Here's the situation: two of my friends have expressed an interest in playing d&d, but due to scheduling conflicts and other constraints, the only time we've got to try it out together is tomorrow. (And they only told me about this today.) A similar opportunity will not arise again for many weeks, but if they do enjoy tomorrow's experience they would probably be more inclined to work their schedule to fit in future games.
I've never DM'd before, so I'm thinking a published adventure would be best. I have the following (but I've never read any of them, heh):
-Keep on the Shadowfell
-Escape from Sembia
-The Village of Hommlet
-Tower of Maraj
And the Twilight parody adventure "Dusk" from Penny Arcade.
Would one of these be okay, or do you guys recommend I make up a few encounters on my own? The last time these people have played d&d was twelve years ago. They've already told me to make characters for them (one is a bard, and the other said "make me a kick-butt girl with some element of wateryness who has a pet." Er, beastmaster ranger?) some weeks back. We have another player joining us who has about 3 mo experience playing 4e. (same time as me)
Tomorrow isn't to start a long term campaign, more like a way for them to test the waters to see if they'd like to play again. So it would be nice to hear your thoughts on how to make this experience really enjoyable for them so that they would want to, considering the time constraint and the fact that I can't fully customize the campaign to suit their tastes. Like hopefully get them interested enough so that they would be open to a more long-term campaign that we can all prepare for more thoroughly.
Also, general tips about DMing would be nice. I've looked over NewbieDM's website and skimmed the DMG 1 & 2.
Thanks in advance!
I've never DM'd before, so I'm thinking a published adventure would be best. I have the following (but I've never read any of them, heh):
-Keep on the Shadowfell
-Escape from Sembia
-The Village of Hommlet
-Tower of Maraj
And the Twilight parody adventure "Dusk" from Penny Arcade.
Would one of these be okay, or do you guys recommend I make up a few encounters on my own? The last time these people have played d&d was twelve years ago. They've already told me to make characters for them (one is a bard, and the other said "make me a kick-butt girl with some element of wateryness who has a pet." Er, beastmaster ranger?) some weeks back. We have another player joining us who has about 3 mo experience playing 4e. (same time as me)
Tomorrow isn't to start a long term campaign, more like a way for them to test the waters to see if they'd like to play again. So it would be nice to hear your thoughts on how to make this experience really enjoyable for them so that they would want to, considering the time constraint and the fact that I can't fully customize the campaign to suit their tastes. Like hopefully get them interested enough so that they would be open to a more long-term campaign that we can all prepare for more thoroughly.
Also, general tips about DMing would be nice. I've looked over NewbieDM's website and skimmed the DMG 1 & 2.
Thanks in advance!