my first DM session

[Einan]

First time I DM'd, a PC got killed by a deer.

He spooked it, it ran at him, he braced and it gored him. What an ignoble way to die. I think now I would have done things differently, but then I was very slow to react and not comfortable enough with the rules to improvise. Practice makes perfect, or at least better.

But the look on the player's face when the deer rolled damage was priceless. Ah, memories.

Einan

 

[Nebulous]

First time I DM'd, a PC got killed by a deer.

Oh, that's great.

 

[werk]

...but also our playing buddy kept asking me questions I had no idea about. He new I didn't have a copy of the DMG, but kept asking me rule questions, that he KNEW I wouldn't know. Or I'd try to make soemthing up and he'd say "That's against the rules..." ...kept pratically DMing the game himself, looking up rules and correcting me constantly.

Out east they call that "bustin' balls" and I don't care for it much. He probably wasn't asking genuine rules questions, but rather questions to see how you would rule on them so he could gauge your style. Too early for that. He needs to sit and smile and try to help rather than being concerned about himself and 'rightness'.

Don't let it get you down, some people aren't truely aware of their own actions and the effects of those actions on other people.

You can DM for me anytime!

 

[Nellisir]

I agree with Piratecat. It's about dominance.

I've been DMing for about 15 years. 4 months ago, I started a new campaign with a mix of experienced players from different campaigns I ran.

We. Game. Slow.

We look up everything. But everyone is having fun, and we're all learning all the odd little rules we couldn't remember before.

The two most important things to remember are, the DM makes the rules, and YOU are the DM. If you hit a snag, handwave it away. Be upfront about it. Say, "normally wizards can't open traps, but this one, being a bucket of water on top of a half-open door, is exceptionally obvious. Make a Dex check."

Keep notes about what to look up and study later on.

And most importantly, don't let the players control you. They can shut up or leave. Seriously. Be kind, be sweet, coat it with sugar and spice and all that's nice, and make it happen. YOUR game, YOUR rules.

 

[mcrow]

My question is:

Do you think the session would have been good if the ruleslawyer wasn't busting your balls the whole time?

I think so.

DM rights:

1# You decide the rules and how they are used. Players can give you input, but its your choice, even if you make it up because you don't know. I know people who have been playing for many years that still make rules up as they go, and its no big deal.

2# You have the right to toss any rules,plots, NPCs, or players that seem to be ruining the fun of the game.

3# Fudging when no better solution is OK. Just don't get caught by the players to many times. Almost every GM fudges something now and then.


I like a GM that can make up rulings on the fly (by the book or not) that work opposed to the rules lawyer who spends hald the session paging through the rules.

 

[Rothe]

My question is:

Do you think the session would have been good if the ruleslawyer wasn't busting your balls the whole time?

I think so.

DM rights:

1# You decide the rules and how they are used. Players can give you input, but its your choice, even if you make it up because you don't know. I know people who have been playing for many years that still make rules up as they go, and its no big deal.

2# You have the right to toss any rules,plots, NPCs, or players that seem to be ruining the fun of the game.

3# Fudging when no better solution is OK. Just don't get caught by the players to many times. Almost every GM fudges something now and then.


I like a GM that can make up rulings on the fly (by the book or not) that work opposed to the rules lawyer who spends hald the session paging through the rules.

I don't think I could say it better myself. Been DMing/GMing for neigh 28 years, the rules are for you to use and aid you in consistently adjudicating the same situations the same way. But they are not a straightjacket, this is a fantasy adventure game here not chess.

Pacing, interesting interactions and challenging encounters IMHO make for a fun adventure as opposed to making sure the rule exception in footnote 7 on page 161 was applied correctly.

I actually really like that you included a trap. As a poster above said, it is especially good if it makes sense for a trap to be there. One could even say it sets a certain "old school" style to your campaign; the fact that the players did not prepare a "balanced" party with a rogue was their mistake not yours.

On your resident ruleslawyer, he shouldn't be asking you rules questions in the abstract, it's just too disruptive. If the situation doesn't require you to make a ruling let him know you'll cross that bridge when he comes to it. For example, if he asks a question on the climbing rules while in the middle of a lake, ask him what he is trying to climb? Diplomatically I'd approach him at the beginning of the next session and thank him for his rules advice last game. Then ask him if it is OK to ask him questions in game about the rules: something like: "OK you face X, oh John is there any special rules on X? X is run this way right?" Getting him to commit up front instead of interrupt might help.

If he is trying to be a jerk this might disarm him (or at least make it harder to hide); if he was genuinely trying to be helpful hey he's your walking, talking DMG; if he was just looking to feed his ego (my guess) this should feed it fine.

Now I know it is not standard D&D literature, but "Taming of the Schrew" also has much useful advice for handling the ruleslawyer.

 

[Mitchbones]

Eek this topic doesnt increase my confidence on my first DMing next month : /

I dont have the experince to give advice on the subject....but hope your next session goes more smoothly

 

[Aikuchi]

Confidence, dear Mitchbones.

Confidence

(la la la a bard song ... la la la)

 

[Mitchbones]

cherrio i found this topic thought you might find it helpful ( i did) http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=139013

 

[Hawken]

First, congratulations on your first game. Sorry to hear that it didn't go as smoothly as you would have liked. They rarely do though.

I'm glad that you're not entirely discouraged from continuing to DM. Keep at it. You know what's best for you, but I'd suggest not dropping it for a couple of months. Having the DMG is very important. If you can't get one, for whatever reason, download a copy of the SRD and use that as a reference, it has some material from the DMG and you can familiarize yourself with that until you get a hold of a DMG.

Regarding your "gaming buddy" if you're not too cheesed off at him to invite him back, instead ask if you can borrow his DMG. Get him to put up or shut up. If he doesn't want to contribute by helping you out, the just have him limit his contributions to the game to those that come from only a player and not someone asking to be ejected from the game.

Don't worry about the trap thing. Things like that happen even to experienced DMs. And they are going to happen. Just go with it and if it ends up holding up the game, give the players an 'out' and move on.

Ask what the other (other as in everyone who wasn't busting your chops) players thought about your session. Ask what they didn't like and what they did and work with that. The game is for the players. If they have some input into how it's done, they'll be more interested in it and more likely to overlook any slip ups and be less concerned with some of the rules. If you have some ideas for adventures, run it by them, see what they think. Ask where they want the game to go. Do they want a long campaign that would end up with high-level or epic characters? Do they want one-shot games? Have your players help with the game creation by developing backgrounds for their characters and then integrate some of that info into your game. If one of the PCs ran away from home, how would that impact the game if a sibling or parent showed up to bring them back home? Maybe one of them has a shady past and is being hunted by bounty hunters? A Han Solo-Boba Fett arc could add some spice to the game.