Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
A (very green) Newbie DM Question
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 5674637" data-attributes="member: 20323"><p>Welcome to ENWorld! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>I'd recommend tuning into one of the live broadcasts of D&D games if you haven't already. There's Acquisitions Incorporated (<a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Feature.aspx?x=dnd/feature/" target="_blank">Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article</a>) and Thursday Knights (<a href="http://www.justin.tv/thursdayknights" target="_blank">Thursday Knights on Justin.tv</a>).</p><p></p><p>And I hear the Dungeon Master's Kit has a good adventure in it, if you're willing to start with a mini module.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Did one play a spellcaster in 3.5 and they're the most vociferous in griping about 4e? Or are they hardcore role-players and think 4e is like a video game? Those are the two most common complaints I've encountered.</p><p></p><p>Also be aware that I'd you're using the PHB, DMG, and MM "holy trinity", there have been substantive changes, e.g. the PHB has 22 pages of errata and monster design has significantly changed. If you've got some savvy players they may already be aware of this stuff, but keep that in mind.</p><p></p><p></p><p>I guess the tongue-in-cheek answer would be structure it less. <a href="http://www.roleplayingtips.com" target="_blank">Roleplaying Tips for game masters</a> has some solid articles about this sort of thing and much more in their DM articles archive. Another source I highly recommend is Sly Flourish; though Mike's advice tends to be for experienced DMs, he actually has an article about player choices...<a href="http://slyflourish.com/providing_real_choices.html" target="_blank">Providing Real Choices</a>.</p><p></p><p>Do you have a specific example of what you're talking about? I mean from the adventure you've begun creating?</p><p></p><p></p><p>Those are things you'll learn as you go, we all had to, it's part of the learning curve. Best advice I can offer is that most of the time players won't notice when you make a mistake.</p><p></p><p>Again, any specific questions?</p><p></p><p></p><p>I've got two tricks for you.</p><p></p><p>First, recruit the players to make your job easier. Have one be I initiative tracker, someone keep track of treasure, another can help you clear maps/minis, maybe you can appoint a rules lawyer to help you out.</p><p></p><p>Second, listen to the players during "interlude" moments where they've got a decision to make. Usually seasoned players will theorize about plot secrets, or start devising strategy, or get into inter-party tiffs. Use that as fuel for your evil DM scheming.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hmm. My parting words of wisdom are to read up on node-based adventure design and the 3 clue rule over here (links below). It's slightly advanced DM stuff, but you sound up for a challenge. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p><a href="http://thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/node-design/node-design.html" target="_blank">The Alexandrian - Node-Based Design</a></p><p><a href="http://thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/three-clue-rule.html" target="_blank">The Alexandrian - Misc Creations</a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Quickleaf, post: 5674637, member: 20323"] Welcome to ENWorld! :) I'd recommend tuning into one of the live broadcasts of D&D games if you haven't already. There's Acquisitions Incorporated ([url=http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Feature.aspx?x=dnd/feature/]Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article[/url]) and Thursday Knights ([url=http://www.justin.tv/thursdayknights]Thursday Knights on Justin.tv[/url]). And I hear the Dungeon Master's Kit has a good adventure in it, if you're willing to start with a mini module. Did one play a spellcaster in 3.5 and they're the most vociferous in griping about 4e? Or are they hardcore role-players and think 4e is like a video game? Those are the two most common complaints I've encountered. Also be aware that I'd you're using the PHB, DMG, and MM "holy trinity", there have been substantive changes, e.g. the PHB has 22 pages of errata and monster design has significantly changed. If you've got some savvy players they may already be aware of this stuff, but keep that in mind. I guess the tongue-in-cheek answer would be structure it less. [url=http://www.roleplayingtips.com]Roleplaying Tips for game masters[/url] has some solid articles about this sort of thing and much more in their DM articles archive. Another source I highly recommend is Sly Flourish; though Mike's advice tends to be for experienced DMs, he actually has an article about player choices...[url=http://slyflourish.com/providing_real_choices.html]Providing Real Choices[/url]. Do you have a specific example of what you're talking about? I mean from the adventure you've begun creating? Those are things you'll learn as you go, we all had to, it's part of the learning curve. Best advice I can offer is that most of the time players won't notice when you make a mistake. Again, any specific questions? I've got two tricks for you. First, recruit the players to make your job easier. Have one be I initiative tracker, someone keep track of treasure, another can help you clear maps/minis, maybe you can appoint a rules lawyer to help you out. Second, listen to the players during "interlude" moments where they've got a decision to make. Usually seasoned players will theorize about plot secrets, or start devising strategy, or get into inter-party tiffs. Use that as fuel for your evil DM scheming. Hmm. My parting words of wisdom are to read up on node-based adventure design and the 3 clue rule over here (links below). It's slightly advanced DM stuff, but you sound up for a challenge. :) [url=http://thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/node-design/node-design.html]The Alexandrian - Node-Based Design[/url] [url=http://thealexandrian.net/creations/misc/three-clue-rule.html]The Alexandrian - Misc Creations[/url] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
A (very green) Newbie DM Question
Top