How To Keep The Ball Rolling:
Today’s tips are usable by both GM/DM and players alike. In improv, actors talk about “Yes, and…” simply put, this is positive adding on to an action or speech. This is something that brings in cooperation among players. You have to be careful how and when to use these methods but I hope this will teach you when to use either one.
An example would be player A: “I want to pickpocket the key from the jailer to help our friend escape.” Person B: “Yes, and I will distract the guard with a song.” Both players are working together to fill a plan and the GM/DM may award advantage to person A if Person B distracts well enough.
This is a mini-system to reward good role playing and promotes the group to work together to solve a problem. Another way this is useful is for when a player gets a critical success. Maybe the player was bartering and the merchant was so impressed he gave the player a free health potion. The important thing to remember is this is a process of building up and not tearing down.
What About The But?
The second set is “No, But” (yes a single T, get your minds focused.) This is reserved more for GM/DMs rather than players. This is when a player fails a DC check, slightly. Instead of a complete failure, this could lead to a partial success, or it can be used to state a consequence for an action.
An example is the Rogue tries to pick the lock on a chest. Unknown to the player, the chest was also trapped, when they try to pick it and fail by 1 or 2 points you respond: “No you didn’t open the chest, but a poison dart flies out from a hidden opening. It barely misses you and strikes an assassin sneaking up on you.” You can still have fun with this and reward players for almost succeeding.
The other method is to describe a consequence for an action. This one should be used sparingly because this could leave the players feeling disappointed. With this example, the players were trying to chase after a villain that stole something important and gets away: “The elf you were chasing got away, but he also didn’t leave a trail. You will be hard pressed to find him again.”
Concluding These Methods:
You can learn a lot of fun methods from different places to improve how a game can be made fun. Remember to keep it fun and be mindful of the type of game you’re running. Keeping to the theme will help you know when to reward for good role playing or when to remind players their actions have consequences.
If you have any questions or want me to cover specific topics, leave a reply here or contact me in WallyDM’s discord.
I’m a published author that has written various stories over the span of about 25 years. I’ve also been playing TTRPGs for just as long, if not longer. I am currently DMing a campaign thats been going for about 5 years and still going.
