Best way to start for new players/DM?

Anakin · Jan 28, 2002

Hey all...I've been collecting and reading D&D stuff for the past year or so now...I have a sizable collection (PHB, DMG, MM, OE, CC1, CC2, T&T, R&R, S&S, S&F, T&B, DotF, HBG, E&A, Dragon 274, 282-292, Dungeon 87 & 88, the first 3 Freeport adventures, and Sunless Citadel plus Grimtooth's Traps Too, Lite, and Dungeon of Doom just for fun) that I've been reading, re-reading, etc off and on. ANYWAY, I'd really like to PLAY sometime soon. Yeah, that's right, I've never really played D&D, and neither has anyone in my crew. We're all 24-25 olds, pretty intelligent, active imaginations, video and board-game players, who all love the sci-fi/fantasy stuff...we've just never really played D&D. We've read the novels, played the PC games, etc...but never really did the pnp thing. Now I wanna take the plunge so to speak.

That said, how should I do so? I've convinced my crew to all get PHBs...so that's taken care of. I guess I"m gonna DM...that's fine with me. I've always taken a sort of "leadership" role anyway. But how should we go about char generation, choosing a setting, picking a first adventure, etc? Should we try Death in Freeport or the Sunless Citadel (I know the adventures are of different themes...one more Lovecraftian mystery, the other dungeon-crawlish...but which would you suggest for a firsttime group of players/DM)? Or perhaps give the boxed Adventure game a shot? Any other tips/tricks/suggestions?

I'm hoping to play this weekend...maybe next...we'll see...

Help me out, y'all!!

Black Omega · Jan 28, 2002

Unless the players have strong opinions on setting, it's pretty safe for you to just pick something. I've gotten used to asking the players if they had any prefs on game setting and getting "Whatever you do is fine."

As a first time DM, modules or a boxed set is not a bad way to go. You get a better idea of storytelling and adventure flow and design with them. Don't hesitate to run your own adventures when the ideas come though.

Zander · Jan 28, 2002

Let the players have it a little easy. Try not to let any of the PC's bite the dust, even if it means fudging some die rolls. Nothing puts a player off D&D like having his first PC die. Of course, you shouldn't tell them you're going to be a bit soft - that would take the fun out!

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Gumby · Jan 28, 2002

My pick...

Try looking around for a module called "Tomb of Horrors." Make sure you get the original, as the recently-published sequel "Return to the Tomb of Horrors" wasn't really much of a challenge.

Oh, and if you get ToH, try to encourage all the players to stick their characters' heads into everything they see. It's more fun for you that way.

I guess Sunless Citadel is fine too. WITH DEMI-LICHES!

MythandLore · Jan 28, 2002

Anakin said:
Hey all...I've been collecting and reading D&D stuff for the past year or so now...I have a sizable collection (PHB, DMG, MM, OE, CC1, CC2, T&T, R&R, S&S, S&F, T&B, DotF, HBG, E&A, Dragon 274, 282-292, Dungeon 87 & 88, the first 3 Freeport adventures, and Sunless Citadel plus Grimtooth's Traps Too, Lite, and Dungeon of Doom just for fun) that I've been reading, re-reading, etc off and on. ANYWAY, I'd really like to PLAY sometime soon. Yeah, that's right, I've never really played D&D, and neither has anyone in my crew. We're all 24-25 olds, pretty intelligent, active imaginations, video and board-game players, who all love the sci-fi/fantasy stuff...we've just never really played D&D. We've read the novels, played the PC games, etc...but never really did the pnp thing. Now I wanna take the plunge so to speak.

That said, how should I do so? I've convinced my crew to all get PHBs...so that's taken care of. I guess I"m gonna DM...that's fine with me. I've always taken a sort of "leadership" role anyway. But how should we go about char generation, choosing a setting, picking a first adventure, etc? Should we try Death in Freeport or the Sunless Citadel (I know the adventures are of different themes...one more Lovecraftian mystery, the other dungeon-crawlish...but which would you suggest for a firsttime group of players/DM)? Or perhaps give the boxed Adventure game a shot? Any other tips/tricks/suggestions?

I'm hoping to play this weekend...maybe next...we'll see...

Help me out, y'all!!

There are a bunch of SHORT FREE Adventures from the WotC website.
You can go there and get some quick low level adventures, play a few thru and it will give you a good feel for the system before you try to start a BIG complex adventure.
It's just a really good way for people just starting to get familier with the rules, how combat works, how spells work, and how your going to develop your own person style of gaming.
Here's the site: (There is a big list of adventures on the right hand side to pick from and they're all free.)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20000801a,3
(This one is a first level adventure)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20010413a,3
(This one is a second level adventure)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20000901a,3
(This one is a 2nd-3rd level adventure)
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article1.asp?x=dnd/oa/oa20010330a,3
(This one is a 3rd-4th level adventure)

I hope this is of use to you.

_________________________

Darklone · Jan 28, 2002

Free stuff

If you got new players and you are a new DM...

Easy: Wizards Amulet at www.necromancergames.com

Buy Crucible of Freya too, it's kinda sequel. There's a whole bunch of really nice pregenerated characters too. And the adventure rocks for beginners. Plus: There is a supplement at their website with even more stuff for that area.

Altalazar · Jan 28, 2002

I'd suggest something else - if they are people you didn't know before either, it might be good to play a one-shot adventure with non-keepable characters just to get to know each other, each other's style, and so forth, and then after that to sit down and make a party, backgrounds, etc. It can be really hard to do that sort of stuff if everything is new to you - it can be helpful to do a 'shakedown' cruise first.

Dinkeldog · Jan 28, 2002

Go with Sunless Citadel. Dungeon crawls are easier to DM than city adventures where you're constantly having to invent NPCs off the top of your head for city guardsmen, merchants, tavern wenches, etc.

While you're in there, don't worry about making mistakes--especially as DM. You don't know the rules yet, and really won't until you get to see them in action. If you make a mistake, just drive on--don't backtrack unless someone died because you don't know the rules.

Expect the first few sessions to be fairly non-productive while you're learning the rules. Combat could take up to twice as long while you and the players are learning how to count movement on diagonals, the difference between burst and spread for spells, attacks of opportunity, special combat moves and the like. It's a fairly straightforward game, but it's still complex.

Don't try to put everything into one adventure. The adventure path series has done one thing really well: each adventure builds on the one in front of it for complexity purposes.

If you have problems with rulings, you can bring them to the board, but you really shouldn't pull a retroactive reversal unless it's a dire circumstance--someone dies, someone's familiar/companion dies, someone's favorite/best magic item is lost stupidly.

For the players, just have them keep their books open, give you space, and help you learn the rules. If you as DM don't know something, have one of the players who is not immediately involved in the action look it up.

That should get you started. Let us know how it goes.

qstor · Jan 28, 2002

Read through the DMG chapters on running adventures for tips. There's also www.roleplayingtips.com once you get more advanced at running things. Good luck! This board is a great help too. Check out the DM's section of the board.

Mike

Uller · Jan 28, 2002

Before you begin, you might wanna just have everyone generate a couple of third level characters, then run some "sample" battles and encounters using these. This will give you a chance to learn how to run a battle smoothly and them a chance to find out what kind of low-level characters are fun to play.