Any advice for a new DM?

[Viachi]

Hey,
I'm building my world in 3.5, I'm ready to take a shot at DMing for the first time, I was hoping to get some pointers. Ive played 3.5 before and I know my players well, but is there anything important I should know like fatal mistakes to avoid or things that go super well in your campaign?
Also, how important is it to know how spell-casting works in a basic campaign? I've never played a spell-caster and I dont plan on introducing them as NPCs until much later?

[CaladanMoonblad]

Welcome to the wonderful world of GMing, where 8 hours of prep work can be gone in the first half hour because the players decided to do something totally different than the 3 or 4 possibilities you thought were probable...

I would suggest Donjon (http://donjon.bin.sh/) as a resource of amazing versimilitude; in particular, the Fantasy Name Generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/name/), the random Inn Generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/fantasy/inn/), the d20 Treasure Generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/treasure/) and the d20 Encounter Generator (http://donjon.bin.sh/d20/encounter/).

Next, I would suggest looking over some of the amassed modules at Wizards to get a feel for how a linear story is constructed. Scroll down and see links (http://www.dungeonmastering.com/campaigns-adventures/83-free-dd-adventures) to 3.5 material- there are 83 in this listing.

I would also suggest using a laptop or a TV-PC setup so you can run d20 SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/) during play to easily look up rules.

Suggestions for New GMs
1) Make sure you know the basics of all the rules. You can always look up mechanics for Disarm or Trip later, but make sure you understand and master everything else.

2) Be sure to properly define acceptable material; do you want a Core only game? Or Core Plus another set of select resources (Tome of Battle, Spell Compendium, etc.)? Or Everything d20 fantasy, including 3rd party stuff (like AEG's Feat book, etc.) The more resources you allow, the more weird things will happen with character builds.

3) While your word as a GM is law, do not be a tyrant! RPG is group storytelling, and the more players that have system mastery, the easier it will be to adjudicate situations fairly and by the rules.

4) The rules are your friend! As a GM, I'd suggest making sure that you have no skin in the game (ie, no GM character). The entire rest of the world is yours to craft, and the overall storyline is yours, let the players actually play without a GM character pulling them by the nose.

5) World building. Start with a map. Draw it by hand. Or generate it with a fractal world mapper (Donjon has a basic one, but there are others). There are many articles on this subject online- but the more realistic the better (ie, peninsulas generally jut out into a sea based on mountainous/volcanic areas... ie, cultures are additive and vary, and simply traveling 25 miles even certain hand signals can change meaning).

Modules, modules, modules. Read 5 or 6 level 1-3 premade scenarios... even run one or two if it helps before you craft your own story.

As for spellcasting... best to craft a few NPCs so you get the hang of things. I like using this dummy character block for my NPCs.

Name (Class 1)
Hitpoints XX (XdX+X), AC XX (+X armor, +X Dexterity, +X shield), Init +X, BAB +X; +X melee (Weapon 1dX+X) or +X ranged. Fort +X, Ref +X, Will +X, Str XX, Dex XX, Con XX, Int XX, Wis XX, Cha XX.
Feats: Blank.
Skills: (XX)
Equipment: Blank
Description: Blank

[Immabozo]

Personally, my players are very out of the box thinkers. A magically sealed door, they made a ram and went through the wall.

Dont be afraid to make stuff up on the fly. Just making stuff up can be important. Make sure you are familiar with your DMG, the pre-made NPC stats in there have saved me more than once. I have recently discovered the amazingness that is the a fore mentioned online generators. So those can be life savers as well.

[Haluesen]

Congrats and welcome to the cool side of the game. :smallwink: Hehe in all seriousness though DMing can be very fun. I guess something to ask though is how experienced are your players? Are they all long time players or fairly new to the game or even first timers? It can change up the play style quite a bit. When I ran my first campaign I also had all new players. On one hand I also had to focus on teaching them, on the other they were keen to just follow the flow of the game and not try to break anything; was able to just make an adventure and watch them go deal with it, which is quite liberating.

CaladanMoonblad got most of it straight, I would say follow all that. There are plenty of good resources online for DMs. I'm currently tryng to learn this thing called MapTools which looks amazing but no experience yet with it here, so I can't honestly recommend it. Wizard's has some good stuff as well as some other sites. You just gotta look.

My only real advice? First, let your world flow and be open. Don't make anything static unless it has been ingrained in the players mind that way, and even then feel free to change established details sometimes. Keeping things fluid and free and planning adventure's vaguely in the beginning means a lot less chance of those hour-long plans be ruined. Once they are firmly in whatever your campaign is, then you can worry less about them going off the rails I guess (not sure of a better term that doesn't refer to railroading).

Also just stay active in the forums! I get new ideas from here and learn new things all the time. It's a real boon.

As far as magic goes I wish I had some better advice for you. In my first campaign we didn't use a lot of magic until later levels and at that point it was almost overwhelming; don't let that happen to you. Start learning early. Just don't learn from me. :smallredface:

[Viachi]

CaladanMoonblad: Thank you so much! I'll be sure to check out those links! I've been running mostly on Seventh Sanctum for names, but Donjon really does look better for this!

Immabozo: Haha, I would have done the same thing. I too have messed up my DM's thinking by putting my only weapons in a weight trap where I was supposed to sacrifice my gold (to teach my rogue a lesson, :biggrin:). Or using rope to get items from across magical barriers. My party is going to be comprised of art and drama majors, so I think I'm in for some trouble- I guess thats karma :smalltongue:

Haluesen: My players range from complete beginners, to people who have studied the rules extensively but never played, to my own DM (who's a bit of a novice herself I guess). They should be pretty decent to play with in terms of not finding plotholes everywhere :P. Thanks for the advice about keeping the game loose, (and learning magic now). I think I'm going to have almost all spellcasters, so I think I'll get the hang of it sooner rather than later

thank you :)

[Haluesen]

Always glad to see someone else getting into DMing and glad to help. :smallsmile: Hope you have fun, and stay awesome!

[CaladanMoonblad]

CaladanMoonblad: Thank you so much! I'll be sure to check out those links! I've been running mostly on Seventh Sanctum for names, but Donjon really does look better for this!

Immabozo: Haha, I would have done the same thing. I too have messed up my DM's thinking by putting my only weapons in a weight trap where I was supposed to sacrifice my gold (to teach my rogue a lesson, :biggrin:). Or using rope to get items from across magical barriers. My party is going to be comprised of art and drama majors, so I think I'm in for some trouble- I guess thats karma :smalltongue:

Haluesen: My players range from complete beginners, to people who have studied the rules extensively but never played, to my own DM (who's a bit of a novice herself I guess). They should be pretty decent to play with in terms of not finding plotholes everywhere :P. Thanks for the advice about keeping the game loose, (and learning magic now). I think I'm going to have almost all spellcasters, so I think I'll get the hang of it sooner rather than later

thank you :)

Drama majors? Too fun! Always glad to help. I'll echo Haluesen to keep watching the boards- even as just a lurker. I see a lot of interesting stuff here and a few other places, even after two decades of playing and GMing... a good storyteller should always look for more ways to keep their stories fresh and compelling : )

Donjon really has helped make prep time more efficient; I'll even roll several Treasure hoards so I get a feel for the range (it really is random, so keep an eye out for a 90k staff that may pop up in a CR9 treasure hoard). The website's server is based off a south atlantic island, so sometimes it takes some patience (and lots of people use it on the weekends, which slows down in game use). I will use the Random Weather Generator if my players ask about it.

[Skysaber]

One thing: Every so often something completely random comes up, very often it is something no rules will cover, or perhaps they do but nobody at the table knows those rules.

In that sort of situation, my group favors what we call a "Luck Roll." The DM simply takes a D20, calls out "Higher is luckier for you" and rolls it.

As an example, there was a room in a dungeon filled with plushies. It was meant to play with the player's heads, and it worked. They Fire Stormed the room to burn up all of the plushies.

Then the subject of smoke got raised.

Nobody, DM or player had any idea if the smoke from the burning plushies would be toxic or if so how bad would it be. But it was deep in a poorly ventilated hole so we had to know.

Luck roll came up a 3. The smoke was very bad.

But luck rolls can be used to decide all sorts of things if your players strike out in unexpected directions you had not previously prepared for. Say they want a guide somewhere. 10-11 is average luck, so if there would normally be traffic there, sure! There's a guide.

A little lower, say 8-9 and he's in a bad mood and charges more. Lower, around 6-7, there may be a complication they can resolve. 4-5? No guides today. Perhaps they're all out on assignment already. Even lower? The guides not only aren't available, they won't be. Perhaps some new menace cropped up and killed them, or they really don't like the PCs for some imagined slight, or the Crown has prohibited travel there because of a war, or whatever.

Flip it around and higher is luckier. Perhaps a guide is already going there and they can just tag along with a group already going, so they don't have to pay, or pay less, etc.

The important thing is, all worlds are inherently infinite, and you can't decide everything in advance. So for things that don't matter to the storyline, or caught you off guard, or whatever, the Luck Roll can be a very powerful tool.

[Person_Man]

I've been an on and off DM for 20ish years. Here is everything I know:

1) Read a lot, and steal other people's best ideas.

2) Your players are going to do things you never expected, completely wrecking days or weeks of your careful world building and preparation. Just roll with it, and don't bother planning more then one game session ahead.

3) Find or create a small number of memorable NPCs. Figure out their motivations and beliefs, and set them into a conflict with each other and the PCs.

4) What occurs in the game world and the results of encounters should largely hinge on the choices of the players, and not on your predetermined outcomes.

5) Most disputes between players can be resolved with beer and pizza.

[rexreg]

CHEAT!!!!
a friend/co-DM asked me how often I fudged dice rolls while DM'ing...
he was shocked when I told him a good 75% of my DM dice rolls were bald lies...
the game is about plot, character, & world development...never let the dice impede this...
the DM's screen (wall of fear & ignorance) is your friend!!...all that matters is the game, the dice are no more than tools--or sound effects, as they rattle away behind your screen...

seriously, though...give each & every character a way to make his/her mark; also, make sure you engage all 5 senses when describing the world to your players...make your game world as tangible as possible...

[Silus]

Advice from me from personal experience as a DM and player:

1. Always have a plan.

2. Always have two other plans 'cause the players will mess up the first one (and likely the second one).

3. Do not be afraid to improvise. I've found that's where some of the most memorable stuff comes from. But make sure that it fits the location and context. Throwing in an Aboleth when there's been nothing but Orcs does not fit unless you can BS your way into a tie-in.

4. Be aware of what your players can do. Seriously. I've trivialized a good number of encounters in some Pathfinder games I've played by creative usage of stuff. Rod at the bottom of a 10-foot water maze thing with next to no visibility? Summon Nature's Ally II, water elemental, have it go down and fetch the rod. Locked door? Go through the wall. Warp Wood, Wood Shape, even my Blight Druid's Miasma made a fight with a Kelpie a curb stomp (Miasma = Sickened 1 minute and Nauseated 1 round if Fey followed by a Pox Pustules (-4 Dex and Sickened again), then summoned a shark in the pond it was in).

5. Personally, give the players a way out. If they're stuck in a room with some OP creature that they just can't beat (stupid DR, OP powers, etc) then, when stuff starts looking hella grim, be all "Well a crack in the wall has opened up. You can get through, but you're gonna have to dump some gear" or something. Nobody likes a no-win situation and I personally would rather ditch a 10k sword than have to roll up another character and get'em to lvl 8 again.

6. If a plan is crazy enough to work, outright awesome, or just impossibly silly, let the players do it. Who knows, it may work. And if it doesn't, you can always tell the players "I told you so".

7. Don't let the NPCs run the show. The PCs are the stars, for good or for ill.

[Shining Wrath]

You'll make mistakes. Err on the side of fun. Forgive yourself; ask for forgiveness when necessary.
Almost nothing requires you to raise your voice.
Reward players who play well. In particular, there is no real reason why *all* the contents of a treasure hoard need to be random.
Think about how you'll handle a PC death in advance. Discuss this with your players before it happens. A PC dying tends to raise more emotion than almost anything.

[Captnq]

1. Do Not Cheat.

The moment you cheat, is the moment your players come to distrust you. If you cheat to kill them, they will come to hate you. If you cheat to save them, they will feel like they are playing in nerf world.


2. Leave yourself some wiggle room.

You can't think of every single thing, so what is the possibility that this NPC has a scroll of teleport? That's your wiggle room. But instead of just deciding he has a scroll, roll a die and give it a percentage chance. The higher the NPCs combined Int+Wis, the better his chances that he thought ahead.


3. Kill the bastards.

No. Seriously. Kill them. Do not fear killing your players. Don't make horrible death traps, but if the die says he dies, he dies. That said, avoid TPK. That's Total Party Kill. Smart players have a few thousand GP set aside for a reincarnation. Really good players have 25k set aside for a true resurrection. If they don't plan ahead, well, make them pay for it.


4. Kill your NPCs.

You spend hours crafting the perfect NPC villian. The player pulls out a staff of Screw-Everything-Alive-In-100-Ft-Radius that they took off a bad guy from 6 months ago, then activate the Amulet of Turn-Undead-For-Three-Rounds. Watch your Perfect NPC get turned into a pile of goo. Ah well, it happens. Let the NPC die and move on.


5. Fluff can be fun.

I have a number of fluff encounters ready. The NPC kid who is cradling a little wounded kitten that the bad-old red wizard magic missile'd, for example. Never before have I seen a NPC so brutally murdered, his castle leveled, and the ground salted and cursed so nothing would grow there for a thousand years. A fluff encounter is anything that has nothing to do with the adventure, but eats up time. Others call it stalling. As long as the players are enjoying themselves, it should be cool.

[Haluesen]

See? The people of the board alwasy providing helpful insight. :smallsmile: I think alll these people are right with the good advice, but especially Silus and Captnq. Don't be afraid to really push and challenge your players, but really don't underestimate them. Gave one of my last PC's control of one of our NPC casters for a dungeon (long story there, small group), who was an alright conjurer (before I knew anything at all about optimization). So, when fighting the Big Bad of the adventure? After a few rounds of awesome tactical combat, had the NPC summon a massive spider in the air above the boss and let it drop. Based on the information I gave them about the room and what we figured about summons it was workable, so I had to allow it. :smallbiggrin: It was just too hilarious to say no to (good thing this guy had multiple lives :smallwink: ).

So yeah, a lot of good advice on here for you. :smallcool:

[Immabozo]

...Immabozo: Haha, I would have done the same thing. I too have messed up my DM's thinking by putting my only weapons in a weight trap where I was supposed to sacrifice my gold (to teach my rogue a lesson, :biggrin:). Or using rope to get items from across magical barriers. My party is going to be comprised of art and drama majors, so I think I'm in for some trouble- I guess thats karma :smalltongue:...

Could be worse, could be engineering majors!

[killem2]

For your first session, try to keep it simple, easy, and realtively uncomplicated so you do as little work as possible.

You should get the feel for the type of players you have, and if they are slower players or faster players so you can build around that.

Try to never say NO, instead try to say YES, and why, or if you absolutley have to say no, give it some real flare.

[Viachi]

Haha thanks everybody- there's been some really good advice. I guess I'll need to see my group's playstyle before I plan anything too big, but I'm definitely writing in some plan b-s.

I'm definitely not opposed to killing characters if the player gets really cocky about them, I doubt any of them will be thinking about resurrections until high levels though (and I think I'm going to be mean and make them start at level 1)

I don't like the idea of cheating, but as long as I don't get caught fudging something I don't think it'll be too bad. ;)

[rexreg]

killem2...what you said about saying yes is absolutely true...
as an aside, my CHEAT! comment was somewhat tongue in cheek...perhaps it would have been more accurate to say "remember that you run the game, not the dice"...it's your's & the players' world/story...keep it fun & interesting...

Viachi, have fun running your game...

[b300mussolini]

so i am both new to DM and Roleplay in general (why & how the heck i am DMing i have no clue) i am looking for all the advice i can get.

to slim down the field of topics a bit,

what are some of the things i should be on the look out in terms of character build that will unbalance the game to greatly? example) should the lv 8 barbarian be hitting for 200+ damage and have a way to boost his health higher then the big boss's?

What is the major difference between railroading and plot development and how can i determine if i am doing the former.

traps and puzzles

i have a monster that spawns more of its selves everytime it is hit or killed and the copys have the same ability, how strong is this and how should i handle exp rewards.

are a few of the topics i feel shaky about. i feel like i am doing good when it comes to the RP side of things (if maybe not a very clear story) despite a phase some of my players call 2AM DM that happens during most of the meetings towards the end of things.

things apparently get weird during 2AM DM; underwear magic item slot, a cursed bra of constant PMSing, an anal rape epic level wizard, giving all my players a phobia of donuts spiders, donuts spiders, the donuts templet, Snowflame is now the mayor of the town, and one the players being crowned a king slime *the ones from final fantasy* are just some of the things that have happened. my players seem to like it or are at least having fun with it so i am not to worried.

[Skysaber]

what are some of the things i should be on the look out in terms of character build that will unbalance the game to greatly? example) should the lvl 8 barbarian be hitting for 200+ damage and have a way to boost his health higher then the big boss's?

Frankly, don't worry about it too much. Play a couple of fights softball, where they just face their own CR of unmodified monsters, then watch and see how they handle it. If they do particularly well, slowly ratchet the threats up.

If you've got players who can wipe out a monster per round, multiply number of players times number of rounds you want, then give them that many monsters and call it a good challenge.

If you've got a mix of lame ducks and power attacking super barbarians, it really is not that hard to drop certain items into treasure hoards to outfit the lame ducks so they perform better.

If you've got super-specialized players who can take on some threats as though they are no challenge, and really struggle with others, give him about one fight each night to shine (assuming regular four battles per night).

Also don't forget to throw in a small proportion of battles (at MOST one in four) where the highly specialized players find themselves forced to operate outside of their specialty. A power attacking super barbarian against a rust monster, or something that can fly, or incorporeal/displaced/invisible/Mirror Imaged foes, or just hordes of trained monkeys flinging flasks of alchemical nastiness. "Ok, you do over 200 damage to any foe you hit. Which of the thirty monkeys are you going to kill this round?"

Tsk (shakes head) "Ok. Well, the other 29 now roll their touch attacks vs your AC - and those who miss still get splash damage. Hmm, you have how many hit points? Oh dear."

And, ultimately, any trick the PCs use is fair for the DM to use as well. One power attacking super barbarian getting ambushed by another is one great way to introduce a little humility.

Just be kind when they have to res after meeting their opposite numbers.


What is the major difference between railroading and plot development and how can i determine if i am doing the former.

It's actually quite simple. Any time you are making choices for the players, you are railroading. You are free to dangle bait. You are free to determine reactions to their actions, but ultimately if the players are not in charge of their own destinies you have gone over the line into railroading.

You can offer choices, but you must never dictate their answers, in other words.

[Zero grim]

The advice I give to every new GM, don't have Superman in your campaign.

One campaign I played in another system included a man who had the ability to alter reality at will, without any form of save or check required, I've had multiple epic level characters send me on missions that could be solved as simply as they clap their hands.

I think they do this either

1) because they aren't restricted to what they can make (since the DM controls the level/books/alternate rules) they just put in tons of super bad asses because that what they want to play.

OR

2) They think having a mega wizard in the campaign means the players will behave themselves and do what it says.

as for 2, this doesn't not work, ever, either your players will do what the campaign sets out because that's how they play games anyway, or they just decide there's no point since the Omniwizard could do it with a single standard action.

I recommend opening up with just a few small encounters, a tavern brawl, maybe some rats, everyone loves rats and just see what the players can do, then give them a nice small plot like "clear out the local church of skeletons" from there you can move to a bigger plot "you find a book in the church which reveals the nearby count is a vampire and plans to kidnap the princess".

And if your stuck and have no idea what your players want to do, just sit down and ask them, my game group set up a simple system a while back, you each get a piece of paper and vote if you want certain things, so you could vote for either Investigation or Dungeon crawl, Horror or Comedy, things like that.

And it has been said many times before by other wise people, players will almost always do the one thing you didn't plan, so be prepared to think on the fly and just adapt things "trying to batter down the wall instead of the magical door, well the door leads into a long corridor so the wall is 20 ft thick" it doesn't stop their plan from working, but just gives them a choice, spend time smashing the wall or spend spells to unlock the door.

[heladona]

Hey,
I'm building my world in 3.5, I'm ready to take a shot at DMing for the first time, I was hoping to get some pointers. Ive played 3.5 before and I know my players well, but is there anything important I should know like fatal mistakes to avoid or things that go super well in your campaign?
Also, how important is it to know how spell-casting works in a basic campaign? I've never played a spell-caster and I dont plan on introducing them as NPCs until much later?
in my opinion you should firstly see some made adventures about the loots or vat is the most powerful enemy what the "x" level characters can endure how much and how poverful magic items to put in and you can find some other really interesting things if you vant i can send links of made adventures.

[Ace Nex]

Much of it has already been said. Know the rules, make sure the PCs keep you updated on their builds so they don't become too godly too soon, make sure they know your decisions. An important part to keep in mind as well is that D&D is very much like telling a story. The PCs are the main characters, but the setting, secondary characters, villains, hooks, motivations, and EVERYTHING else is on you. Putting a little extra time to make a cool and memorable world really helps enrich the experience. It's not always kick-in-the-door gameplay, so you've got to keep the PCs engaged even when they're not in combat.

[Za'hynie Laya]

I wish someone gave me this list years ago:

TEN WAYS FOR A GAME MASTER TO RUIN A CAMPAIGN

1. Never listen to your players. You're in charge - what do they know?
2. Change the rules constantly. Who needs a consistent experience? Certainly not you! Why should your players?
3. Give the players tons to read. It's more than a pastime - it's class time!
4. Give the players none to read. What's to know? Point `em at the bad guys and roll some dice.
5. Spotlight, Schmotlight. They're lucky they even get to have a character in this story. You'll focus on your pet, thank you very much!
6. Put the NPC in charge. "Get my luggage, will you?"
7. Let nothing ever change. Your world is preciously perfect; you dare not let the players do anything to it!
8. Cancel. Lots. Without warning when possible. So what if they planned their calendars around this; you've got a raid tonight on WoW.
9. Let no argument go. You're authority has been challenged; be certain to waste at least an hour on this to be sure they understand who's running this show.
10. Promise one thing, deliver another. "Remember all those cool combat abilities I let you have? Welcome to Dream Fairy Land, where none of them work..."

The above is a quote from another forum but I cannot remember who to credit. I played under a DM like this, twice. (Shame on me.)

Years ago, Dragon Magazine ran some wonderful articles called Dungeoncraft. This bit of advice helped me with world-building.

The Rules of Dungeoncraft:
1. Never force yourself to create more than you must.
2. Whenever you fill in a major piece of the campaign world, always devise at least one secret related to that piece.
3. Whenever you must decide the chance of something happening and you have no idea what that chance should be, it's always 50%.
4. Good adventures always challenge the players and challenge their characters. (Also, an important encounter should give EVERY player something to do.)
5. What's done is done.
6. Simple, easily identifiable characteristics are the best tools for portraying NPCs.
7. Running a good campaign is about building a world, not building a story.