Help, new DM with beginner group.

[Xunthrae]

Hi everyone, I'm preparing for my first time DMing and it's going to be with a group of people who haven't played much. I was wondering if anyone had some tips for me since it'll be my first time at the helm and 2-3 of the 4-5 players' first time. Any tips or ideas to make it run smoothly would be appreciated. Also, I'm going to be meeting all but one of them for the first time, and I've planned to, before we start anything, is to stop and talk about what everyone wants from the game in terms of RP, combat, problems to solve etc.

We are playing pathfinder if that helps.

[realbombchu]

Read the adventure you're going to run many times before your game. Make sure you know it inside out and upside down.

If the adventure uses any fancy or lesser known rules, look them up and practice until you know the routine by heart.

Look at the maps, and make sure that you're going to tell them about the right room when they walk into it.

Pick out some music, have snacks ready, and make a handout with a basic outline of common knowledge relevant to the setting, even if it's a one-shot confined to a single town.

These were all problems I had when I decided I still knew how to GM a while back. Wow, was I rusty!

[Katana1515]

If the group is largely made up of relative strangers who are also new to the game definitely consider dedicating much if not the entire first session to getting to know the players/letting them get to know you and each other. This is also the best opportunity to sort out who's playing which classes, if possible have people build their characters their and then, this allows the more experienced players to assist the newbies and you will get a better grasp of what kind of party you will have on your hands (vital to writing both decent plot and encounters). I have found that having people build their characters like this makes for a more synergistic and organic party since people will incorporate each other into each others backgrounds, and avoids situations were various characters are built in a vacuum and have no real reason to work together beyond "erm well we met in this pub right, and we really hit it off!". After character creation run some very simple combat and social situations so as to help the newbs grasp the rules before plunging into your plot.

Beyond that some good general tips, Consider carefully exactly what materials you want to use in your game and make that plenty clear early on. you say you're playing PF which is cool, but will you be allowing some or any 3.5 material to be ruled in? Are you limiting them to core PF or permitting other PF materials? Not saying which is best or anything, just be clear from the beginning what you intend.

Not sure if you plan to use an existing setting or create your own, in either case its likely to be totally new to many of your players, take some time to acquaint them with some details of your settings geography, economy, religion, culture etc. Even if your players aren't like mine (who seem to prefer empire building and logistics to raiding dungeons) you will be surprised how often having some fun/quirky/interesting details about the Locale's you visit can vastly improve the players experience.

When running combat encounters consider letting one of your more experienced players keep track of initiative. this can help keep players interested in a combat as well as give yourself one less thing to keep track of. Other little tasks like this can be given to the players so you have time to focus on the things only you as the DM can do. rewarding volunteers for this type of service with small sums of bonus XP per session has been successful in my games at least.

depending on how comfortable you are with a certain degree of optimisation perhaps track down some decent handbooks for your newer players choice of class's and suggest they have a read. This can help prevent bad situations were new players make poor or just under-performing characters. Power-gaming isn't everything of course but having a character persistently lag behind the other players can cause irritation for the new player and frustration for everyone else around the table if they perceive him as a burden.

Anyway have fun DMing! It feels daunting at first but remember that you are the guy in the big chair and that means you get to throw the rulebook at anyone who gives you a hard time! :P

[Xunthrae]

Really, I'm the only stranger, I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to play dnd for a group of about 3-5, he said yea, and he put the group together that day outta people he knows. I've talked with all but one or two of them over Skype and talked about some character concepts, since I'm allowing most things on the d20pfsrd website(minus things explicitly third part before review) and maybe some 3.5 things if asked (one of the characters wants to play a half-dragon and I've been looking if there is a race for it or just a template).

I don't have any adventures bought or have downloaded so im going to be making my own, which is fine because I enjoy creating stories, so since I'm basically making my own setting, should i write up a pamphlet or something about basic info on the world that they should know? We are starting at level 1, and so they'll be starting their adventuring career together, though my beginning hook will be an Oracle I made will summon then together at her temple to try and forestall a vision she had.

As for character concepts I've been told about, the friend i mentioned made a Kistune rogue for this, another wanted to be a martial artist (i think he mention Ju jitsu) one wanted to be a paladin, one wants to be a half-dragon bard, though depending on power level of the group i might not allow it, and i'm not sure on the last 1-2 people, since i haven't talked to them.

I enjoy optimizing characters, I think it's fun tracking down feats and spells and the such to make my concept come to life in the game, and I am fine helping them with that. Most of them aren't extremely versed on cheese and high-OP things, so i doubt it will be too much of a problem in that regard. I'm definitely going to talk with them on exactly what kind of campaign they want and would enjoy before we even start, I told the ones i talked to that explicitly.

thank you two for your input so far!

[realbombchu]

should i write up a pamphlet or something about basic info on the world that they should know?

Yeah, I still would. It doesn't have to be long (in fact, shorter is better), but every story has something that your players won't know unless you tell them. I like that you're not starting in a tavern. Sounds like kind of a genre-blind group, but that can be a lot of fun as long as no one minds. Writing your own adventure will make you familiar with the story, so I guess you can ignore that part of my advice, but that part about fancy rules still kind of applies, depending on each player's tactics and what you challenge them with.

I'm glad they're all friends of your friend. Everyone will feel more comfortable that way, I think.

[JusticeZero]

Make sure you know how peoples' characters work, give them someone to talk to early and do something to them to make them react and start moving. Since they're new, and low level, start them out with monsters with very low damage spikes - something small, with weapons that do 1d4 or something. Use a couple of combat maneuvers on them to show them what they do.
If they get a wild hair and go racing off on a different idea, see if you can move the adventure there or at least send them into a place that has three clues to the place that's prepared.
Don't panic-nerf anything. Be very leery of nerfing anything or throwing house rules down.

[Vortenger]

When running a new group I suggest to run a published module. Having a pre-established story and dungeon frees you up as a DM to spend more time and energy helping the players settle into their characters and learning the rules. The better you already know the story in the module, the better. It also lets your players learn what to expect as most mods run a good spread of encounter types (fights, traps, puzzles, logistics). This is all even if you create your own world (glad you did)

Finally it makes anything that happens in-game the mod's 'fault' since you didn't put that monster in there. :smallwink:

I started two new groups with Sunless Citadel, and now most of them frequent this site and BG.

[Katana1515]

I don't have any adventures bought or have downloaded so im going to be making my own

That's fair enough, I have never used a published adventure personally and you seem confident enough that you can get it done fine :) . Though in that case I would definitely recommend some form of pamphlet be distributed to the players. it doesn't have to be extensive or complete by any means. It shouldn't be more than one page of A4. You don't need the entire history of the planet, just a few details and maybe a sketched out map, it doesn't matter if their are blank spots and limits to their knowledge, filling in those gaps can be a part of the adventure.

Sounds like your on route to having a fairly balanced party as well (what id give to have 4 players all volunteer to build something that wasn't a full time caster) though I would say NO to the half dragon, assuming that he means the template from MM1. Its a LA 3 template which usually means bad news outside quite high OP groups.

[Xunthrae]

though I would say NO to the half dragon, assuming that he means the template from MM1. Its a LA 3 template which usually means bad news outside quite high OP groups.

That's what i was thinking, I may give him a small homebrewed thing which is mostly fluff if he -really- wants it, but if he's fine making due w/o all the better.

So far I really appreciate the advice, we haven't set a date for the meetup quite yet, but its soon so i have some time to set up some more for encounters and puzzles.

Since the group is new for the most part, I don't think there are anyone who's played more than 4 sessions in the group sans myself, what are some helpful tips and tricks to help the newer players learn what is for what? Should i have a small tutorial at the beginning of the adventure? Send them to go use some of their skills and class abilities to really get them to know the ones they start with? or should I let them figure most of it on their own?

Edit: oh! forgot to ask, what do you guys think of a kind of DMpc being an intelligent item? so i can guide them without having inexplicable things happen or nudging them OOC.

[fishyfishyfishy]

Dmpc's are never a good idea. Never. No not even then.

Also, check out the dragonborn template from races of dragon for 3.5. It might have the feel your bard player wants. I don't think there's anything that needs adjusting for pathfinder, it can be run as is.

[realbombchu]

Dmpc's are never a good idea. Never. No not even then.

I have to agree. I know sometimes it's really tempting, and you think a little help will do the game so much good, but I've never seen it go well. A patron is a different story, and I encourage you to use the oracle or someone like that several times throughout your campaign. This can give them someone to trust, but keeps the players center stage, because the patron doesn't go along.

In that same vein, avoid betraying them with shifty patrons until they know the game a little better. Just saying, it can frustrate some people who don't know the game real well.

[bekeleven]

Dmpc's are never a good idea. Never. No not even then.Disagree. Often in my groups I'd run a healbot cleric/favored soul/healer to stand in the back of the party and basically never talk.

A DMPC leading the charge on all of your adventures, yeah, that's a poor idea.

[Equinox]

Hi everyone, I'm preparing for my first time DMing and it's going to be with a group of people who haven't played much. I was wondering if anyone had some tips for me since it'll be my first time at the helm and 2-3 of the 4-5 players' first time. Any tips or ideas to make it run smoothly would be appreciated. Also, I'm going to be meeting all but one of them for the first time, and I've planned to, before we start anything, is to stop and talk about what everyone wants from the game in terms of RP, combat, problems to solve etc.

We are playing pathfinder if that helps.Make sure every PC knows the basic rules that pertain to their character. The fighter must know how to charge, and basic combat maneuvers, the wizard must know how his spells work, and what are concentration checks, etc.

Make sure every character has some trick up their sleeve. Something that lets them be awesome.

Don't force a player to play a support character [who doesn't do anything awesome], unless the player clearly wants to. If you need a support character for healing/buffing, use a DMPC. As mentioned above, keep the DMPC in the background, don't let them take the lead.

[JusticeZero]

Disagree. Often in my groups I'd run a healbot cleric/favored soul/healer to stand in the back of the party and basically never talk.
Lose the healbot and just seed their treasure with CLW wands. Much easier. Several non-cleric classes that parties are likely to have on hand can use them.

[Xunthrae]

Also, check out the dragonborn template from races of dragon for 3.5. It might have the feel your bard player wants. I don't think there's anything that needs adjusting for pathfinder, it can be run as is.

Thanks! I looked into it and it'll work fine, I can just refluff some stuff and it'll work perfectly.


A DMPC leading the charge on all of your adventures, yeah, that's a poor idea.

Where did you get that? I said it would be an intelligent item, it wouldn't be an autonomous being

[justiceforall]

Go and check out this:http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20050329a

Not sure how it would interact with pathfinder, but its an excellent "no-one knows anyone else" intro adventure that is pretty forgiving to new players.

Steer clear of the Sunless Citadel until you are a little more experienced, its an awesome adventure for newer *players*, but its not so kind to the GM. It can get quite complex to run some of the encounters if the players barge headlong between rooms chasing things - I was running through it again for the Xth time as a player two weeks back and we ended up fighting every single kobold encounter as one fight because we chased. The GM needed a lie down after that simply from the complexity of running so many things at once.

[Xunthrae]

ok, so after talking with my group a bit more this is what it's looking like:

1. Tengu Cleric (said he was going to be a healer)
2. Tiefling Witch
3. Kitsune Rogue
4. ???? Paladin
5. ???? Monk
6. ???? bard
7. ???? ????

Some extra people are joining, and with the adition of the few more people, what's a way for me to keep the game interesting while people are taking their individual actions in town or places where not everyone is acting together?

[Gavinfoxx]

DON'T. Get that down to five people. Do NOT allow seven people to be in a game!

[fishyfishyfishy]

I've been a DM for groups of 7+ and it is a nightmare. If you are really going to have that many players, try to get the group to split into two. One or two players that are really enthusiastic about it could even participate in both games. Just make sure you aren't stuck as the DM for both. Speaking from experience again, it is also not fun.

[bekeleven]

DON'T. Get that down to five people. Do NOT allow seven people to be in a game!

Interestingly, once a group hits critical mass - generally around 6 people - adding more people basically ceases to increase play delay. At least in my experience.

That's not saying it's a good idea...

[Feint's End]

Don't help them too much on charactercreation meaning don't build the character for them because that way they won't understand their own abilities. I'm a big fan of letting first timers build their own characters entirely on themselves with only small help.

Also I'd never dm for a group bigger of 4 or 5 people. Makes the game to slow and takes away a lot of roleplaying possibilities and spotlights from each individual character.

[Equinox]

ok, so after talking with my group a bit more this is what it's looking like:

1. Tengu Cleric (said he was going to be a healer)
2. Tiefling Witch
3. Kitsune Rogue
4. ???? Paladin
5. ???? Monk
6. ???? bard
7. ???? ????

Some extra people are joining, and with the adition of the few more people, what's a way for me to keep the game interesting while people are taking their individual actions in town or places where not everyone is acting together?The fact you have seven people is a red flag, although I wouldn't be as categorical as Gavinfoxx about it. It can be made to work, although depends a lot on the players and the DM. Splitting the party however, with everyone acting independently ... it's very difficult even for a seasoned DM, and for a new DM, when you have seven players walking about town separately, it could end up badly. I'd recommend keeping all seven together, in a setting which doesn't lend itself to individual exploration - a simple dungeon crawl or a wilderness adventure.

Alternatively, make a gentlemen's agreement with the PCs that there's not going to be overdone independent action. Not because you're an evil DM and want to limit your players, but because you want everyone to enjoy and play together.

[Lafaellar]

I agree.
Personally my ideal number of players is 4. When first time DMing and then start with 7 players you will be overwhelmed easily. But if you want to go with it, consider another advise: Don't, don't, don't allow the group to split! No, not even when ...

Split party means that you can only focus on some of the people. So the others will get bored. The following will happen:

- They start to chat offtopic
- They go smoking
- They walk around the room/flat/house
- They start doing other stuff

This will completely take them out of the game and you have to get them into the game again which consumes time.
Never underestimate the time frame it costs you to get something done with part of the group. It can easily eat up one hour. One hour during which half of your party gets bored like hell and when you finally switch over, the other half of your party will get bored like hell.
Experienced players will be able to compensate for this and start doing some RP stuff or things they don't need a DM for, but new players will most like not do that.
So avoid the split group scenario like the plague.

If there is a danger of group split, try to resolve the situation in a way that keeps the party together. If the party decides to divide up tasks, try to keep individual parts very short and then switch to another taskforce and don't forget to reassemble the party.

Make your players aware of the problem of party splitting so they avoid that as well.


Now some general advise:

1. Be prepared, think ahead
You think you know all the rules you need for your adventure? Think again.
Seriously, when starting my first adventure that was about exploring some beast activity in a forest I had all the rules ready for exploration, survival, tracking, hiding and detecting and of course the enemies I intended to present them with.

What I actually needed:
So, where did the adventure start? Of course, in a tavern!
The first rule I needed was "What are the penalties for getting drunk?"
Well, D&D does not have clear rules for that as far as I am aware so I had to make something up on the fly. My inexperienced me created a rule that led to one of the players passing out.
Yea, great start. So no Forest exploration but getting rid of being drunk.

The next stuff I needed was explaining the rules for bluffing/sense motive because the players decided to play a little cheat game.

I think I made my point - expect the unexpected, especially with new players because they tend not to think in the rules of the game like old players do. New players are more likely to try out stuff there is no rule for, because they don't know that there is no rule for it and it is not very encouraging to the player to tell him "You cannot do this just because there is no rule for it written down".

2. Be strict
Yea I know you haven't met these people yet, you want to make a good impression on them and stuff but you still are the DM. I once made the mistake of allowing almost everything because I was the new guy and stuff and it turned out into disaster.
From what I can see for example you are allowing lots of uncommon races. Do realise that this can be a real danger. You have to deal with all the special race stuff, ECL, you have to think about "okay, what is the general opinion for tieflings in the world?" "Might there be a problem with a paladin and the tiefling?"

I would strongly recommend to you to stick to common races. It is easier to be strict to players from the beginning as it is to come to them later and say "Yea, uhm, I think we need to redo your character..." trust me.

This also has the advantage that people will see the DM as the person in authority right from the start. Players need to accept the DM's authority, it is better on the long run. Otherwise you will have discussions about every little piece of everything that isn't even important.

I don't say you should be rude or mean. Just be friendly but keep being in charge.

3. Agree on the rules of engagement
Before playing, sit together and commonly agree on some rules.
For example: "Will there be a break for eating or will you eat while playing? And what will you eat and when? Ordering pizza or will somebody actually cook something or will you eat after playing or whatever. Just agree upon something so the question is off the table.

Another one: "Will everybody go smoking when he wants or will there be smoking breaks when they are fitting?"
My group has smoking breaks and the DM has the say when there is one. This is helpful because the smoking doesn't interrupt the playing and the DM can declare the break when there is no impending dramatic event.

How long will you play?
Will somebody have to leave early?
Really important for planning ahead, especially when you don't want to end the play in a most inappropriate moment. I once had to end the play during a boss fight... really bad.

4. Don't look everything up
It is tempting, especially for a group of new players but it cots so much time.
My personal rule of thumb is:
"If I need more than 1 minute to look it up, I temporally house rule it and look it up later." The only exception is when this particular rule is very important for the outcome of a critical situation.
For example: You forgot how critical hits work. The Antagonist rolled a natural 20 on his attack throw with his Scythe and you know a critical hit will kill this character (4 times multiplied damage packs a punch). "Uh dammit, wasn't there some confirmation roll for critical hits? I'm not sure... okay I will look this one up, it is important."

5. Don't make combat boring and repetitive
If the players are to fight a group of goblins and the goblins really have not even the slightest chance of winning that combat, skip the fight and describe the outcome, perhaps with some incentive from the players. Meaningless fights just consume time and are boring. I tend to keep fights to a minimum but make every fight be a dramatic encounter where the player's know "Ok guys, things just got serious!"

Also, don't unnecessarily stretch fights. There might be a fight where the strict rules will end you up in a situation where there will be 10 turns without anything meaningful happening. Avoid that and skip that.

Make fights quick. Especially when you have 7 new players. It can take one player 5 minutes just to get clear on what he is doing because he doesn't know the rules and stuff. 5 minutes times 7 players... 35 minutes for a single turn + the monsters' actions and every player has to wait about 30 minutes until it's his turn again. Chances are they leave the table and go do other stuff.

6. Fun is the measure of success
Never forget that. If you screwed every rule in the book but everyone had the time of his life, you did a great job!
Okay, maybe you did not play D&D in that case but something else entirely, but just keep this in mind. It is about fun, not about rules.
If a rule decreases the fun, throw it away.

However don't make the game a piece of cake. Being challenged can be very fun.

[Soupz]

Edit: oh! forgot to ask, what do you guys think of a kind of DMpc being an intelligent item? so i can guide them without having inexplicable things happen or nudging them OOC.

Agree with everyone here about not playing as a PC even that way. You're already playing as everyone else in the world as it is.

Creating a campaign world is fun. It's easy to get off the beaten path and much of the time, in my opinion, it's best to let that happen. I like on the fly stuff though, the first time I created a world I made notes that I lost and never ended up using so instead we created a map and started filling it in as we explored.

Have a list of random town names, random NPC names and random traps and dungeon dressing ready. Not everything needs to be an obstacle. PCs will probably give you better ideas than you came up with if you give them a situation and let them start to get scared. More monsters/varied monsters is better than tougher monsters.

Seven people is going to be hard to deal with. You'll need a commanding voice and a clear idea of what's going on and what's going to happen next. I've always been happy enough winging it, but I think if I did seven I'd want a module or way more prep notes than I've ever used. I'd ask someone to sit out or or ask that a new player observe and get it down to five.

Something that I demand of players for a game I create is that they have a long term and short term goal. Short term means within the next few weeks; long term means at least a few months or possibly the rest of the campaign. I usually don't accept seeking power or riches unless there's a reason they need that power or riches. It helps me design the campaign world and it helps them know how to play their characters.

[Xunthrae]

Soupz and Lafaellar especially for the advice! I will certainly take much of what you said into consideration and likely implementation. Luckily the first session (tomorrow) will mostly be character building, us getting to know each other, and talking about what we want out of the campaign. we are only going to be together for 4 hours so I am going to have some of the adventure ready for when we get to it.

I really like the idea of them filling in a map as they go along, I feel like it would give them a greater connection to the world and their characters in it. I'll talk with them about it and see what they want to do. Again, thank you all for the advice! you've really made me less worried about this and much more excited! I'll be sure to post what happens after tomorrow's meet up in case anyone is interested in the outcome.

[thefirecrack3r]

I'm just gunna go with some base suggestions. As a recent first time DM, I have to say talking to your players and building some ground rules is always good. Also, hate to tell you this but a game of 5+ is chaos, and not fun, and hard/impossible to balance without ****ing up immersion with BS calls, if you want them to, say fight a pack of wolves (a great first quest BTW) you have to have a pretty big pack to make it difficult for your party, problem is, wolves use pack tactic, and will try to take out one of the party members, for 7 players you'd have to put them against A LOT of wolves, lets see how lucky the mage is standing in the back of the formation when the pack of 15 wolves all start swarming him on a surprise round, BOOM, dead player. You could distribute the wolves among the players, two wolves each, throw an extra at the tank guy, but it doesn't make much sense. Alternatively, you'd need to throw bigger monsters at them with more HD, so that the monster can survive 7 attacks and not die in one round, monsters with that much HP are bound to have a lot of potential damage output as well, in fact against a lower level party, you'd probably see the monster roll a 1 for damage and put a cleric, bard, ranger, monk or others who'd maybe fight in CQC, out of commission in one hit. The party'd be a pain to balance. My recommendation, turn it into two separate groups and play different days. Maybe have the parties take place in the same world and even area and have them see the effects of one another's actions. (players get sent after same lost treasure, arrive to find it missing, one party took it two play sessions ago, 2nd party was sent there by the same questgiver but sent the second party there to be framed for the items disappearance and cover the procurer's tracks when they're slain by the hobgoblins who guarded it!) Have occasional team up days where the groups Co-op on something, perhaps not directly but towards the same objective, like besieging a fortress, one party attacks the gates forming a distraction, while the others scale the back walls. This of course would have to be planned well to not stagnate or become confusing, especially for you, perhaps set up snacks or boardgames that day, and have the parties alternate, like each get an hour with you, deal with a situation, then pass it back to the other group, a game like Munchkin between sessions would work great! Wow, I dig this idea a lot I just don't have the group sizes to accomplish it ahaha!
You seem competent enough to run a basic game, think about how certain monsters will work when fighting your players and figure out how to deal with ****ty CR and stuff. I almost TPK'ed my first session by having them fight a giant preying mantis! Its CR was pretty good for a 4 person group and it has low HP and Low AC, but a high damage output I didn't pay attention to, it dropped the cleric in one hit, auto killed the sorcerer in the next, then proceeded to down the ranger, the Druid ran away after the mage dropped. I let the downed players live, despite the druid, literally saying "**** them, I'm not going back there!" and not returning, proceeding to actually quit the game before the next session. I told them the Sorcerer got eaten and carried away but they were left behind to recover.

[justiceforall]

Another suggestion for maps:

If you are going to run a complex dungeon like Sunless Citadel, get a battle mat or a large sheet of perspex and lay it over a grid, then use whiteboard markers to draw the dungeon as you go. Have the players/monsters marked on the map with miniatures or at least something.

It makes a huge difference to clarity, speed, and will assist you keeping track of more than 4 players.

[Rosstin]

I'm going to guess that the supposed 7 players will quickly fade to a more reasonable number... I wouldn't stress it too much.

Since everyone will be new to the game, I think the best way to start is to sandbox it a bit. Have the players roleplay and get to know eachother. Have a simple element like a plain old dungeon for them to explore and fight through, and then a town for them to wreck. A patron character is also a good idea.

Focus on their characters and try to figure out who is actually going to be part of the game. I can't imagine all 7 will actually remain interested.

[John Longarrow]

Since you have 7 players and your first session is character generation, I'd recommend not starting with the Oracle. Go with an old fashion bounty hunt or something similar.

These are not hero's... yet. Let them feel like they are starting out and they have a shot at doing something important, but not "You have to do this or the world ENDS". This lets them grow into their character and makes them feel like they have accomplished something worthy of an Oracle asking them to do something.

I'd recommend a very simple set of encounters that let them get a feel for the game.

1) Social interaction with town sheriff - Give them a little RP and a way to work out who's who in the group

2) Go look for bad guys. Little travel to let them work out who does what, how they move, order of march, guard duty, basic logistics.

3) Find some bad guys. Fight a few goblins who have javelins. Let them learn about ranged VS melee combat, closing, who spots who first, hiding/sneaking/scouting around, and how initiative works. Afterwards get into how they can do stuff to support each other.

4) Interact with captured bad guy/Sheriff's deputy to get better directions to their first Big Bad Evil Guy (BBEG) who may be a level above them with a couple more goblins. This gives them a fun fight that should be more than a cake walk. If you really want to have some classic fun, have them catch the BBEG... drinking in a Tavern! NOTE: This also lets anyone who decides they want a different kind of character to have their new character appear as a Tavern patron. :smallsmile:

Once they have an idea how to work together, then let them get into a real dungeon.

[Xunthrae]

Well, it is now 2:10 am and the session ended just a few minutes ago. We had one person unable to show up to due to work, and one had to leave early, just after character creation was completed. So i couldn't use my planned dungeon and story line, but I made up a decent one on the spot, and while they were finishing up their character's i hammered out a decent goblin cave. It had about 22 goblins in them. In groups of 3-4(complete with a goblin dog or two) the group of 5 level ones had a great time.

Even when they got clogged up in a tight tunnel with the cleric(who had the best perception rolls and spotted all my traps!) and monk repeatedly missing a Goblin dog for several rounds, and it returning the favor by missing the cleric every round! The party ended up splitting up at a fork in the cave, a group of two (the monk and the rogue) went left, while our cleric, magus and paladin went right. I was hesitant at first to not say anything, but they all seemed to be having a great time I didn't want to block them too much.

What ended up happening, after the rogue and monk took out 4 goblins by themselves while the other 3 found some hidden doors and another trap that got avoided, the two who went off by themselves ran into the leader of the goblins, a lvl 1 sorcerer with 6 other basic goblins and one who shot a bow. They felt they could take them, or at least hold them off until the rest of their team heard the fighting and come to the rescue. The shaman, which at first level had Ray of enfeeblement (to keep the goblins who wanted to overthrow him weak when needed) and proceeded to miss all 3 shots (1 at monk, realized wouldn't hit him, then 2 at the rogue, proceeded to miss him both times). The other goblins just kept missing too, the monk having a 20 ac due to really high dex and wis kept dodging everything they did, except for a few that got the rogue down to 2hp since he kept taunting them in common. Though not one of them could speak it, they could tell what he was saying by his tone.

Once that was over, I rolled some random rings, got a ring of feather fall and a ring of sustenance some gold. Everyone enjoyed themselves and they ended the night in the tavern before returning to the adventuring guild that hired them to deal with the goblins, which, after our Kitsune rogue getting very intoxicated, we ended the session.

I asked everyone what they thought and they said that they liked it, and that i did a great job for just throwing it together just before running it. Overall I'd say it was one of my favorite nights playing dnd. It was just great.

[JusticeZero]

Wise to roll up magic items at the beginning, because the monsters using them can make the fight more interesting, it saves some hassle of treasure finding, it sometimes gives you ideas for the adventure, and because seriously - if you had a magic sword, would you guard it armed with a stick?

[AKA_Bait]

The link in my sig is to an intro to DMing guide that I crowd sourced on these boards a few years ago. It's written with 3.5 in mind, but most advice would apply equally well to Pathfinder I think.