Satine Phoenix DM Tips: Psychology at the Table January 5, 2021Zoltar hello and welcome to GM tips ashore my</p> <p>friends and I share with you our</p> <p>thoughts and suggestions on how to game</p> <p>master your role-playing game</p> <p>I’m your host satine Phoenix co-creator</p> <p>of mais Arcana and a dungeon master for</p> <p>D&D</p> <p>today’s theme is psychology at the table</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p>tabletop role-playing is more than just</p> <p>fun and games it can be a powerful tool</p> <p>to help people with life people can</p> <p>learn to relate socialize and interact</p> <p>with others I didn’t realize it so</p> <p>blatantly at the time but as a kid while</p> <p>all these terrible things were happening</p> <p>to me I was able to build the courage to</p> <p>leave a terrible situation by becoming</p> <p>the strong character I was playing I got</p> <p>to defeat monsters in the game which</p> <p>gave me the relief I needed in the real</p> <p>world even after the trauma was over and</p> <p>the aftershocks felt debilitating it was</p> <p>Dungeons and Dragons that helped build</p> <p>the skills I needed to stop being</p> <p>depressed I had a group of people that I</p> <p>was now responsible for and who felt</p> <p>responsible for me together we went on</p> <p>missions as save or find things which</p> <p>gave us a sense of accomplishment it</p> <p>created new memories that ended up</p> <p>becoming more a part of Who I am</p> <p>than the trauma itself put simply</p> <p>Dungeons and Dragons helped me through</p> <p>my PTSD how exactly can a role-playing</p> <p>game help people through issues or</p> <p>challenges when experiences in life I</p> <p>could roll on but instead let’s discuss</p> <p>this with writer teacher and lore master</p> <p>of stone blade entertainment George</p> <p>Rockwell so excited I’m excited you’re</p> <p>here I’m excited we’re discussing what</p> <p>we’re discussing today I’ve been wanting</p> <p>to talk about this for a really long</p> <p>time so thank you for being the guy that</p> <p>I’m talking about this with well</p> <p>actually it was kind of you you’re like</p> <p>hey can I do this yeah I wanted to I was</p> <p>excited well it’s important and a lot of</p> <p>people it’s a big thing that people keep</p> <p>asking and almost every game master I</p> <p>know talks about it but needs help</p> <p>through it until you have a lot of</p> <p>character deaths and you have a lot of</p> <p>experience with people crossing</p> <p>boundaries it’s very scary and it’s</p> <p>emotional for you as a game master so</p> <p>why don’t we talk about why you wanted</p> <p>to talk about it well I think character</p> <p>death is something that can be valuable</p> <p>for a lot of different types of stories</p> <p>it’s not valuable for every story but</p> <p>there are quite a few stories where it</p> <p>can be used and it can really make that</p> <p>adventure even more powerful I think of</p> <p>moments like in the end the Avengers</p> <p>when Coulson gets</p> <p>it brings the team together yeah like</p> <p>Wolverine dying at the end of Logan</p> <p>where it’s like oh you know he died</p> <p>saving spoilers right yeah I think</p> <p>everyone who’s watching isn’t seen that</p> <p>stuff no but that’s a really good point</p> <p>because it is a part of it how do you</p> <p>communicate with the player or do you</p> <p>communicate with the player do they want</p> <p>to die or do you just kind of set it up</p> <p>that if they die then you use it for the</p> <p>story well I think there are a few ways</p> <p>to do it so there’s one which is where I</p> <p>have someone who’s really invested in</p> <p>this story and they come up with the</p> <p>idea like there’s this great time that</p> <p>they could have a heroic death and so we</p> <p>talk about there’s a bit of metagaming</p> <p>to it where I go like okay like how do</p> <p>you see it happening</p> <p>you know this will be the cue and will</p> <p>lead up to it and then the character</p> <p>will die it will become part of the</p> <p>story and maybe we even resurrect that</p> <p>character as part of the story later on</p> <p>or there’s a ghost or something like</p> <p>that depends on the story you’re telling</p> <p>another is where a character is acting</p> <p>really foolhardy</p> <p>and gets killed a lesson Chinese guy</p> <p>yeah exactly but but it happens right so</p> <p>you’re looking for that place between</p> <p>full hardiness and cowardice that is</p> <p>courage right and that’s when I won’t</p> <p>kill the character unless they like want</p> <p>that where they’re they’re kind of going</p> <p>out of their way to they’re going out of</p> <p>their way to save the day but it’s like</p> <p>a calculated risk and it’s something</p> <p>that’s in character but the foolhardy</p> <p>part that’s like people just don’t think</p> <p>that they’re going to die they think</p> <p>that you’re going to be safe and you’re</p> <p>gonna protect them as a game master</p> <p>because you’ve been playing for however</p> <p>many months or years or weeks or</p> <p>whatever they’re safe this is just a</p> <p>game this is just Dungeons and Dragons</p> <p>or Pathfinder working through there yeah</p> <p>it’s a safe place and because you are</p> <p>friends there’s no way you would kill</p> <p>them right and and yet it is an</p> <p>emotionally difficult thing for a lot of</p> <p>people to have their character killed</p> <p>when it happens yeah so I think that one</p> <p>of the things that I like to do is set</p> <p>the tone of the game before we even</p> <p>start playing so I talked to them about</p> <p>what kind of world were in I always tell</p> <p>them</p> <p>way harder than it actually is so I can</p> <p>go like look this campaign was made for</p> <p>four players there are only three of you</p> <p>here there’s a good chance you’ll die if</p> <p>you don’t think strategically when I say</p> <p>think strategically I also mean think</p> <p>strategically in character how would</p> <p>your character approach this situation</p> <p>and remember to you sitting in this room</p> <p>it’s not a life-and-death situation it’s</p> <p>your character it is a life-and-death</p> <p>situation</p> <p>yeah right so how does that character</p> <p>respond but also that that’s a setting</p> <p>up the game by saying something like you</p> <p>know this is gonna be really difficult</p> <p>there’s a good chance you can die gets</p> <p>them working together as a team they</p> <p>start to recognize that it’s not about</p> <p>the individual character it’s about the</p> <p>party it’s the party’s story not your</p> <p>individual characters that’s just part</p> <p>of it because you can play a video game</p> <p>for that right if you wanted to but</p> <p>that’s not what these things are about</p> <p>and it’s interesting we all know that</p> <p>you could die when you play a</p> <p>role-playing game but when you’re in it</p> <p>right you’re just you forget yeah like</p> <p>oh it’s just the thing and then if I do</p> <p>this and that so what are other things</p> <p>in the pre game that you can do as a</p> <p>game master to set up emotionally or</p> <p>other ways for them to realize the</p> <p>danger so let them know what it looks</p> <p>like mechanically to die right like here</p> <p>are the rules for death in this game so</p> <p>they know when they’re going down that</p> <p>path and they can like think a little</p> <p>bit more and the rest of the group can</p> <p>think about how to save them they like</p> <p>know how far down the path because some</p> <p>people just won’t remember what those</p> <p>rules are they act they don’t come up</p> <p>quite that often yeah so like you just</p> <p>need a reminder and I like to let people</p> <p>know early on this is how death works in</p> <p>this game and I also give them an idea</p> <p>of like how the villains would work in</p> <p>the game you know like if you you know</p> <p>if you’re some wizard that runs into a</p> <p>group of soldiers and you’re gonna try</p> <p>and fight them all with your staff like</p> <p>they’re gonna butcher you yeah soldiers</p> <p>yeah they’re just some wizard okay so</p> <p>it’s just important to like let them</p> <p>know that and give them the opportunity</p> <p>to to deal with it so in a game</p> <p>having them experience it like you can</p> <p>prepare them you say all these things</p> <p>how do you prepare how do you keep them</p> <p>prepared yeah so you attack them early</p> <p>on with something pretty heavy right so</p> <p>this is also a fun way to deal with</p> <p>power gaming well yeah you yeah you</p> <p>don’t fight the power game or just let</p> <p>them make the character like that and</p> <p>then take a hand or something right so</p> <p>the idea is like you use like critical</p> <p>damage rules or something like that and</p> <p>again it depends on the story you’re</p> <p>telling like you know in a ninja turtles</p> <p>world you’re gonna have like the Foot</p> <p>Clan bumbling around and you know you</p> <p>could escape by accident even though</p> <p>they’re technically trained yeah exactly</p> <p>whereas like if you’re playing a more</p> <p>kind of first law Game of Thrones world</p> <p>it’s gonna be a little bit heavier and</p> <p>like you know insulting the King to his</p> <p>face as the bard is just gonna get you</p> <p>executed yeah exactly</p> <p>um so what I like to do is throw in like</p> <p>severe damage rules in other words early</p> <p>on if you take more than half your hit</p> <p>points and damage you roll whatever the</p> <p>relevant save for your game is like a</p> <p>fortitude save or something like that</p> <p>and if you fail it you go straight to</p> <p>zero hit points and you have to roll on</p> <p>a critical injury chart to see if like</p> <p>you lose an eye you lose a hand you lose</p> <p>some fingers you lose your leg the great</p> <p>part is about this like is that these</p> <p>scars start to develop the character</p> <p>yeah like this is what he learned this</p> <p>first day of battle this is what she</p> <p>learned on her first day of battle like</p> <p>this is serious thing just like funny</p> <p>because I’m watching your face as you’re</p> <p>saying this and I’m seeing these</p> <p>memories pop up where this guy did a</p> <p>thing and I like I love it when that</p> <p>stuff happens so we played him recently</p> <p>or something like that happened the guy</p> <p>lost the whole back of his calf to an</p> <p>alligator oh man and it’s like minus</p> <p>once all his like acrobatics checks and</p> <p>stuff like that until he fixes it and</p> <p>it’s not gonna really what about healing</p> <p>potions all right we already healing</p> <p>potions supposed to like fill those</p> <p>things and heal scars</p> <p>well rest rate like more like</p> <p>restoration stuff right so like it’s</p> <p>like you’re missing a limb the healing</p> <p>potion doesn’t do that right healing</p> <p>potion and also stops you from bleeding</p> <p>out essentially my healing potions also</p> <p>leave scars</p> <p>right so like it heals faster as though</p> <p>it’s like a natural healing process</p> <p>that’s just sped up that way they have</p> <p>those because they’ve become part of the</p> <p>story like I got this here this here</p> <p>yeah right and it also keeps the the</p> <p>like high charisma super handsome</p> <p>characters like you guys can’t get in</p> <p>fights all the time if you want to stay</p> <p>that way or you have to be really smooth</p> <p>as a smooth talker yeah yeah yeah you</p> <p>need to talk your way out of those</p> <p>fights yes so I think it’s fun to do</p> <p>stuff like that and and with the again</p> <p>like with the power gamer it’s like you</p> <p>target them first like the six soldiers</p> <p>game because they look okay so during</p> <p>the game but then somebody dies yeah how</p> <p>do you cope with had after the game so</p> <p>or during the game either one so you can</p> <p>always take a break and talk to someone</p> <p>right something big like that happens</p> <p>you can literally just say we have to</p> <p>take a break and I have to talk about it</p> <p>you can have something planned like you</p> <p>can you can think of something that you</p> <p>can do ahead of time that you can pre</p> <p>write for each character in case they</p> <p>die right good idea you can also talk to</p> <p>the other characters about doing</p> <p>something for that character afterwards</p> <p>in other words like they can’t resurrect</p> <p>them they don’t have the money to yet</p> <p>but they can they can do something for</p> <p>him and he’s always or she’s always</p> <p>welcome to roll up the new character</p> <p>right and that’s something you would say</p> <p>beforehand like you could die in this</p> <p>game I will allow you to roll up a new</p> <p>character and then we’ll fit that</p> <p>character in somewhere in the story</p> <p>right that’s actually really nice</p> <p>there’s also with the potential to</p> <p>resurrect that character is something</p> <p>else in the story a potential a</p> <p>potential NPC that they could come back</p> <p>and play randomly like a ghost that</p> <p>haunts them or or you know resurrected</p> <p>by the bad guy and now they have to kind</p> <p>of defeat this that’s really cool so you</p> <p>can find other places for them that kind</p> <p>of are fun and interesting I think it’s</p> <p>just all you know there’s exciting</p> <p>creative stuff like with the losing the</p> <p>limbs</p> <p>it’s at first it’s scary but then you’re</p> <p>like wait I live in a fantasy world Luke</p> <p>Skywalker lost his hand Winter Soldier</p> <p>lost his arm like yeah you have you in a</p> <p>fantasy world you get like a ghost hand</p> <p>or you’re like a crazy metal arm like it</p> <p>can all get better okay so that’s a good</p> <p>solution but then there’s the emotions</p> <p>that are attached to it</p> <p>like when you when you lose a hand</p> <p>you’re automatically some people</p> <p>automatically are upset about the</p> <p>disadvantage that they’re gonna get how</p> <p>do you as a game master handle be upset</p> <p>about the mechanics well I think again</p> <p>with the setting of the pregame will</p> <p>ease all of that and when you get to it</p> <p>they understood the mechanics and it’s</p> <p>important you know when you’re playing</p> <p>it even though that character is part of</p> <p>you don’t take it personally like it’s</p> <p>like you weren’t out to kill someone the</p> <p>rules did it and sometimes this happens</p> <p>your characters going into battle all</p> <p>the time the chance of death is always</p> <p>there yeah exactly um and so you know</p> <p>sometimes you’re just unlucky</p> <p>I think killing some killing one of the</p> <p>characters for no reason is a bad thing</p> <p>killing when the characters fighting</p> <p>like their big bad I’ll give them more</p> <p>opportunities and that’s just me like</p> <p>watching roles on the other side of the</p> <p>things so that they can because it’s the</p> <p>big fight and because I want that to</p> <p>happen I want them to be near death I</p> <p>want them to have that heroic moments so</p> <p>there’s other stuff that you can do on</p> <p>the other side of it to make sure that</p> <p>stuff like that doesn’t happen but I</p> <p>just don’t want the the random needless</p> <p>death like if they work for 14 levels to</p> <p>get somewhere and they you know they</p> <p>just fail like four or five roles to</p> <p>some goblins oh my heart or you can make</p> <p>that not happen yeah you have total</p> <p>control over that so the next subject</p> <p>that we’re talking about is boundary</p> <p>crossing so people have these personal</p> <p>boundaries that sometimes they don’t let</p> <p>you know right until the til it comes up</p> <p>in game how do you handle boundaries so</p> <p>you can ask ahead of time does anyone</p> <p>have any topics that are really touchy</p> <p>for them like the date they don’t want</p> <p>to talk about</p> <p>this game and you can just find that out</p> <p>and if that’s in the game you can swap</p> <p>it out for something else of course yeah</p> <p>the other is not every story is for</p> <p>everyone so if it’s a core part of your</p> <p>story and it’s not for them let them</p> <p>know and there’s always another game or</p> <p>they can come back in the game once that</p> <p>section is over or you can tell them</p> <p>when that will occur and you can send</p> <p>them on you can like write a side</p> <p>mission for them right yeah so there’s a</p> <p>bunch of other ways you can have fun</p> <p>creative times where they don’t have to</p> <p>necessarily be around it and yeah I</p> <p>think I think talking to them ahead of</p> <p>time is one of the best things that you</p> <p>can do but then sometimes it comes up</p> <p>and you didn’t know that it was going to</p> <p>and they didn’t know what was going to</p> <p>and there’s always the opportunity to</p> <p>pause the game there and have a</p> <p>conversation about it and I mean it’s</p> <p>something that’s they’re probably going</p> <p>to have to process and I it really</p> <p>depends on how much you can help them</p> <p>process it but usually it’s not a thing</p> <p>that’s in your realm yeah it’s really</p> <p>hard well you didn’t if you didn’t know</p> <p>it was gonna trigger that and they</p> <p>didn’t know then you know it’s just the</p> <p>best to give them some space and let</p> <p>them do whatever it is that they have to</p> <p>do to handle it</p> <p>and support them in whatever ways that</p> <p>are necessary so if something happens at</p> <p>the table</p> <p>I find that everybody is involved even</p> <p>if they’re just watching how do you do</p> <p>what I call aftercare how do you do that</p> <p>with the people in your party I think</p> <p>taking a break to talk about some of the</p> <p>stuff that’s going on in the game and</p> <p>also like that’s when you can have like</p> <p>a great food break get some pizza</p> <p>literally just do something else like</p> <p>bring people back together and then you</p> <p>know you don’t necessarily have to</p> <p>continue the game that night right</p> <p>there’s like if it’s if it’s been kind</p> <p>of halted and the momentum doesn’t seem</p> <p>to come back like end the night on a</p> <p>good note but not necessarily the game</p> <p>the night is what you want to end on a</p> <p>good note so that they come back they’re</p> <p>excited to play next time yeah but if</p> <p>you kind of try and force it and they’re</p> <p>not in the mood</p> <p>messy yeah it gets messy character stop</p> <p>making the decisions they would have</p> <p>made the roles start getting a little</p> <p>bit slippery or so I think I think</p> <p>sometimes just recognize when it’s over</p> <p>for the night and be okay with it yeah</p> <p>what are some tools that you have for</p> <p>game masters where you can push them</p> <p>over the edge but then catch them right</p> <p>before they fall great so one of my one</p> <p>of one thing that’s really great to do</p> <p>is to take an experienced player you</p> <p>have and develop a character for the</p> <p>beginning of the game that he knows or</p> <p>she knows from the moment you start the</p> <p>game is going to die early on right</p> <p>they’re gonna set the pace for the fact</p> <p>that death can happen it probably will</p> <p>if you’re not careful and that person</p> <p>knows it ahead of time they’re literally</p> <p>writing a character that can help and it</p> <p>can also be a plot point for your story</p> <p>so when this happens it triggers more of</p> <p>an adventure to occur right so that’s</p> <p>one thing that you can do and that</p> <p>definitely sets the tone that doesn’t</p> <p>happen the other is that’s yeah you can</p> <p>use just use things to make the game a</p> <p>little bit rougher I think a lot of</p> <p>people throughout rules like encumbrance</p> <p>and I love oh that’s the best</p> <p>encumbrance I love like you know like</p> <p>you have ten thousand gold pieces and</p> <p>you have to like move them somewhere so</p> <p>that it adds a little bit of reality to</p> <p>the game there’s like gravity to it the</p> <p>fact that you find a hundred thousand</p> <p>gold pieces in a tomb and you have to</p> <p>get it out it’s like now we have to stay</p> <p>here for three days longer while we</p> <p>carry these you know gold pieces out or</p> <p>we have to hide them or where do you put</p> <p>them in a city yeah right so there’s</p> <p>this idea that like having that kind of</p> <p>stuff can can cause all sorts of weird</p> <p>things to happen they have to like be</p> <p>always on the lookout they’re a little</p> <p>more paranoid using the using the severe</p> <p>damage rules is great again like all of</p> <p>that stuff and really all of that stuff</p> <p>can really affect and and help create</p> <p>more character for the characters and</p> <p>then you know generally introducing guy</p> <p>villains that they have to flee from not</p> <p>villains that they can beat villains</p> <p>that can actually beat them up and you</p> <p>know kick them out give them that fear</p> <p>like oh I’m not the most powerful thing</p> <p>here or let the big tough guy in the</p> <p>group get in like a</p> <p>our fight and lose right just get</p> <p>knocked out cold and thrown out of the</p> <p>bar like you’re not not the toughest in</p> <p>the city yeah but you can get there so</p> <p>there’s always that kind of stuff but</p> <p>yeah you’re just trying to just trying</p> <p>to make it a little bit more like they</p> <p>aren’t they they aren’t necessarily the</p> <p>greatest heroes ever yet but they’re</p> <p>building towards that’s why the</p> <p>experience is there yeah I also like the</p> <p>games where you get to you get</p> <p>experience for failure not success</p> <p>that’s are a bunch of systems where you</p> <p>get experience for failing and you get</p> <p>no experience for success then you make</p> <p>it fun for the players you so it’s like</p> <p>you’re not just beating them down you’re</p> <p>actually like okay these things are</p> <p>happening giving you character making</p> <p>your experience at the table more</p> <p>dynamic oh and adding adding hero points</p> <p>just so that someone can get out of a</p> <p>nasty situation so I would give one to</p> <p>to the group per game they can earn more</p> <p>hero points are basically for an out</p> <p>there who hasn’t used them before they</p> <p>are points that you can use to</p> <p>automatically roll a 20 and anyone at</p> <p>the table has access to it they can use</p> <p>it you can also use rules from the the</p> <p>edge of empire game has these force die</p> <p>and it’s got black and white dots on it</p> <p>and when you roll it black dots are</p> <p>essentially hero points for the villains</p> <p>very dark side and lights and and they</p> <p>switch so if I use my hero point from</p> <p>the light side the villains get it and</p> <p>they can use it against me later on and</p> <p>if the villain uses one and the heroes</p> <p>get an extra one so you can kind of</p> <p>bounce them back and forth for a like</p> <p>this kind of constantly shifting</p> <p>dramatic moments that’s super fun yeah</p> <p>so I’m going to ask you three questions</p> <p>already</p> <p>what is your pregame house rule so I</p> <p>think I already went over that which is</p> <p>that I have the I have the serious</p> <p>damage stuff going on you’re gonna get</p> <p>maimed yeah you’re gonna get mad it’s</p> <p>gonna be awesome</p> <p>what’s your favorite GM moment when I</p> <p>was growing up we were playing D&D we</p> <p>had this party that I don’t think we</p> <p>thought of it at the time but it was</p> <p>mostly Devine divinely inspired</p> <p>characters so like paladins and clerics</p> <p>and things like that and he took us into</p> <p>the few</p> <p>where all the gods had been slaughtered</p> <p>and so we had no powers like wow they</p> <p>just hadn’t all been defeated it was</p> <p>like a wasteland we had to get out of</p> <p>that future</p> <p>but as you know paladins and clerics</p> <p>with no divine magic so I loved that</p> <p>quick tip to the audience quick tip to</p> <p>the audience is make the hero suffer but</p> <p>not needlessly nice that’s our show for</p> <p>today thank you so much for coming here</p> <p>and joining us why don’t you tell</p> <p>everyone where we can find you on the</p> <p>Internet you can find me on instagram at</p> <p>the nerd salon very cool as always I’m</p> <p>Satine Phoenix at Satine Phoenix you can</p> <p>ask me giant questions at hashtag ask</p> <p>Satine pick up and play one of my guild</p> <p>adept supplements for the tomb of</p> <p>annihilation and diem skilled comm</p> <p>Watchmen geek and sundry on sagas a</p> <p>sundry dread on project offer calm catch</p> <p>we live every Sunday at noon on Reiser</p> <p>condos or for necro on twitch.tv slash</p> <p>maser kana and every Tuesday night</p> <p>dungeon mastering on twitch TV slash</p> <p>dandy thank you guys for watching us</p> <p>here on geek and sundry and we’ll see</p> <p>you next time George would you</p> <p>geom us out of here absolutely though</p> <p>you warned him not to the greedy rogue</p> <p>slides the golden ring onto his finger</p> <p>the doors sealed shut</p> <p>the rogue looks down as the hidden</p> <p>insectoid legs spring out from the ring</p> <p>and it burrows into his flesh it’s a</p> <p>trap a repla peed once the creature</p> <p>takes hold its magic won’t stop until</p> <p>the victim dies the prisoner begins to</p> <p>laugh and the room starts to shake</p> <p>dust and bits of rock fall from the</p> <p>ceiling and he gets louder and louder</p> <p>the vibrations get stronger and stronger</p> <p>if you don’t stop him now the room will</p> <p>come down on your party crushing them</p> <p>all his back has turned you have one</p> <p>chance to save them what do you do</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p>[Applause]</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p>[Applause]</p> <p>[Music]</p> <p> Share this:TweetWhatsApp
