advice for a new DM

[corcio]

i am hard pressed to possibly run a quick campaign for my gaming group. most of them have played more than i have... Now then i consider myself a creative person. and i think i could come up with something nice. so far i have a story sort of planned out and i was going to go with a flow chart to direct the action towards an end.
is there anyone who has a step by step break down of a good way to plan a session
like when to start choosing monsters and villians and intros and other such things

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Figure out what level characters you'll be dealing with. Look at CRs around that number, some above, some below. Pick out what you like and don't be afraid to be very discriminating -- it's better to have something quirky and unique than to half a whole zoo's worth of monsters, IMO.

If you want to do an event-driven adventure, the same sort of thing applies, but will likely be less important. In that case, just make sure the combats are level-appropriate.

 

[Hand of Evil]

See the DM advice Thread in my sig, lots of reading but you may find something helpful.

 

[delericho]

Now then i consider myself a creative person. and i think i could come up with something nice. so far i have a story sort of planned out and i was going to go with a flow chart to direct the action towards an end.

Sounds like you've got a pretty good handle on it already. Just be wary of tying the plot too tightly to your flowchart - remember that PCs can, and should be able to, move off the tracks you've been laying for them. The trick is to do enough to keep them going where they want to go, without doing too much.

is there anyone who has a step by step break down of a good way to plan a session
like when to start choosing monsters and villians and intros and other such things

It depends very much on the type of game you're running.

For a dungeon crawl, I do the following:

1. Identify a little about the place and its history. A crashed Netherese city-state will be significantly different to a Temple of Vecna.

1a. If appropriate, select the BBEG, and/or McGuffin.

2. Draw up the map, probably just in general terms.

3. Place monsters and treasure as appropriate.

For a mystery, however, you get this:

1. Describe the crime, and the victim of the crime.

2. Determine who committed the crime, and why.

3. Work out a logical trail of clues to get the PCs from the hook (dead body) to the culprit. Include at least six different clues, since the PCs will probably need at least three.

4. Design some complications. Perhaps a red herring, or perhaps the villain sends some thugs out.

For political intrigue, as I described in more detail in another thread, I do the following:

1. Set up the 'court' with all the various factions.

2. Describe the interactions between the factions.

3. Determine what has happened, who has done it, and why.

4. Work out why the PCs should care.

I have a bunch of other tricks and nonsense that I use to help out, but I don't have time to describe them all just now. Hopefully, some of this will help, at least a bit.

Oh, one more thing: unless I'm thinking I might one day submit my work somewhere (which I very rarely think, and have yet to actually do), I don't bother writing anything up in a 'professional' manner. Instead, I just use lots of scribbled notes and flowcharts. For most things other than stat-blocks, I just work from memory.

 

[Whisper72]

Be careful with the storyline / flowchart issue. Be prepared to chuck it should developments (i.e. the reactions by the players) be different than you expected. Adhering too much to a flowchart leads to railroading, railroading leads to trainwrecks, trainwrecks lead to unhappy players and DM's. Beware the power of trainwrecks, for it leads to suffering. We all know where THAT leads to....

 

[JoeGKushner]

See if you can hunt down the following.

The Dungeon Master's Design Kit

DMR1 and DMR2 and I think DMR5. They were the blue books and meant for DMs in the 2nd edition of AD&D. All have some great advice and information about running campaigns. Good stuff there.

 

[Odhanan]

i am hard pressed to possibly run a quick campaign for my gaming group. most of them have played more than i have... Now then i consider myself a creative person. and i think i could come up with something nice. so far i have a story sort of planned out and i was going to go with a flow chart to direct the action towards an end.
is there anyone who has a step by step break down of a good way to plan a session
like when to start choosing monsters and villians and intros and other such things

Welcome to DMing, Corcio!

The first advice coming to my mind is to actually read the Dungeon Master's Guide. It seems to me all the advice you need on how to build adventures and campaigns, how to think about possible endings and so on, is in there. Another great book for new DMs is the excellent Dungeon Master for Dummies volume with tons of advice to run your first games or improve your skills as a veteran DM (always a good read, even for grognards).

The second piece of advice I have is to not try to run a "story" towards a precise "end". You are playing a game where players decide where their characters go next, and chances are they will choose another path to another end than the ones you thought about. That's actually what will happen in most cases.

You are not running a "story". You are running actual events, events with the players' characters as main protagonists. There's an important difference here, in that you are not working towards a precise end. The game isn't determinist in that way.

What can you do then, if you can't know how the game will end? You propose paths to the players, and they're the ones deciding where they go. When you prepare an adventure, you try to think about what the players' choices might be, and you do offer various choices (an adventure without choices is called "railroading", and it's very frustrating for players because they feel like they are just spectators and not actors of the events in the game). In any case, you know that most likely the choices of the players won't fit exactly one of the possible outcomes you imagined, but the ones you worked on help you improvise when the players make their choices in-game.

Grab a DMG and take your time. Read particularly the Chapters on Adventures, Running the Game, Campaigns and World-building. You'll find loads of other valuable advice there!

 

[Gargoyle]

Lots of good advice above.

The most important thing is to keep the game moving, even if it requires abandoning all of your careful planning. Don't let things stagnate. Keep the players interested. Don't let rules get in the way of a good time.

As a new DM, I would also recommend a dungeon crawl be a key part of your first adventure. Dungeons are easier to run than free form adventures, and give you a little more control. Just don't make it into too much of a "railroad" if you can help it. Give them some real choices to make, not just "right or left".

Sounds like you'll do fine.

 

[dragonhead]

make sure that the flow chart is flexable. dont try to rush a campain just because you feel that they should be at a certain point and they are two pannels behind. in real life we all plan, but many of us diverge from the plan. if they get off task, give them a side quest that will direct them to there main objective, without it being obviouis thats what your doing. it will work its self out and the party will feel they did it without the proding of the DM yet you helped make sure they stayed on track.

 

[Varianor Abroad]

Do up a couple maps. Crack open a Monster Manual (or other great monster book of choice like Tome of Horrors I, II, II, Jade Dragons and Hungry Ghosts, Legacy of the Dragons, etc.). Put sticky notes on critters you want to use. Write up at least one paragraph of notes. Look thoughtful and mystify your players. That'll do.