New to D&D and becoming a DM
- Thread starter Cbomb
- Start date
) How many times a month should we play?
diaglo
Adventurer
Rel
Liquid Awesome
Cbomb said:I apolpgize I didnt own the Basic Game. I had the adventure set. I found a bunch of cool people who want to playand have informed them of the books and dice.
This being the case, I'd still recommend that you get the Basic set if you can. It is only $25 and it contains everything that you need to start playing a somewhat basic version of the game.
I find that the big hurdle to overcome is people "getting" the concept of roleplaying. Once they're hooked on that, the rule set becomes a bit less important because they're willing to tackle learning the rules to get to the fun part. So I thing you'd be best served with as simple a rule set as possible with pre made characters.
Once you run them through the adventures that come with the Basic Set, they will get the concept well enough and you can break out the Players Handbook, DM Guide and so forth. They'll already have a bit of practical experience before they make their first characters and that will help tremendously because you, having never really played before either, are not in a great position to guide them along.
And, if your plan is to make The Sunless Citidel your first 3E module, you don't need the Monster Manual. All the stats for the critters are listed in the back of the mod.
Good luck!
Sammael
Adventurer
The Sunless Citadel should have most of the creature information you need, so you don't have to worry about it yet. Even though it was written under 3.0 rules, it's still compatible enough with 3.5 that you don't really have to make any modifications to make it work.
Be prepared that you'll make mistakes. Probably lots of mistakes early on. But it doesn't matter, because the game is flexible and the only important thing is that everyone's having fun. Don't lose any sleep over forgetting to use a monster's ability or letting a player do something that's beyond the scope of his character's abilities.
Since you're probably playing with friends, try not to show favoritism - that is, don't favor one player over the others just because he's a really good buddy. That's one of the most frequent complaints that players have against DMs, and it applies to both new and experienced DMs.
Don't let a bad die roll ruin the adventure. If you roll a 20 on a monster's hit against a PC who only has one hit point left, you are well within your right to declare that the PC simply falls unconscious (instead of being torn to shreds by the monster). This "fudging" of the rolls is why many DMs (myself included) roll dice where the players can't see them. On the other hand, some DMs are opposed to fudging the rolls and roll all dice in the open, and let the PCs suffer the consequences.
The goal of the game is to have fun. There should be no conflict between the DM and the players, and no-one really "wins" the game. After you are finished with the Sunless Citadel (the PCs will probably reach level 2-3), I'd recommend downloading some of the free adventurers off the WotC site. That way, you'll get a good grip of the game without having to invest a lot of money in the books - because those adventures always have stat blocks and sometimes even specific rules written out.
Be prepared that you'll make mistakes. Probably lots of mistakes early on. But it doesn't matter, because the game is flexible and the only important thing is that everyone's having fun. Don't lose any sleep over forgetting to use a monster's ability or letting a player do something that's beyond the scope of his character's abilities.
Since you're probably playing with friends, try not to show favoritism - that is, don't favor one player over the others just because he's a really good buddy. That's one of the most frequent complaints that players have against DMs, and it applies to both new and experienced DMs.
Don't let a bad die roll ruin the adventure. If you roll a 20 on a monster's hit against a PC who only has one hit point left, you are well within your right to declare that the PC simply falls unconscious (instead of being torn to shreds by the monster). This "fudging" of the rolls is why many DMs (myself included) roll dice where the players can't see them. On the other hand, some DMs are opposed to fudging the rolls and roll all dice in the open, and let the PCs suffer the consequences.
The goal of the game is to have fun. There should be no conflict between the DM and the players, and no-one really "wins" the game. After you are finished with the Sunless Citadel (the PCs will probably reach level 2-3), I'd recommend downloading some of the free adventurers off the WotC site. That way, you'll get a good grip of the game without having to invest a lot of money in the books - because those adventures always have stat blocks and sometimes even specific rules written out.
sir_ollibolli
Explorer
The ability to fudge rolls is the reason why I use a dice box. I peer under it and if I want to show it to the players I can (especially if you are using a hardback as a base for dice rolling).
Do not fudge too often...
Using the D&D Basic Game to introduce the players bit by bit to the rules is a very good idea. If they are very eager to learn, but are not willing to spend the money on the hardbacks, they can also use the SRD, but it is more cumbersome to learn that way.
Here is a good alternative for spellcasters. Try the Complete Spell Cards from The Other Game Company (that way the player does not need to page through the book to find a spell description - I think they are having a sale right now and it costs less than 5-6$). Second: If a player wants to play an arcane spellcaster, try to get him to play a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard. A Wizard may be more flexible and perhaps more powerful in the long run, but for learning purposes a Sorcerer is way better.
If your players are encountering an NPC, think about his personality (make some small notes about this, so that you are consistent, when the group meets him again - for example: Terseon Skellerang - Captain of the City Watch, JJJ, 6'5, had ***sing contest with player X). If your group runs into a part of the town or village where nothing is written down, make it up on the fly. Some real gems can come into existance that way. We had a gripping hunt over the roofs of a city (all improvised) because the group wanted to get out of town after their city guide had been poisoned right at their table in a tavern, the adventure had the conception, that the group would naturally stay at the tavern trying to solve the murder to clear their name...
Bring your players to play out their characters: use direct speech, when addressing the players as an NPC, and try to get them into the conversation. When the players start to use "I" instead of "The Rock" when describing the character's actions, you know you have won. When the player's are having an in-character conversation between themselves, sit back and listen (and have a hidden smile).
Next step (but that one is way down the road) is to bring your players to think about a motivation why the character is at this place now at this time and risking his life battling some monsters instead of being married and having to work for his/her income. Use the stories they come up with, weave them together with the other stories or some background material in your adventures.
Have fun...
Do not fudge too often...
Using the D&D Basic Game to introduce the players bit by bit to the rules is a very good idea. If they are very eager to learn, but are not willing to spend the money on the hardbacks, they can also use the SRD, but it is more cumbersome to learn that way.
Here is a good alternative for spellcasters. Try the Complete Spell Cards from The Other Game Company (that way the player does not need to page through the book to find a spell description - I think they are having a sale right now and it costs less than 5-6$). Second: If a player wants to play an arcane spellcaster, try to get him to play a Sorcerer instead of a Wizard. A Wizard may be more flexible and perhaps more powerful in the long run, but for learning purposes a Sorcerer is way better.
If your players are encountering an NPC, think about his personality (make some small notes about this, so that you are consistent, when the group meets him again - for example: Terseon Skellerang - Captain of the City Watch, JJJ, 6'5, had ***sing contest with player X). If your group runs into a part of the town or village where nothing is written down, make it up on the fly. Some real gems can come into existance that way. We had a gripping hunt over the roofs of a city (all improvised) because the group wanted to get out of town after their city guide had been poisoned right at their table in a tavern, the adventure had the conception, that the group would naturally stay at the tavern trying to solve the murder to clear their name...
Bring your players to play out their characters: use direct speech, when addressing the players as an NPC, and try to get them into the conversation. When the players start to use "I" instead of "The Rock" when describing the character's actions, you know you have won. When the player's are having an in-character conversation between themselves, sit back and listen (and have a hidden smile).
Next step (but that one is way down the road) is to bring your players to think about a motivation why the character is at this place now at this time and risking his life battling some monsters instead of being married and having to work for his/her income. Use the stories they come up with, weave them together with the other stories or some background material in your adventures.
Have fun...
