advice for a newbie DM?

[janta]

Hello,

Let me begin with the usual "long-time lurker, first-time poster" confession. I've been reading the boards for a while, and it seems like there's much good advice to be had. So here's my question:

I'm going to be DMing 3.0 D&D for the first time in the near future. Now, I've got 20+ years of experience playing, as well as DMing older editions, but not 3.0/3.5. It's a homebrew world I've been working on for a while, so there's not a great deal of background material to have to read up on. I guess what I'd like to know is this: what tips, tricks, or suggestions do you more veteran DMs have? What do you think is absolutely critical to success?

Any advice would be welcome! Thanks in advance to everyone!

--Janta

p.s. -- I did browse through the older threads but didn't find one quite like this. If you know of one and can point me there, I'd surely appreciate it.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...What do you think is absolutely critical to success?...

If you are going to runa game that is more than a "Choose your own adventure", you need to be ble to improvise (you are a 20+ year Gm though, so I doubt this is news to you)

I think running 3.0 isn't much different than running any other game once you have the rulesystems down. Just go with your insticts and don't sweat the small stuff.

Word of warning: Attacks of opportunity will eat your sanity like a fat kid eats ho-hos (if you let it). 3.) wasn't super-clear onh ow to implement them and they are crucial to gameplay.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Get one of your players to take care of initiative order for you. It'll save you a lot of worrying.

 

[EricNoah]

Initiative can be the slowest part of combat if you don't have a good system for recording and knowing who goes first, second, etc. Some folks use an "initiative card" system where every PC (and every monster or group of monsters) gets a card with their name on it, and when combat starts everyone rolls initiative and writes it on the card. One of the players can be in charge of putting the PCs' cards in order, and then handing them to you. You then insert the monster cards, and now you're ready to call out who is up (and who is "on deck"). If someone wants to hold their action, hand them their card. When they jump back in, put their card on top and let them act.

Some DMs have the players write AC, hit points, and other stats on the cards, but I find that it's inconvenient to shuffle through the cards looking for information while keeping them in order.

You may, however, find it convenient to keep time-related notes on these cards (noting that Regdar is "held for 4 rounds" or something to remind you as you go through the deck).

At the end of combat, you hand the stack to the player who's helping you out -- they'll separate the deck, hand you back your monster cards so you can reuse, and distribute the PC cards to the players.

-----

The other thing that can slow down combat is calculating spell effects. I would encourage you to download and use a "spell spreadsheet" -- you can use Bob Fitch's sheets if you're playing 3.0 with core rulebooks only -- or grab Steve Mulhern's extremely comprehensive sheet for 3.0.

Bob Fitch's Sheets

Steve Mulhern's Sheet

 

[Calico_Jack73]

Be ready for some homework...

Nowadays it isn't enough to face a creature straight out of the Monster Manuals. Nope, you'll have to add character levels to monsters to make them insteresting. On the plus side, you can come up with some neat challenges. I can't wait to sik a group of Gnoll Rangers on my players.

 

[D20 Addict]

Let me say the simplest thing: read the DM's Guide and Player's Handbook from cover to cover one more time. It is quite possibly the easiest thing to do to prepare. Also, get to know your players well and ask them what they want out of the game. These two things will allow for a rich roleplaying experience. Good luck!

 

[diaglo]

what tips, tricks, or suggestions do you more veteran DMs have? What do you think is absolutely critical to success?

patience and plenty of it. a good imagination is also needed. and a willingness to roll with the punches.

Thanks in advance to everyone!

you're welcome.

the only other advice i'd give...but it is the antithesis of d20 is....dig out your old version of the game and teach/play that instead.

 

[S'mon]

I'd say get familiar with the pregen NPC tables in the 3.0 DMG, and use them for NPCs with a few tweaks, eg changing fighter's weapon from bastard sword to longsword, battle axe or whatever. At low level those pregens are very tough compared to PCs, at high levels they get a bit weak.
Keep your first scenario low-level and fairly simple, but with several choices of action - eg a dungeon is good, a caravan-guarding one can seem too railroaded.

 

[Rel]

If you'll page back through the last few weeks of posts here in General, and look for a series of threads by dreaded_beast, he's a newbie DM in a similar situation to you (long time player, first time DM). I think those threads are a great primer and contain some great advice.

If I had to give you just one good piece of advice, it would be Piratecat's Rule: When in doubt, take a moment and ask yourself, "What is the absolute most fun and exciting thing that could happen right NOW?" Then do that.

 

[MerakSpielman]

Listen to your players. If they're not having a good time, you're doing something wrong.

Also, remember that the PCs don't have to succeed at every quest they attempt. My players have admitted that their dramatic failures stand out more in their mind than their dramatic successes. Fudging rolls so as not to kill characters is one thing (one debatable thing that we talk about occasionally. At length.) but fudging rolls because you want the story to happen a certain way is quite another. Really good and really bad rolls can make you feel like you should just burn your adventure notes and give up ever having an ongoing campaign. D&D is at its best, though, when the players are the driving force of the story, not the DM.