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Message: <blockquote data-quote="ragingpeanuts" data-source="post: 5418416" data-attributes="member: 98576">A lot of good advice in this thread. Before 4e, I had three levels worth of dm'ing in 3.5. The players had either the same experience, or less. So I kinda know what you're going through <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Not only that, I did start a lvl. 1 to 30 adventure. I've got quite some digital rpg-experience (e.g. baldurs gate, dragon age, fallout, etc.) and already knew the dmg and ph by heart when we started, but still.This post has become longer than I thought it would be. In short:<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Keep it simple is the best advice</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Work from big to small: overall story, story per tier, story per session</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Don't be afraid to improvise, use smoke and mirrors. Like James Cameron said: it doesn't have to make much sense, as long as it's entertaining</li> </ol>The most valuable advice given in this thread is: keep it simple. Your playes will probably need so much time figuring all the rules and options out, that each encounter will take a long time. What you thought they'd go through in one session might take two or three at first.As for actually designing your adventure: DMG 2 has a nice section on how to bond players together beforehand. I strongly recommend doing that - I just threw them together and as a result, the group cares much less about what happens to the other.Check with your players before designing a big adventure what kind of stuff they're into. What tone? Light-hearted or pitch-black? What setting intrests them? Natural, undead, fey, etc.? In the beginning, when all is new, you might not get many answers, but it will help entice them. I've started a pretty dark campaign, but it's sprinkled with a lot of nonsense during moments of rest (the witchalock called Francis Thunderfluff is a favourite of my players, as are the effeminate halfling tailors Gianni, Louis and Ralph. Trash-talking ugly as f*ck pixies that pick their noses and spread their boogies on the naive gnome pc are the cherry on top). Some might like such things, others don't. On the other hand, my players aren't so much into combat. Maybe half of the encounters are combat. The other half are skill challenges and puzzles. Tastes may differ, so check first. Check again after a few levels, when people have a grasp of things.Also, the whole retraining thing for characters: meh. Let them modify their char. as you go along, up to about level 5. By then they should know what their character does, etc. Every tier I built in room for them to completely re-pick their powers, feats, etc. without having to build a new char.First: think of a goal. If you do go for a longer arch, cut your story up in the tiers first, making each tier a separate, satisfying stand-alone story. I kinda worked backwards, from big to small. Think of your story as a flowchart. Check out masterplan: <a href="http://www.habitualindolence.net/masterplan/" target="_blank">Masterplan</a> - it can help you plan your story.<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Work out an overal story, but no details: I wanted an epic story, involving dead gods, politics, deceit, demons and undead. I created an outline for each tier. Your story will go in directions you didn't anticipate, so don't work out any details for tier 2 and 3.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Work out the tier at hand in more detail: The first tier should be a little more detailed, with well defined overall goals. I then cut this up into chapters.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Design the sessions: We play only once a month. If we do a level each month, it would take 2,5 years for the story to end, not counting any delays. I design each chapter with fewer encounters and more exp per encounter. Sometimes we do a session where they the pc's go up one or two levels. Point is: bend the rules to your needs.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Biggest DM-secret: Don't be afraid to use smoke and mirrors. Can't work an awesome idea out into perfect detail? Don't worry, your players don't know what's happening behind the screen. Example: The final encounter of heroic tier I sorta cheated. Enemy's attacked a church where the pc's were holed up (they fortified it beforehand). The attackers came in waves, coming at an increasingly shorter time. The size of the waves were randomized by dice-rolls. A ritual had to be completed to escape. Completion would mean victory (sort of). I had no idea how many waves it would take for the pc's to die, but I wanted them to escape on the brink of desperation. So instead of defining beforehand how many waves would attack, I just went on with it till it reached the point of desperation. If you just built tension and narrate it good,  they will never know that you had absolutely no clue how to pull it off without under- or overwhelming.</li> </ol>Let the players keep a diary of what happened. They're so busy with their own character that they will not remember the story in the beginning, except for certain moments.Hope this helps, let us know how it all went <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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