100 Ways to Improve Your GMing (grinningrat.substack.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by copacetic@discuss.tchncs.de to c/rpg@ttrpg.network

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[-] Ziggurat@jlai.lu 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I once had a GM whose house rules included every battle receiving enemy reinforcements each d4 rounds.

he end there were four factions in the ruckus and it was taking about 60 minutes per round for him to run it.

Actually if combat are long enough that re-inforcement have the time to come you're doing something wrong. NPC aren't stormtroopers who always miss, and PC aren't doing practice shooting. A combat shall be quick and deadly, if you're lucky one hit shall cause an injury, but usually an opponent doing a successful attack roll will at least incapacitate a PC.

PCs that hit 0 HP aren’t dead, they’re just helpless (disarmed, KOed, socially cowed, etc.) Make it clear that nonlethal options are always on the table. [Spiceomancy]

In the same category, once a character lost enought HP to get maluses, I ask them to roll endurance (whatever how it's called in your game) to simply stay conscious, not only it helps preventing stupid death, but make combat faster. I believe some OSR games have a morale roll acting a bit similar

[-] spittingimage@lemmy.world 3 points 3 weeks ago

Actually if combat are long enough that re-inforcement have the time to come you’re doing something wrong.

I thought then and I think now that a rule which can potentially increase the number of opponents every round shouldn't apply in every combat. And that running a TTRPG as a solo wargame with (very!) occasional participation by other players is a bad way to have fun with your friends.

this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2025

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