Master of Chaos
First Post
I recently discovered D&D I don't have any clue what to do for a first game with my friends also none of the books so i was hoping i could get a idea for a story from here please help
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Help Me Please!!!!!
- Thread starter Master of Chaos
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Celebrim
Legend
Step zero. Get some rule books and read them, obviously.
A novice DM should always begin preparation from a published adventure. If you don't yet have a published adventure, spend your first session making characters, discussing background, discussing how the player characters know each other (if at all) and why they might want to go do dangerous things together, and so forth. We can give you a lot of help picking an suitable adventure, and you should be able to get it in the mail in a week or two.
While you are waiting for an adventure to arrive, as a new DM and players you can practice with a simple combat or 'encounter' scenario (or several if you feel comfortable with that) - what in another context might a be 'wandering encounter'. This will help everyone get up to speed with the rules. Pick a monster that represents a suitable but not particularly dangerous challenge - 4 goblins warriors plying the trade of bandit perhaps. Imagine this encounter in your head - where it happens, what the goblins do to precipitate the encounter, what plans the goblins might have. Allow the players to respond to the encounter however they like - combat, evading combat, negotiating, treachery, etc.
For example, you might start the game by having the party be strangers who met on the road to a particular city. It's getting late in the afternoon and its still some miles before they reach the city. They are passing through a wood when they come around to bend in the road and see bridge over a small but steep ravine through which rushes a bubbling stream. On the bridge they see 2 short black cloaked hunched amber skinned figures wielding crossbows and short swords. Their faces look like jack-o-lanterns and fangs bristle from their wide mouths. One of the figures croaks in heavily accented but understandable common, "Wyell meet, travelerzzz. Wez are byut humble tax collectors, and thees iz a toll road. Geeve yus 3 gold pieces each, and wezzz shall let youz passes in piece. Rezist yus, and eet weell not go well for you." Hidden in the trees on the other side of the bridge are two more goblins who will try to surprise the PC's if combat breaks out. Secretly roll a spot check for each PC and inform them if they notice the goblins. If the PC's talk with the goblins, make stuff up. Improvise sneaky, greedy, and creepy using what you know about villains from movies. Give them a background. Maybe they are warriors in the service of a goblin sub-chieftain who has moved into the area with a small band of followers and hopes to set himself up as a full chief. Something or nothing may come of these facts depending on the style of play you have. If combat breaks out, then you've got a great opportunity to learn the rules.
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Prince Atom
Explorer
What version of D&D did you discover?
dndclassics.com offers a selection of products from the earlier editions of the game, and a few playtest products for the latest version. The only rules they offer are for the Basic game (the 1981 and 1983 editions, and the Rules Cyclopedia), but those and most of the adventures are $5 apiece (the Rules Cyclopedia is $10).
Otherwise, 5th Edition offers a Starter Set (available on Amazon for $12), and a free, very basic version of the game is available from the Wizards of the Coast website, here.
dndclassics.com offers a selection of products from the earlier editions of the game, and a few playtest products for the latest version. The only rules they offer are for the Basic game (the 1981 and 1983 editions, and the Rules Cyclopedia), but those and most of the adventures are $5 apiece (the Rules Cyclopedia is $10).
Otherwise, 5th Edition offers a Starter Set (available on Amazon for $12), and a free, very basic version of the game is available from the Wizards of the Coast website, here.
was
Adventurer
Start here for 5th ed. rules:
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
For Adventures, you might want to check the free downloads here or at other rpg sites for adventure ideas or examples.
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
For Adventures, you might want to check the free downloads here or at other rpg sites for adventure ideas or examples.
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1) Decide who will be the Dungeon Master. This person must prepare the game sessions for everyone else, and referee them. The monsters and background characters the players will meet are for the Dungeon Master to play. They must be handled fairly, not as in a contest between you and the players to see which side wins, but as part of a story you let the players work their way through.
2) Each player must have a character to play. There are rules for many different types, especially now that the game is in its 5th Edition, but the basics are a warrior, a wizard, a priest, or a rogue. Warriors fight with weapons and can survive more hits in combat, wizards have the most powerful and the most diverse magic to use, priests have almost as much magic and more combat skills, and rogues have a mixture of abilities but they tend to be best at skills away from combat and magic.
3) Use the Player's Handbook to create these characters. Buy the book, plus a copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual, some dice, and the Dungeon Master's Screen. Every player eventually should buy their own copy of the Player's Handbook and some dice.
4) The Dungeon Master should prepare an adventure for the first game session. Decide on the scenario first, let's say between fulfilling a quest and using a magic portal. If it's fulfilling a quest, let's say the king has asked the players to stop a group of bandits who are raiding the main road outside the forest. The players travel there, and they can ask questions looking for the bandits or dress up as common travelers to be bait. If the scenario is using a magic portal, let's say the portal leads into the dungeons of The Dark Tower, a fabled place of adventure where new parties of adventurers traditionally go to test their mettle and return with fame and treasure. The players go through, and they arrive on the first level of an underground labyrinth built a little like a maze but nothing too confusing, and they can go room to room facing monsters and traps in their search for treasure. They can go back through the portal whenever they wish to rest and recover in the safety of the town, before setting out again to see what they can find.
5) You basically can keep adding to the scenario over time, or lead the players into a new one.
2) Each player must have a character to play. There are rules for many different types, especially now that the game is in its 5th Edition, but the basics are a warrior, a wizard, a priest, or a rogue. Warriors fight with weapons and can survive more hits in combat, wizards have the most powerful and the most diverse magic to use, priests have almost as much magic and more combat skills, and rogues have a mixture of abilities but they tend to be best at skills away from combat and magic.
3) Use the Player's Handbook to create these characters. Buy the book, plus a copy of the Dungeon Master's Guide, the Monster Manual, some dice, and the Dungeon Master's Screen. Every player eventually should buy their own copy of the Player's Handbook and some dice.
4) The Dungeon Master should prepare an adventure for the first game session. Decide on the scenario first, let's say between fulfilling a quest and using a magic portal. If it's fulfilling a quest, let's say the king has asked the players to stop a group of bandits who are raiding the main road outside the forest. The players travel there, and they can ask questions looking for the bandits or dress up as common travelers to be bait. If the scenario is using a magic portal, let's say the portal leads into the dungeons of The Dark Tower, a fabled place of adventure where new parties of adventurers traditionally go to test their mettle and return with fame and treasure. The players go through, and they arrive on the first level of an underground labyrinth built a little like a maze but nothing too confusing, and they can go room to room facing monsters and traps in their search for treasure. They can go back through the portal whenever they wish to rest and recover in the safety of the town, before setting out again to see what they can find.
5) You basically can keep adding to the scenario over time, or lead the players into a new one.
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