Getting Back Into Gaming

[John Morrow]

Back in the day I did more DMing than playing and that's the way I'm thinking it'll end up going again. I just don't meet too many people that are interested in being the DM.

If you are going to DM, then a campaign book or setting is definitely a good idea, even if you just mine it for ideas and information. There are plenty of options out there that support a variety of play styles. You should take a look at the reviews for various books here or on RPGnet or start another thread here asking for setting recommendations and reasons for the recommendation to see if any suggestions grab your imagination. Dragonlance may be worth a look if you are already familiar with the setting and don't want to spend a lot of time learning a new one.

DMing D&D 3.5 can require a lot of effort and if you dig around here, you'll find lots of complaints by GMs about the time they have to spend on preparation and such. Published adventures and campaign settings are certainly one good solution and companies like Mongoose have books of NPCs and such that can save you a lot of time. But there are also some other alternatives that you might want to look at. For instance, the Jamis Buck NPC generator web site is good for churning out large numbers of quick and dirty NPCs:

http://www.aarg.net/~minam/npc2.cgi

There is also a useful treasure generator and random dungeon generator there. The dungeon generator is good for roughing out a quick dungeon or creating random maps, even if you don't use all of the rooms and encounters exactly as generated. The first dungeon that I ran in my game was built on top of one of those random dungeons. I personally use PCGen only for a handful of NPCs and major villains and use Jamis Buck's program to create lots of lackeys. If that's not an option for you, I'd consider looking into either Mongoose's Ultimate NPCs book, a similar product, or a big compaign book with lots of NPCs that you can draw from.

 

[caudor]

You're terrible, Diaglo.

How about a 1st-level adventure complete with a mini-setting?

I'll go with Ed on this one. You have the core books, now it would be a good idea to put them to use while you explore your other options. The Hamlet of Thumble would be a great adventure to kick off a new campaign. It is well-written, fun, and easy to wrap your mind around while getting comfortable with the new rules.

And by the way, welcome back to the fold

 

[Keeper of Secrets]

I think you'll find that there are a lot of different books and materials on the market that can really make a campaign come alive. But I will say what has already been said (as it was good advice) in that you need to get an idea of the kind of campaign that interests you and the kind of things you'll need. For instance, if you want to look at DragonMech or Greyhawk as a setting, make sure you get the books. On the other hand, if you want to create your own setting, find out what materials (if any you want to allow) in the form of extra feats, news classes, etc.

 

[diaglo]

Back in the day I did more DMing than playing and that's the way I'm thinking it'll end up going again. I just don't meet too many people that are interested in being the DM.
As for a campaign setting, I've always been a big fan of the DragonLance books, but in the past we only used Forgotten Realms when we played D&D. I'd definitely like to steer clear of FR this time. I've also thought the Wheel of Time setting looked like fun, at least from the novels of it I've read. I'm not really all that familiar with any other settings other than from what I read on here.

Paul

if you are set on DL and 3.11ed for Workgroups.

then you really should look at Sovereign Press. http://www.sovpress.com/

 

[sword-dancer]

If you expect to GM, i would think the best thing, would be a Campaign Setting.
Which depends on what kind of Setting you look for.

DL had get a new Edition for 3,5ed.
The Dragonlance Campaign Setting/ DLCS and the War of the Lance Setting/WotL, also the actual Time Setting which is IIRC Time of Mortals called.

But there gives a lot of other d20 and OGL Settings, ass well as the new D&D Settingof Ebberron and from Kenzer Kalamar, which for Qualitie and depth i could only recommend.

 

[Voadam]

Wheel of time d20 is a complete PH/DMG/MM all in one and is great. It uses a different magic system, allows a level defense bonus but is otherwise very similar to D&D 3e. I have not heard good things about the module which is the only supplemental material though.

I would suggest a module if you are going to DM D&D and you use modules. I would suggest low levels as there are tons of new details to keep track of that pile up quickly at higher level. It is much more manageable when they have a list of 20 spell effects to choose from instead of hundreds. And combat is much more complex (and can be more tactically satisfying) than previous editions, starting off simple significantly helps out here as well.

The PH has a lot of Greyhawk in there with the sample gods and whatnot. It is easy to use a homebrew based off the PH info or call it greyhawk without worrying about specific unmentioned world details.

Don't be afraid to tell your new players core book rules only, at least in the start when you are learning the system and getting the feel of it.

A good battlemat might be nice because when to apply certain combat rules gets much simpler when done on a mat.

 

[Voadam]

Your old dragonlance setting books will still work great for a setting with little work to integrate in 3e rules. (exclude half-orcs, etc.)

 

[Ragnar_Deerslayer]

I'd suggest some good low-level modules. Pick one of the following:

Lost City of Barakus (Troll Lord Games): I'm currently running this, and we're having a great time. No metaplot, lots of interesting encounters, room for me to be creative (if I want), but enough so I don't have to be creative (if I don't have the time or am getting burnt out). For character levels 1-5.

World of Whitethorn 1A (Hamlet of Thumble) & 1B (Village of Oester) -- by Open World Press, sold via Indie Press Revolution: Very interesting, related settings taking characters from 1-5 level.

Freeport 3.5 Trilogy (Green Ronin): The first two are out on PDF. Absolute classics. For beginning characters.

In addition, I'll recommend Book of the Righteous (Green Ronin). More plot hooks and character development for clerics than you can shake a stick at. Check out the reviews.

This'll get you started playing immediately. Over time, you can read the reviews and study the forums here at ENworld to get an idea of where to go from here.

Take care,

Ragnar

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

On another note, I'll recommend the Eberron setting from WotC. If you like the idea of a pulp-ish, Indiana Jones kind of flavor to your D&D, it's pretty keen. It's got a few of the usual "we didn't really think too hard about the details" bits, but nothing that can't be worked around.

 

[Stormborn]

Back in the day I did more DMing than playing and that's the way I'm thinking it'll end up going again. I just don't meet too many people that are interested in being the DM.
As for a campaign setting, I've always been a big fan of the DragonLance books, but in the past we only used Forgotten Realms when we played D&D. I'd definitely like to steer clear of FR this time. I've also thought the Wheel of Time setting looked like fun, at least from the novels of it I've read. I'm not really all that familiar with any other settings other than from what I read on here.

Paul

If you are running the game then I am actually going to suggest staying away from a campaign setting at first. Contrary to the popular wisdom i know, but you really need to get a feel for the game before investing the time and effort, not to mention complications, of fitting things in to a campaign setting. Either take Ed Cha's advice on that product or a similar one or go find a good low level Dungeon adventure (or wait until Shackled City comes out). When I first started DMing I found it helpful to run a few generic setting adventures before launching into a specific world.

D20 Fantasy has a lot of great options, but to be honest sometimes simple is better. My wife is going to run a game soon for the first time. I suggested to her what I suggest to you: Core 3 books only, pre-published 1st level adventure. Worry about the rest later.