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Anonomuss
2009-06-02, 12:06 PM
Hello all,
In a few weeks time, I will be DMing my first game of DnD, in or out of DnD 4th Edition, which is what we'll be playing. Roleplaying I have participated in previously has been all freeform, or PbP, with only two games, both of Serenity Rp, in person, one of which I DM'd. However, as my first game of DnD, I want to make sure that they'll enjoy their first session, and hopefully we'll get a regular game going.

My current group consists of the following:

A Gnome Wizard, the most experienced roleplayer amongst us.
A Dwarf Artificer, second most experience, familiar with 3.5e (HoodedCrow on these forums).
A Dragonborn Paladin, my friend, who when asked what type of character he wanted immediately told me: "I want a big sword".
Elf Archer Ranger, the gnome wizard's GF, a last minute substitution.


I got 4e around Christmas, and I've been collecting bits and pieces towards the game ever since:

A three pack of PHB, MM and DMG
Adventurer's Vault
Player's Handbook 2
FRPH
Martial Power
Draconomicon
Manual of the Planes
DnD Roleplaying Game Starter Set
GM Screen


I was planning on doing the adventure in the Roleplaying Game Starter set, with a few adjustments.

In my world (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/flames-from-the-furnace/wikis/main-page) the players are members of a mercenary company, within a pocket of civilisation known as the 'Glimmer' and the adventure takes the form of their first assignment; to eliminate Goblins who are holed up in an abandoned monastery.

However, when they investigate, it becomes clear that there's more to the band of goblins than first appears. As there are groups of Kobolds, Orcs and Humans in attendance. Once the group are inside, they find that the group are a cult of Tiamat, and that each group represents a colour of the chromatic spectrum:
Goblins-Green
Hobgoblins-Black, and Blue, One within the 'Glimmer' and one Supporting an invasion force inbound (Unbeknownst to the players)
Orcs-White (At a hidden location within the Glimmer)
Kobolds-Red (Being hatched within the abandoned monastery)

At the end of the dungeon (Set to take the group to lvl 1 prior to the last encounter), they will confront the Kobold Wyrmpriest and upon his death, he'll use his breath attack (saved until now) to hatch the eggs. One of the two that hatch will face the group, and the other's will flee (To become a recurring villain in the campaign)

The main thread of the campaign, will involve the effects of a rising Hobgoblin warlord, from an area thought to be entirely savage. The upper tier of this campaign I intend to be investigating the cause of the Hobgoblin warlord's rise to power, and some other things (That I've not entirely finalised).


So, I've a few questions.
-Does this sound alright?
-Are there any materials I could do with, before I begin?
-Is there anything I could do to hook the characters in in the first few minutes?

Zaq
2009-06-02, 12:30 PM
DISCLAIMER: I've never played 4e. I'm speaking from a 3.5 perspective. That said, this is pretty broad advice, and should apply across the board.

The number one skill that a GM needs, no matter what game you're playing, is adaptability and improvisation. The players WILL surprise you. This is a good thing. If they just did exactly what you wanted them to, that's boring. But the point is, they will always try something different. They'll ask about stuff you hadn't bothered to make. They'll try to do things differently than you expected, and you'll have to figure out what happens. (Hint: The worst possible answer is "no, you can't do that" flat out.)

At the first session, getting the players interested in the opening plot hook is as much a matter of the players as it is of the characters. Once the characters have been established, and both you and the players have more of a feel for them, then it's a simpler matter, but beforehand, it's always awkward to figure out why this diverse group of people should want to work together on this particular adventure. Personally, I like to start in media res. You sit down at the table, spread out a map, and have everyone roll initiative. There are arguments for this and arguments against it, but I like it because it saves a lot of time that would have been spent explaining what is, in essence, a contrivance (even more so than a lot of what happens in D&D), and it basically makes it the players' responsibilities to figure out what their characters are doing here. You establish the situation ("You're all working for person X to accomplish goal Y at location Z") and let the players figure out their own reasons for doing it. The players will always know their characters better than you do, but that's never more true than at the first session, before they've ever seen any actual RP action. Thus, rather than you trying to stretch the situation to accommodate the interests of a diverse group of people, you just say that they're already in the situation and let them individually figure out how it makes sense for them to be there.

valadil
2009-06-02, 12:57 PM
So, I've a few questions.
-Does this sound alright?
-Are there any materials I could do with, before I begin?
-Is there anything I could do to hook the characters in in the first few minutes?

Sounds like a good game.

There's always more material. I'll refer you to this morning's Gnome Stew article (http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/improve-your-game-guaranteed). To sum it up, the best thing you can do for your game is to just play it.

How you hook your players depends on your players. Some people want story and some people want combat. It may be rough going until you figure out what their individual expectations are and then build from there. If you have the free time, I highly recommend running a 1-2 hour prelude with each player individually. This is a great technique for starting games. It lets your players try on their character before making introductions. It also lets you see what they persue as individuals. You can give them their own personalized plots and later tie all those together.

Anyway, I like drama as a way to get players involved. My worst campaign had my best opening session. It was a festival. Everyone had their own prelude doing whatever they'd do at a festival. The highlight of the day was that a criminal was to be hanged. All day the players heard rumors about what he'd done or that it was a frame job or some such. Naturally he breaks free and volunteers are asked to go after him. At any rate, this setup resulted in the group chasing down a criminal, but it was way more dramatic than the standard wanted poster that a player finds.

Anonomuss
2009-06-02, 02:16 PM
The number one skill that a GM needs, no matter what game you're playing, is adaptability and improvisation. The players WILL surprise you. This is a good thing. If they just did exactly what you wanted them to, that's boring. But the point is, they will always try something different. They'll ask about stuff you hadn't bothered to make. They'll try to do things differently than you expected, and you'll have to figure out what happens. (Hint: The worst possible answer is "no, you can't do that" flat out.)


Sounds like good advice alright. When I ran my Serenity game, my players threw nothing at me that I hadn't seen, but it was a case of rail-roading rather than preparation. :smalltongue:
I had a few complaints about it afterwards, but I'm trying to make this game a lot less 'Rail-road-y'.



You establish the situation ("You're all working for person X to accomplish goal Y at location Z") and let the players figure out their own reasons for doing it. The players will always know their characters better than you do, but that's never more true than at the first session, before they've ever seen any actual RP action. Thus, rather than you trying to stretch the situation to accommodate the interests of a diverse group of people, you just say that they're already in the situation and let them individually figure out how it makes sense for them to be there.


This is probably a good idea, as I've no idea where the elven ranger wants to come from, or anything about her really, as she's really only an extended contact, which would make it hard to do what Valadil suggested with her.


Sounds like a good game.

There's always more material. I'll refer you to this morning's Gnome Stew article (http://www.gnomestew.com/gming-advice/improve-your-game-guaranteed). To sum it up, the best thing you can do for your game is to just play it.


The article was great, and it reminded me I had to write Treasure notes :smallsmile:



I highly recommend running a 1-2 hour prelude with each player individually.


I really like this idea, but unfortunately, I mightn'y be able to do it with the Elf Ranger. But I'm sure my other players would enjoy it. Do you think it'd be possible to do this kind of thing over PbP?

KillianHawkeye
2009-06-02, 06:39 PM
Once the group are inside, they find that the group are a cult of Tiamat, and that each group represents a colour of the chromatic spectrum:
Goblins-Green
Hobgoblins-Black, and Blue, One within the 'Glimmer' and one Supporting an invasion force inbound (Unbeknownst to the players)
Orcs-Blue (At a hidden location within the Glimmer)
Kobolds-Red (Being hatched within the abandoned monastery)


Just a minor nitpick, but you forgot White and used Blue twice. And what exactly is the 'Glimmer'?

Anonomuss
2009-06-03, 02:42 AM
Thanks for spotting that, I must've been thinking "'Ice' that's blue isn't it" :smallsmile:

The rest of the world is thought to be savage, so they area where the campaign takes place is

a pocket of civilisation known as the 'Glimmer'
I detail it further (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/flames-from-the-furnace/wikis/the-campaign-world) here (http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/flames-from-the-furnace/wikis/the-societies-of-the-glimmer), if you're interested.

potatocubed
2009-06-03, 07:20 AM
Sounds pretty solid to me. 4e is pretty easy for the GM, so you should be alright.

What I see is that the game you describe reads less like a plotline that the characters must follow, and more like a developing situation that they arrive in the middle of. This is good, for a variety of reasons. It's less railroady, for starters, and it also makes it generally easier to adapt if (when) they do something unexpected or make a leap of logic you didn't predict.

EDIT: The gnome stew article is right. The best way to learn is to run. And pay attention to the players. If they look bored, they're probably bored. If they attack the 'encounter so powerful they're supposed to run from it'*make sure to have some handy NPCs about to demonstrate it's power on.

*This never works. Ever. I've seen level 1 parties take on fomorian giants on the assumption that because they were in the adventure, they were level-appropriate.

Also, yay for Obsidian Portal. :smallsmile:

valadil
2009-06-03, 12:38 PM
I really like this idea, but unfortunately, I mightn'y be able to do it with the Elf Ranger. But I'm sure my other players would enjoy it. Do you think it'd be possible to do this kind of thing over PbP?

Absolutely. I usually go with email or aim. Phone or skype works too. Basically your goal is to establish some momentum for how the PC got to where he is so that he can hit the ground running.

Mystic Muse
2009-06-03, 12:48 PM
don't let them see things like the draconinomicon or open grave secrets of the undead. they'll know you're using something from it and may know you're using a BBEG like Tiamat which I assume you are.

Anonomuss
2009-06-03, 02:42 PM
Absolutely. I usually go with email or aim. Phone or skype works too. Basically your goal is to establish some momentum for how the PC got to where he is so that he can hit the ground running.

Yeah, certainly sounds like it'd speed up the first session, I was thinking of putting it in the form of their interview with the Mercenary company that they're to become part of. I talked this over with one of my friends, the Gnome Wizard, who thought it was a great idea. We thought it'd be funny, as he goes by the name 'Reginald Flamebritches' and has the habit of lighting himself or other things alight when he uses his magic. Probably leading to much hilarity when the interviewers ask him to demonstrate his magic :smalltongue:


don't let them see things like the draconinomicon or open grave secrets of the undead. they'll know you're using something from it and may know you're using a BBEG like Tiamat which I assume you are.

This is certainly a good idea, I am planning on using Tiamat and Orcus, although when they meet them they could be a potential ally depending on how the earlier segments turn out. The later parts of the campaign center around a conflict over a Divine Spark, made available by the demise, or possible demise (Depending upon how the characters act), of Asmodeus (Who is much different in my campaign setting). I'll do my very best to leave out any hints of their sub-deific nature or even their existance.


Also, yay for Obsidian Portal. :smallsmile:

It's great alright, I've just been putting in my thoughts for quite a while; I think since Penny Arcade mentioned it.