Donning the DM hat!

[Howler]

I've nearly reached the point of no return with my gaming group, I no longer trust the DM. I'm bored to tears by his story, he thinks its original, but I fail to see the originality in it, its played out material. He's been swearing up and down that its going to pick up, its been six months, it hasn't and I'm about to quit...

What do you all do when you put on your DM hat?

I'll be running lower magic, in order to compensate I'm thinking about giving two more skill points and letting the players pick two non restricted skills to add to their class skill list. I'm doing it this way because it appears to be what WOTC did for their low magic settings.

I've only got two players to start, and only one of these has experience, is this enough? Where can I find more?

I've got a story in my head, but I'm tring to be realistic, I will not railroad. If they go off into left field as long as "A" story is being told I'll let them. I've a world at my finger tips what need is there to force a plot?

Any suggestions? Am I being to open?

 

[Mark]

Welcome to the club!

I'd advise against using any house rules until you've run games for a while. It's easier to add things later than to take them away.

To give you any further advice, I think people will need to know what setting you plan to be using and possibly where you live. The former to give better advice for starting points, the latter to help you find additional players.

Good luck!

 

[EOL]

These comments assume that this is your first time DMing, if that's not the case... First I agree with Mark I would play with the rules as written and get a feel for them before introducing any house rules. You also might think about planning on two campaigns. One to get a feel for the players and the system, sort of a one shot, and then once everyone has a better idea of what their options are as far as races and classes and you have a better idea of what the challanges of being a DM are then start your long-term campaign. I don't know many people who do this, but it's worked for me in the past if I have any new players or if I'm trying a completely new system.

As far as setting I would recommend something published. You may have this great idea for a home brew world, but not realize how much extra effort it entails. I know several people who have found players on this board so that may be a way to fill out your roster.

Good Luck!

 

[Reynard]

World Advice: Start small and build outward. A province or barony or island natioon or even city state. As the PCs wander farther, you can develop more of the world. Don't create more than you have to, as Dungeoncraft says.

Campaign Advice: If you are comfortable with the game, go ahead and do the "non-linear plot" thing and let the PCs run around as much as they like. You can always fill out 3x5s with various encounters so that you will never be at a loss for something to do. On the other hand, if you aren't so comfortable, give the PCs a job -- i.e. make them investigators for the Crown, Thieves Guild "retrievers" whatever. This way you can keep loose plots, so as not to railroad the PCs, but they will still be constrained -- they have to get the job done, after all. Plus, giving them a boss presents free NPCs, friends (co-workers, leadership) and foes (rivals both in and out of the "company").

As far as the number of players goes, 2 is fine so long as a) one character is a cleric, b) you make healing magic plentiful, or c) combat is not particularly deadly or common.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Read Robin's Laws. Very good book. Read Game Mastering Secrets. Supposedly another good book. Haven't read that one year but Robin's Laws is great. Another must do is join roleplaytips.com and sign up for their newsletter. Get NPC Essentials, also from Johnn For.

 

[the Jester]

Good luck!

I'm a big fan of the open-ended plotless game you describe; I recommend it highly- as long as you're comfortable improvising. Once you get into complex npc interactions it's good to prep a little more so you don't mess up your stories.

Two players is enough, but be careful- a tpk is EASY with only two pcs. Maybe reinforce them with an npc... but don't make it a deus ex machina sort of thing.

 

[Agamon]

I started a new group with 2 players about 3 years ago. Both were the two guys that made up my fledgling gaming group almost 20 years ago when I started RPing, so they were both experienced, but I still added an NPC to help round out the group, and to connect the 2 PCs (best friends with one, worked with the other).

My "group" has since blossomed out into 2 groups of 4 players each. Both are not only in the same campaign, but are really both in one "party", as members sometimes hop over to the other group, and soon I can see us playing as one big group once in a while.

Hmmm, more info than you needed, probably, but just goes to show you that what starts out small can grow big, especially if you really care about the campaign; it'll make it more fun for both you and the players.

And let me say, an open-ended game where the PCs can do what they want is the way to go. Some players are uncomfortable dictating the course of action, but you can give them a few nudges here and there, maybe have a background plot that isn't restictive, but happens around the party and gives them something to respond to, as well as giving the campaign a more epic air.