes
along, according to how the player characters
are faring. By writing out the
foundation of the adventure beforehand,
the DM both speeds play and reduces his
need for on-the-spot decisions. Players
never like having their characters killed,
but they will accept it more readily if they
know that the referee is not out to get
them. By the same token, players feel a
greater sense of accomplishment if they
succeed without the help of an apparently
soft-hearted DM.

(3) In most groups of players there
should be a caller in non-melee situations.
In addition to providing the referee
with clear instructions, a good caller can
also organize the players in the party.
The caller should be firm, but without
dictating to the party. He should be
chosen by his personal characteristics,
not by those of his character. After all, a
player with a “real” charismas of 3 can be
a paladin.

(4) During melee there should be no
caller; each person should run his or her
own character. This system has several
advantages over the “organized” way in
which non-melee situations are played.
It gives each player an opportunity to
participate. It allows players to work at
CROSS PURPOSES. It encourages bravery,
since often only the more brave adventurers
can act quickly and decisively
enough. The fearless warrior decides,
without any consultation necessary, what
he will do based on what he observes.

Since it is more exciting to actively
participate in making decisions — by
making them yourself for yourself—this
everyone-for-himself approach encourages
risk-taking. In games run by the
author, players are not allowed to give
advice to other players unless their characters
are proximate to each other. Even
then, only a sentence or two of advice is
allowed to be exchanged per round. If
players persist in voicing and receiving
more advice anyway, the DM can justifiably
rule that the conversation took so
long that the offending player’s character
was unable to load his bow or execute
a spell. When the “talkers” were cured,
the result was melees with full participation
by all players, without being disorderly.

(5) Playing sessions should end at a
reasonable hour. Overtired gamers play
poorly and anger easily. Since a good
D&D session can take a long time, the
activity should start early in the day or
evening. Players without characters
should arrive before the others or should
be provided with pre-rolled, pre-equipped
characters. Once it is under way, the
referee should make the adventure move
along quickly. Charts should be organized
for rapid referral, Players should be
required to inform the DM of any special
abilities their characters have which
might modify the standard charts. Overfrequent
listening and trap-checking
should be discouraged, perhaps by a few
wandering monsters. “Real-time” limits
might be placed on the duration of certain
spells and potions. Finally, natural
breaks should be designed in the adventure
where play can easily be suspended
for the time being.

(6) Distractions should be reduced.
While one of the attractions of fantasy
role-playing is that it allows much more
interaction than traditional games like
bridge or chess, the interaction should
be within the game context. Talk about
upcoming baseball games or the quality
of the food being served should be kept
to a minimum. Likewise, a non-stop series
of “orc jokes” can detract from the
game.

Such extraneous conversations indicate
that the adventure itself is not keeping
the players’ attention, The problem
could be that the scenario is uninteresting,
but another quite possible cause is a
distracting physical environment. A game
should not take place in a junk-filled
room with players sprawled in easy chairs
eating pretzels while the Dungeon Master
searches for a ghoul that fell in the
onion dip. The players should all sit
around a table that contains game materials
and little else. Refreshments should
be on side tables if possible. The set-up
should allow all gamers to see the map of
the adventure and to reach and move
miniature figures.

(7) Individual “problem” players can
be disciplined within the context of the
game. Loud and constant talkers might
attract more than the usual number of
wandering monsters. Inattentive players
will miss subtle clues about the nature of
an unusual artifact, and may be more
easily surprised by monsters. Cowardly
characters might be denied a full share
of experience points. Lawful good clerics
who never endanger themselves to
aid others might find their god is angry.

If the success of the party in the adventure
is endangered by an offending player,
pressure is exerted on him by the
other players to mend his ways — not
only for the sake of the playing session,
but for the sake of their characters.

(8) Use miniatures or other tokens in a
clear, three-dimensional display to represent
characters and monsters and
their locations. Miniatures largely end
arguments over such matters as the relative
locations of each character or the
availability of a line of sight. Marching
orders and door-opening procedures are
easily visualized and can be easily
changed. Rooms, halls, and doors can
be marked on the playing surface. Handpainted
lead figures are best aesthetically,
but virtually any sorts of identifiable
markers can and should be used,

(9) finally and most importantly, a
Dungeon Master can best avoid the problems
of unwanted behavior by players by
being a dedicated DM. An exciting, challenging
scenario with well prepared moderation
is the best safeguard of all. The
players will be having too much Fun to
argue. 


June 1981