Taking it all the way as a new DM. Opinions?

[Jurble]

Hi everyone,
so im pretty new to DnD just got into a campaign with a few friends for the first time. Ive done lots of RP'ing first in Ultima Online for like 4-5years and then in NWN on a fantastic RP only server called Caenyr where i became a DM.

Anyway im hoping to DM myself sometime after we've been playignfor awhile so i can pick up the major differences b/w DnD and say NWN rp'ing. Ive started to design a campaign which im probably going to have to run over the net (coz some of the players live interstate).

My real question is this. Is it a bad idea to try and stick together your own campaign the first time round? Im probably going to throw a few premade adventures in and use parts of others to put together my custom parts for the campaign. Basically im planning on a start where the players are enslaved, then escape and join a rebellion based in other countries around the world fighting this "Evil country" type campaign.

Because alot of it is more RP than combat (i want to put in lots of diplomacy, problem solving and such as well as combat) im going to focus on previous resources for finding monsters which challenge my players without slaughtering them. read through the relevant parts of the DM guide but im not to sure if im expanding myself to soon. Basically its these ppl's first introduction to DnD and i dont want to give them a cruddy first experience.

anyway what do you all think? THanks guys

Marc

 

[VirgilCaine]

First thing to do is present your ideas about running D&D before the players and say "Can we do this together? Is it acceptable to you?"

This is a very important thing to do.

If everyone involved knows what the campaign will be like and what the style of the game will be like, this will solve a lot of possible problems between you and the players before they arise.

 

[random user]

I agree with VirgilCaine, it's all about synergy between the DM and the players. If they are willing to work with, then I'd say you should have no problems.

If your players start hedging and hem-and-haw-ing (how do you spell/use that term anyways?) then I'd consider running something more canned.

 

[Stormrunner]

Seconding Virgil's recommendation - this is an important first step for any campaign.

You're biting off an awfully big hunk here - first time as a DM, and you're not only making your own campaign world, you're doing it online. If you can pull it off, that's great, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work first time. Being a DM is at least 5x as much work as being a player, making your own world is LOTS of work, and running an online campaign can be tough even for an experienced DM. You might be better off starting out with a pre-made world like Greyhawk, Ravenloft, or Forgotten Realms - all the work of maps, countries, gods, and major NPCs is done for you, and the players are probably at least passing familiar with much of it ("Elminster? Yeah, I think I've heard of him..."). This cuts WAY down on your workload. After you get more used to being a DM, it'll be a lot easier to "roll your own", as you'll have a better idea of what areas are likely to be a problem. Even with a pre-made world, expect this to take most of your free time.

Be prepared for things to go SLOWLY compared to NWN. Paper RPGs are more flexible, but since the computer isn't doing all the math instantly for you, they take more time (especially in combat). Doing it via chat/email slows things down even more.

Go to your local college/university and sit in on one of the gaming groups there - not as a player, but as an observer. Be completely upfront about it - say "I'm trying to learn how to be a DM, and I'd like to sit in on one of your sessions to see how you do it." Take notes. Pay particular attention to how the DM handles
-initiative and combat
-portrayal of/interaction with NPCs
-"in character" vs "out of character" conversation
-disputes between players (or between player and DM).
If you can do this with several different groups, even better, as it lets you see different styles of DMing.

 

[Wolfspirit]

Some thoughts:

One of the biggest things you would have to worry about campaign wise is being able to spread information like maps to the group. If you're going the Online route, getting a Yahoo group or something like that would be usefull. Any thoughts on what medium, like IRC, openRPG, email or the like?

If you're working with a group of people that have been using NWN and the like, the transition shouldn't be too hard. One of the main differences is the fact that you'll have to know how to set the pacing and adapt on the fly, rather than have things planned out well in advance. For combat, yeah, I'd agree that premade would be good to start out, since that will let you concentrate on rules and running the game a bit more. For a campaign world, I'd second (fourth? whatever), what others have been saying and run some of the loose ideas by the group. Allways a good idea for letting them know what they're getting into at first. (Note: Don't go so far as to say "you're going to get attacked by a dragon in 5 games", but you get the idea)

Good luck, and if you've got question, bounce them off here.

 

[Jurble]

hmmm interesting i hadnt really thought about that side of things. the whole DM/Player relationship. I mean the ppl who want to game in this are mostly complete DnD newbies not even knowing the difference b/w feats and skills and such. Two have no idea past what ive told them about basically being a game u play on paper etc. works on dice.

Im pretty well versed in the 3.5 rules and one player is also an ex-NWN/Baldurs gate etc. player so he knows what a will save is hehehe

Great idea sitting in on a few groups ill have to look into that for sure. Also im recently gotten into a PnP group with an old school DM so im going to watch how he does it and then start working from there. Im not planning on starting this campaign for quite awhile, perhaps even 6months. Problem is afew of the players are interstate otherwise id love to do it in person.

I guess since im doing all the dice rolling (since its over the net) id be doing most of the working out combat and such.

I definately agree with you guys on combat. Balancing encounters to PCs is really quite scary so im mostly going to pluck encounters out of preexisting adventures or use whole adventures.

Id still like to slowly work up my own world to use for this as i dont think any of the preexisting ones really fit what id like to do. Game rules wouldnt change but id like to work out the geography/types of areas with their own "feel" which is alittle unique and focus on things maybe not so expanded in other worlds.

How in depth do you guys think i need to know the world. I was thinking geography, capitals/countries, major NPCs in these places maybe basic town layouts for major places.

A couple of other interesting things i picked up from reading threads in here are
-popular myths
-common superstitions and such

sounds like alot of work but i have a good 6months and im already pretty decent with the basic rules. I think from this campaign ill get a better idea of playing through combat and ill chekc out wathcing other groups in the area.

As far what to use over the net i was guessing MSN but id love something with alittle bit more power. I was tihnking of requiring players to show OOC obviously like in NWN eg: OOC- woa he's hard to hit!

thanks for the help guys

 

[Jurble]

oh and yahoo group sounds like a great idea!! going to look into that now!

 

[Quick Leaf]

YOU CAN DO IT!
A good web resources is WebRPG, which has dice, map program, etc. I used it once or twice when I dabbled with the idea of online role-playing.