Newbie DM questions

[Naeo]

First off, let me say I've just stumbled onto the site today via Google where i was looking up any info i could find on how to properly run a campaign, and I think i shall stick around for a while

Secondly, sorry about the title, I've got a few questions and really couldn't come up with a general title that fit it all.

Now then, onto the questions!

I'm up next in my small group to DM, and while excited to put all the work into a world and story, i'm also a little lost.

The campaign is set in a series of islands, with war brewing between two factions, a Theomilitary human society that believes all races other than human are 'impure' and an alliance of nations bonded together for safety. (The alliance has all races found in the PHB.) the players ofcourse, as to not peg them into playing human only, are part of the alliance.

My question(s) are this:

1 - How would i go about having attacks happen on boats? With NPCs controlling the boats, i'm finding it difficult to plan the sahaguin attacks while players are in transit to their destination.

2 - How would i go about editing monsters in the MM to fit them into my aquatic adventure?


thank you for your time and any other advice you could give for a new DM would be extremely helpful, i expect myself to make some mistakes, but i'd like to nip the most commonly made ones early before they have a chance to happen by being prepared.


for the record, it's a 3.5e game, and i've already read the DM guide posted on these forums (was a good read, bookmarked it for reminders :) )

[KillianHawkeye]

If the aquatic theme is going to be pretty prevalent in your game, I suggest trying to find a copy of Stormwrack. It includes a system for naval combat. Otherwise, Arms & Equipment Guide has info on precise vehicle maneuverability.

If neither of those books are available, I suggest using the ship as sort of a "fixed" combat zone, meaning that its exact position on the water is not particularly relevant. I.e., N sahaguins or whatever are climbing up the sides of the ship onto the deck and attacking. Each round, M more of them arrive until you've reached your desired number of enemies. Or let's say the NPC ship captain is trying to escape from some pirate galleons. He can make an opposed check againt the captain of the other ship using Profession (sailor) to see if he puts some extra distance between them.



As for making aquatic versions of existing monsters, it's pretty easy to just give them a swim speed and say they can breathe air or water. It probably wouldn't even affect their CR.

[Naeo]

I already intended on just having a boat map, what i'm unsure of is how to decide when the fights happen during their travels on the open sea. Would i just roll a d-whatever and say #x-x are no fights, while the other numbers represent how many enemies there are?

[Salanmander]

I already intended on just having a boat map, what i'm unsure of is how to decide when the fights happen during their travels on the open sea. Would i just roll a d-whatever and say #x-x are no fights, while the other numbers represent how many enemies there are?

I would just...decide. You're the DM, you can decide what would be fun encounters, how many there should be, etc. As a general rule I avoid truly random encounters. When I want there to be a "you get into a fight because you're in dangerous territory", I don't roll for it, I plan it.

EDIT: Also, the title of the thread is fine. It's short, and informative of the sort of content likely to be in the thread. Well done.

[Naeo]

So basically, just jot down on the my ever expanding binder that at hour x, y, and z, something attacks?

seems a little more rigid than my play style is right now, but might work. i'll play test it with a friend on a one on one before i release it for the group just to make sure everything stream lines smoothly. last thing i want is things to seem too forced.

[Salanmander]

You can run it exactly as you would a random encounter, or come up with a few examples and pick one on the fly, or whatever. If you really want a random element, you can just decide what chance you want them to have of encountering something.

[WarKitty]

So basically, just jot down on the my ever expanding binder that at hour x, y, and z, something attacks?

seems a little more rigid than my play style is right now, but might work. i'll play test it with a friend on a one on one before i release it for the group just to make sure everything stream lines smoothly. last thing i want is things to seem too forced.

Don't even worry too much about it. Just say "as sunset approaches, the Saghuain attack." Maybe even give them some spot checks for a couple of hours beforehand to see if they notice they're being tailed.

Usually DM picked encounters end up less forced than randomly rolled ones. You at least have a reason why that encounter is there at that time.

[Akal Saris]

You might want to give some set up beforehand, such as the NPC captain noting that sharks attacks have been more common in the area recently, or while sailing along the PCs come upon the wreckage of another ship that had been attacked.

For a suggestion, see if you can get the PCs involved in running the ship. One PC can be the ship's lookout, another can help the captain navigate, and another can help load cannons or prepare food or whatever else the ship might need. You can also try to make the crew of the ship likeable and memorable NPCs rather than Captain, Lieutenant, and Dwarf Cook.

Don't stress out too much about running the game, and don't try to force it to fit your pre-arranged plot. Remember that it's really about your friends and making sure they have fun, so if they take off in a totally different direction ("Aha! The sahuagin are in league with the evil Humans! We must warn the United Nations!"), just roll with it and see where it takes the game.

Also, welcome to the board :smallbiggrin:

[Naeo]

huh... i didn't think of having the PCs become hands on the ship, i rather like that idea, i think imma use it; but change it up so the captain asks them to assist at their leisure. So the players can pick where to assist based on their skills.

Thanks for the idea :D