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Earl William
2011-02-20, 07:59 PM
Soon, I hope to DM my very first D&D (or any P&P rpg) game, so i would like some advice. I designing a dungeon for lvl characters, so does anyone have advice about things like how much loot i should give out, how to design interesting challenges for different characters, etc.
Thanks in advance.

Illithid Savant
2011-02-20, 08:20 PM
What edition?

Remember that the most important thing is that your players have fun. They should have the spotlight; they should be able to realize their character concepts.

Yukitsu
2011-02-20, 08:37 PM
You can plan out an epic adventure from 1-20.

If you want your players to stick around, and have fun from 1-20, you'll only use the parts that they show immediate interest in, which is like, 20% of it.

They'll never know if you slip elements, rooms, encounters from that other 80% into your game later on when they're too in to the game to notice that you're recycling things.

Having the players in a no-win situation where plot dictates they lose is mildly annoying. Use with caution.

Having the players in a no-win situation where plot dictates they get kidnapped is really annoying. Don't use.

Having the players in a no-win situation where plot dictates they get kidnapped, listen to a monologue, then get returned through status quo for no real reason is a crime against humanity. If you do it, stick your head in a vat of boiling oil.

NPCs may be more important to the world than the PCs, and the world can retaliate when the players mess with them, but the PCs are the center of the game, and can retaliate when the world tries to mess with them.

DM's are allowed to do whatever they want, but unless you're good with rope, so can the players.

Random encounters are the game's way of making the story take longer, without the player's getting anywhere.

true_shinken
2011-02-20, 08:45 PM
Read the Dungeon Master's Guide. All of it. More than once. It contains great advice.

Earl William
2011-02-21, 08:39 AM
Thanks! Morechars

Tyndmyr
2011-02-21, 08:40 AM
Read the Dungeon Master's Guide. All of it. More than once. It contains great advice.

This. No advice we can give you will substitute for knowing the rules, and it's got some pretty solid advice in it as well.

Titanium Fox
2011-02-21, 09:01 AM
Get good at planning on the fly. Seriously, I can not tell you how many times that my players have derailed my plans. I once pitted them against a young black dragon, and through absolutely astronomical rolls allied the thing. It actually dictated the direction of my adventure a bit.

Tyndmyr
2011-02-21, 09:05 AM
Being able to improvise comes with time. Not every first time GM is good at it...but don't worry if you're not. It'll fix itself eventually. In the meantime, prepare for multiple eventualities. Consider making dungeon or adventure flowcharts with likely decision points in them for alternate paths.

The more decisions you hand the players, the less likely they are to feel trapped and leap the rails. If they're looking for creative ways to avoid things, they need more decisions. If they get bogged down with indecision, less. The exact balance varies substantially based on group, so there's always a certain amount of trial and error.