If you have any friends in improv comedy groups, they'll tell you that the most important thing you can say in improv is "yes, and". Or they would, if people in improv comedy groups had any friends. In any case, the point is that you're always supposed to roll with ideas and build on them. If someone throws out a suggestion that you're not expecting, you can't say "wait wait wait, let's go back, I have a really great joke but it only makes sense if you say something else", you have to accept it and add to it. Accepting is the 'yes' and adding is the 'and', giving them something else to work with in return. Learning the art of 'yes, and' is also how you become a great DM in 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons. But it's also important not to forget the value of 'no, but'.
Some people aren't cut out to be DMs. There's no shame in it. I'm 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:not much of a player myself, struggling to inhabit another character or play a specific role in a team or story. However, I like to think my skillset lends itself to DMing because I'm good at worldbuilding, character design, puzzle and combat challen♑ges, and I can think on my feet. Sometimes this thinking on your feet means coming up with a new solution when the players aren't getting it, or blow their chance to win in a way that feels unfair or leaves them at a dead end. Sometimes it means inventing the story as the players go, as they interrogate minor characters or explore beyond the realms. And sometimes it means coping with the party taking the narrative in directions you never, ever imagined they would.
I'm currently DMing the same adventure twice, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:once with people from TheGamer, and once with my own friend group. In the first chapter, they were called to an island to deal with an invading Merrow force. TG's staff just about dealt with this problem, slaying the Merrow queen where she stood, although their decision to chop off her head and carry it back through all the neighbouring villages was less than endearing, and may cause them trouble if they return. My other group, however, delved deeper into the motivations of not only the Merrow, but the island that hired them and the coastal town nearby, and ended up brokering peace - a peace I had to play out between three different political factions.
When I say ‘may’ cause them trouble ‘if’ they return, I mean ‘will’ cause them trouble ‘🌟when’ they return.
I did not in any way, shape, or form have a plan in place for a political truce. In fact, despite there being seven combat scenarios on offer, my friends managed to take the peaceful outcome or circumvent all of them. A different DM, who wanted to see the fruits of their combat planning spring into life, or who just didn't want to act out three different political figureheads agreeing to a compromise to ensure peace in their waters, would not have taken the 'yes, and' option. Instead, either by forcing the Merrow to attack or petulantly telling the players they will take their dice and go home if they don't play the game properly, another DM might have gotten the outcome they planned for, but I can't imagine that would have been as satisfying or enjoyable for any of those concerned. Especially not the Merrow, who would be dead.
My party basically got a truce going between these three
This is the power of 'yes, and'. There are thousands of stories from campaigns very similar to this one, where players thinking outside the box and a DM saying 'yes, and' lead to new stories unfolding. Both groups met a talking tree, but only one interrogated its origins (forcing me to quickly improv some backstory that linked in further to the overall narrative). It's the advantage tabletop games have over video games - where most video games have a fully voiced cast and action-packed visuals, tabletops are bound only by imagination.
But 'yes, and' has a lesser-loved cousin, the 'no, but'. What I described above, either forcing the Merrow to attack or scolding the players for not playing properly, is not a 'no, but'. This is simply a 'no', and it's deeply unhelpful. However, add a 'but' to that 'no', and we're cooking again.
'No, but' is mostly effective against particularly pushy players or backseat DMs. The kind who say "I'm doing this" rather than "Can I do this?", and try to run the game their way. A 'no, but' has the same role as a 'yes, and', in that it keeps building on the narrative. However, rather than accept everything a player throws at you, you get to deflect it. "I'm making a Persuasion roll to make the dragon give me all its gold... ha, Nat 20 all the gold is mine!" is answered with "No, but the dragon does find you quite charming and allows you to take one of its trinkets so long as you leave without stealing anything else". It keeps the game's momentum going, allows everyone at the table to unfold the story naturally, and stops one player from running everything their own way.
Of course, they may respond to this with a tantrum or protest, but that's their equivalent of taking the dice and going home if you don't fight the Merrow. Everyone at the table needs to embrace 'yes, and', but it's also key that the DM knows the power of the 'no, but'. It's often lower down the list of DM advice, but the forgotten cousin of 'yes, and' is just as important for a successful adventure.
