Newbie DM with Natutal settings campaign

[Demoquin]

Ok first off i want to try learning to become a DM. Secondly, i want the campaign to become a natural setting meaning, more time out in the wilderness and such.

How well do you plan out the adventure ahead as far as encounters go and do add additional projects just in case they dont want to follow along with the flow of things?

How would you run traveling through a forest? Would you set up some search or Survival DC's to find a trail/ game? I am planning on putting some of the forest into maps so it is not like ... Ok, you made it through the forest unharmed. All core books and complete books are acceptible.

Probably start at lvl 2 to have a better chance for survival.



Questions
How would you settle for finding provisions? spot, search or survival or both like a synergy?

If you try to camoflauge (disquise check maybe?) your armor (no metal) with mud, leaves, etc would you give a bonus to your hide checks?

My NPC half orc barb druid will be using large antlers for his main weapon. i was figuring 1d6 20/x2 with +2 or 4 on disarm attempts and if you dual wield then a +1-2 AC bonus. Would a set of antlers be slash / pierce or both?

Can you speak with animals with out a spell? Say like basic animal language for a skill? Nothing like Hey, bud how is it going? but like emotion and body language based.



Well thats it for now ... will add more when it dawns on me or stuck with something.

Also is there a NPC name generator floating around ? That would save me some time on designing.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Ok first off i want to try learning to become a DM.

Several general suggestions:

• Read the Dungeon Master's Guide. You'll find a lot of good advice in there
• Watch and learn. If you already play in a group as player, look what the DM does. Also ask him to explain some stuff to you (afterward, of course). If you don't have a group, find one and apprentice yourself to the DM.
• AFAIK the D&D for Dummies Book has some advice about this in it, and since the Authors are D&D designers, the advice cannot be too bad. Ask around for opinions about the book, and look out for reviews (I'm sure EN World will eventually have a review for it, if we don't already have one)
• One important thing: While you can learn most things about being a good DM, there's a part that cannot really be taught. It has to be there. You need a good imagination, an eye for details, and the ability to think on your feet, to improvise.

Secondly, i want the campaign to become a natural setting meaning, more time out in the wilderness and such.

One thing right away: Tell the players that this will be the case. Otherwise, they might play a street bravo who's out of his depth in the wild or something like that.

And, of course, ask them if this is OK with them. It won't do if you prepare a wilderness plotline with sites and encounters, and the characters stay in the city.

How well do you plan out the adventure ahead as far as encounters go and do add additional projects just in case they dont want to follow along with the flow of things?

It depends on your style: Some DM's like to plan every single detail of their adventures ahead, others wing the whole thing, planning nothing. The best thing, IMO, is something in between: have a general concept, some key encounters, but be prepared to fill in the smaller details when you get there and to adapt the encounters.

That said: plan several encounters, more than you might need. Then, use those that seem best in the situation, adapting them to fit in smugly. Since we're talking about wilderness here, it shouldn't be too difficult to do that. You could encounter that pack of dire badgers more or less everywhere in the woods.

How would you run traveling through a forest? Would you set up some search or Survival DC's to find a trail/ game? I am planning on putting some of the forest into maps so it is not like ... Ok, you made it through the forest unharmed. All core books and complete books are acceptible.

Well, there will be some roads that were constructed to connect the biggest cities to one another. Depending on how much traffic they see, they will be pretty clear. Beyond that, there will be game trails or just pure forest.

Finding these main roads won't be hard when you start from a city, but the game trails and less travelled paths will need survival checks.

Hunting/finding game will also need survival DC's.

Probably start at lvl 2 to have a better chance for survival.

Well, you can as well start at level one. If you want higher level, that's fine (I might suggest to start at level 3 even, it's more meaningful IMO) but level one would work fine. They could start in a small village or even woodcutters' settlement, so they aren't thrown into the deepest wilds at once.

How would you settle for finding provisions? spot, search or survival or both like a synergy?

That's clearly survival. With a DC 10 survival check, you can

"Get along in the wild. Move up to one-half your overland speed while hunting and foraging (no food or water supplies needed). You can provide food and water for one other person for every 2 points by which your check result exceeds 10."

If you try to camoflauge (disquise check maybe?) your armor (no metal) with mud, leaves, etc would you give a bonus to your hide checks?

I might give a +2 circumstance modifier, but only after they succeed at a survival check (DC 15 I'd say): camouflage isn't just about sticking mud and twigs to your helmet, but to do it so you look natural.

My NPC half orc barb druid will be using large antlers for his main weapon. i was figuring 1d6 20/x2 with +2 or 4 on disarm attempts and if you dual wield then a +1-2 AC bonus. Would a set of antlers be slash / pierce or both?

They would be improvised weapons, with is -4 to attack rolls. It should be piercing, and +2 to disarm tops (even weapons specifically designed for the task don't grant more than that). No AC bonus.

Can you speak with animals with out a spell? Say like basic animal language for a skill? Nothing like Hey, bud how is it going? but like emotion and body language based.

I think Survival is the best for that, or Wild Empathy (druid and ranger class ability), maybe handle animal or sense motive, too. Even Knowledge(nature) might help.

Also is there a NPC name generator floating around ? That would save me some time on designing.

Several. One's in EN Worls online gaming toolbox