New pnp player/dm! Need advice/tips
- Thread starter LuxProcedens
- Start date
LuxProcedens
Active member
When you dm, are you very strict on distance, and movement? Im not using a grid, so im doing imagination basically, which may make combat tedious
eshadowbringer
Well-known member
I do use a grid for movement as much as i can.. you can use a small tape measure but I believe players need to have some boundry for movement.
did you see the 9x12 6 pack of boards in my above post? those are affordable! If you wait till tomorrow I can tell you what the quality is like I ordered one pack of each size.
did you see the 9x12 6 pack of boards in my above post? those are affordable! If you wait till tomorrow I can tell you what the quality is like I ordered one pack of each size.
TrinityTurtle
Well-known member
Watch your players. I don't mean watch then in the 'are they following the rules or trying to pull one over on me" sense I see in a lot of new dms, I mean watch their faces and behaviors. A lot of dm's forget their part in this game is to entertain their group of players. Every group has it's own dynamic, expectations, and things they do and don't enjoy. A lot of the horror stories about bad dm's and players that end up on forums are simply a result of not 'reading the room' and trying to find a mutual solution for things that aren't working. Find a balance between the story you want to tell and the story they want to interact with. Look out for boredom, frustration, and just lack of engagement. Tabletop is at it's best when a group sits down together to tell a story, together. The only 'win' for dm's is to spin an engaging story that everyone has fun at. Make them earn it, but their victories are YOUR victories. Nip in the bud with private conversations if you see a player bullying/harassing other players.
Rules are guidelines. If something gets in the way of you and your group having fun, throw it out the window, just make it a 'house rule'. The only constraint is be consistent so everyone at the table understands how it works and agrees it's fun.
If you get complaints that it's not like (Insert any of the currently streaming campaigns here, not just Mercer) be honest, tell them that you are not that dm, they are not those players, and you all have to find your OWN story and game experience together that is personal to you.
Most of all, and this is crucial, enjoy it. Have fun, explore both your and your players imaginations, and go wild.
Rules are guidelines. If something gets in the way of you and your group having fun, throw it out the window, just make it a 'house rule'. The only constraint is be consistent so everyone at the table understands how it works and agrees it's fun.
If you get complaints that it's not like (Insert any of the currently streaming campaigns here, not just Mercer) be honest, tell them that you are not that dm, they are not those players, and you all have to find your OWN story and game experience together that is personal to you.
Most of all, and this is crucial, enjoy it.
Have fun, explore both your and your players imaginations, and go wild.
eshadowbringer
Well-known member
This is excellent advice! I agree with every single point!Watch your players. I don't mean watch then in the 'are they following the rules or trying to pull one over on me" sense I see in a lot of new dms, I mean watch their faces and behaviors. A lot of dm's forget their part in this game is to entertain their group of players. Every group has it's own dynamic, expectations, and things they do and don't enjoy. A lot of the horror stories about bad dm's and players that end up on forums are simply a result of not 'reading the room' and trying to find a mutual solution for things that aren't working. Find a balance between the story you want to tell and the story they want to interact with. Look out for boredom, frustration, and just lack of engagement. Tabletop is at it's best when a group sits down together to tell a story, together. The only 'win' for dm's is to spin an engaging story that everyone has fun at. Make them earn it, but their victories are YOUR victories. Nip in the bud with private conversations if you see a player bullying/harassing other players.
Rules are guidelines. If something gets in the way of you and your group having fun, throw it out the window, just make it a 'house rule'. The only constraint is be consistent so everyone at the table understands how it works and agrees it's fun.
If you get complaints that it's not like (Insert any of the currently streaming campaigns here, not just Mercer) be honest, tell them that you are not that dm, they are not those players, and you all have to find your OWN story and game experience together that is personal to you.
Most of all, and this is crucial, enjoy it.
eshadowbringer
Well-known member
I just got the 6 pack of 9x12 white boards in. They are nice quality although they dont line up super precise when putting them together they would give you a good point of reference! I will be keeping and using mine! I also bout a 6 pack of the 17x12 as well! im excited to have the bigger ones for a few of my larger rooms!
Uska
Founder
I’m well beyond 45 and freely use electronics in fact I play via VTT
Livmo
Well-known member
Due to the new DnD movie my buddies kids are getting into it.
These are some of the items I got them for their birthdays:
These are some of the items I got them for their birthdays:
- Starter Set
- D&D Essentials Kit
- Dungeons & Dragons Core Rulebooks Gift Set
- Dungeons & Dragons Nano METALFIGS Medium Pack A
- Battle Grid Game Mat - 3 Pack Double Sided - Portable Tabletop Role-Playing Map
- Cone Spell AOE Template Acrylic Areas of Effect Damage Markers Tabletop Game Map Measure Tool
- Sand Timer, Hourglass Sand Timers Colorful 1/3/5/10/15/30 Minutes Sandglass Timer with Protective Cover
Buddha5440
Trainer of those who beat dead horses
It really depends on how involved you want to get. My third campaign as DM, I created a continent with a hand drawn map, random encounter tables based on terrain/location for every area, local villains/warlords/evil wizards/named monsters/etc.
This is VERY time consuming, but it may be something to work towards in the future if all goes well (it should be much easier now with all the resources).
My advice for a first campaign is to make it tough but fair (try and not do the 'crit fail...you slice off your own arm' type of stuff), thoroughly read any pre-made modules you may use so you are not wasting time flipping/swiping through pages while the players are just sitting there, remember that characters are going to die at early levels even in level appropriate content but don't make it harder than it needs to be (remember, YOU are the DM...you can alter pretty much anything you want at any time (mob stats/ outcomes of failed rolls (you get hit by a dart while casting burning hands and, instead of burning off the face of your cleric; you simply burn off his/her eyebrows, etc, etc))).
Bottom line...HAVE FUN WITH IT
This is VERY time consuming, but it may be something to work towards in the future if all goes well (it should be much easier now with all the resources).
My advice for a first campaign is to make it tough but fair (try and not do the 'crit fail...you slice off your own arm' type of stuff), thoroughly read any pre-made modules you may use so you are not wasting time flipping/swiping through pages while the players are just sitting there, remember that characters are going to die at early levels even in level appropriate content but don't make it harder than it needs to be (remember, YOU are the DM...you can alter pretty much anything you want at any time (mob stats/ outcomes of failed rolls (you get hit by a dart while casting burning hands and, instead of burning off the face of your cleric; you simply burn off his/her eyebrows, etc, etc))).
Bottom line...HAVE FUN WITH IT
Col Kurtz
Well-known member
one thing you'll want to avoid is allowing Evil player characters. Its total chaos for the DM to control and some players always end up with hard feelings.
One idea I used as a DM that kept players from feeling targeted was >assign each player a number and roll to see what player gets targeted by each enemy that is in the line of sight.. You'll want a list of your players characters to keep track of their health/ hit points any way. Just assign each a number next to their name. Obviously sometimes its going to be the player at the front of a passage... or the person in the back with an ambush. But, in bigger open battles it works great...especially if your DM dice roll lots of 20s like mine did.
One idea I used as a DM that kept players from feeling targeted was >assign each player a number and roll to see what player gets targeted by each enemy that is in the line of sight.. You'll want a list of your players characters to keep track of their health/ hit points any way. Just assign each a number next to their name. Obviously sometimes its going to be the player at the front of a passage... or the person in the back with an ambush. But, in bigger open battles it works great...especially if your DM dice roll lots of 20s like mine did.
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TrinityTurtle
Well-known member
If you do decide to allow evil players, a talk before the sessions is in order. What will and won't be tolerated at your table and how you expect the other players to be treated by this player. A LOT of players will take an evil alignment as a free pass to be an *******, not to actually do an interesting story. But not all. Raistlin Majere from Dragonlance and Gerald Tarrant from the Coldfire books are examples of evil characters who still work with the people around them for a common goal. Even if you're whole table wants to run an evil-oriented campaign (and these can be fun and creative) these talks are in order and consequences from the world for their actions should be a thing they have to deal with. Tread lightly here.
Livmo
Well-known member
I try to have some objectives that require most of the party to be present to complete.
Therapy on. All I can say is that I don't care how high your backstab is, you're not supposed to be killing your party members for a chance to loot the body.
I highly discourage evil game play and meat shields.
The_Apocalypse
The Chosen One
I suggest 3.5 edition, Greyhawk. Could also create your own campaign. This is a link list to a long running article in Dragon magazine about creating campaigns from the ground up.
eshadowbringer
Well-known member
While I will always have a special place in my heart for 3.5 I disagree 100%. too high of learning curve! most of us old school AD&D, 2nd, 3rd, 3.5 players learned that game over a span of 20ish years give or take a few! It is complicated and super crunchy! Its one of the things I loved about it!
But for a family game, first time DM for a group that has never played .. 5e is hands down the better choice.
calouscaine
Grouchy Vet
Yeah, 5e is the dumbed down restricted version of d&d. Easy to learn and apparently easy to run/play.
I personally hate it, but a lot of people like it since it's simplified.
I run my games with 3.5 mixed with some pathfinder and some homebrew.
calouscaine
Grouchy Vet
Now, once players have a general idea, 3.5 is perhaps the best option at the moment. As it allows for expansions with path finder, d20 modern, cthulhu, and all sorts of other systems to mesh together very very easily. However, the 3.5 system is very resource intensive. . .there are feats, skills, skill tricks, spells, classes, prestige classes, etc. galore out there to explore . . .and for a dm, let alone a player, it is very study intensive to keep up with. For a dm, you have to limit what you allow in games, for a player it's always looking for something that can give you an edge or help you survive.
I run most of my games as social and skill based, mainly because discord is a poor source for battling online. If it were in a room with players I would do more dungeon crawling and battles based on the situation, but still focus on potential skill outcomes. Intimidate, bluff, etc. can be used to avoid or circumvent combat and still gain rewards if done correctly and skillfully.
By the by, this system can be put into place with ddo, it was done with never winter nights and text base input with skill checks, I know because I partially designed the system years back. But, the devs for ddo, or at least the person in charge, seems to think that some things are impossible or too hard to do. This is honestly not the case, it just takes some old school thinking and some creativity to do them.
But I digress, since I am getting off topic. The best start for d&d at the moment is probably 5e, as much as I personally despise it. After that one should move to standard 3.5e, and learn about multi classing, prc's, epic leveling (yeah, not ddo leveling in epic, it's all messed up), and so forth. Then look at what you can add or build with. A world can start with a village and become a continent based on player interactions in less than a year, defining history, culture, and more. If you want to go for home brew.
I run most of my games as social and skill based, mainly because discord is a poor source for battling online. If it were in a room with players I would do more dungeon crawling and battles based on the situation, but still focus on potential skill outcomes. Intimidate, bluff, etc. can be used to avoid or circumvent combat and still gain rewards if done correctly and skillfully.
By the by, this system can be put into place with ddo, it was done with never winter nights and text base input with skill checks, I know because I partially designed the system years back. But, the devs for ddo, or at least the person in charge, seems to think that some things are impossible or too hard to do. This is honestly not the case, it just takes some old school thinking and some creativity to do them.
But I digress, since I am getting off topic. The best start for d&d at the moment is probably 5e, as much as I personally despise it. After that one should move to standard 3.5e, and learn about multi classing, prc's, epic leveling (yeah, not ddo leveling in epic, it's all messed up), and so forth. Then look at what you can add or build with. A world can start with a village and become a continent based on player interactions in less than a year, defining history, culture, and more. If you want to go for home brew.
Blunt Hackett
Well-known member
Death House is already an official quest you can download: https://media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/DND/Curse of Strahd Introductory Adventure.pdf
I imagine the book Curse of Strahd is similar to the DDO adaptation as well, but I don't know personally.
I imagine the book Curse of Strahd is similar to the DDO adaptation as well, but I don't know personally.
Titus Ovid
Mover and Shaker
Start small on every point:
1) Whatever ruleset you chose be save in the basic rules. Make yourself a summary for example. Do it yourself, don't use a premade one.
2) If you encounter a situation and you don't know the rule, don't get the book right away. Think about what would be fitting with the rules you know already. After your playsession or during a break consult a book or ruleset. Most annoying thing is, when you get interrupted because of rules.
3) Start with a pen, paper and dices. Everything else can be added later. You don't need special spreadsheets or tables or grid. Try them out later.
4) Write down your character by hand on your own paper. It will be easier to remember the individual specifications.
5) Know the storyline, imagine it in your head. Debate what you would have done. You will be save to improvise in your group. And you will improvise for sure.
Someone adapted the Korthos storyline into a homebrew (for Pathfinder) on the old forum. Excellent work. You might try this because you are already intimate with the storyline.
Most important thing: Have fun!
Cheers,
Titus.
1) Whatever ruleset you chose be save in the basic rules. Make yourself a summary for example. Do it yourself, don't use a premade one.
2) If you encounter a situation and you don't know the rule, don't get the book right away. Think about what would be fitting with the rules you know already. After your playsession or during a break consult a book or ruleset. Most annoying thing is, when you get interrupted because of rules.
3) Start with a pen, paper and dices. Everything else can be added later. You don't need special spreadsheets or tables or grid. Try them out later.
4) Write down your character by hand on your own paper. It will be easier to remember the individual specifications.
5) Know the storyline, imagine it in your head. Debate what you would have done. You will be save to improvise in your group. And you will improvise for sure.
Someone adapted the Korthos storyline into a homebrew (for Pathfinder) on the old forum. Excellent work. You might try this because you are already intimate with the storyline.
Most important thing: Have fun!
Cheers,
Titus.
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Buddha5440
Trainer of those who beat dead horses
1 and 2 definitely.
You are the DM (essentially the God of that environment). The rules are a standardized set so that people are on the same page, so to speak. While they are a great place to start, they are not set in stone (unless you are profiting from using them), so feel free to adjust them as you see fit to your environment/campaign. Just don't make any drastic changes without notifying the players, nor any changes that give certain builds immense power or handicaps (unless it fits the narrative).
If you do create your own campaign; allow it, and expect it, to evolve as you and your players do. If it is going in a direction that seems to lose their interest; consider changing some things. If it is going in a direction where they are taking advantage of some things; pull those things back a bit.
Bottom line... as a DM, you are part guide, party story-teller, and part Omnipresient/All powerful being. Just make sure it is FUN.