Quote from: RPGPundit;800532Is there anything you do as GMing practice, be it related to how you handle the mechanics, gameplay, setting, or any other detail of GMing, that you've come to realize hardly anyone else does (or doesn't do it in your particular way)?

Have the players roll initiative at the end of combat and use the results the next time they fight.

Using this method, by the time combat starts, initiative is already completely resolved. As a result, there's no delay while you ask for initiative, the dice are rolled, your players tell you their results, and then you sort the results into order. This allows you to start combat off with a bang and keep the ball rolling with that same high intensity. It means that when the players are ambushed, you can maintain that adrenaline rush of surprise instead of immediately undermining it with the mundane task of collecting initiative.

This method also means that initiative results are generally being collected at a time when other bookkeeping chores are being done anyway: After the heat of battle, wounds are being healed; corpses are being looted; equipment lists are being updated; and options are being discussed.

I sometimes draw battlescenes that I found particularly interesting (after the event) and we have a pin up board to put pictures.

I encourage my kids to draw stuff from in game or whatever takes their fancy and pin their pics up too.
It encourages artistic skills.

I've seen a couple of these mentioned so I don't think they are all that unusual but:

Meals, yeah we try to have great meals for our home games, not sure which was the biggest priority really the meal or gaming...just having a good time.

Music always playing in the background

I did start giving the characters physical representations of their wealth with little card board gold coins used from a ccg "Pirates of the Spanish Main" and plastic beads for jewels. They kept their loot together in sandwich bags with character sheets to trade in when buying gear.

I always try to have a painted miniature for each players' pc. Even if we are not using minis in game the avatar in front of the player can sometimes inspire.

And not original.. but I have taken to the practice of some DCC gm s and handing out death certificates for pc deaths

This is probably more on my players but for AD&D we use a special pair of dice that are only used for initiative. One of my players introduced them into the game several years ago (and they all insist on their use)- sometimes I can't believe I can roll initiative with any old die when I play with other people.

• I take notes.
• I like to have picture of each non-trivial NPC. For some genres, cultures or historical periods these can be difficult to find.
• Each player gets a name plate with his character's portrait and name on it to put in front of him on the table.
• I sometimes allow players to roll damage dealt to their character by NPCs.
  

Quote from: MonsterSlayer;800658I've seen a couple of these mentioned so I don't think they are all that unusual but:

Meals, yeah we try to have great meals for our home games, not sure which was the biggest priority really the meal or gaming...just having a good time.

We did a weekender once where we all dressed in character.
For that I got a guy in to cook us a roast suckling pig and the meal actually took place in real game time with us all staying in character throughout.
Of course because of Murder Mysteries I actually don't think that is wierd at all as all MMs involve us eating a meal in character/costume.

If I have any weirdness it would probably that I usually have absolutely nothing prepared for any session. I might have thought through what will happen whilst I was cycling to work or having a shower or whatever but never have any notes or maps or anything, unless I want to give the PCs a physical prop, like a blueprint of a security facility or something.
We have a big stack of flipchart paper in the middle of the table and I sketch out maps on that as we go. We have been using coins, blutack or whatever as markers if Combat ever gets too complex (5 or 6 party members and a dozen bad guys). I think with 5 e we will start using Minis and I might let the combat get more "griddy' as the PCs seem to want to move in that direction.  
 
As we have started playing D&D I am using a buch of magic cards as a wandering monster deck. They are tracking down a goblin advanced force so the deck is stacked with lots of goblins. But a few other folk and I have a deck for the civilised bit a deck for the wild bit and a night version of each as well.

So nothing weird from my end. very much BAU.

Hrm.  I really can't think of much I do that's weird (and I'd say at least two-thirds of what I've read so far uptopic isn't, either).  I go to lengths to get clipart for NPCs, but other people do that; I keep rigidly separate a set of dice for Bad Guy NPCs and one for Every Other Roll I'm Likely To Make, but other people do that too.

Maybe the only quirky thing I do is on the extremely rare occasions on which a cat jumps onto the battlemat during an engagement, her strikes are live.  Given that to 25mm scale her paw is like the business end of a tree trunk, this is a formidable threat.

I put those little Andes chocolate mints along with the dice in the basket that I lower down the well to the players at the start of each session.

Quote from: Natty Bodak;800686I put those little Andes chocolate mints along with the dice in the basket that I lower down the well to the players at the start of each session.

OK that is weird. Of course I mean the mints, not the rest of it.

I don't know if it quite rises to weird, but I'll throw it in:  I hand off npcs to players sometimes.  Put a name, some personality traits, a goal, maybe a phrase or sentence to work into the conversation all on an index card and hand it to someone who's not in a scene.

The first time I tried it I was all set to take them back if the players tried taking advantage, but when you're playing with adults it works surprisingly well most times.

Also, to the "fired for missing two consecutive games."  I don't have a formal rule like that, and I do assume family and work come first and second, with gaming third.  Nevertheless, I broadly agree with the sentiment.  If you can't make a majority of game sessions with a known day and time, free up the slot for someone who can.

Quote from: Saladman;800698I don't know if it quite rises to weird, but I'll throw it in:  I hand off npcs to players sometimes.  Put a name, some personality traits, a goal, maybe a phrase or sentence to work into the conversation all on an index card and hand it to someone who's not in a scene.

I've had GMs do that and thought it was fun. Adds a bit of variety.
I'll do it too if I have a Player who I think is good for it.

My own 'weird' thing, that isn't weird but I haven't seen it in action from a lot of other GMs... is that I try my best to keep secret information secret. If only one PC sees something, has a dream or a vision... comes upon some loot while no one else is around... then I notify them by post-it note, I don't blurt it out to the table for all to hear (and then try to ignore in-character).
I only do it for individuals though... not split groups... and only when I think it's something where they might want the option to keep to themselves.
Oh, and I usually ask for the note back.

I think I like it because it maintains an air of mystery sometimes... and because I really like 'fog of war' and 'friction' in wargames.

Back in the days before post it notes were on the market we used to always use secret notes or side meetings. As we have gotten older and busier and as most of my players became more comfortable compartmentalizing in character (IC) and out of character (OOC) knowledge I go to that effort less often. Currently I have one player who prefers not to have keep IC and OOC knowledge separate. So I keep OOC knowledge secret from her since that's what she prefers, but I don't keep OOC knowledge separate from the other players. Is that weird?

Yup, done cooking as well for the previous group I DMed for since we did marathon sessions and some of the players had to travel a distance to attend.

An odd one I participated in as a player was the oft mentioened one with me dead and reincarnated as an otter. That was a Double Blind session where we were split into two groups and played off against eachother with a DM for each party who co-ordinated.

Never seen that before or since.

Quote from: Simlasa;800702I've had GMs do that and thought it was fun. Adds a bit of variety.
I'll do it too if I have a Player who I think is good for it.

My own 'weird' thing, that isn't weird but I haven't seen it in action from a lot of other GMs... is that I try my best to keep secret information secret. If only one PC sees something, has a dream or a vision... comes upon some loot while no one else is around... then I notify them by post-it note, I don't blurt it out to the table for all to hear (and then try to ignore in-character).
I only do it for individuals though... not split groups... and only when I think it's something where they might want the option to keep to themselves.
Oh, and I usually ask for the note back.

I think I like it because it maintains an air of mystery sometimes... and because I really like 'fog of war' and 'friction' in wargames.

We always did that.

I ran a game once for I think 14 players. First hour no one spoke all notes, eventualy everyone split up across the house with different rooms with different stuff happening . Loads of PvP.
Amber is a game where there is so much note passing I actually think it works better if most of the game is online.

Quote from: TristramEvans;800534Well, I draw pictures of all the NPCs and then attach them to popsicle sticks and hold them up when they're talking sort of like little puppets...


Here's an example of some I did for a Cthulhu game pre-sticks...

I would totally do that if I could draw.