Advice for new DM

[CaptainCalico]

Hi everyone,

Well, I'm taking the plunge and actually running for our regular gaming group. So far everyone is really getting in to character generation and I'm thrilled that my home-brew world seems to be going over well.

One problem - I have lots of NPC character concepts scribbled down, but I need to get them statted out before we actually play. How do other DM's handle NPC's? Do you work up a full chacter sheet or not? Any advice on that specifically and running in general would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Ah, one more thing: I've seen a lot of "DM's helper" programs around. Are these a big help or not and if so which ones? (I like the idea, but I don't want to add complications)

 

[Hand of Evil]

Most of my NPC's are names and descriptions IF they are going to be reoccurring, if they are city guard, inn keeper, tinker, they are stero-typed. Meaning all city guards look the same, same for beggers.

As for stats, only the major NPCs have them. All the rest I use cheat sheets, index cards, that has stats on it I can check IF I need to. Hell, they are NPCs, a few actions with the PC and stage left.

Okay, so you need to have some important NPCs. Have the players do the work! Give them homework, tell them you need an X level fighter with $$$$$$$ equipment. When they give it to you, change the name and file it away for later, pulling it from your hat in the later.

 

[Mark]

This thread should prove useful-

http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=47525

Don't forget to give it a bump and make suggestions for other threads that should be added to it!

 

[BryonD]

Very cool Mark.

I was unaware of that thread.

THANKS!!

 

[Mark]

Very cool Mark.

I was unaware of that thread.

THANKS!!

Glad to help. Don't forget to bookmark it and bump it so it doesn't get eliminated in a purge...

 

[CaptainCalico]

Thanks again for pointing me to that thread Mark - tons of good stuff.

I really like Jamis Buck's generators, but I'm stumped by something: I downloaded the NPC generator and I have it display the most basic information in the output - the plan being to copy, paste and print (probably the index card route) - but I cannot figure out how to copy the text in the textbox!!

Any tips? Anyone?

 

[maddman75]

I don't use any kind of generator, though I am tempted for my high level games . In general I haven't found one that I can't do better by hand. Anyway, here's some of Maddman's principles of DMing. The ones I can recall anyway.

- Challenge is fun. Don't pull your punches, make them work for what they get.
- Always give them a roll. No matter what kind of nonsense they are trying, give them a roll to see if they can do it. Even if they need a 20.
- If you come to a point where you have to choose between doing something fun or going by the letter of the rules, choose fun. Every time and without hesitation.
- If you stat it up, they will ignore it.
- If you don't stat it up, they will attack it.
- Don't have a preconcieved notion of how things will go. Simply prepare the situation and see what they come up with.
- That said, player's plans should almost always work.
- Understand what gets a player off. If he loves to face down villains, make sure to give him an arrogant nemesis to trade barbs with. If he likes to kick butt and take names, let him do so. Just try to balance it out.
- Leave your ego behind, ask your players what they like and what they don't.
- If there's a rules dispute listen to the arguements. If its important, allow a minute or two to look it up. Otherwise, make a spot ruling with what makes sense to you. Invite your players to discuss these things with you after the game, but keep things moving.
- IME, start with some action if possible. I've found it really focuses everyone on the game.
- Remember that DMing is supposed to be fun .

 

[Quickbeam]

I keep a cheatsheet handy with an array of useful names, descriptions, personality quirks, and professions so that I can quickly drop a few NPC's into the party's path. With important/recurring NPC's, I keep a mini character sheet detailed on index cards for easy reference.

As for advice on running a game I'd suggest the following:
** Go over your basic biases and preferences in gaming with the group, and see how well these mesh with everyone else's. Then you can attempt to tailor the game to a style which will tend to please the majority more often than not.
** Don't dwell too much on the pickier portions of game mechanics. Just be consistent, and adjudicate events in a manner that your group can support and accept.
** Allow free will. There are thousands of ways to ultimately get the party where you want them (need them). Use those which are creative, clever, exciting, and lack the heavy-handed forcefulness ALL players loathe.
** Don't lose sight of the fact this is still a game. Keep it fun for yourself and your friends -- the rest is just commentary !!