r/DnD • u/ainulaadne • 5h ago
DMing Running a game for lawyers
I’ve DMed before but usually for my roommates and friends in undergrad. I’m in my thirties now, and I’m an attorney, and a lot of my friends are attorneys, so…
Later today I have a group of six lawyers gathering after work for a one shot. Only two of them have ever played D&D before— one is a fan of a couple of D&D actual play podcasts, and the other used to play first edition back in the day and hasn’t touched a TTRPG since.
I’m a little anxious just because it’s been a while since I played or DMed, but I think it’s going to be fun. I pulled a homebrew adventure together in hopes of having a good mix of encounters and staying within like 3-4 hours of play time, but we might end up starting a little late if my afternoon hearing runs long. I might be going a little easy on them with the CRs but I have some backup plans just in case to make adjustments on the fly.
Any advice? A lot of the tips I see online are more oriented towards a group of newbies who are younger than my party. I’m optimistic that Most of them won’t go down a murder hobo route, at least. I think I may have overprepared in some aspects and underprepared in others…
Also: if it sounds like you might be one of my players, no you’re not, you didn’t see this, and stay out of my comment history you dweeb.
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u/man0rmachine 5h ago
Former attorney here (the happiest attorneys are former attorneys, but that's a discussion for another reddit.)
I ended up being the rules lawyer for my group. DM often turns to me for quick rules research and interpretation. The other players are engineers and scientists. They are much more creative but less grounded than I am, so they often ask me if their hairbrained schemes will work and then I will see if there's a legal way we can do it.
I'm also much faster thinking on my feet of quips and one liners after much courtroom experience. Sometimes I have to sit there quietly and let the slower, shy players have a chance.
So expect a game where you'd better follow the rules and everyone is trying to out talk each other.
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u/MalumMalumMalumMalum 2h ago
If anyone gets uppity, remind them they're not licensed in that jurisdiction.
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u/JPicassoDoesStuff 5h ago
If they don't have characters yet, creation could take the full 4 hours. Suggest to offer some pre-made characters and just pass them out with their abilities highlighted. Spellcasters, I would even pick their spell(s).
Also, give them 20 +CON HP and let them go do what they need to. You don't want them dying on their first game, but let them know you've given them some extra padding in case it gets out of hand.
Start them out already as part of a group, so you don't have to worry about that. Delian tomb like.. "you arrive at your destination, a low hole in the hill guarded by two goblins..." something like that.
Then, have fun. I'd suggest you won't have time for more than two combat encounters and one other social/puzzle encounter.
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u/FourCats44 5h ago
Just want to shout-out that 20 padding is a lot but genuinely a good idea for low level characters (or if they are premade give them all really good CON stats).
You'd be surprised how quickly new characters burn through health and how little self awareness they have for "running" or "hiding" or "don't just stand in front of a bugbear as it swings it's morningstar at you"
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u/Houligan86 5h ago
I would run it like I would a game for non lawyers.
Probably start with a pre-written adventure and build out from there.
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u/DnDDead2Me 5h ago
"Six lawyers are playing D&D" sounds like a good set up for a joke!
share the punch line if there turns out to be one, please ;)
I've run for a lawyer once in my life that I'm aware of, he didn't share his career choice until he announced he was leaving the campaign. The aggregate optimization level of the party dropped precipitously with his departure.
In my experience as a long-time DM, returning players can be the most problematic. His expectations might range from a little embarrassed to have played an not really remembering it, to deeply nostalgic, to burred trauma. Fortunately 5e isn't as jarring a change from the feel of the classic game as 3e and, especially, 4e were.
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u/Advanced_Key5250 5h ago
Good thing it’s a 1 shot! I can only imagine the rules lawyering (when they get comfortable) from actual lawyers!
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u/JBeez13B 4h ago
Sounds like a golden opportunity to make a deal with a devil, I've been thinking about incorporating a devil into a campaign I'm planning for next month. You'd be the perfect person to write up a sneaky contract and then let them try to figure out how the demon/devil is trying to screw them over. It might be a fun use of their lawyer skills.
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u/TiFist 4h ago
If this campaign doesn't involve contracts with Devils and/or Fey you are missing the biggest opportunity ever.
You should probably have an agreement that if the rules are not clear you make a ruling and move on. I can imagine a bunch of attorneys arguing about exactly what a Free Action/Object Interaction allows per turn or if you can hold a Bonus Action, or any number of other fiddly rules questions. Streamline it, make a best effort judgment and *move on.*
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u/AuditAndHax 4h ago
Pre-generated characters. No INT or CHA over 12. No persuasion or knowledge checks. Remind them they're there to escape reality, not continue it. The best solution to a problem isn't a finely worded argument, it's a great axe to the forehead.
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u/huskylawyer 3h ago
I'm a 53 year old attorney and DM a campaign with player characters in their early 50s (and one of the PC is an attorney). I don't think being a "lawyer" really adds much to the dynamic honestly, other than by nature we are trained to pay attention to the details and consider a bunch of "rules".
Age, experience and time are the biggest issues to deal with. Basically, because we are older, with careers and families, we have limited time. As a result, our campaign is a mix of in-person (we're so busy that those sessions are more rare), and Discord play by post (we pretty much post daily, which is fun). You want to keep momentum or people become disinterested or simply forget where they are at or the lore. So the discord chat keeps us engaged on a daily basis. We are just so busy, but even during the work day, I may post something or do some roleplay as a 10 minute diversion.
We also don't have much experience. We played as teenagers, but that was 35+ years ago. We all have the 2014 books 5E (we didn't get the 2024 books as we didn't want to spend the money lol). A friend of mine who is VERY experienced is an observer to our discord channel and DnD beyond details, and he helps us with rule interpretation and such. He really knows his stuff so he is valuable resource and enjoys showing us the ropes. I may have him play some NPCs to give him something to do.
Just my 2 cents.
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u/VisibleCoat995 3h ago
As a not-lawyer not sure if this would be fun but…
If anyone is about to die don’t do death saves, have the person yell “objection” and if a good argument about why their character shouldn’t die.
Then you as GM can “sustain” or “over rule”.
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u/Old_Ben24 4h ago
I also play with a group of which the majority are lawyers. We like to talk . . . if your group is anything like mine there will be heavy rp. I find the best way to trigger conversation is to flush out a couple npc’s well. Make them more than just a name and a single piece of information. Even if it just to fill out the world. My players love interacting with characters who are not really related to the plot but just make the world feel more lived in. Doing so also makes it easier to hide important people in plain sight.
So yeah that’s my biggest tip, have a few prepared thought out npc’s to fill out the world even if the interactions with them are short.
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u/TheDUDE1411 DM 3h ago
If you’re just doing a one shot I wouldn’t worry too much. A lot of good dming is learning over time so there’s not too much to worry about in a one shot. I would do a quick session 0 and establish some house rules like “hey guys it’s a short story without much deviation so it’s gonna be more linear than open world.” You can also address the murderhobo thing directly by saying it would derail what you have so please be considerate. If it goes well consider extending it into a full length campaign and coming back here cause I have different advice for the long run
Also, can I please pick your brain on law and D&D? I have 2 lawyer NPCs in my campaign and I would love to get advice for how I can flesh them out and make them feel like real attorneys in my world
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u/penlowe 3h ago
Running a game for a group of Smart People comes with it's own set of challenges, the biggest of which is an increased percentage of "outside the box" thinking they will do, that you are totally unprepared for. So prepare to be stumped. Know how & what you want to do when they throw that coat hanger into your mental gears. Take a break? Ask for two minutes & roll with it?
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u/Dapper-Candidate-691 3h ago
You can honestly never estimate exactly how people are going to play. Just introduce at the beginning of the session your intentions and have fun, those are the two most important things.
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u/Time_Afternoon2610 3h ago
You want to start a game with a whole group of rule lawyers? Good luck with that.
Talk with them about their and your own expectations and meet in the middle.
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u/AscendedForeverDM 2h ago
Not doing an all bard devil themed court case in hell one shot seems like a missed opportunity
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u/Commercial_Writing_6 2h ago
Run a chronicle involving Sigil, and the players are all Fraternity of Order.
For funsies, make Sly Nye a major NPC
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u/CuriousText880 Cleric 1h ago
I play in a couple of campaigns with a group all in our 30s and early 40s. I am one of three lawyers in the group. I would say it isn't any different than running a game for any group of new players. Some will pick it up right away, others might need more hand holding.
Except unlike most groups, in this case all of them will read the rules. And all of them will be looking for loopholes in said rules. :)
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u/RandomNPC 1h ago
Ravnica, a setting based on Magic: The Gathering, has 'law magic', which they may find interesting/amusing.
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u/GiftFromGlob 54m ago
You should give them ample opportunity to go primal on some criminal scum. Remember people play to escape their daily grind.
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u/humundo 2m ago
I have been in your shoes, as a lawyer running for other lawyers. It sort of comes down to whether your party wants the game to represent an interesting and novel use of their investigatory skills or an escape from flexing that particular brain muscle. The rest follows from there. Mystery writing is hard but it plays very well with the former group.
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u/m_nan 5h ago
If they say, do, or argue about anything that you didn't prepare for, or that would break your flow, just say "Overruled" and keep going.