I’m bad with habits. Or at least with the good ones.
I find myself having to set alarms to remember things and keeping lists and whatnot.
One of the things that helps (when I remember to do it) is creating some sense of ritual, an order to things, a “trigger” for that habit I want to form.
For D&D, I’d often forget to double-check that we were on for the following week if I saved it for the end of the session, for example. So I started doing that at the beginning, before the recap and game got underway. Having a specific time for that little habit made it easier to remember.
Maybe you’d like your players to form some habits for their characters. See if you can establish a trigger for that habit. It might take reminding the first few times, especially for newer players, that, for example, when they sit down for a short rest they should go through and refresh any abilities or spell slots, or distribute treasure they’ve looted. Or maybe when they enter town, you remind them the first few times that they have a load of said treasure in their bags that could be sold off. Or maybe when they roll an attack, you remind them they can roll their attack and damage dice at the same time.
Before long, that trigger starts reminding players—and us, the DMs—all by itself. And voila! you’ve formed a good habit.
At least that’s the theory.
Are there any good DM or player habits that you like to see at your table? I’d love to hear!
5RD – The Wretched Reliquary and DungeonMorphs – Crypts Set 1 - Dyson’s Dodecahedron
Minecraft Series, 1: The Ender Dragon - Traverse Fantasy
The One D&D Playtest: Big and Small Surprises and Why I Like the Controversial Critical Hit Rule - DMDavid
Creating a Wildspace System - Homebrew - The GM Is Always Right
How to Return to Your D&D Game After a Break - RJD20
First Impressions: One D&D - Welcome to the Deathtrap
Dragonnel and Liondrake Tactics - The Monsters Know What They’re Doing
Now get out there and tell a story!
Peace,
Maximilian