Another First Time DM needs advice

alsih2o said:
whispering woodwind, from creative mountain games.

lots of rave reviews for it in any of the gameday threads.

great n.p.c.'s, party building opportunities and a great adventure.

http://www.rpgnow.com/product_info.php?products_id=301


I'd like to second this vote for Woodwind. I ran it at the NC gameday last Saturday, and it was a blast. The interior is well laid out, with a *lot* of help to the DM in terms of adjusting the adventure, and profiling the NPCs. They have a quick profile system that enables you to get a feel for the NPC at a glance.

And, as said, it's very well built for encouraging each class's abilities.
 

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Harlock said:
Well, you said any advice, so here goes: Drop the Realms and run Scared Lands. There is a wealth of information out there on it so it'd be good for a first time DM to have all of that wealth and depth of background at his disposal. Secondly, the first adventure for it is free online over at http://www.swordsorcery.com/swordsorcery/Downloads/serpentamphora.pdf

It's a great adventure with some follow-up modules and I honestly cannot say enough good things about this campaign setting.

Not to mention little ole me huh Har? ;)
 

Latency said:
I don't subscibe to dungeon but the Local game shop has them for sale. Do you have the issue # that adventure is in ?

I've run "Dungeon of Fire Opal" and had a lot of fun with it. However, make sure your PCs are not 1st level or they will be toast rather rapidly. You can find this adventure in Dungeon Magazine #84.

Latency said:


and I already have all the books for the realms :)

But next time I am at the game shop I am going to look into Scarred Lands. :)

Has anyone played the new adventure path from Dungeon ? I have been look at trying that.

When I read the adventure "Life's Bazaar" in Dungeon Magazine #97, I knew I absolutely had to run it. I loved reading it and it struck a chord with me. I like its balance of role-playing, puzzles and encounters. I strongly recommend this one, even though I haven't manage to run it all the way through... yet!

Hope this helps.

P.S. : For any DM on restricted time and budget, I strongly recommend getting Dungeon Magazine. I mean for what... $6,00 US you get three or four useable adventures that are fairly well written. If only for ideas, I find its worth the price and it is definitely cheaper than most published adventures !:D ;)
 
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No ideas on adventures, but since you're a 1st time DM there is something which cannot be stressed enough....DETAIL! As in don't let combat become an endless math lesson.
Instead of "Ok, you get a critical on the orc with your longsword, deal it *roll dice* 17 damage, it dies.", say something like "Alright, a crit! You rolled it's exact AC to hit, nice. How much damage? 17 with a longsword. You swing your blade at the orc, who tries to parry with his shield, but your sword crashes through his shield, severing his arm at the elbow and deeply slashing him from shoulder to hip. His guts and organs spilling out as his mangled body hits the ground with a sickening *THUD*, a pool of blood forming on the stone floor." Now THAT will lead to some satisfied players. :D

When describing surroundings, don't just say "There's some trees and a river to the right of the path.", say something like "As you walk down the well-trodden forest path, you hear the wind rustling through the amber leaves in the tree branches above, the occasion beam of sunlight breaking through the thick canopy to form a myriad of lights bewteen the trees. The sound of rushing water eminates from the wide river to the right of the path, and you see a bear batting salmon out of the water on the far side of the river."

Come to think of it, Blackshirt5 could learn a lesson or two in describing things.:rolleyes:
 

Yes, Life's Bazaar is a good one to start it. It's the first in the Adventures Path series. I almost want to start a new campaign just to play it. Very good.
 


Nightfall said:


Not to mention little ole me huh Har? ;)

Oh and uhhh, Nightfall, the Sage of the Scarred Lands, writer, Walking Tome of All Things Scarn is always more than willing to help out. He's answered a lot of questions for me and lets me bounce ideas off of him. I know you have the realms books already, so it's your call, but I'd get some SL stuff as soon as time and money allowed.
 

Olgar Shiverstone said:
Freeport.

Because you're just starting as a DM, I actually reccomend against Freeport. I tried to do Death in Freeport when I was starting out as a DM, and I wasn't able to do that wonderful adventure justice... I just hope I can redeem myself in the eyes of the Gaming Gawds for that one slip-up.

But Gorgoldand's Gauntlet would be good; I've had no experience with it, but it seems well made and has a good distribution of combat and puzzle encounters. It's in a Dragon Annual, but I can't remember which one.
 

my 2 cents:

don't take things personally

from my experience, i have seen players and dms grow to enjoy the game less as time passes by letting little things that bug them start to pile up and get out of hand. since you have the luxury of starting a group anew, always try to keep an open mind.

remember, just because you are the dm doesn't always mean you are always right, so don't try to force players to see things your way if you interpret rules differently. since it is your game, your are correct in the sense of how you read the rules for your campaign, but don't always expect your players to agree with how you read it.

by all means, rule how you want, especially to keep the game moving and not end up in a heated debate. players will most likely respect whatever ruling you make, but realize that it does not mean they agree with you, sometimes players agree only to prevent the game from turning into an arguement.
 

I'll throw in a vote for "Raiders of Galath's Roost" from Dungeon -- great intro adventure, nominally set in the Realms, good as is and also easy to tweak.

I found "Dungeon of the Fire Opal" to be bland and uninspired, but YMMV.

"Life's Bazaar" looks very cool, but I haven't had a chance to run or play it yet.
 

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