DMing tomorrow, HELP!

[Dragon Star]

Ok, I have to DM a 1st level 3.5 game with three players tomorrow, I have nothing prepared, I don't have a campaign world, and the last time I was DM was like five years ago when I was just starting D&D, and only for one short adventure. This will be the first adventure of a hopefully long term campaign.

I have a few questions, and a few requests.

Question One: Houserules.

My RL group just finished Red Hand of Doom as a one shot, and in that we didn't use critical confirmations. If you got a crit, it was a crit. I'm just wondering if you guys think that's a good idea, or if I should drop it. I liked it, but maybe it unbalanced the game and I didn't notice.

Also, I was thinking of doing a little 3.P and giving them a feat every other level, plus the whole skill system (minus Fly skill). Anything wrong with this? Assuming I took the time to do it to the monsters, it shouldent make them any more powerful (I might also give some Pathfinder class features to rogues, fighters, and the like). Will this work? Should I go further and pla pathfinder with some 3.5 splatbooks thrown in? I only have Core pathfinder though, so I'm not sure I want to do that.

If there are any useful houserules anyone knows of, please share them.

Question Two: Setting

So since I don't have a lot of time, I thought I would just make a large Hack n' Slash dungeon. I rolled on the DMGs adventure seed thing, and I got something about slavers, so why not. The party is hired by the town to stop the slavers kidnapping the townsfolk. They have a base of operations ten or twenty miles away. Could be a castle or a dungeon, which do you think is better? They go through, kill all the (probably human) slavers, kill the boss, free the slaves that haven't been sold yet. Loot, XP, fame. Classic kick in the door stuff. But this dungeon needs to last five or six hours at least, preferably twice that. How big will it need to be? Will they need to rest, meaning I'll have to put believable safe rooms in? Should I have lots of traps, or more guards?

I can make it all myself, but if anyone has an idea for a room, please let me know. Depending on how big this ends up being, my creative muscles might not be able to pump out enough original rooms.

Question Three: Rails

So I have no world, not really enough time to flesh out what happens if my players do something I don't expect, and not a lot of experience DMing. Should I just force my group to go on as I want them to? I mean, what if they decide to just get the King of whatever country this is in involved? What if they join the slavers? What if the organize the town into an army and storm the slavers base? What if afterwards, they try to find out who they were selling the slaves to? Basically, should I railroad them, just for this one adventure? Make sure they don't go off the path I have planed out? Otherwise, I might end up wasting tons of work, or be stuck up a dungeon without a paddle.

Question Four: Leveling and NPCs

So considering the size, should I expect them to level? More than once? Also, there are only three players, so how does that affect the number of enemies? Should I add a DMPC to give them the classic four? I'm guessing I should use 1st level warriors as mooks, with PC classes as more powerful monsters. I would appreciate it if anyone has stats for PC race 1st level enemies that they are willing to give me, otherwise I would have to make them myself, and lazy as I am...


That's hopefully it, but any pieces of general advice you have for a new DM, old player, would be nice.

[Alaris]

*Snip*

Yikes, no preparations beforehand? Are you expecting this game to go on for more than one session, because that will change a lot. I assume you are, because you're debating the pathfinder rules with feats every other level (which wouldn't matter if it's a oneshot at level 1).

If you're intending to make a campaign of it, and you don't want to make your own setting, I suggest you choose one. Even if you don't delve much into the mythos in the first session, I suggest making a choice. Forgotten Realms? Eberron? They are great backdrops with lots of information about them strewn about.

You can still do your slaver idea quite easily as a first adventure, but this is just my recommendation.

Railroading: I don't know much about your players, so I don't know how erratic they will be. Are they new? Old players? That is kind of important. Regardless, railroading them on one adventure won't KILL IT, but it certaintly won't help. Essentially, you don't want to railroad every little action they take.

They want to get help from a few NPCs in town for the raid on the Slavers camp? Let them. Just make sure they're paying, or compensating those NPCs. Let them be creative if they choose to be.

Leveling: Generally, leveling should not be done mid-session. I generally have XP points through the campaign, where all the XP accrued is given at that point. You could give yours at the end of each session. But if they're LEVEL 1, and going through a slaver camp, chances are, they'll hit level 2 at the end of it.

Just give us some more information, and we can help you more.

[Kavurcen]

Like Alaris said, railroading is the first thing to avoid. Depending on the group you could get some huge concentration issues, and you might just be tempted to make them do something if they get too indecisive, or ask you about enough stupid stuff. That was my biggest mistake the first time I DM'd, avoid it at all costs.

Now, on the topic of something to actually do, as a DM you can make the experience a lot more engaging for players by interspersing the standard "walk down a hallway, run into stuff and kill it" dungeon gameplay with some critical thinking. Here's an example of something I did (someone who missed the session asked me what happened, so I wrote it up as I told it, sort of, with players' actions written in... hope it isn't too confusing).

You find yourself in a plain, blue stone chamber, perfectly rectangular. At one end, light seems to be filtering through from a small opening in the wall about five feet up, and a tall stone obelisk about seven feet tall is standing on one side of the room. In the center of the room is a symbol of a sun on the floor, that shines with a quality almost like glass. On the opposite side of the room from the light are two stone statues.

Passing a DC15 search check, you find a small inscription on the obelisk.

The inscription reads:
I'm as small as an ant, as large as a whale. I'll approach like a breeze, but can go like a gale. Some I don't follow, but for some I'm always near. I'll dance to the music although I can't hear. Of names I have many, of names I have one. I'm as slow as a snail, but from me you can't run.

You quickly solve the riddle, and find the answer to be "a shadow". A flash of inspiration hits you and you start to push the obelisk. Finding that it's surprisingly light and seems to glide across the floor, you are able to move it into the path of the light.

Suddenly the room is cast into darkness, and as the glistening of the sunlight leaves the emblem in the floor, the room begins to rumble and two doorways form behind the statues. As the shadows sweep across them, the statues, intricately and realistically carved gargoyles, begin to chip and flake of their own accord. The hard grey stone makes way to hard grey flesh, and the gargoyles rear back at you with a roar.

So yeah, stuff like that is great to put in, even though a group member who's heard every riddle ever was able to get it in about a half second flat (it was also a pretty bad riddle, lol). For some more inspiration, search "Golden Sun Mercury Lighthouse" and watch some Youtube walkthroughs. Some parts of it obviously don't work for D&D's mechanics but it can add some great color, especially if you just want to take some elements of it to make a standard dungeon crawl a bit more interesting. Of course, you can always use a premade campaign (there was another thread that I saw yesterday with some great recommendations) but if and when I DM I personally have more fun this way, and I think my players appreciate it too.

Good luck! Hope this helped even a little bit.

[Dragon Star]

Yes, I do plan on making a campaign out of it, but I always wanted my own world, so I planed on making it as needed in the campaign.

I have no prep, because I thought I had another week, but turns out it's tomorrow.

One of the members is a first edition player. To show the kind of things he does, in Red Hand he got giants and archers to destroy all 100 of the barges that were to ferry the hoard across the river. At 7th level. There were six grunts and two casters on every barge. All dead.The other two are not so worrying, but they will go along with the first guys plans.

And I plan for this dungeon to last for one or two sessions hopefully two. If two I can make the second half later, but I want as much done as possible. I think I'll give the XP at the end of the session.

[Fenryr]

If you have nothing prepared, maybe the railroad is not that bad. For this time, maybe you should do it. Still be prepared for surprises.

If you want maps or dungeons, you may search free modules in the Wizards webpage. You may even get some short adventures or ideas to extend your day.

[Sylivin]

On the opposite side of the railroading area, some PCs want to be railroaded. More accurately, they want some tracks to be laid down and they want the DM to push every now and again. I have found my own group to be horribly ADD if left to their own devices. Too much freedom leaves them to stagnation.

Really you'll have to feel out the group and see how tightly you'll have to hold the reigns.

For one adventure though? Go hog wild with the railroading as long as it stays pretty realistic. If you mention beforehand, "Hey, this first session will be pretty narrow-focused to give you guys an idea of the setting and a bit of background," I highly doubt they will complain much.

[LansXero]

Ok, I have to DM a 1st level 3.5 game with three players tomorrow, I have nothing prepared, I don't have a campaign world, and the last time I was DM was like five years ago when I was just starting D&D, and only for one short adventure. This will be the first adventure of a hopefully long term campaign.

First of all, dont panic. Second, do you know what kind of game your players would like? If so, it would make it easier for you to mentally prepare for that kind of game (why develop NPCs too much if they want hack and slash, why agonize over combat stats if they want intrigue and roleplay). Third, how much actual time do you have? (as in, hours). Plenty of free low level modules for 3.5 and Pathfinder on the web, you could get one, read it through, change stuff around a bit and have a workable session for tomorrow. Easier to be creative when adding stuff than when making it from scratch.


I have a few questions, and a few requests.

Question One: Houserules.

My RL group just finished Red Hand of Doom as a one shot, and in that we didn't use critical confirmations. If you got a crit, it was a crit. I'm just wondering if you guys think that's a good idea, or if I should drop it. I liked it, but maybe it unbalanced the game and I didn't notice.

Depends on the optimization level but it shouldnt unbalance things too much. Just make sure players dont invest resources into stuff that helps with critical confirmation and you should be fine :D


Also, I was thinking of doing a little 3.P and giving them a feat every other level, plus the whole skill system (minus Fly skill). Anything wrong with this? Assuming I took the time to do it to the monsters, it shouldent make them any more powerful (I might also give some Pathfinder class features to rogues, fighters, and the like). Will this work? Should I go further and pla pathfinder with some 3.5 splatbooks thrown in? I only have Core pathfinder though, so I'm not sure I want to do that.

It will have different effects from class to class as some benefit much more from feats than others. Id suggest adding flaws instead, as they are limited to 1st level feats and are fewer in number. Id suggest allowing Pathfinder version of classes and converting them where needed if you are more familiar with 3.5.


If there are any useful houserules anyone knows of, please share them.


"Any rules discussion that takes over 5 mins to be resolved is adjudicated by DM, but can be reviewed between sessions, and the final resolution will be by RAW. But to keep things speedy, for the rest of the session the DM ruling holds".


Question Two: Setting

So since I don't have a lot of time, I thought I would just make a large Hack n' Slash dungeon. I rolled on the DMGs adventure seed thing, and I got something about slavers, so why not. The party is hired by the town to stop the slavers kidnapping the townsfolk. They have a base of operations ten or twenty miles away. Could be a castle or a dungeon, which do you think is better? They go through, kill all the (probably human) slavers, kill the boss, free the slaves that haven't been sold yet. Loot, XP, fame. Classic kick in the door stuff. But this dungeon needs to last five or six hours at least, preferably twice that. How big will it need to be? Will they need to rest, meaning I'll have to put believable safe rooms in? Should I have lots of traps, or more guards?

Maybe try this?: http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/dungeon/

As for your actual plan: It doesnt need to be too long to last for that long, just try to keep them engaged with actual stuff happening. Longer/harder combats arent actually all that interesting, specially at low levels with fewer options. Make the slavery repulsive and the slaves sympathetic, hint at darker stuff (that you may not need to flesh out later anyways, it just makes it seem like you have stuff planned), if you know what they are sensitive against use it to freak them / scare them / make them angry at the slavers. Castle above for the slavers and their minions / equipment / supply / etc. with a dungeon below for the slaves and torturers and whatever. Lets you split up the adventure for snack time :D

Also it would be better if they didnt get much of a rest, so try to make it time sensitive. Perhaps they only have until sunrise before they move away the next shipment? Maybe someone they know / care about is in there? Maybe a relative of someone who got captured will pay them well only if the bring back said person? But to make it possible, every now and then let them grab stuff that lets them go on: healing potions, scrolls, wands, ammunition (although we never bother counting that maybe you do), food, etc.


I can make it all myself, but if anyone has an idea for a room, please let me know. Depending on how big this ends up being, my creative muscles might not be able to pump out enough original rooms.

Taking a page from one of the Planet of the Apes movies, slaves dont have romance. They are led to breed like animals to increase slave population and because some rich people want slaves they can groom from childhood. So you can either put in the "mating cells" or the victims of such procedures.

Slaves that are too old / too weak / too sick are thrown into a pit to die slowly, or to feed the slavers hunting wolves, or as payment for the slavers dark masters?

The whole enslaving thing is a front, they use only a handful of them for a profit, most of them end up in the receiving end of surgical alterations. Half-beast, half-demons, half-golems, half-undead, you decide :O


Question Three: Rails
So I have no world, not really enough time to flesh out what happens if my players do something I don't expect, and not a lot of experience DMing. Should I just force my group to go on as I want them to?

Probably not, although some groups do like being led by the nose.


I mean, what if they decide to just get the King of whatever country this is in involved?

He is busy with a foreign war / He is actually dead and the nobles wont let anyone know that / He is corrupt and thus turns a blind eye at it / He is honest but weak and slavery is very profittable to some powerful nobles he doesnt wish to antagonize / He is involved in it, laying siege to the slavers nation, but individual slavery attempts are too spread out for him to cover every single one/ THERE JUST ISNT ENOUGH TIME!. Choose one.


What if they join the slavers?

They get to travel to Slaveria, where they get chained in their sleep and sold alongside the slaves they failed to recruit / They are ordered to go raid a nearby village / They are put on trial which consists of picking up a "special order": a half-dozen blond girls for a local Baron renowned for his "love" for children.


What if the organize the town into an army and storm the slavers base?

Familiar with any wargame? Would help solve massive combat >_<. Alternatively, let the villagers engage the slavers en-masse while they are ordered to sneak into the actual base, because otherwise the slaves may all die. O the other way around: they have to keep the slavers busy with raids and assaults while the plucky villagers save their friends.


What if afterwards, they try to find out who they were selling the slaves to?

to Slaveria. to the King for cannon fodder in the army. to the Pope (or any other religious figure) to make into a brainwashed army of zealots. to the Ogres for work and food. to the Harpys for suitable mates. To all of them. To nobody they can know, for the black ships sail into uncharted waters and the slaves are never again heard of.


Basically, should I railroad them, just for this one adventure? Make sure they don't go off the path I have planed out? Otherwise, I might end up wasting tons of work, or be stuck up a dungeon without a paddle.

You could, but they outnumber you so they WILL come up with something for which you dont have an answer planned out. I hope some of the stuff I put up above may help you come up with something should the ocasion arrive. Unless you are certain they wont mind being railroaded and will cooperate with you in the understanding that you are just getting the hang of it, in which case its all fine.


Question Four: Leveling and NPCs

So considering the size, should I expect them to level? More than once? Also, there are only three players, so how does that affect the number of enemies? Should I add a DMPC to give them the classic four? I'm guessing I should use 1st level warriors as mooks, with PC classes as more powerful monsters. I would appreciate it if anyone has stats for PC race 1st level enemies that they are willing to give me, otherwise I would have to make them myself, and lazy as I am...


Level them up right before the big battle, or right before snack time, depending on how fast you want your campaign to go. This will let them feel that much more confident before taking on whatever lies next, as well as replenish some resources.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2739526/D%26D/TGM_Dragon_Green-9.jpg
These should help you stat up NPCs more quickly. Fill them up from stuff straight from the monster manual (or the SRD: www.d20srd.com) and you can quickly reference and reuse them as needed.

As for having the classic 4, its not really necessary. If no player wants to take anything that can heal, then you could bring a healer NPC along, but remember the PCs are the protagonists. Try to roleplay the NPC as a friendly, likeable person who is there to help them and honestly cares about their wellbeing. The cleric in the campaign I currently DM has been saved three times from certain death, and is barely even needed to heal anymore since several levels ago. They just grew fond of the guy, I guess.



That's hopefully it, but any pieces of general advice you have for a new DM, old player, would be nice.

Dont Panic.

[Machinekng]

I have an idea for, not for the world, per say, but for an adventure backdrop.

Beneath the dungeon/castle the slavers are based at, there is an encampment of Drow/Druegar/Derro/Illithid/Underdark threat of the week. The slavers are selling the majority of the slaves to them, selling only a token amount to their other buyers. Wether the Underdarkers are using the slaves to excavate the Prison of some ultimate evil/vault of arcane power, or to make the slaves into an army, or to sacrifice them to the god(dess) of evil, that's your decision. However, this premise would allow you to make the dungeon/castle really big without making it incredulous.

[Alaris]

I have an idea for, not for the world, per say, but for an adventure backdrop.

Beneath the dungeon/castle the slavers are based at, there is an encampment of Drow/Druegar/Derro/Illithid/Underdark threat of the week. The slavers are selling the majority of the slaves to them, selling only a token amount to their other buyers. Wether the Underdarkers are using the slaves to excavate the Prison of some ultimate evil/vault of arcane power, or to make the slaves into an army, or to sacrifice them to the god(dess) of evil, that's your decision. However, this premise would allow you to make the dungeon/castle really big without making it incredulous.

*Nod* I agree with this idea for a good adventure backdrop.

In addition, one important thing to remember if you're making this a campaign is... make sure the adventures link together in some way. And not just a VERY LOOSELY CONNECTED group of little adventures.

Much more fun an interesting stories are written that way.

[Dragon Star]

LansXero: Thank you so much for all the help! I guess you're right that I can just think up something interesting if they do something unexpected.



I have an idea for, not for the world, per say, but for an adventure backdrop.

Beneath the dungeon/castle the slavers are based at, there is an encampment of Drow/Druegar/Derro/Illithid/Underdark threat of the week. The slavers are selling the majority of the slaves to them, selling only a token amount to their other buyers. Wether the Underdarkers are using the slaves to excavate the Prison of some ultimate evil/vault of arcane power, or to make the slaves into an army, or to sacrifice them to the god(dess) of evil, that's your decision. However, this premise would allow you to make the dungeon/castle really big without making it incredulous.

I like this. I always loved the Underdark. Maybe most of the slaves are being sold as food to mind flayers, and others are being made into docile thralls.

[Machinekng]

I like this. I always loved the Underdark. Maybe most of the slaves are being sold as food to mind flayers, and others are being made into docile thralls.

Just remember that Illithids are a higher-level threat (The weakest ones are CR 7, I think).

[danzibr]

I have found my own group to be horribly ADD if left to their own devices. Too much freedom leaves them to stagnation.
This I absolutely have to agree with. I mean, as a DM I don't tell them every little thing to do, but it's good to have at least a few solutions. I mean, if they have to handle Kobolds, tell them rather than them doing all sorts of investigation. However, maybe they befriend the Kobolds, maybe they kill them, maybe they enslave them, whatever. I say give them goals but let the players carry them out however they can/wish.

[Alaris]

Just remember that Illithids are a higher-level threat (The weakest ones are CR 7, I think).

Well yeah. I mean... my recommendation is to possibly have the Illithid show up, make him a recurring villain. They can't touch him right now, but they could fight him later. *Nod*

[Dragon Star]

Ok, I just realized that I like the slaver thing a lot. I have some great ideas for it, plus all the stuff you guys gave me, but I don't think I can do them justice till 5th level or so. Should I just do a boring dungeon crawl, maybe with orcs, or make the slavers base big enough that they can gain 4 levels before I even start on the good stuff, or make the base be a boss adventure, with a lot of other stuff partaining to the slavers coming before that?

[LansXero]

I assume the raiders that actually go enslave people arent that high level. You could start them in-action, fighting off the latest wave of raiders at <village>. (1 encounter) They chase them off, but not before they they manage to kidnap a handful of those villagers, so they track them back to their nearby hideout (2 encounters). There, by interrogation or by finding papers they find out the local village mayor is corrupt, having sold them the town guard schedules and patrol routes. Some guards are also paid by the enslavers to weaken the defenses. So they can go confront them about it, forcibly (3 encounters) and end up fighting the mayor and its pets (4 encounters, level up time!).

And go on like that