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<blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 5780809" data-attributes="member: 54846"><p>That's a great idea. The Nentir vale is a nice little toybox (the Monsters of the Nentir Vale book has even more info on it, along with various monster organizations in the area if you wanted to turn it into a sandbox or something). </p><p></p><p>Since you have the DM Kit, honestly <em>Reavers of Harkenwood</em> gets lots of positive feedback around here. </p><p></p><p>Usually it's less "Nah we don't care about that adventure" and more "Hey let's go left" when you anticipated them to go right. </p><p></p><p>There are a few DM tricks that you can do to deal with this, but they take practice (for instance, having a prepared random encounter, and just dropping it in when you need to stall for time; if you prepared a dungeon, and they don't bite the hook, just toss a different hook, or re-use the dungeon for a different story). Ideally, you just toss out several different hooks and see what they bite, then follow up with that. Anyways, it always helps to have a backup <em>idea</em>, even if you have no prep. Simply saying "Hey guys take a smoke/soda/bathroom break" never hurts, and you either brainstorm, or start assembling encounters like a madman. </p><p></p><p>That's the way to go. Learn to walk before you run. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> I'm going through a similar situation as you - while I'm an experienced DM, I'm preparing to teach some tween/teen newbies D&D and I've <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/316020-help-dming-middle-high-schoolers.html" target="_blank">gotten some advice/help on that front</a>.</p><p> </p><p>You the DM don't have to know a lot about the race. It's not super relevant to your plot, and not super important to the player, then it's not super important. It might inform NPC actions (people surprised/curious/distrustful about a Dragonborn).</p><p></p><p>Also remember that you, the DM, can change any facts or story to suit your purposes. I.e. you don't have to hold fast to the "Dragonborn aren't from this area". The best rule of thumb is "do what the player would enjoy the most"; if he doesn't <em>care</em>, then don't sweat it, but if that factoid would get his imagination running, then go for it. It's <strong>very</strong> common for DMs to change things about settings (I love coming up with alt histories/cultures for the core races). But pace yourself - mainly don't worry about knowing it all right now. Key is getting through the first session.</p><p></p><p>It's the player's general responsibility to worry about their background. Some players (like your casual players) likely won't care. Some players really like it. <strong>If</strong> your players put a lot of energy/excitement into their backgrounds, <strong>use that to your advantage</strong>; make it relevant to a story you run, or a plot hook you offer, and they will love you. </p><p></p><p>As far as background/PC personalities go, there are only two really important things. 1) Why are you adventuring with these guys? This is usually solved by "We all know eachother". If you don't have the characters know each other before the first adventure, then you have to give them a reason to work together (sometimes players can not want to go along with said reason, hence why making them know one another is easier). The less crucial one is 2) Why is your character adventuring in the first place? What motivates them/what goal do they have? (This is relevant for hooks or future adventures, and is good to have a player <em>think</em> about, but it's not really necessary to get the ball rolling). </p><p></p><p>Depends. Is the dragon evil? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> Basically they were created by the greater Dragon God Io (who later split into the good/evil dragon gods Bahamut/Tiamat).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rechan, post: 5780809, member: 54846"] That's a great idea. The Nentir vale is a nice little toybox (the Monsters of the Nentir Vale book has even more info on it, along with various monster organizations in the area if you wanted to turn it into a sandbox or something). Since you have the DM Kit, honestly [I]Reavers of Harkenwood[/I] gets lots of positive feedback around here. Usually it's less "Nah we don't care about that adventure" and more "Hey let's go left" when you anticipated them to go right. There are a few DM tricks that you can do to deal with this, but they take practice (for instance, having a prepared random encounter, and just dropping it in when you need to stall for time; if you prepared a dungeon, and they don't bite the hook, just toss a different hook, or re-use the dungeon for a different story). Ideally, you just toss out several different hooks and see what they bite, then follow up with that. Anyways, it always helps to have a backup [I]idea[/I], even if you have no prep. Simply saying "Hey guys take a smoke/soda/bathroom break" never hurts, and you either brainstorm, or start assembling encounters like a madman. That's the way to go. Learn to walk before you run. :) I'm going through a similar situation as you - while I'm an experienced DM, I'm preparing to teach some tween/teen newbies D&D and I've [URL="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/316020-help-dming-middle-high-schoolers.html"]gotten some advice/help on that front[/URL]. You the DM don't have to know a lot about the race. It's not super relevant to your plot, and not super important to the player, then it's not super important. It might inform NPC actions (people surprised/curious/distrustful about a Dragonborn). Also remember that you, the DM, can change any facts or story to suit your purposes. I.e. you don't have to hold fast to the "Dragonborn aren't from this area". The best rule of thumb is "do what the player would enjoy the most"; if he doesn't [I]care[/I], then don't sweat it, but if that factoid would get his imagination running, then go for it. It's [b]very[/b] common for DMs to change things about settings (I love coming up with alt histories/cultures for the core races). But pace yourself - mainly don't worry about knowing it all right now. Key is getting through the first session. It's the player's general responsibility to worry about their background. Some players (like your casual players) likely won't care. Some players really like it. [B]If[/B] your players put a lot of energy/excitement into their backgrounds, [B]use that to your advantage[/B]; make it relevant to a story you run, or a plot hook you offer, and they will love you. As far as background/PC personalities go, there are only two really important things. 1) Why are you adventuring with these guys? This is usually solved by "We all know eachother". If you don't have the characters know each other before the first adventure, then you have to give them a reason to work together (sometimes players can not want to go along with said reason, hence why making them know one another is easier). The less crucial one is 2) Why is your character adventuring in the first place? What motivates them/what goal do they have? (This is relevant for hooks or future adventures, and is good to have a player [I]think[/I] about, but it's not really necessary to get the ball rolling). Depends. Is the dragon evil? :) Basically they were created by the greater Dragon God Io (who later split into the good/evil dragon gods Bahamut/Tiamat). [/QUOTE]
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