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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Azul" data-source="post: 1790729" data-attributes="member: 11779">No disrespect to Nightfall, but I'd suggest that you not worry too much about your campaign setting for a fair bit of time.  Most published campaign settings offer way more information than a novice DM and party can easily absorb.  As others have advised, focus on learning the rules of the game and getting used to the idea of just playing a roleplaying game.As a DM, keep your storylines fairly simple at first, so you don't tangle yourself up.  Always remember that roleplaying is a group activity and that the main goal is for everyone to have fun.Gently guide your players so they feel they have a sense of direction, but be careful not to force them down any particular path.  Always let new roleplayers get used to the idea that they can do "anything" (within the bounds of reason and their skills).  The sheer open-endedness of pen and paper RPGs can be intimidating to some beginners - some others take to it like a duck to water.  Let the latter group enjoy themselves so long as they are not shutting out the more timid players.As a new DM, using a premade adventure like the Sunless Citadel is probably a good idea.  It will help you learn how to structure an adventure.  Remember that you are learning too, and you might make mistakes.  That's ok.  Do try to mitigate them though.  For example, if you realize that you faced the party off against excessively strong monster that is likely to kill them, consider having the creature capture them (if it is intelligent) or merely knock them unconscious.  Looks for ways to transform a potential disaster into a cool story twist.Remember that few monsters (besides mindless creatures like zombies) will tend to fight to the death.  Also remember that NPCs and monsters have motivations and will act in accordance with those motivations.  Not every creature is aching to chew off the PC's faces and feast on the gizzards.Most of all, both you and your players should remember that you are learning the rules of a game and that it's perfectly ok to make honest mistakes while learning.  Don't harp on mistakes.  Instead, move on and keep learning.  After you become comfortable with the rules, you and your players may decide you want some house rules to tweak things just the way you like them.  Don't be over-eager to use house rules until you have a good feel for how all the different elements of the game interact and balance each other out.Also, once you are comfortable with the rules, then you have reached a good point to introduce your group to a complete campaign setting (e.g. Forgotten Realms, Scarred Lands, Eberron, Greyhawk, or one of the many others).  Alternately, you as DM may find that you are having fun creating your own world and just use your private homebrew.  That's perfectly fine too.In roleplaying games, nothing is sacred except having fun.  Everything else is just the details.</blockquote>

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