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<blockquote data-quote="grot" data-source="post: 1606525" data-attributes="member: 13663">Go for it...There really is no way to do it but to do it.&nbsp; Here's my simplistic advice:1: Decide what kind of DM you want to be initially.&nbsp; What I mean by this is that there are DMs who run a really good combat, DMs who tell a really good story, DMs who run good mysteries, DMs who act well, etc. etc.&nbsp; Is there one thing you THINK you might be good at in there?&nbsp; Well skew thing's towards that.2: Think about what your group is like.&nbsp; Are they &quot;first person&quot; roleplayers - &quot;You bastard, I'll make you pay!&quot; or are they 3rd Person &quot;My guy goes into the corner and hides.&nbsp; What happens?&quot;.&nbsp; If they are 1st person guys, you can do a lot of storytelling, interaction with NPCs, etc - do a simple murder mystery set in a town - this will require VERY minimal rules work, and perhaps not even a single combat.&nbsp; On the other hand, if they are not big into the Role and story part of it, set your self up a simple &quot;go kill this&quot; type of adventure.3: Keep the NUMBER of combatants down.&nbsp; Combat isn't complex, complexity is complex.&nbsp; 3PCs with 3Henchmen at high level fighting 20 skelletons is HARD.&nbsp; 3PCs at 1st level fighting one big bugbear is EASY.4: Keep the level low - the higher level you start at, the harder it is for both your players and you to keep track of the options.&nbsp; High level doesn't mean &quot;powerful&quot; as much as it means &quot;flexible&quot; - flexibility is very hard to control as a DM, and higher level campaigns, in general, require the DM to improvise more.5: US DM GENIE - ok I may be biased, but you can sit here on your computer for two weeks running the actual combats by yourself.&nbsp; It will give you a phenomenal sense of how the system works, let you look up all that stuff you are going to forget a few times, and its FREE for 60 days.6: Use minis - even if you just use cardboard counters or cheesy WoTC plastic minis or old mageknight figures - give your self some sort of a visual aid.7: Don't over-reach.&nbsp; Too many groups I've played with get really hung up on playing for long sessions, and being really serious about it.&nbsp; To put it in perspective, I DM'd this week a group of three players/6PCs.&nbsp; It was a new world, new characters, and many peoples first run at 3.5.&nbsp; We spent from 6-7 shooting the breeze and eating pizza, from 7-8 doing some casual world background and spell selection stuff, and from 8-11 doing the actual gaming part of it.&nbsp; We took breaks, drank two bottles of wine, and had plenty of table talk.&nbsp; The story arc had three main combats, and a good time was had by all.&nbsp; (you can see the arc and the characters and all at: <a href="http://www.nadig.com/?page=Personal/hasp/Hasp.html" target="_blank">http://www.nadig.com/?page=Personal/hasp/Hasp.html</a>)So, thats a 5 hour block with maybe 2.5 hours of &quot;hardcore&quot; moving-the-story gaming.&nbsp; That's a good expectation.8: Get feedback.&nbsp; At the end of the first session, talk to each player individually and say &quot;so whadya think&quot; and get real feedback - more combat? less combat? longer? shorter? more puzzles? more intrigue?And HAVE FUN...</blockquote>

[QUOTE="grot, post: 1606525, member: 13663"] [b]Go for it...[/b] There really is no way to do it but to do it. Here's my simplistic advice: 1: Decide what kind of DM you want to be initially. What I mean by this is that there are DMs who run a really good combat, DMs who tell a really good story, DMs who run good mysteries, DMs who act well, etc. etc. Is there one thing you THINK you might be good at in there? Well skew thing's towards that. 2: Think about what your group is like. Are they "first person" roleplayers - "You bastard, I'll make you pay!" or are they 3rd Person "My guy goes into the corner and hides. What happens?". If they are 1st person guys, you can do a lot of storytelling, interaction with NPCs, etc - do a simple murder mystery set in a town - this will require VERY minimal rules work, and perhaps not even a single combat. On the other hand, if they are not big into the Role and story part of it, set your self up a simple "go kill this" type of adventure. 3: Keep the NUMBER of combatants down. Combat isn't complex, complexity is complex. 3PCs with 3Henchmen at high level fighting 20 skelletons is HARD. 3PCs at 1st level fighting one big bugbear is EASY. 4: Keep the level low - the higher level you start at, the harder it is for both your players and you to keep track of the options. High level doesn't mean "powerful" as much as it means "flexible" - flexibility is very hard to control as a DM, and higher level campaigns, in general, require the DM to improvise more. 5: US DM GENIE - ok I may be biased, but you can sit here on your computer for two weeks running the actual combats by yourself. It will give you a phenomenal sense of how the system works, let you look up all that stuff you are going to forget a few times, and its FREE for 60 days. 6: Use minis - even if you just use cardboard counters or cheesy WoTC plastic minis or old mageknight figures - give your self some sort of a visual aid. 7: Don't over-reach. Too many groups I've played with get really hung up on playing for long sessions, and being really serious about it. To put it in perspective, I DM'd this week a group of three players/6PCs. It was a new world, new characters, and many peoples first run at 3.5. We spent from 6-7 shooting the breeze and eating pizza, from 7-8 doing some casual world background and spell selection stuff, and from 8-11 doing the actual gaming part of it. We took breaks, drank two bottles of wine, and had plenty of table talk. The story arc had three main combats, and a good time was had by all. (you can see the arc and the characters and all at: [url]http://www.nadig.com/?page=Personal/hasp/Hasp.html[/url]) So, thats a 5 hour block with maybe 2.5 hours of "hardcore" moving-the-story gaming. That's a good expectation. 8: Get feedback. At the end of the first session, talk to each player individually and say "so whadya think" and get real feedback - more combat? less combat? longer? shorter? more puzzles? more intrigue? And HAVE FUN... [/QUOTE]

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