I need help...

catsclaw227 said:
Do you own or have access to any of the "core" books? Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Handbook, and the Monster Manual?
There is a great book called Dungeons and Dragons for Dummies that my wife has used to become familiar with the game. You can find it on Amazon.

How much have you played so far?

Oh DUH! I have the regular Player's Handbook, borrowed from our friend that was playing, but he was going to loan me the DM's guide after we played again. I forgot one of the most basic core books! (I'm laughing at myself, feel free to join in) He and I were figuring that the player's guide would help me get used to some of the general workings without giving away the DM info (incase we changed our minds about it being me)

I'll have to buy a copy of it, and the monster manual, and I'll try that dummies book too.


Oh and one other quick question, is there a real difference between DM and GM?
 

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Nightchilde-2 said:
Welcome! :)

Learn. To. Improvise.


This made me crack up. I improvise alot. Once in our first or second game my character was alone while my partner healed, and I had to scrounge up some people to help us. Since I have no idea how it usually works in rpgs (and my husband and our buddy refused to help me, which is helping me play better) and my character is a girl, I made her get drunk and jump up on the bar to ask everybody.


And someone else asked I've played about 4 times so far. They (my husband na dour playign buddy) say I've gotten WAYY better ever time. The first game I hardly spoke, and they kept asking "So what does your character say?" it was kinda sad (laughing)

I know it's kinda different, but I recently fell in love with Neverwinter Nights on the PC, and I'm using it to learn more about how to play better
 

DM = Dungeon Master, GM = Game Master - same role, different terms. You may also see ST (Storyteller) tossed around. It all depends on what game the player first started playing, since the person running a game is called by a different title by different publishers.

There's absolutely no reason for you not to pick up the DMG to read it even if you're a player. There's no 'state secrets' in there, it just explains the rules clearly from a GMs perspective of the game. If anything, I feel all players should give the DMG a good read through so they know what the person on the other side of the screens is working with. A GM/DM/ST (whichever) keeps his or her secrets in their brain or their own notes.
 

Woman DM chiming in!

DMing is like (name of obscure regional card game here. In Michigan, it's Euchre). Easy to do, hard to do well.

But take heart! For as long as you're willing to put a lot of work into it, you will improve. I do recommend finding someone to teach you, both about gaming in general and DMing. In fact, you may be able to utilize your friend that isn't playing with you anymore. It's very nice to have someone to go to about rules questions and plot questions that isn't actually in your game.

Keep it simple. For your first game, pick something easy. My first game was a disaster, but I think the plot was a pretty good one for my DMing debut. Wizard hires party to collect a set of five gemstone eggs that are scattered about the land. Each one was in a different type of place. The first in a dungeon, the second in the mountain stronghold of a rival wizard, the third in the wilderness, the fourth in a dungeon that was mostly traps, and the fifth somewhere else I can't remember. The point is that each retrieval was very simple and straightforward.

Definitely let us know where you are! I betcha that pretty much wherever you live, there's SOMEONE nearby that would love to help out.
 

Does anyone know if there's a D&D equilivant to Shadowrun's 'First Run' module out there? The First Run module assumed that both players and DM were entirely new to the setting, system, and gaming in general - and made an effort to cover all the small stuff that seems so simple to experienced players. I think getting a link to something like that may be handy here.
 


You probably want to focus more on storytelling and keeping your game flowing first rather than reading up on all the rules. Don't overwhelm yourself with rules right off the bat. If it's just you and your husband right now, knowing the rules might not be important as long as you can "make up" rules as you go and your husband is ok with that. Once you understand how to run a game as a DM, then start improving your knowledge on the rules so you can run it more smoothly.

Rules reference sheets help me out a lot. I've been DM'ing 3.5 edition for 3 years and i still refer to my "cheat sheet". You can find my reference sheet in the link in my sig below. Since you are really new to the game, the abbreviations in the sheet might be confusing at first.
 

Another female DM chiming in here.

I definitely second the suggestion of the Dummies books - I think there's one out for dm's now as well as the players one.

It sounds like you're doing very well already, so don't panic. You'll survive. I started DMing a game called Gamma World when I was about 14. I survived, which is more than I can say about the game itself...

DMing does take self-confidence, and that's where having these boards to fall back on can really help. We're always happy to give you advice and support, or to let you know gently that you could have done things differently.

Try to find at least one new player for your group - Dnd is hard with just one player and the DM, because it's easy to get stuck in a loop where the player begins to get "lost" for ideas or makes a poor decision, and the DM has very little room to help out. More players means more ideas and more people to bounce them around. It's livelier.

And Have FUN!

Gilladian
 

Great suggestions - especially "have fun"!

You know, it's worth mentioning that most of the rules are available for free (legally) online. Not as pretty, and no flavor text, but it's great for a fast reference. You may want to bookmark this site:

http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm

The DMG in print will have some excellent advice for you on running a game, though, Borrow a copy when you can.
 

Hey there and welcome to EN World!

Having the books is useful. You can make do with the SRD in a pinch if you are still trying to get funds together. The SRD is all the basic rules, including a lot of stuff from the DM's Guide and most of the monsters. But the SRD does not have basic advice on how to run a game. (If you need a link to one or more SRD's ask!)

The number one rule for being a DM (GM, Storyteller, Referee, Narrator, etc) is to have fun. You are another player at the table with a slightly different role. Namely the role of the rest of the campaign world. You are responsible for the NPCs, locations, challenges and all that stuff. In some ways, this is the most fun role! You aren't tied down to one character and concept. You get to be the bad guys and the good guys and the indifferent guys. You get to conceptualize beautiful or terrible locations. You get to think of the riddles and puzzles. You get to do a lot and it can be overwhelming.

So another good tip for a beginning DM is to start small. A small valley with mountains and a river (or lake) can give you a lot to begin with. You can have caves with horrible beasties; Lost mines; Problems with the river or lake; Travelling merchants and minstrels and gypsies; a corrupt/helpful local lord; a local church; the local tavern/inn; the not so distant wizard's tower; and a plethora of other things. Of course, you could also use an island. Just keep it somewhat localized and have fun with making it a place the players and PCs care about. That way, they always feel like they are making a difference and they are motivated to help the locals. Worry about the huge world building and global travel later on. When you are comfortable with the big travel, you will begin to make adventures for that travel.

Have fun. I mentioned it already, but it is worth repeating. Sometimes being the GM can seem like a chore. Don't let it be!

Have a passable knowledge of the rules. But don't be a slave to the rules and don't waste too much time looking something up. If you are having trouble locating a rule or understanding the rule, make it up. Then write down what you made up, and what you had trouble with. Look it up later, after the session. If you don't like the rule as written, use your made up rule. Just be consistent. One thing you can do to slowly learn the rules is look at the monsters you want to use. For example, if you know you are planning to use wolves to threaten the village and the PCs will drive them off, then take the time to lookup Improved Grab and Grapple before the session. Both of those options can be important with wolves. There are a lot of rules in D&D. Rely on the help of the other players and take it one little bit at a time.

Be creative! The more creative you are, the more creative the other folks at the table will be. The same goes with enthusiasm. This is why it is important to have fun. When you are having fun, you are enthusiastic.

Ask questions here on EN World. We like to help people be more successful with our hobby. So don't be afraid to ask. Feel free to join in other threads too. It doesn't matter if you are new. Many of the threads don't deal so much with specific rules related issues, except in the Rules forum. Most threads are more general in nature. Share ideas, offer your opinion. The only thing different about you is less experience with the game. That doesn't make your ideas and contributions any less useful or insightful. So don't be shy. Be confident like the great budding DM that you are.
 

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