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Community
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First time playing D&D and I'm the DM. Anyone feeling helpful?
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<blockquote data-quote="Oofta" data-source="post: 7097835" data-attributes="member: 6801845"><p>Others have given you some good advice, so I'll just reiterate a couple of points.</p><p></p><p>I prefer starting characters at 1st level. If you follow standard XP progression, they go by quickly but it helps people get a grasp of what their characters does. A lot of times I start even lower than first, when the PCs are just kids getting to know each other.</p><p></p><p>I generally don't plan as much as you have for specifics, and planning out those kind of details can kind of be a trap. Players will almost never do what you expect them to do which is ok, because it's part of the fun of having a DM instead of an application running the show.</p><p></p><p>So in your case I'd know what was going on on the island and who's who (name of the chieftan, a few warriors and a handful of random names for people in the tribe). I'd jot down the different factions and maybe even how they're going to react to the PCs.</p><p></p><p>I also figure out some standard encounters. What monsters/NPCs could they be fighting? I frequently plan two or three encounters I don't plan on using, so if the PCs go <em>left</em> instead of <em>right</em> like I had planned and go into the dark creepy cave of doom I can have them fight giant spiders or whatever.</p><p></p><p>I'd also recommend not using an NPC. You don't want an NPC stealing the show ... that doesn't mean an NPC (or a dozen) couldn't show up to save the group if you think you're about to kill them all.</p><p></p><p>I'd also consider getting the starter set. Lost Mines of Phandalver is designed to give people an intro to the game.</p><p></p><p>Last, but not least, be prepared to improvise and have fun.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Oofta, post: 7097835, member: 6801845"] Others have given you some good advice, so I'll just reiterate a couple of points. I prefer starting characters at 1st level. If you follow standard XP progression, they go by quickly but it helps people get a grasp of what their characters does. A lot of times I start even lower than first, when the PCs are just kids getting to know each other. I generally don't plan as much as you have for specifics, and planning out those kind of details can kind of be a trap. Players will almost never do what you expect them to do which is ok, because it's part of the fun of having a DM instead of an application running the show. So in your case I'd know what was going on on the island and who's who (name of the chieftan, a few warriors and a handful of random names for people in the tribe). I'd jot down the different factions and maybe even how they're going to react to the PCs. I also figure out some standard encounters. What monsters/NPCs could they be fighting? I frequently plan two or three encounters I don't plan on using, so if the PCs go [I]left[/I] instead of [I]right[/I] like I had planned and go into the dark creepy cave of doom I can have them fight giant spiders or whatever. I'd also recommend not using an NPC. You don't want an NPC stealing the show ... that doesn't mean an NPC (or a dozen) couldn't show up to save the group if you think you're about to kill them all. I'd also consider getting the starter set. Lost Mines of Phandalver is designed to give people an intro to the game. Last, but not least, be prepared to improvise and have fun. [/QUOTE]
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Community
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First time playing D&D and I'm the DM. Anyone feeling helpful?
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