Help DnD 12 year old DM

GWolf

First Post
Hello. I am 12 years old, and I need to dm a game for me and my friends. After Using PCGEN I have helped them to create there characters. But now I face many questions. How to Map? How to make npc's, monsters etc. I own almost every sourcebook and supplement except the fearun series. I was wondering if someone would be nice enough to give me a lot of helpful advice :)

Notes. I have 4 players they are all 12 year old boys.1 human samurai,1 human cleric, 1 half-elf transmuter, 1 elf fighter.
 

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Have you played D&D before? You mention that you own many supplements; do you own any adventures (e.g. Sunless Citadel) or the D&D Adventure Game?
 

Where to start?

Make sure you read the DMG thoroughly, especially the chapters on Running the Game, Adventures, Campaigns, World-Building, etc. If you've never DMed before, you're better off running a ready-made adventure like Sunless Citadel to begin with. If you do, make sure you read the adventure before you run it. Also, keep in mind that your party doesn't have a rogue, which puts it at a disadvantage in a dungeon setting, especially with traps. If you can get another one of your friends to play, consider adding a rogue to your party. Also, make sure that your players understand the basics of the rules before you start playing (ability and skill checks, DCs, combat basics).
 

Hey GWolf,

Everybody's got to start somewhere ;) I remember the first adventure I GMed at your age some... 18 years ago. Dang, it's been that long... We had loads of fun !

So first of all, do you have a scenario ? That's the very basic question. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, and you can have hours of fun with something pretty simple. If you haven't got an already written adventure, I'd recommend designing something pretty simple and low level so that you and your players can familiarise yourselves with the rules and get the idea of how role-playing works. Think something like :

The daughter of the chief of the local village has been abducted by Gobins and they hold her hostage in the nearby caves. The PCs need to go and rescue her.

NPCs don't need to be statted out if you're not going to use them in combat, at least to start with (high level and/or important NPCs may need stats in the future so you know what they can do). As I said above, I suggest starting with something fairly clear-cut and easy to start with, so all you have to worry about is monsters, if you take my goblin idea above.

For monster stats, don't bother about making each monster different if they're going to be numerous. In the example above, maybe you'd have 8 goblins (pick out the stats straight from the Monster Manual), one chieftain (maybe a goblin with a level of fighter added) and a goblin wizard or shaman (a goblin with a level of wizard or cleric added.) You can use PCGen or various online monster generators to generate the more complex opponents.

As for maps and all, here's what you do : you draw your own map of the cave complex (in the example above) by designing a few rooms with maybe possible encounters. For example, one cave could have an underground lake, another one could be the goblin's dormitory, etc.

If you're feeling up to it, you can try to include a number of encounters that do not require the characters to fight. As a GM, you will need to act these out, which maybe a little more complicated but is also a lot of fun (and really what role-playing is all about.) So for example, the goblins could have emprisoned a gnome minor in their caves. He would know where the village chief's daughter is, but he would also like to be freed, and maybe reward the characters with more information. Or maybe, if you're feeling up to it, captivity has driven him mad : he's harmless but will greet the PCs with shouts and hollers, they will need to keep him quite if they don't want to raise the alarm, etc.

One last thing : try to plan ahead so that your first session will have a beginning and an end, especially if you don't know when you'll be playing again. That way, everybody will go home having felt like they accomplished a small quest. They'll want to do it again !!!

In actual game time, you need some paper or plastic board with squares drawn on to simulate the 5ft. steps (you can draw this yourself or buy some) and tokens to represent the characters and their opponents. You can also use cardboard figures or plastic ones of you're feeling like spending money.

Well, that's for basics. I hope I didn't mention too many things you knew already. And remember the most important thing about role-playing : everybody should have fun ! Let us know how it goes !
 

sure, I'll help.

First-mapping.
I recomend that you use graph paper, it's just easier for judging distance. If you're making a dungeon, put where the PC's start on one end, and where there trying to get to on the other. (This is very hackneyed, but good for starters.) Then, using the squares, draw a "general" path to the goal. This is the correct route. then, draw of-shooting corridors. these wll be dead ends. Next, attacth some rooms to the corridors, and number the rooms. On a seperate peace of paper, write down what is in each room, and number your note so you know what room it is in. It's alot of work, but, your the DM, so it's your job.

NPC's- There is a book called "Enimies(sp?) and aliies" (sorry, i'm a horrible speller) that contains a varitie of pre-made NPC's. You can also make NPC's just like you would any other character. Don't put too many in the party though, or else the group will be irritated that your draining the exp.

Monsters- Just flip through the MM and see what would be fun to pit them against. The CR should be equal to the groups lvl average as a general rule of thimb for a fair fight, but you can increase it by one, mabey 2 for a harder battle.

Iteams- Here is where it is all you're call. If you want them to fight harder monsters sooner, then dish them out like no one's bussiness. If you want to keep them constantly challanged, the hold back a little bit. As a rule of thumb, they should have a net value of magical iteams on them as the character lvl starting cash. (I'm not quite sure what else to call it, but you'll see what I mean in the treasure section of the DMG)

Tips- First, never be shy to admit that you've made a mistake. If you gace them a monster that was too powerful to fight, then just say "I'm sorry, lets do it over again, but with an easier beast" Also, if the characters are complaining about the direction your campain is going, change it to accomidate both the player's and your desires.

Thats about it. Hope you have fun, and long live the Samuri!
 

Doh. Should've mentioned that I don't own any adventures. I do own the starter set thing, and have read each book I own 3+ times. I have dmed the starting adventures. The 3 of the players are vaugly familair with everything and the other 1 understands everything (that is the Wiz). My real question is map making and plot interwweaving and stuff. Yes right now the biggest problem is mapping. I feel I am very learned in the game system. I have played in many games via playbyweb.com etc. so any help on mapping would be helpful as would help in plots, adventures, making cities etc. Did I mention mapping?
 

ohh thanks for info so far

Cool! Thanks for the info son of lillth I coudl still use more adivce however so keep it rolling.
 

Nostalgia

I was 12, too, when I started DMing. I'd had only played D&D twice before.

Here's some basic advice:

1. Don't worry about knowing the rules. If you feel that rules are bogging down the game. Throw them out and go with the flow of the story. One of the main points of D&D is to tell a tell a tale of high adventure. Nothing should get in the way of that.

There is plenty of time to read everything so don't try to digest the material all at once. Just get to know the basics of combat, spell casting, etc, and you'll do fine. If you make mistakes, learn form them and move on.

2. You can go ahead and buy module and look at how to setup the game, but then you might think that you have to do it that way. I've run adventures with only a few notes scribbled down...even back when I was 12. The point is, visualize "the cool stuff" you'd like to see in a movie or a book, add things things to the adventure, and go from there.

3. Just have a good time.

Ulrick
 


How to Map?

The traditional way is to get some graph paper, a pencil and eraser and go to it. If you've got a ruler you don't even need the graph paper. Look in the DMG for a good set of mapping symbols in that map of the Monaestery.

If you want to get fancy with your mapping, here's a program devoted to RPG mapping and has some excellent sample maps. It's called Autorealm and it's free and easy to work out:

http://www.gryc.ws/autorealm.htm

How to make npc's, monsters etc

Here is an article from Dragon magazine on How to Create a Monster (strange that this didn't end up in the DMG):
http://www.darkwood.org/sj/misc/files/How_to_Create_a_Monster.pdf

As far as NPCs go, there's an NPC generator program somewhere around that people have been talking about. I can't remember what it's called though - anyone know?

Most of all though, I suggest just making a rough map of the wilderness and a dungeon map, and winging it. Don't be afraid of cracking open the Monster Manual and turning to the Traps and Magic Items sections of the DMG and making up adventures, encounters and cities as the PCs wander around your map. You can probably get away with the default NPC statistics in the DMG nine times out of ten.

Be sure to include the usual array of magical fountains in the forest that turn the drinker's skin green for a week, strange caves with loud buzzing sounds coming from within, magical boots of speed stuck in the mud with smoke issuing from them, and caravans of "peasants" who turn out to be dopplegangers. At least, that's the kind of style we played in when I first discovered the game. Good luck.
 
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