francisca
I got dice older than you.
Welcome to ENWorld and to D&D!
There is a lot of good advice in this thread. I'd like to add the following:
Combat is an important (in many games, the most important) component of D&D. One obvious reason is because it can lead to the death of a character. So, before you plunge into an adventure, I suggest you and your group roll up several scratch characters, and just run some combats under many different conditions. I suggest this for several reasons:
1) The more practice you get, the better you'll be able to run combat "for real" when you hit the adventure.
2) Players will be more willing to try all sorts of options when there isn't a lot of time invested in their PCs.
3) Players will get a feel for what the various classes can do in combat.
4) As a DM, you'll get a feel for the havoc that you can create.
Make sure you toss several different scenarios at them. Start them off in an arena, with nothing to impede movement. Then put them in a wooded area. Have them outnumbered, evenly matched, and opposing a single creature of great power. Make sure you put them in a dungeon, in close quarters. Put them in a tavern and start a brawl so you can learn the grapple rules. Put them in caves with irregular shaped walls. Have them attacked from above.
This technique worked well for my group. I (DM), and one other player had played previous editions. The two others had no or insignificant experience. After a few sessions, combat was bogging down, so we spent two whole game sessions just running combats under different conditions. We called them "Battle Royales". It cleared up a lot of our questions concerning AOOs (Attacks of Opportunity) and other issues which dog rookies and seasoned veterans alike.
Good luck with your game!
There is a lot of good advice in this thread. I'd like to add the following:
Combat is an important (in many games, the most important) component of D&D. One obvious reason is because it can lead to the death of a character. So, before you plunge into an adventure, I suggest you and your group roll up several scratch characters, and just run some combats under many different conditions. I suggest this for several reasons:
1) The more practice you get, the better you'll be able to run combat "for real" when you hit the adventure.
2) Players will be more willing to try all sorts of options when there isn't a lot of time invested in their PCs.
3) Players will get a feel for what the various classes can do in combat.
4) As a DM, you'll get a feel for the havoc that you can create.
Make sure you toss several different scenarios at them. Start them off in an arena, with nothing to impede movement. Then put them in a wooded area. Have them outnumbered, evenly matched, and opposing a single creature of great power. Make sure you put them in a dungeon, in close quarters. Put them in a tavern and start a brawl so you can learn the grapple rules. Put them in caves with irregular shaped walls. Have them attacked from above.
This technique worked well for my group. I (DM), and one other player had played previous editions. The two others had no or insignificant experience. After a few sessions, combat was bogging down, so we spent two whole game sessions just running combats under different conditions. We called them "Battle Royales". It cleared up a lot of our questions concerning AOOs (Attacks of Opportunity) and other issues which dog rookies and seasoned veterans alike.
Good luck with your game!
