First time DM

[ArchAngel]

Hey guys,
I've been having a such a blast with the two campaigns, I've been thinking of starting one up with friends and family. Much of them don't have much experience either, so I was playing around with the idea of starting to DM. The more I think about it, the more it's appealing to me.

So, I wanted to get your guys thoughts on it. Arctic, Fathom, and other past DMs especially, but everybody else's opinion and advice is welcome. Any tips or advice for when I start a campaign. Am I too new to D&D, and I should get a little more experience? How big should my first party be? How much set up do you guys do before a campaign? Is starting in my own world too much of a feat? <insert a million other questions>

[ArcticFox]

Hey guys,
I've been having a such a blast with the two campaigns, I've been thinking of starting one up with friends and family. Much of them don't have much experience either, so I was playing around with the idea of starting to DM. The more I think about it, the more it's appealing to me.

You totally should!

So, I wanted to get your guys thoughts on it. Arctic, Fathom, and other past DMs especially, but everybody else's opinion and advice is welcome. Any tips or advice for when I start a campaign. Am I too new to D&D, and I should get a little more experience?

More experience is better, but enthusiasm and imagination go a long, long way. I think you can handle it.

How big should my first party be?

I recommend 4 players or so when you first start out. In my experience, optimal party size is 4-6 players anyway.

At 4, you can have one of each of the main "archetypes" of character: Mage, Cleric, Warrior, Thief. All the various disciplines are covered (assuming you don't have players duplicating). At less than 4 you will be missing at least one of those. At more than 6 it can become difficult to keep all the players engaged.

How much set up do you guys do before a campaign?

That depends on whether you're running modules or homebrew adventures. Modules are a great way for a new DM to get a feel for how a game flows, and how to balance encounters with the party. Your first couple adventures should be simple, small homebrew dungeons so you can get a feel for how things work. After you have done a couple sessions, you can try a pre-published module and insert it right into your new campaign world.

Is starting in my own world too much of a feat? <insert a million other questions>

Not at all. In fact, for a new DM it's better because then you don't have to feel obligated to become an expert on a pre-published campaign setting. You can start off by creating and developing the home town your PCs originate from, and perhaps a nearby dungeon for their first adventure. (Small caves, tombs, ruins, etc. make for great first dungeon settings.) As the adventures continue you can expand until before you know it, you've fleshed out an entire kingdom or even a continent!

Things I learned the hard way:

-It isn't the DM vs. the Players. There's no need to kill off PCs just to prove it can be done.

-Each encounter doesn't have to be an equal match for the party. An adventure is going to be a series of combat encounters, which will wear down the party's resources. Even a pack of weeny kobolds are a serious threat when the spellcasters are out of magic and the warrior's hit points are low.

-Don't be afraid to fudge occasional die rolls to give the players a break, especially when they're new. PCs need to be able to die to pose a genuine challenge for the party, but it isn't fun for anyone when someone gets killed over a run of really terrible luck. If the PCs are playing stupidly... well then let the chips fall where they may.

-Be open to feedback from the players.

-Don't tolerate rules lawyers. You're the DM, and as long as your efforts are for the fun of the players and fairness, you're always right, even when you have to bend the rules to get there. The classic D&D philosophy is that there are no rules, only guidelines. (And that was WAY before Pirates of the Caribbean...)

-Don't let players use game supplements. Stick to the core books, at least as far as the players have access. Game supplements are rarely thoroughly playtested for balance and the last thing you want is to have one or two super-uber characters while the others feel useless because they're not playing stuff out of an accessory.

-Don't be afraid to modify monsters. Players will quickly tire of cookie-cutter orcs, but when they suddenly see an orc who dual wields, looks a lot tougher than his friends, or is wearing magic robes... well now you have something new for them to deal with and things aren't so predictable. Of course, if the orc is a greater challenge, it should reward victorious players with greater XP and/or treasure.

-When in doubt, err on the side of the players.

-Don't be too generous with magic items. Magic items should never become boring or mundane. (Unless, of course, your campaign world is very magic heavy) Magic items should be rare and valuable things. (This is why it's impossible to purchase them at shops in my campaign world.)

[ArchAngel]

Very cool! Thanks for the tips, you got me even more excited and feeling a little more confident!

I have 3 good friends and a wife I can count on so that will be perfect. I have a couple of friends who expressed interest, so I can expand to include them once I get my footing. I'll try to encourage to spread out the disciplines, but I we'll see how it ends up. I don't want to force a role.

And from both your and Fathom's example, I'll do my best to form a great adventure experience and come at it as a game designer/story teller rather than consider it a competition. After all, I do prefer cooperative games over competitive games.

I'm glad that you recommend starting out with a homebrew campaign. I have a mythology-based world I'd like to build it on and I'm looking forward to crafting a story.

So yeah, I might have to start this sooner. Question about dice: At least how much dice should I bring to the table? I was thinking of 2 of those Q Workshop sets for myself. Would it be good to have a big cheap bag people can pull from, and save my special dice for DM rolls?

[ccgr]

I'll be raffling this tomorrow so be sure to enter so you can make pretty maps and dungeons

http://www.artrage.com/artrage-4.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Don't DM's need Art Degrees??

[ArchAngel]

Nice! I do plan on drawing some maps and stuff, which is not in my general area of sketchery. I'm used to doing big muscly warriors and spaceships. The muscly warrior part makes me question certain parts about myself, though...

[ArcticFox]

One really awesome resource for drawing maps is Campaign Cartographer which, as you might have noticed, I use myself. It's a little expensive but well worth it.

[ArchAngel]

That looks pretty incredible. I'll have to consider ponying up for that.

[Sstavix]

My own thoughts is that with a little creativity and imagination, you should be fine. A good handle on the rules helps as well, but since everyone is starting out, there should be some leeway. Just remember - the DM is the final word. No matter how much the players insist that their 2nd-level character can cast a full-round lightning bolt spell while riding their war rhinocerous full-speed into a group of bugbears across broken terrain, they shouldn't whine and complain because you gave it a difficulty class of 45.

In regards to the module vs. homebrewed campaign, there are advantages and disadvantages to either one. The prepackaged module gives you a fully-fleshed story that you can use - you just may want to read it over first so you're familiar with things before you play it with your players. However, the homebrew version allows you much more flexibility if you have the kind of players who love to jump off the rails and do their own thing, rather than try to follow the plot hooks (or, in some cases, completely fail to notice the obvious bait and pursue a false lead, instead). The latter approach can be especially fun if you let the players shape the campaign setting in the process. In the Waterdeep campaign I ran for a few years, it seems that my players' favorite memories from it were the things that they did that ended up having profound effects on the game world - and I never intended for them to happen in that fashion, but was willing to run with it. One key example was a sympathy character - an abandoned waif girl who had been abused by evil priests - I had created that I fully intended to kill off (e.g. the players take her in, give her shelter and food, nurse her back to health... only for the evil priests to hunt her down and kill her, giving the players the incentive to flush out their headquarters). Somehow, the players managed to save her, and she eventually developed into the head of a powerful spy ring, working for the players.

That brings up another point. Shape the occasional adventure specifically for one of the players. For example, if the player's character grew up in an orphanage, design an adventure where that character receives a bloodstained note from a fellow orphan he grew up with. Try to shape adventures to each player's character - don't shine the spotlight too much on any one person. Share the love.

-It isn't the DM vs. the Players. There's no need to kill off PCs just to prove it can be done.

Despite how gaming is depicted in various publications, what Arctic says here is so true. It is a collaborative effort - you as the DM lay out the story, the players act out as characters in the story. It's like improvisational acting with dice. And this approach can be quite entertaining if everyone is on board.

As for the dice question, I find it usually works best if each player has their own full set of dice, or one set for the GM and a communal pool for everyone else. At our house, we have a small basket filled with around 100 dice that everyone can choose the ones they want at the beginning of the session - and if they get disgusted with the way one performs during the night, they can throw it back and pick a different one. I have my own set (in fact, I had one set that I used only to GM with) and I don't usually swap, but each player has their own tastes....

Finally, if you want to dabble in computer-generated art, feel free to take a look at what DAZ 3Dhas to offer. They have quite a few products for free, and you can find lots more content on-line for free or dirt cheap as well. It has a little bit of a learning curve, but DAZ Studio is easier to learn than a lot of 3D art rendering programs out there.

[ArchAngel]

That's a pretty sweet story, Sstavix! The stuff you guys are describing and advising is definitely the type of GM I'd want to be. I want to be able to create a world, insert some crises in and really give the players a sense that they are forging their own story. It seems that one of the biggest strengths of paper and pencil RPGs over cRPGs is a truly flexible and open system.

Cool, so I put in an order for 2 pair of polyhedrals. One special one for me, and one cheaper, extra one for the table. We'll be heading later a local shop where my wife and friends will be picking up some, and I might get another extra. I'm thinking of picking up some tokens if I find a nice little set.

I'll have to check out all these resources, thanks guys!

[fathom123]

Hey guys!

Just a few thoughts from myself to add to the mix.

Everything that Arctic and Sstavix are saying is solid and many of the things Arctic stated were hard for me to learn.

Regarding the modules, I like a mix of both. For example: You want a sweet dungeon in your home brew campaign. Instead of having to go through the trouble of creating a whole new dungeon try using the dungeon from a module. Take the module and modify it to fit your game world. The same goes for maps. If you find a cool map online, make up a story of how that map fits into your world and use it. I've had cities on my home brew world maps and used the city maps developed by others and just filled with buildings with my own NPCs (non player characters).

Another rule that you have to hold to is this, it's all about having fun. If it becomes a competition or a DM vs Players thing, there's no fun in it and defeats the purpose. This goes for you as well. The DM is a player as well, keep that in mind. If you are not having fun spinning the tale and playing your characters, then that defeats the purpose too.

You are the rules and homebrew rules will develop. My first RPG game was what me and my buddies called a story game. I had no idea what D&D was. We just drew a bunch of cool guns that our characters could have and then we drew our characters and told stories about what those characters did in the world. We didn't have dice or anything, just had fun. D&D is the same way. If the rules get in the way, screw the rules.

Have regulations but know when to bend your rules for characters to play the person they wanted. Honestly, when you wanted to play a werewolf, my first reaction was NO. Lycanthropes are powerful and able but you were geeked on the idea so I found a way to blend the rules with my understanding of how things in my game world work and thus Kratimos is a werewolf. My rule is, you create the character you want to play and we go from there. If I have to modify or change something, we'll come to a compromise. Granted my word is final.

In any case, I hope you enjoy it and if you want to start another PBP game on the forums to learn how the rules work, I'll be happy to contribute as a player. Any how, I have to get back to writing the next part of our PBP.

[ArchAngel]

Thanks for the advice! I'd be sure to always keep that in mind.
I definitely appreciate all the concessions you made to get me as a werewolf, and I'm having a boatload of fun with what you're doing with my character. I'm enraptured with what's going to happen next.
I've already started with the first "bending" of the rules, too. My wife, an avid purveyor of hippos as she is, wanted a hippo as an animal companion so I did my best to modify the bison and rhino pets to work as a young hippo/hippo pet for druid levels 4 and 7, and she gets to keep it as a baby hippo for levels 1-3 as a pet with no actual effects, just pure RP. Since I'm running a mythology-inspired world, she rolls an Egyptian-esque character and a hippo fits in with the background.
It was a lot of fun trying to make it work and I look forward to trying to accommodate any other player wishes, within reason of the game.

So far, the party looks like it's going to be a Druid, a Paladin and two rogues (judging by the players, I'm gathering these rogues will play differently). I figured the druid and Pally manage a little on fighter, cleric, and casting duties, so the party is at least a little bit rounded. Do you guys think this is pretty workable or it might be best to bring in another player to fill a gap?

[ArcticFox]

That's workable. Low level Mages are useless anyway so the loss won't be too keenly felt. At 1st level, a Rogue is about the same as a fighter so that won't matter, but at higher levels they're going to have to rely more and more on sneak attacks so the party will have to take that into account when strategizing.

[ArchAngel]

Okay, cool! That could lead to some fun tactical scenarios.

[fathom123]

Either bring in a new player or create an interested NPC to do it. For example, your party is going to explore a tomb, say that there is a priest who wants to join them because the tomb is affiliated with his deity in some way. That way, your party now has a cleric without having to recruit another player.

I would be careful biting off more until you have a solid feel with the people you already have. Once you're comfortable with your playing style and theirs, then it would be a good idea to welcome more people into it. My biggest mistake starting out was to always say yes when more players wanted to join in and in turn overwhelmed myself with how much I needed to manage.

[ArchAngel]

Cool, I've been sticking pretty religiously to the 4 player party thing for now. You guys make it seem pretty effortless, but I'm getting the sense it's quite involved to DM so I want to get my handle on it first.

I might be doing the occasional NPC. What do you think the most valuable npc would be for that group? A druid can do some heals at level 1, would that be sufficient to cover cleric duties?

Maybe I'll let them adventure alone as a group for a bit and if they seem to really be lacking a position, I can have an adventurer stumble to fill the spot for a little bit.

And once they get the hang of things, maybe have that said adventurer betray them. bwahahaha.