new dm looking for tips and tricks pls help

[Skrag Fellhand]

heres a list of what i can use the most help with as of now

1. Top 5 books recommended for use in a campaign(for a noob)
2. Structure/Organization of notes/npcs etc.
3. Teaching a new player to think on their feet in game(shes sort of a 1 trick pony at the moment) (throw dart run,throw dart run, it never ceases)
4. Time managment, im only running for 1 person and things move 3x faster than when i played(not dmed) with a group, combat moves extremely fast. So instead of 1-3 encounters a session im getting 4-6.
5. Rules, what to KNOW and what to be familiar with.
6. I dont want to railroad the player in one direction, any recommendations on how to offer the player options without having to have 101 prepared adventures. Id like for the player to flesh out their pc, not me dictate who they are.

Thank you in advance for any advice

[BowStreetRunner]

6. I dont want to railroad the player in one direction, any recommendations on how to offer the player options without having to have 101 prepared adventures. Id like for the player to flesh out their pc, not me dictate who they are.

Okay, I'm going to try to tackle this one by suggesting one of my favorite stratagems that I have used as a DM - the recurring encounter. The idea is to create an encounter that A) the player will have to face several times during the campaign and B) due to varying circumstances will have to overcome in a different way each time. For an example I will use the first such encounter I ever devised for a campaign, the High Pass Watchtower.

The High Pass Watchtower is exactly what its name suggests - a watchtower guarding a high pass in the mountains. In this case, the pass leads from one kingdom into another, and the alternate routes around the mountains would add a significant amount of time to the journey.

The goal of the encounter is simple and straightforward - travel from one kingdom into the other before a set deadline. The deadline leaves the option of going around the mountains out of the question. However, the guards posted at the watchtower will not normally agree to allow the heroes to pass.

The heroes can overcome the encounter any of a number of ways. While it is up to them to come up with a solution, I have prepared the encounter for eventualities such as:

Brute Force - they can simply defeat the guard in battle...although I usually make this seem like the least desirable approach.
Stealth - they can sneak past undetected with Hide and Move Silently checks.
Bribery - they can negotiate passage with the guards with Diplomacy and Sense Motive checks.
Subterfuge - they can attempt to deceive the guards with Bluff and Disguise.
Mountaineering - they can use the pass most of the way, but use Climb and Rope Use to navigate the heights above the tower to bypass it.
White Water Rafting - they can also bypass the tower by taking an alternate route that relies on Survival and Profession (Boater) skill checks.


Over the course of the campaign I send the same party through this pass again and again. Each time, there are extenuating circumstances that make one or more options less attractive. Maybe they are carrying a prisoner or a wounded comrade. Perhaps they see the Nemesis of one of the party members has already reached the tower ahead of them or the tower has just received reinforcements in the form of a squad of the Inquisition. Maybe a winter storm is about to hit or there have been large numbers of Dire Wolves sighted in the area.

By forcing the party to overcome the exact same encounter using different methods at different times in the campaign, I help less experienced players to see how they can achieve their objectives in more ways than to simply kill everything they encounter and loot the bodies afterward.

[Aegis013]

Ok, I'll try to answer your questions one by one.

1. The books that are the best are usually the ones that cover topics you want. If you're not concerned about choice overload, Spell Compendium and Magic Item Compendium are great.
Player's Handbook 2 I'd also recommend, as personally, I think all of the base classes in that book (with the exception of knight) are well done power-wise.
Tome of Battle is great for melee, though the base classes really outshine Paladin/Monk/Fighter from core only.
That's only four books, but really, almost every book has some things that are really strong and some things that are really weak. Knowing how to pick and choose what is ok is best. As special mentions, books that include alternate subsystems are nice: Expanded Psionics Handbook (Manifesters can not spend more points than their Manifester level! It's important to be aware of that), Magic of Incarnum, Tome of Magic, etc.

2. Always personal preference. It only needs to have the important stuff though.

3. Put up a situation where the normal tactic is ineffective or unusable, thin hallway with rough terrain, or you have to use a standard action to hop from small 10x10ft rock area (over, I dunno, lava) to the next preventing running or something.

4. Unsure what you're needing.

5. The basics of combat are a need to KNOW, you shouldn't need to look up how initiative works, but I assume you're that far. It's good to know a handful of potent low level spells because you can use them to really spice up your encounters and games. Higher level spells are more rare, and will only be used on a case-by-case basis, so it's less important.

6. You don't need to prepare 101 adventures to give the player freedom to choose stuff. Just prepare a handful and drop all kinds of adventure hooks. (ie a flier that says the noble is looking for contractors for a particular job, or a few people conversing about some thing in the tavern, or whatever) when the player bites a plot hook because the reward fits what they want, insert a prepared adventure, slightly modified to fit the situation. Alternatively, you can just go by the seat of your pants. Some DM's can pull that off amazingly well.

[sabelo2000]

1. I find I can get by just fine with the DMG, PHB, MM, and whatever sourcebook is appropriate for the given adventure. You can always find SOMETHING to fit the situation in the core books, even if it isn't a fully-optimized CR30 perfect god-slaying monster. However, if you allow a class/magic item/spell from ANY non-Core book, make sure you review it thoroughly before play and understand what it does.

2. My one best advice regards notes and pacing: Always, ALWAYS, assume your player(s) will find a way to completely ruin whatever you had prepared. Therefore: Sketch out the basics in large strokes, leave the middle entirely undefined, and have your fine details (an encounter map, some NPCs and monsters) fully statted out, ready to drop in wherever it's appropriate.

For instance:
Large scale: "Get across this mountain pass with a tower in the middle."
Middle: "How? Who cares, that's for them to figure out."
Detail: "The guard is an Xth level Fighter with THESE stats and skills, backed up by THIS many random NPC Warriors. Here's an interior and an exterior battle map, they may end up fighting on either or both."

Adjust on the fly. Is your party getting its caboose handed to it? Back off on the difficulty. Are they just waltzing through? Toss in a few extra encounters, look up a randomly-generated trap, or just fill their path with rubble/fire/a bottomless pit. Leave the work to the players to find a way around this BUT! allow them an honest chance at any solution they come up with. If in doubt, let the dice decide.

[Blue1005]

If they are all new, why not stick to core rule books? Easy to find and use.

I prepare ideas, never details because the PCs always go against what you think. You want them to talk to NPC they rape and kill him, just the way it goes.

Know basic combat rules of dazed and all that, or at least know what page it is on.

And really, if you do get a group, they will BS while you look up rules anyways to make judgements so dont stress.

[Sudain]

What do you believe the answers should be?

Not trying to avoid the question, just wanting insight to how you would answer.

[Skrag Fellhand]

Thanx for all the advice its all greatly appreciated and has been more than helpful...to answer your question Sudain my list is below...

1. Top 5 books recommended for use in a campaign(for a noob)
Stick to the basics.
2. Structure/Organization of notes/npcs etc.
Anything as long as its neat and quickly accessible
3. Teaching a new player to think on their feet in game(shes sort of a 1 trick pony at the moment) (throw dart run,throw dart run, it never ceases)
Put them in a situation where there normal tactics would be out of the
question or not as effective.
4. Time managment, im only running for 1 person and things move 3x faster than when i played(not dmed) with a group, combat moves extremely fast. So instead of 1-3 encounters a session im getting 4-6.
Your the dm, limit the encounters to what your comfortable with, if the players enjoy it then your fine
5. Rules, what to KNOW and what to be familiar with.
Know combat and skill checks, be familiar with anything you may think will come up during your game.
6. I dont want to railroad the player in one direction, any recommendations on how to offer the player options without having to have 101 prepared adventures. Id like for the player to flesh out their pc, not me dictate who they are.
Create a few dozen hooks that will all end in a similar result and have 2 or three possible endings where the reward is pretty much what I had in mind to begin with, and the players choice will reflect who they and their character are, and help me to better determine where they stand in game.

[Sudain]

I think you are on the right track then Skrag.

[killem2]

I found A LOT of helpful advice from listen to these guys:

http://www.35privatesanctuary.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=13&Itemid=33

And I'm not even 1/4 of the way through all their podcasts!

They cover quite a lot of what you are asking about in either dedicated topics or a side topic.