New to D&D

[mst3k]

Hi. I'm new to D&D. I've played a ton of rpg video games in my life tough, and I've always known that my favorite games might have never been if it weren't for dungeons & dragons and LOTR. So I decided to give it a shot. Every few months a buddy of mine comes and stays in town and about 4 of us get together to play Magic (easily my favorite game in general) but they finally talked me into trying out d&d.

It seems like it could be fun and entertaining. But... The two (switching each session/campaign) people who usually DM are... how do I put it... High School drop outs. I've been reading since I was 3, I first picked up the Hobbit around 7. They really don't have the capability to keep my attention, or tell an intriguing story, or create an engaging environment. Don't get me wrong they're great guys. Funny as hell and good to the core, but not everyone is into book learnin'. The one other person in our group who could do this, has no interest. He just wants to play.

So right about now you're probably thinking, "shut up and play with other people." Well, no. We've all decided that I should take a shot at DMing. Which is fine with me, I'm not going to play with other people or turn this into a lifelong thing, so if I am going to enjoy this game, this is how I will be able to. One of two things is happening, though, that are really hampering my understanding of what's what in this game. Either I'm having trouble understanding the mechanics of the game, or they're really bad at teaching someone how to DM. I'm leaning more towards the latter, but I'm positive it's a combination.

Every question I have is usually met with "do what you want, you're the Dm!" And while I understand that ultimately, yes, I am god, I've known that for longer than I've even known about this game; I also understand that this game has rules and more books than the Hardy Boys collection for a reason.

I downloaded a ton of the books the other day, a bunch of third edition stuff, which match the core books my friends have, but I also seem to have downloaded a massive amount of game material for editions and expansions I'll probably never even use. But I don't know where to begin. All the books reference each other and everything is very poorly organized as far as books go. The comprehensive M:tG rule book is easier to read for me than all these volumes.

What would you guys recommend for someone new to and interested in DMing? Where would you guys have an absolute beginner start reading? Any tips that would help newbies? Is there a sort of "rules for dummies" article you found handy, etc and so forth. Thanks.

[Kerilstrasz]

Ok... no need to get worried...
3 books only!

Dungeon Master Guide
Rules Compendium
Index Skills Actions (i dont know if thats official but it includes all actions someone can do and all the uses of skills) i actually google it after my former DM told me about it.

Remember that you dont have to know EVERYTHING! noone does...
for your 1st Campaign get some ready to play campaigns.. prefer low level ones so you get some experience on mechanics before you encounter with fancy spells and tricky encounters...
Let your players get their characters made form PhB (Players Handbook) only..
have them know exactly what each feat,special ability or spell they use do so they can help you through the game...
and before you start the 1st session have them tell you what they chars do..

Thats about rules , mechanics etc etc..
About RP... you ll just have to distinguish the Player from Character knowledge.. what the Player knows and what his charcter knows... a player may know that mixing some spices together you can make black powder...
but does that level 1 hunter knows???? propably not... :)

anyway.. use a ready to play campaign at start .. it has all you need to know about fights,RP and everything else you will need in there so you get 1-3 session learning and not giving your brain strokes :)

[mst3k]

Thanks, that sounds very helpful. I have a few reference sheets that show me a bunch of stuff. Like the battle one, for instance, has a lot of different combat pertinent info on them, and then what book (usually DMG, PHB, and somtimes a monster manual I think) they're in and what page in that book, so I'm going to print those off because so far they've been the answers to most of the technical questions I've had.

I'll look for a fun and simple ready made campaign for the first one we try. I was really jazzed about making my own world, but I probably need to simplify it to understand the dynamics at first, and using a pre-made campaign sounds like a great way to do that.

Thanks again.

[Flickerdart]

The DMG is useless, the Rules Compendium isn't, and you don't need to index jack. Here are a few tips:

1: Read the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/). It contains most of the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual. It also has hyperlinks on all the stuff, so if you don't know what a keyword is, you can click and find out.

2: Read the Tier System (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=1002.0). Not all classes are born equal, and making sure that your players are playing classes roughly similar in power will make your job of creating balanced encounters a lot easier.

3: Ignore Challenge Ratings. Even normally, CR is a measure of what a party can easily kill (expending 20% of daily party resources - HP, spell slots, etc). A challenging encounter is going to be CR+2 to CR+4, or higher or lower, because CR is dumb. Look at the creature's statistics (attack bonus should be 10ish points lower than the party's average AC, save DCs should be 10ish points higher than the party's average saves, and so on) instead.

4: Wealth By Level is not optional. The game assumes that the PCs will have magic gear, and balances encounters accordingly. Make sure you give out rewards appropriately. Don't hold consumables against them - WBL is a measure of current wealth, not how much you've given them. Try not to take away their items.

5: For the first little while, enforce a strict source list. Not because core is more balanced (it isn't), or because of power creep (there isn't), but because your players will have less rules to read, and thus less opportunities to get confused. For the first while at least, don't allow homebrew material - while there is definitely some rather good homebrew out there, most of it is terrible, and even the good stuff conforms to a wide variety of power levels. Player's Handbook + Complete X series + Tome of Battle is a decent start.

6: Be aware of variant rules and guidelines. Level Adjustment buy-off is a variant rule. Flaws are a variant rule. Whether or not the game is using these rules is up to you, the DM, and not the players. Likewise, the pricing for custom magic items is a guideline, not a rule, and it is always up to the DM to determine the final cost.

7: Watch out for 3rd edition books. There were only some rules changes for 3.5 ("Revised 3rd Edition") but not everything from 3.0 makes sense in 3.5. If you see things like "Damage Reduction 10/+3", the Beast creature type, and skills like Alchemy, Intuit Direction and Innuendo, then it's 3.0 and needs a careful looking-over for compatibility.

8: There are some things that D&D is good at. Horror is not it. Low magic is not it. D&D is suited for high-magic heroic fantasy, so play to its strengths.

[Morph Bark]

Index Skills Actions (i dont know if thats official but it includes all actions someone can do and all the uses of skills) i actually google it after my former DM told me about it.

Is that the actual name of the book? I tried to look it up, but only ended up on sites that didn't have any info on such a book or even the actions you can do with skills. In fact this thread was the first hit I got on Google. Where can I find it?

[Kerilstrasz]

That index pdf...
http://www.scribd.com/doc/19792045/DnD35Index-Skills-Actions

[Flickerdart]

The Crystal Keep docs are fine as an index, but the information is often inaccurate or outdated. They should never be used as a primary source.

[Kerilstrasz]

The Crystal Keep docs are fine as an index, but the information is often inaccurate or outdated. They should never be used as a primary source.

to be honest i havent checked it page by page with the books but i think its a nice addition to start and maybe get a pen and correct what you may find wrong or even keep your "DM notes" on it..
actually thats the only pdf i printed and have by me in every session since all the other books are as Pdfs in my laptop

[Bloodgruve]

First off, plan on the fact that your players will not follow the story that you spent six hours planning. They will go after the comment that the passing farmer made about his sheep being sick... If you have important details for the story arc make them flexible enough to stick anywhere.

You win as a DM if your players can enjoy and explore their characters and abilities. This does not mean that you need to avoid character death if they do something stupid.

Give your main bad guy multiple escape options.

Be careful of how much homebrew and houserule you allow. RAW keeps it fair. Document any specific rule changes and get buy in from your players. Nothing is worse than building a character only to have it's coolest ability be nullified by a houserule. Don't stifle your players imagination though ;)

From a high level I view the game as consisting of three major parts. Combat, skills usage/skills challenges and social interactions. Then to give feeling to the game add in some colorful description of locations and allow the PC's some down time to mess around and purchase stuff for their characters.

You could take a look at the Pathfinder Adventure Paths to start out. There are some changes from 3.5 but you most likely could sub in 3.5 crunch. I've played some of the Kingmaker path but I'm not too familiar with any of the others.

GL
Blood~

[mst3k]

Awesome, this is all really helpful.

[ngilop]

I am sorryt o have to do this but i feel it is a need to counter point a lot of what FLciker said for the simple facst these are new players and then some things are just downright incorrect.


The DMG is useless, the Rules Compendium isn't, and you don't need to index jack. Here are a few tips:


I myself would be wary of any sort of advice anybody ever gave when the first thing they said was that the DMG is useless, is it not as worthwhile as the PHB or MM, probably not, but saying that it is useless well they play a game iw ould never ever want to take part in.




2: Read the Tier System (http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=1002.0). Not all classes are born equal, and making sure that your players are playing classes roughly similar in power will make your job of creating balanced encounters a lot easier.


This is the worse single peice of advice anybody could ever give to a new D&D player, what person who just started the game has the system knowledge and what not that defines teh 'Tier' system that JaronK created?

id wager a month's pay that these new players are going to be playing the same roles that the playtesters did when 3rd ed was created.. Now when you've played for a bit and noticed the disparity between certain classes, It will take different amount of times depending ont he erson, for a real life example it took untill my 4th 3rd ed session to realize the druid and even the druid wolf companion was better at fighting than my fighter, it was a huge battle of stubborn-ness and nostalgia of rmembering the day of yore when the fighter was THE FIGHTER while it took untill late in that campaign for our Monk to realize that he wasn't doing much if anything. Mostly becuase that was his first time with D&D, he had played a bit of Shadowrun before so it was not his first foray into RPGs.

besdies Ive alwasy felt the 'Tier' system is more aptly named the 'Jerk' system as in if you are a wizard and a jerk you cna make every other lcass redudant. but if you are nice, well thn the party X feels like they are contributing. It wasn't untill I came to GiTP a long while ago that I even seen a reference for a "tier' system and then several months before I found out what it was, other than die hard crazies on PbP or this Forum, Ive yet to see anybody play the 'Tieir' system at their game session let alone saying ' OH(*&#&^% we have a wizard everybody els ehase to be a cleric, druid, sorcerer, favored soul or artificer.

Ive had a blast and NOT been left in the dust with Me as a Paladin, an artificer, sorcerer, and 2 clerics. but agian thats begauce they didn;t play the 'Tier/Jerk' system.



3: Ignore Challenge Ratings. Even normally, CR is a measure of what a party can easily kill (expending 20% of daily party resources - HP, spell slots, etc). A challenging encounter is going to be CR+2 to CR+4, or higher or lower, because CR is dumb. Look at the creature's statistics (attack bonus should be 10ish points lower than the party's average AC, save DCs should be 10ish points higher than the party's average saves, and so on) instead.



Actually for first time players the CR ratings are pretty dead on. Again I would dare say that most, if not all, of first time players regelate themselves to teh same roles that the original 3rd ed playetsrers did and which all CRs are balanced against

now when you get a few sessions under your belt with you and your players are getting to udnerstand the rules and various interaction within those rules you can better adjust CRs



4: Wealth By Level is not optional. The game assumes that the PCs will have magic gear, and balances encounters accordingly. Make sure you give out rewards appropriately. Don't hold consumables against them - WBL is a measure of current wealth, not how much you've given them. Try not to take away their items.


I do wholehredyt agree with flicker on the WBL point though... The game is not the DM vs the players and other than any class that gets the equivalent of 6th level spells or greater not having their WBL is a HUGE HUGE power loss.



On a side note the wizards site has a lot of free starting adventures the best on IMO is The Burning Plague (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20000801a)

the ncie thing is they made this one into a sequal quest for 4th edition.. so fidning a 3rd ed conversion should be so hard IF you want to prusue this all the way.

[Palanan]

I would agree that Flickerdart's advice represents a highly experienced, seasoned perspective that's most applicable to other advanced players.

First, mst3k, I think your instincts are correct: your friends probably aren't that good at teaching someone else how to DM. If you are, in fact, an absolute beginner (and every one of us has been, at one point) then I'd stick to the PHB and DMG to start with.

You didn't mention which level you're starting the group at, but I'll assume it's around levels 1-3. My first 3.5 group started right at level 1, and we had a great time with The Sunless Citadel (http://www.amazon.com/Sunless-Citadel-Dungeons-Dragons-Adventure/dp/0786916400) and The Forge of Fury (http://www.amazon.com/Dungeons-Dragons-Fantasy-Roleplaying-Adventure/dp/0786916443). They're pretty basic and a good introduction to the system.

They're also easy to use in most of the elaborate game worlds you've been skimming through, since they can be dropped into any generic, out-of-the-way locale. This means you don't have to immediately decide which world to use. This is the approach my first group ended up using; we started with Sunless Citadel, and then settled on the Forgotten Realms as the broader setting.

Also, Bloodgruve's first paragraph is priceless advice. There's probably a name for this principle, whereby the players seize upon some off-the-cuff scrap of flavor and pursue it relentlessly. You can't always be prepared for it, so flexibility really helps.

[FujinAkari]

As others have said: Pick your battles.

Familiarize yourself with the skills and combat sections, and then in the game consider when skills are actually called for.

"I want to get up on the bar and sing about the barkeeps ass!" Well, getting on the bar most certainly does -not- need a skill check. Everyone can get on a bar, but the song could require a Charisma check (Or Perform check, if they have it) to see how much of an ass he makes of himself :P

A lot of beginning DMs make the mistake of asking for checks for -everything- "Walking down the stairs? Dex check or you fall!" No, don't put your players through that, if it is something everyone can do, it doesn't require a check. Now, running down a blood-soaked flight of stairs to respond to a call for help? -That- could require a dex check!

[JackRackham]

I'm actually going to back up Flickerdart here. The DM should know about the tier system and how it works. If the players don't know about it initially, fine. But the DM should understand how the game works.

Also, TOB has the reputation of being hard on new players or introducing a power level that wouldn't exist in a newbie-heavy game otherwise (as TOB is really hard to mess up), but I say it's not so tough and doesn't seem so overpowered if you take it as a given from day one of DM-ing. It's better to start out playing the game as it should have been.

I'd also add that the factotum should be grabbed from Dungeonscape. PERIOD. End of story.

[Bloodgruve]

I would suggest that if you only allow PHB for your players at least open up feats from other sources -but- get familiar with them too. I love 3.5 for the sheer number of options available to me as a player. I would probably pass on a game that was core only.

You should be aware that the wizard/cleric/druids can wreak havoc and trivialize your well planned encounter but this all depends on the level of player piloting them. If your wizard wants to be harry potter don't be too worried. If your wizard has 20 levels planned on a spreadsheet and hands you a list of spells he would like to find start to worry...

GL
Blood~

[Flickerdart]

I am sorryt o have to do this but i feel it is a need to counter point a lot of what FLciker said for the simple facst these are new players and then some things are just downright incorrect.



I myself would be wary of any sort of advice anybody ever gave when the first thing they said was that the DMG is useless, is it not as worthwhile as the PHB or MM, probably not, but saying that it is useless well they play a game iw ould never ever want to take part in.
I've been DMing for about five years now. Never read the DMG. It does have useful stuff in it, but all of that useful stuff exists in the SRD. All of the advice it gives isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The WBL tables, perhaps, but those are easier to find online than by digging through the blasted thing.


<tier system related snip>
It doesn't matter how long it takes for people to realize that they are useless. What matters is that they start out being useless. The players should know what they're getting into from the get-go. Neither should the other players be obligated to support them. It's a team game, sure - but that means that everyone should contribute, not just the wizard.



Actually for first time players the CR ratings are pretty dead on. Again I would dare say that most, if not all, of first time players regelate themselves to teh same roles that the original 3rd ed playetsrers did and which all CRs are balanced against

now when you get a few sessions under your belt with you and your players are getting to udnerstand the rules and various interaction within those rules you can better adjust CRs
Incorrect. The CR system isn't broken because of optimization. It's broken because it doesn't accurately represent a monster's power level. I'm sure you've seen the MM2 thread, where CRs are often off by as many as 6 levels. Clever tactics or simply a particular immunity will also swing the CR around - for instance, against a party with no magic weapons, a Shadow or Allip might as well be CR 10000 for all that they can do except run the hell away. It is always vitally important to understand where the monster's power is coming from, and then making sure that the PCs are going to be capable of dealing with it.

[White_Drake]

So far as general advice goes, I found the 2nd Edition AD&D DMG very helpful. Ehh... Granted CR is pretty screwed up in a lot of areas, and the DM should understand why something has a given CR, at low levels MMI is pretty accurate. I can't see why it should be entirely scrapped for an inexperienced DM. I do agree that the DM, if not the players , should understand the tier system. Even if a player isn't being a jerk, there's no denying the superior power of wizards (although this isn't really true at low level, low optimization).

[Andorax]

I'm forced to agree with ngilop, and couldn't disagree more with Flickerdart.

I ran a LOT of good, enjoyable 3.0 and 3.5 D&D before I ever even heard of the tier system. Most of my players still don't know it exists, and are still having a great time...yes, even the fighters and the monks.

The CR system is 95% good. The 5% that's in error will occasionally lead to TPKs, and those TPKs...will be stories told for years as the players continue gaming and the NEW DM (did I mention he was NEW?) gets experience under his belt to be able to make the judgement calls and adjustments on the fly that are needed.

It's a whole heck of a lot easier to get familiar with a baseline rule set than try to absorb a bunch of additional materials along the way. I strongly recommend just utilizing the core-3 (PHB, DMG, MM) to start off...refer to the glossary and the index...and don't sweat making a few mistakes along the way.

If I were to recommend a 4th book to a NEW DM with NEW Players...it would be the DMGII. There's actually a whole wealth of advice about managing a table, working with different players' personalities, and keeping a good game flowing.

Play some pre-generated adventures and modules (many adventures are available online as free downloads, you'll just have to do some hunting to find them). Get a feel for how things work. Don't be afraid to end a campaign and start fresh once you have a feel for how things work and want to start over and clean up some of the past mistakes.

[KillianHawkeye]

What would you guys recommend for someone new to and interested in DMing? Where would you guys have an absolute beginner start reading? Any tips that would help newbies? Is there a sort of "rules for dummies" article you found handy, etc and so forth. Thanks.

They actually did make a "D&D For Dummies" book, and I think one for DMing as well, but I'm not sure how useful they'd really be.

[Wookie-ranger]

They actually did make a "D&D For Dummies" book, and I think one for DMing as well, but I'm not sure how useful they'd really be.
I have it. bought it few months (or a year?) ago. just for fun. its a good start.

i also have the "D&D basic game" it include everything you need to start; a sample dungeon, player/monster miniatures, dice, summary of the rules, etc.
not the way i started playing, but i have it for when other what to start playing. its pretty fun.



I played 3.0 before 3.5 was out. so, it is fairly obvious that i did not know about the Tier system back then.

I had a BLAST playing a straight monk. seriously.
i have to say that the DM played ADnD before then. so 'ruling on the fly' was more common then looking stuff up in books. if it made sense in the moment, it works, if it does not make sense then it does not. you are the DM you make the rules.

IMO neither ngilop nor Flickerdart are completely wrong.
as a new DM you should know about the tier system you need to know the DMG rules (yes they are nearly all in the SRD, does not change the fact that they are the DMG rules), you canNOT use CR as your only guideline for choosing an encounter, but it is a very good starting point.
but all those things are far less important for the players.

DM has to know a LOT, the players are on a need-to-know basis.
If it does not affect their character, or the group as a whole then they probably don't need to know. i don't mean that the players should be kept in the dark, but many new players would find the huge amount of info so overwhelming that they simply lose interest.

That being said, if you want to play RAW D&D then this all applies. but the goal of the game is to have fun. so HAVE FUN! if that means that you toss out have the rules and bend the other then so be it.

many older players (old, as in 'have played a long time' not age) have fun optimizing, so the rules need to be strict or their special build of a sub-race with 3 templates, 6 different classes and feats from 10 books cannot work! What ever shall we do!
just joking people, I have played games and character like that and it can be a lot of fun. its a hobby finding interesting combinations just for TO, too. But from a RP perspective a lot of it is very silly (like the whole: 1 week in bard camp and then take a level in wizard to skip all the years of study.)

The DM makes and beaks the game. There is not much that you can say against this. The players 'job' is the have fun (with their Characters in the world that the DM creates around them), it is the DMs job to let the players have fun; not the other way around. the DM can have fun doing his/her job, but this is not the primary objective of the DM. I am a DM right now, and i am letting my players have fun; and this is fun for me, too. But i would rather be a player.

[Zubrowka74]

It's been mentioned already but I'll repeat it : be flexible. Cleave your adventure in chunks that can be placed anywhere or almost. Have a pool of vaguely defined NPCs (name / race / class / a motivation or quirk) you can just grab on the fly.

Don't be afraid to make mistakes or to adjust something along the way. As long as they don't see the dies you roll, you can steer the action where it'll be the most fun for everyone.

Also, the DM is not a slave doomed to cater the needs and whims of jadded players. Think of the DM as another player. Unless you get paid to DM, the game has to be fun for everyone!

[OracleofSilence]

Beyond all this, there are a few things that I have found to really matter:

1: The game is not about you (but you run it). It isn't even about the players (and they play it). Its about the ever ephemeral "fun". An empty hollow word if ever I heard one. Find something else to make the game about (that is still enjoyable), and then, only then, will the game actually be fun (example game ideas: epic, tense, humorous, horror (relies much more on RP heavy games then it most), and even something like balls-to-the-wall sillyness will make the game better then trying to make it "fun", and they will all be fun too).

2: Players hate a status-quo, or at least sometimes do. They want to be the ones in charge of their own fates. Give them more options then your plot, or even the random things they can pick up on conversations (my first game ever was set in Eberron, and started with us as spies in Sharn. To minutes later, we said words to the effect of "screw this, imma go punch drow in the face" and stowed away on the next airship to Xen'drik)

3: Try not to invoke Rule 0.

4: Ask players what they want from the campaign, but also ask yourself what YOU want. 'Cause even though fun is a nasty short-term and not really descriptive word, it is still what we play the game for. Everyone should have it

5: Strongly consider learning at least one variant magic system (Incarnum from Magic of Incarnum, Blade Magic from ToB, Binding/Shadow Magic/(not truenaming) from Tome of Magic, Psionics from Expanded Psionics Handbook) and include it as the Enemy. Not only will it give players more options when they have learned the game a little more, but it will give your foes a unique and memorable Otherness.

6: Remember, if Idea 1 (see above) is not working out, try something else.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by OracleofSilence
5: Strongly consider learning at least one variant magic system...and include it as the Enemy.

This is great advice. I've done something similar, in a more limited way, by using spells and magic items from the Books of Eldritch Might, which I keep as a DM-only resource. Players who comb through the MIC and the core books are mildly thrown when they see something they never expected, and it really does add to the sense of unpredictable otherness.

[OracleofSilence]

I've done something similar, in a more limited way, by using spells and magic items from the Books of Eldritch Might, which I keep as a DM-only resource. Players who comb through the MIC and the core books are mildly thrown when they see something they never expected, and it really does add to the sense of unpredictable otherness.

My favorite 3rd party book to use is definitely Encyclopedia Arcana: Chaos Magic. Brutally powerful magic system? Check. Definite sense of corruption and degrading grip on reality? Check. TOTALLY UNLIKE ANYTHING EVER PRINTED IN D&D? Well... close enough.

However, to the OP, if you read this or Palanan. Please do not use 3rd party in your first game. Get to know the rules before you before you try things of arguable (and never internet tested) balance.

[Roguenewb]

You wanna know the single thing it took me the longest to learn as a DM, but helped the most? You're *supposed* to lose every single challenge. Every fight is supposed to go against you, every puzzle is meant to be solved, every foe vanquished, every secret learned, every mystery discovered...

This means, that you need to give outs for everything, and suppress a natural reaction to get angry at losing. Your players *get* to be amazing, don't try to take it away from them.

[Telonius]

Beyond all this, there are a few things that I have found to really matter:

1: The game is not about you (but you run it). It isn't even about the players (and they play it). Its about the ever ephemeral "fun". An empty hollow word if ever I heard one. Find something else to make the game about (that is still enjoyable), and then, only then, will the game actually be fun (example game ideas: epic, tense, humorous, horror (relies much more on RP heavy games then it most), and even something like balls-to-the-wall sillyness will make the game better then trying to make it "fun", and they will all be fun too).

4: Ask players what they want from the campaign, but also ask yourself what YOU want. 'Cause even though fun is a nasty short-term and not really descriptive word, it is still what we play the game for. Everyone should have it



I will strongly second both of these. Especially from what the OP mentioned about the other players being dropouts.

Each person comes to the table with a different set of expectations. Some people want to hack and slash. Some people are bored stiff from that. Others want over-arching narratives; or plot development; or dynamic characters; or puzzle-solving dungeons; or just an excuse to screw around, eat pizza, drink Mountain Dew, and make Monty Python references for a couple hours a week.

As the DM, you've got to figure out everybody's angle (including your own) and strike a good balance between them. That's one of the most important functions of a DM. If you do it right, people will almost certainly have fun no matter what catastrophes happen in character or out of character.