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Protecar
2009-07-27, 10:00 AM
So me and some friends have recently started getting a fervor for some D&D action(spurred in part by my obsession with Oots and this website). The only problem is that I've never DM'd a game and only played D&D twice with a DM who was rusty and lacked a certain...je ne sais quoi. I don't want to just play someone else's scripted game because I'm a lover of role play and want to leave as little "railroading" as possible. Also, we'd be playing in 3.5.

Being a total newbie, however, I have a bunch of newbie questions, if anyone would be so kind to answer:

How does one figure "Spell Save"? I've perused the Player's handbook and yet have not found a concrete formula to figure it.

Flat-footed AC is simply your AC minus the Dex modifier(except if said Dex mod is a negative) correct? And only used in certain situations, like after certain spells or if said character/monster is caught by a surprise attack right?

How's touch AC different from one's regular AC? I haven't figured that one out.

My only DM told me that certain classes only have access to the certain skills shown next to that class in the Phb(not including natural skills everyone can use). Is this accurate? I felt that if I want my my rogue to know...say...perform(dance)[as more than a natural ability so that I could put skill points in it] then that's my prerogative.

Is there any general tips you could give me that might help? I suppose I am trying to create my own world in being a DM, so any tips on that would be appreciated too.

If I wasn't clear on anything I'll try to elaborate further--I'm just really trying to understand everything. Also, I have access to almost all of the D&D 3.5 books--the Dungeon Master's Manual 2 is the only book not currently available to me I think. Of course, I'll probably try to restrict any ridiculous builds or storylines that involves information from too many books for my own sake.

And finally, if there's any awesome links to guides, etc. you might be able to offer that would also rock.

Okay, I'm done with this ridiculously long post. Thanks for reading! :smallbiggrin:

EDIT: Oh, and is there a Die Roll Generator that I can save onto my computer to roll dice when I'm not on the internet somewhere? I don't have a collection of D(any) dice yet.

Random832
2009-07-27, 10:22 AM
How does one figure "Spell Save"? I've perused the Player's handbook and yet have not found a concrete formula to figure it.

From the SRD: A saving throw against your spell has a DC of 10 + the level of the spell + your bonus for the relevant ability (Intelligence for a wizard, Charisma for a sorcerer or bard, or Wisdom for a cleric, druid, paladin, or ranger)


Flat-footed AC is simply your AC minus the Dex modifier(except if said Dex mod is a negative) correct? And only used in certain situations, like after certain spells or if said character/monster is caught by a surprise attack right?

You also lose dodge bonuses, and while flat-footed you cannot make attacks of opportunity.


How's touch AC different from one's regular AC? I haven't figured that one out.

Regular AC minus the armor, shield, and natural armor* bonuses.


My only DM told me that certain classes only have access to the certain skills shown next to that class in the Phb(not including natural skills everyone can use). Is this accurate? I felt that if I want my my rogue to know...say...perform(dance)[as more than a natural ability so that I could put skill points in it] then that's my prerogative.

Ranks in cross-class skills (such as Perform for a Rogue) cost double points, and your maximum is also half what it is for class skills.

D&D 3.0 also had a very limited set of skills that were limited to certain classes - only Bards and Rogues could use Use Magic Device (available to all as cross-class in 3.5), only Rangers and Druids could use Animal Empathy (now a class feature), etc. But most skills were available to everyone at cross-class cost.

You have to make sure your core books are all for the edition you're playing - it's possible that you were playing 3.0 or that your DM only had a 3.0 PHB (and therefore relied on its descriptions for things that changed in 3.5)
___

As for die rolling - you should really buy a set of dice.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm should work well enough until you get them.

*Your PCs probably won't have natural armor, but lots of monsters do.

Grynning
2009-07-27, 10:25 AM
well, take a look at the stickied thread on this forum, called So you wanna be a DM:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474

For rules, the d20 SRD is a bit more organized than the books, it can be found here: http://www.d20srd.org/

Edit: Oh yeah - Welcome to the hobby! Good luck, and remember, rule #1 is to have fun.

kamikasei
2009-07-27, 10:27 AM
So me and some friends have recently started getting a fervor for some D&D action(spurred in part by my obsession with Oots and this website). The only problem is that I've never DM'd a game and only played D&D twice with a DM who was rusty and lacked a certain...je ne sais quoi. I don't want to just play someone else's scripted game because I'm a lover of role play and want to leave as little "railroading" as possible. Also, we'd be playing in 3.5.

Welcome to the hobby!


How does one figure "Spell Save"? I've perused the Player's handbook and yet have not found a concrete formula to figure it.

I assume you mean the save DC of a spell being cast - that is, player casts spell, what does the target have to roll to make his save? It's 10 + spell level + casting stat bonus (Int for a wizard, Cha for a sorcerer, and so on). So, a first-level wizard with 15 int casting sleep has a DC of 13: 10 + 1 (spell) + 2 (int).


Flat-footed AC is simply your AC minus the Dex modifier(except if said Dex mod is a negative) correct? And only used in certain situations, like after certain spells or if said character/monster is caught by a surprise attack right?

Yes. It's also minus any dodge bonuses to AC, though.


How's touch AC different from one's regular AC? I haven't figured that one out.

AC isn't just whether they hit you but whether the hit has a chance of dealing damage. Armour or a shield mean that an attack may make contact but not hit anything vulnerable. Touch AC is for attacks that don't care about how vulnerable the point they hit is - they just need to make contact. Spells use it a lot, because while a sword may need to find the gaps in your armour and draw blood, the mage just needs to touch you. Thus, touch AC is made up only of those bonuses that reflect the ability to avoid having an attack reach you at all - dex, dodge, deflection etc. Armour, shield, natural armour and other bonuses don't boost your touch AC.


My only DM told me that certain classes only have access to the certain skills shown next to that class in the Phb(not including natural skills everyone can use). Is this accurate? I felt that if I want my my rogue to know...say...perform(dance)[as more than a natural ability so that I could put skill points in it] then that's my prerogative.

No, this is false. Each class has class skills, and can both a) buy ranks in those skills more cheaply and b) have a higher maximum number of ranks in them than for other skills, but any character can put ranks in any skill so long as he has the skill points to spend.


Is there any general tips you could give me that might help? I suppose I am trying to create my own world in being a DM, so any tips on that would be appreciated too.

If I wasn't clear on anything I'll try to elaborate further--I'm just really trying to understand everything. Also, I have access to almost all of the D&D 3.5 books--the Dungeon Master's Manual 2 is the only book not currently available to me I think. Of course, I'll probably try to restrict any ridiculous builds or storylines that involves information from too many books for my own sake.

I would recommend your first game be as vanilla as heck as far as the mechanics go - core only, fighter-rogue-cleric-wizard or something like it - just to get you used to the mechanics of the game, to give you a better basis for a) understanding new rulesets (psionics, Incarnum, Tome of Magic, Tome of Battle) that you might want to introduce (psi and ToB are both good, others have their merits) and b) judging how useful any non-core options may be at achieving what you're after with a particular character. Information overload and paralysis of choice can be an issue if you open the field up too widely to start with. If you're comfortable with the rules and options available you can immerse yourselves in the characters and story more fully.


And finally, if there's any awesome links to guides, etc. you might be able to offer that would also rock.
...
EDIT: Oh, and is there a Die Roll Generator that I can save onto my computer to roll dice when I'm not on the internet somewhere? I don't have a collection of D(any) dice yet.

You want to bookmark d20srd.org. They have a diceroller page there which I believe is entirely javascript-based so if you save the page to your computer it should work for you when you're offline.

Another_Poet
2009-07-27, 10:32 AM
So me and some friends have recently started getting a fervor for some D&D action(spurred in part by my obsession with Oots and this website).

Welcome!


How does one figure "Spell Save"? I've perused the Player's handbook and yet have not found a concrete formula to figure it.

Typically it is 10 + spell level + mod, where "mod" is the ability score modifier of the caster's casting stat. Hence, a Wizard with Intelligence 14 casting Colour Spray is 10 +1st level spell + 2 Int = DC 13.

For monsters, the DC is given in their Monster Manual entry. It usually states which ability score the DC is based on so you can adjust the DC if that score is buffed or lowered.



Flat-footed AC is...
Everything except Dexterity bonus. So armour, shield, natural armour, etc. all count toward FF.


And only used in certain situations, like after certain spells or if said character/monster is caught by a surprise attack right?

In all fights, all characters (PCs, NPCs and Monsters) are flat-footed until they take their first action in the fight. They are never flatfooted again during that fight, unless there is some hidden enemy they are unaware of (such as a hobbit with a ring of invisibility). In that case they are flatfooted against that enemy only, and only until that enemy reveals its position (such as by attacking).


How's touch AC different from one's regular AC? I haven't figured that one out.

It is the contraposite of Flat-Footed AC. Meaning, it's 10 + Dexterity bonus. Most other AC factors (armour, shield, natural armour) do not figure it. A few special things like cover bonuses do figure in, but basically it's 10+Dex.

For the different kinds of AC, it can help to just think it through logically. A touch attack is an attack that need only so much as graze you to hurt you -no amount of armour can change that. The only thing you can do to avoid it is dodge it completely, so the only thing that helps you is Dexterity.

Being flatfooted means you don't know about an incoming attack and can't even try to avoid it. Dexterity is useless. So you just have to hope you're armoured up enough to survive such attacks.


My only DM told me that certain classes only have access to the certain skills shown next to that class in the Phb(not including natural skills everyone can use). Is this accurate?

This is not accurate. Every class has certain skills marked as Class Skills. Those skills can be bought on a 1:1 basis - that is, 1 skill point buys 1 rank. You can buy other skills too (known as cross-class skills) but it costs 2 points to buy 1 rank. So you can teach your rogue Perform (Dance) but it costs twice as much as it would cost for a bard. Some skills can be used without any ranks; see the individual skill descriptions in your PHB.

That said, in a 3.5 game I strongly suggest you just houserule out the class skills/cross-class skill system. Just say anyone can buy any skill on a 1:1 basis. The rogue still comes out ahead with all those extra skill points, and it's easier to keep track of. Plus you get some cool characters, like Full Plate fighters who learn to tumble to avoid AoOs. Very cool.


Is there any general tips you could give me that might help? I suppose I am trying to create my own world in being a DM, so any tips on that would be appreciated too.

The biggest tip I can give you is to reconsider buying a pre-made adventure. There are some fantastic ones for 3.5 that are very light on railroading. The one that comes to mind is The Red Hand of Doom, possibly the most popular 3.5 adventure WotC published. It's well written, well balanced with lots of branching paths and choices for the PCs to make.

The reason I suggest this (or any published adventure, really) is that it will do the "tough work" of statting monsters, arranging encounters and placing treasure and that will help a lot with (re)learning the rules. Railroading is mostly in how the DM behaves toward the players at the table. You can have terrible railroading in a homebrew game and you can have totally open choices in a purchased adventure. It's all in how you adjudicate player creativity.



And finally, if there's any awesome links to guides, etc. you might be able to offer that would also rock.

There is a guide to new DMs on this forum but I haven't the link. Run a search and you should find it easily.


EDIT: Oh, and is there a Die Roll Generator that I can save onto my computer to roll dice when I'm not on the internet somewhere? I don't have a collection of D(any) dice yet.

Try saving this (http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20dicebag.htm) webpage and see if it works while disconnected.

Protecar
2009-07-27, 10:37 AM
Wow, a lot of really good advice very quickly--I knew just from reading so much of these forums that you all were a helpful lot! Thank you all so much! This has given me a lot of help!

I have another question involving spell resistance--is that any different from rolling a save from a spell? And do you have to roll anything to see if a spell gets cast successfully on a monster--like does a spell need to bypass AC or, now that I think of it, spell resistance, before the target has to roll their spell save?

kamikasei
2009-07-27, 10:47 AM
I have another question involving spell resistance--is that any different from rolling a save from a spell? And do you have to roll anything to see if a spell gets cast successfully on a monster--like does a spell need to bypass AC or, now that I think of it, spell resistance, before the target has to roll their spell save?

Yes.

Spells allow saves and allow spell resistance, separately; some allow one or the other, some both, some few neither. A save is to do with the effects of the spell: an area attack might allow a reflex save as you dodge the worst of it, an attempt to dominate your mind might allow a will save as you resist the infiltration, a necromancy spell might allow a fortitude save as you shake off the attempt to debilitate your body.

Spell resistance is about the magic itself: if you have spell resistance, you're innately (because of your race, or because of a spell or magic item in effect) resistant to magic in general, and a spell which allows spell resistance has to overcome that before it can begin to affect you. In contrast to a save, spell resistance is a static value on the target's side which the caster rolls to overcome, like an attack vs. AC.

Some spells require attacks, others don't (see "aiming a spell (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/spellDescriptions.htm#aimingASpell)"). If it requires an attack, then if it misses nothing happens. If it doesn't or if it hits, then you roll to overcome SR if the spell says "SR: Yes". If it's "SR: No" or if the SR is successfully overcome, you proceed to the saves, if it allows any. The mixture of attack/save/SR and which a spell allows/requires is one of the mix-and-match acts that 3.5 casting is full of, along with keeping a range of spells to attack different saves, for example.

Random832
2009-07-27, 10:50 AM
I have another question involving spell resistance--is that any different from rolling a save from a spell? And do you have to roll anything to see if a spell gets cast successfully on a monster--like does a spell need to bypass AC or, now that I think of it, spell resistance, before the target has to roll their spell save?

It depends on the spell.

Spell resistance is a number that you have to hit with 1d20+caster level*, and applies separately from all other concerns.

Many spells require you to make a touch attack or ranged touch attack to hit - you can also get double damage from a critical hit in these cases. In this case, the monster's touch AC would of course apply.

For e.g. a fireball, you just put the spell in an area and anyone in the area has to jump out of the way (i.e. reflex save) - they take half damage if they make the save, except Rogues and Rangers of a certain level take no damage.

*caster level can be thought of as simply your level, unless you're multiclassed in which case it's your class level in the class you're using to cast the spell, unless you have odd prestige classes or feats in which case.... well, see the text for those.

Protecar
2009-07-27, 10:59 AM
*nods* Okay, I think I'm understanding some of this. Sorry for the newbie questions, my dm had trouble remembering rules for how magic worked.

Here's another, more vague, question: What would be some good monsters to use for 1st level characters? Like Kobolds and goblins. Through five monster manuals, I'm forced to conclude it would be so much more helpful from a newbie point of view to have a list of creatures organized by...HD? party level? *Groans* what's the abbreviation for an encounter's level? ECL?

I know with some initiative I could find these things out myself, but I figure I need as much time as I can get fine-tuning a campaign, time I'd lose in chunks trying to sift through pages of information in D&D compendiums.

Also--how does one evaluate a creatures "HD"? Like sleep effects up to 4HD creatures. Would that involve how many hitpoints a creature has? Like would a 1d4 + 1 (for hitpoints) creature and a 1d12 + 4 have, for all intents and purposes, have the same HD?

kamikasei
2009-07-27, 11:04 AM
Here's another, more vague, question: What would be some good monsters to use for 1st level characters? Like Kobolds and goblins. Through five monster manuals, I'm forced to conclude it would be so much more helpful from a newbie point of view to have a list of creatures organized by...HD? party level? *Groans* what's the abbreviation for an encounter's level? ECL?

There is such an index in the back of the core MM, though I don't believe there's any official one for all the MMs and other monster-containing books as a whole. You can probably find one online, though.

Encounter level is EL. ECL is effective character level and has to do with playing non-standard races as PCs. For individual monsters, what you're looking for is the challenge rating - CR.


Also--how does one evaluate a creatures "HD"? Like sleep effects up to 4HD creatures. Would that involve how many hitpoints a creature has? Like would a 1d4 + 1 (for hitpoints) creature and a 1d12 + 4 have, for all intents and purposes, have the same HD?

Yup. The number of HD are numbers before the 'd's, basically. A monster with 3d8 + x hp has 3 HD. They're effectively 'levels' in the monster's race. It gets a bit more complicated when you give them class levels, but it always comes down to "a creature's HD are the number of dice it rolls to determine its HP".

Random832
2009-07-27, 11:11 AM
Here's another, more vague, question: What would be some good monsters to use for 1st level characters? Like Kobolds and goblins. Through five monster manuals, I'm forced to conclude it would be so much more helpful from a newbie point of view to have a list of creatures organized by...HD? party level? *Groans* what's the abbreviation for an encounter's level? ECL?

You're thinking of CR (Challenge Rating).

There's also EL - Encounter Level - which I'm not sure has an official formula, but is a weighted logarithmic sum of CRs for rating encounters with a group of monsters.


Also--how does one evaluate a creatures "HD"? Like sleep effects up to 4HD creatures. Would that involve how many hitpoints a creature has? Like would a 1d4 + 1 (for hitpoints) creature and a 1d12 + 4 have, for all intents and purposes, have the same HD?

Yes. The "HD" is the number before the "d". This is in many ways more important than the size of the dice, because the HD determines how many feats the monster gets, the advancement of its BAB and Saves, skill points, how many times a positive constitution bonus contributes to its HP, and so on. Whereas the die size contributes to absolutely nothing except for the obvious: the number of hit points.

See Increasing Hit Dice (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Improving_Creatures#Increasing_Hit_Dice) for details.

Protecar
2009-07-27, 11:14 AM
I extend my thanks to everyone's replies thus far--especially Kamikasei's and Random832's repeatedly fast responses: Kamikasei's response again prompt's me to realize my ignorance. The back of the MM does indeed have just what I need *fantasizes about sicking 8 rats on my players*

I'm trying to think of any other questions, but I think, as of this moment, what I have to do is start setting up a scenario.

Thanks again for everybody's posts--it's awesome for several people to post so quickly, both welcoming me to the ranks of DMs(hopefully) and providing much-needed advice, showing just what a good community you all are. :smallredface:

*sniffs* Okay, enough sentimentality from me, I guess I have brainstorming to do--I know where to go if I have any more questions though! :smallbiggrin: ^_^

Random832
2009-07-27, 11:19 AM
The back of the MM does indeed have just what I need *fantasizes about sicking 8 rats on my players*

What level are the players and how many of them are there? The basic formula doesn't always give the right results for large groups of low-CR monsters or for party sizes other than four.

Protecar
2009-07-27, 11:31 AM
There's going to be three of us total: Because it's a small group I am going to play a very low-key party member(I was considering making my character a mute) to help with combat and add some more interaction. We're all just going to roll up(proper terminology?) level 1 characters because we want to start off fresh. A CR is based on a group of 4 players right?


EDIT: And I think I recall seeing an encounter creator somewhere. Is there a generator that can help me start creating antagonistic NPCs or even PCs? Something that can roll stats and spells/day and SR and etc, etc.?

Random832
2009-07-27, 11:43 AM
There's going to be three of us total: Because it's a small group I am going to play a very low-key party member(I was considering making my character a mute) to help with combat and add some more interaction. We're all just going to roll up(proper terminology?) level 1 characters because we want to start off fresh. A CR is based on a group of 4 players right?

Yes. Officially/ideally, a CRN monster encounter will use 20% of the (ill-defined) "resources" of a party of four Nth level characters.

Protecar
2009-07-27, 12:20 PM
Cool, cool. Also, I remember seeing a link somewhere on this site that had a random treasure generator, and a random encounter generator perhaps too. Any idea where those may be?

Forbiddenwar
2009-07-27, 03:18 PM
myth-weavers.com is good for random treasure, dungeon, town, npcs generators

Protecar
2009-07-27, 03:58 PM
Thanks, I just saw those too actually. Is there a way to download the generators on Myth-Weavers? I won't always have internet access(if ever) when running, or doing most of my prepping for, a game.

Another_Poet
2009-07-28, 11:33 AM
Here is another tool you will need.

The d20 Encounter Calculator (http://www.penpaperpixel.org/tools/d20encountercalculator.htm)

This baby won't design an encouner for you, but once you know what monsters you're going to use it'll give you a very good idea of how tough the encounter will be. It also says how much XP per person the encounter is worth and so forth.

For example, take your 8 rats. Rats are CR 1/8 each. So in the left hand side you put 8 CR 1/8. On the right hand side you put a standard party of 4 Level 1 characters. Press the button, and... BINGO! The rats are an EL 1 encounter, which is "Challenging" for a standard 1st level party. They should be able to survive four "Challenging" encounters per day, if they have time to heal and plan in between, though first level characters are fragile so be careful.

But! But but but... you don't have a standard party. Leave 8 CR 1/8 rats on the left side. Change the right side to 3 Level 1 characters (you said two players plus an NPC ally, right?). Now hit the button. DING! Still an EL 1 encounter, but your party is no longer a full 1st-level party, so the encounter is "Very Difficult." "Very Difficult" encounters depend almost entirely on how tactical your players are, but they are likely to result in at least one PC dying. At level 1 especially!

(Note that if you reduce it to just 6 rats, you're back to a reasonable encounter).

These are the mysteries of the Challenge Rating and Encounter Level. Your job is to mix up some easy, challenging and very difficult encounters and, in most circumstances, to stay away from "Overpowering" encounters. The best you can do as a new DM is to remember that yes, you are going to kill some PC's sometimes, and that is neither good nor bad but just part of the game. Choose monsters you think are interesting, work on your tactics (flanking, AoOs, casters, ranged attackers, trip, disarm, grapple) to make low-level monsters more interesting and challenging. Run your plans through the Encounter Calculator before the game starts and adjust if something seems too tough.

Also, do remember that most of this stuff - encounter calculator, town generator, treasure generator, etc. - should be used ahead of time while planning the game, not at the gaming table itself. Sometimes your PCs will surprise you and you'll need to come up with random stuff but, in general, the game will be better if you have at least the basics worked out beforehand.

Good luck!
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