Four Dungeons and Dragons tips from Star Trek: The Next Generation’s fourth worst episode.
I use the IMDb rating for these videos, and this episode clocks in with a rating of 5.7 out of 10. The episode is entitled “Man of the People.” It is Season 6, Episode 3, and originally aired on October 3, 1992. A visiting diplomat forces all of his negative emotions and evil thoughts onto Counselor Troi. This episode rightly deserves to be at the bottom—it’s kind of sleazy and boring—but I will say that Marina Sirtis’ performance is excellent.
Dungeon Master Tip Number One: Do not get in a rut
Deanna Troi has been falling for diplomats and ambassadors since the second season, and by the sixth season, it has reached the point of absurdity. You can count the times Troi falls for a diplomat if you like, but please don’t make it a drinking game—you may die of alcohol poisoning. As dungeon masters, we can fall into ruts like the writers of TNG did. We can recycle hooks and story elements that worked in the past. Break out of that. Start applying your imagination once again. Look around for inspiration.
I recommend reading fiction and watching movies and TV shows. Random tables can be helpful as well. They can give us ideas that we wouldn’t have thought of and make us think on our feet. Randomness is your friend as a game master; embrace it. I create books of random tables to help dungeon masters and game masters. You can find a link in the description.
Also, becoming involved with nearly every ambassador who comes on board is unprofessional. I love the character of Troi and greatly appreciate Marina Sirtis’ talents as an actress. However, in the later seasons, the writers just never seemed to know what to do with her. So they defaulted to what worked in the past and, sadly, victimization, which is unfair and frankly didn’t happen to male characters as often. Victimization is a cheap way to create drama.
Dungeon Master Tip Number Two: Adaptation
“Man of the People” is an adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” a novel by Oscar Wilde, even evidenced by the fact that a transport ship in the episode is called the Dorian. In the novel, Dorian makes a deal with the devil where his sins are placed on his portrait and not himself. In the episode, the visiting diplomat’s negative and evil thoughts are pushed onto Deanna.
If you haven’t read the novel, I greatly urge you to do so. I’ll put links in the description to the novel and the audiobook.
Don’t underestimate the power of borrowing great story elements from the books you read and the movies and TV shows you watch. We get our storytelling abilities from consuming other stories and then reflecting on them. The danger here is strict adaptation. We just want elements, situations, twists and turns, and complications.
Dungeon Master Tip Number Three: Beware possession
Possession and other things that force characters into passive roles are dangerous. Once Deanna is possessed, she continues to act, but it’s all pre-described action. In D&D, certain spells and conditions require players to play their characters a certain way, and those usually work.
However, a dungeon master should always want their players to be active. Players should be encouraged to think creatively and solve problems with their wits. Placing restrictions on them makes the DM’s job more difficult, and it feeds into the next tip.
Dungeon Master Tip Number Four: Players act like real people
Characters in novels and movies don’t act like real people—they serve the plot. RPG players have their characters act like real people. In “Man of the People,” Troi does not act like a woman with multiple degrees, years of training, or even a professional person in the workplace. Why? To serve the plot. Commander Riker doesn’t report Deanna’s odd behavior right away. Why? To serve the plot. You get the picture, right?
Dungeon masters shouldn’t pre-plan a plot. Plot happens when the protagonist acts. As a dungeon master, I have no idea how the protagonist will act because the player characters are the protagonists and real people control them. I can’t read their thoughts like a full Betazoid. Real people aren’t here to serve your plot. Real people are here to enjoy playing a game with friends. The dungeon master must present situations and then react to their players’ actions by throwing more situations and complications at them.
4 D&D tips
There you have it: four D&D tips from Star Trek TNG’s fourth worst episode. If you need random tables and other RPG resources, I create them. Links in the description below. Thank you, and keep gaming!
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- The Picture of Dorian Gray – novel – https://amzn.to/3Wcqd1x
- The Picture of Dorian Gray – Audiobook – https://amzn.to/3xEyB0C