Giving DMing some serious thought.

[tadkins]

There is a lot of things I've been thinking about in regards to preparing to DM for the first time, and it's a bit overwhelming. I figure that the very first DM of the very first D&D game had nothing to fall back on, though. With that in mind I figure it's time to really give it a shot.

Things are a bit iffy on the D&Ding lately, with my friends coming and going and other such things happening. Started to really think about giving the whole DM thing a shot. Got sort of a framework for a game in mind in regards to the flavor and story. It's just the mechanics that I am not 100% on, basically.

I've only ever played D&D online, and so I'm accustomed to things such as Maptool and Roll20. I am wondering if there's a good resource out there I can use for maps, tokens, objects and the like. I can load up Maptool, but I've got nothing I can really throw on there. If I can find something like this it might help motivate me to get my game going even faster.

Sadly I'm also rather inexperienced with the game. In the couple games I've played we'd fight the typical orcs, goblins and the like. Those are simple to use. How would one know how to play with more complicated monsters? If I wanted to throw some Illithids, a Dragon, or a Beholder at the party, for instance. How would I know how to play them, or if the party is ready for them? I don't want to botch things up and send challenges that my players aren't prepared for. Then there's the more obscure stuff, like whether my mind-controlling gnome enchantress villain would decimate a party of a certain level or crumple over like paper.

Just thinking about it all makes me grateful for these forums. Anyone here have some advice they can offer? :)

[Eldaran]

I highly recommend reading through the DMG, it has a lot of useful information on how to actually DM a game.

[AuraTwilight]

How would one know how to play with more complicated monsters? If I wanted to throw some Illithids, a Dragon, or a Beholder at the party, for instance. How would I know how to play them, or if the party is ready for them?

Well, there's the Challenge Rating system. Every monster has a CR score, where a character of the same level has a 50% chance of defeating it. The intent being that four players can defeat an equal-CR monster without too much trouble, but after four or such encounters, their resources should be nearly spent for the day.

That being said, it's slightly borky and you'll have to eyeball things with better judgment, but it's a nice place to start. My advice is if you feel a monster might be too dangerous, make it a solo encounter initially; the party will have much more actions against it and will have a significant advantage.

[tadkins]

I highly recommend reading through the DMG, it has a lot of useful information on how to actually DM a game.

The DMG is one of those books I've skimmed through in the past but I'm giving it an in-depth reading now. There will be a few of those I'll likely have to read depending on what kind of characters my players want to play. ToB is another book I've never really looked at, but if one of them wants to play a Swordsage for instance...


Well, there's the Challenge Rating system. Every monster has a CR score, where a character of the same level has a 50% chance of defeating it. The intent being that four players can defeat an equal-CR monster without too much trouble, but after four or such encounters, their resources should be nearly spent for the day.

That being said, it's slightly borky and you'll have to eyeball things with better judgment, but it's a nice place to start. My advice is if you feel a monster might be too dangerous, make it a solo encounter initially; the party will have much more actions against it and will have a significant advantage.

Creatures like the Beholder are capable of turning a party upside-down though, aren't they? Those kinds of monsters seem like they can wipe a party pretty easily after turning half the group against the other. The kind of thing I want to avoid is a situation where I realize a challenge might be too tough too late, and the group's pretty much already dead as a result.

[Vhaidara]

The one thing I learned from my foray into DMing: CR is a load of bull. It is utterly inaccurate. Be ready to add onto encounters if they're too easy. Be ready to nerf if something goes wrong. Crits are your worst enemy on both sides (suboptimal crit fishers saga are unreliable).

[Legato Endless]

On the less mechanicistic side, know your players.

A good DM is a communal storyteller. A great DM is an entertainer who supports the players and makes their experience memorable. Some players want a battle of wits against you across the table. Some want you to set a scene where their favored escapist avatar can flourish. Some want action, some comedy, some drama. It's your task to make these things possible and balance out the frequently conflicting goals of the table while maintaining a cohesive dynamic and possibly coherent story. The first task to accomplishing that is knowing your players.

This link is an overly broad stereotyped beginning for the general idea. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/PlayerArchetypes) Odds are you'll have a more specific idea for each.

[Red Fel]

Here's my advice for a starting DM. Read the DMG. Three times. Every single page. It shouldn't take you as long as you'd think. You don't have to memorize every detail in the book - most DMs don't have it all upstairs - but you should be familiar enough to be able to quickly reference anything you need to. Read the PHB. Three times. Same rules. Flash cards. Charts. Anything you can do to make a quick reference system of your most important facts and figures. Use a computer? Make a spreadsheet. Use a DM screen? Post-its are your friend. Inform the players that, for the first game, it will be PHB-only. Classes, races, spells, all PHB-only. This is as much for the players as it is for you. If they bring in more material, it's more stuff with which you have to keep up, which means more referencing the books, which means more lag time, which means less fun for everyone involved. PHB only. Start with a one-shot. Training wheels. Plan for it to include at least one combat scene, at least one diplomatic scene, at least one major skill check, and at least one RP-heavy scene. Get your feet wet in every aspect of the game. Be open. Your players will probably do something you didn't expect. Get into the habit of letting them off the rails now, because becoming a railroading DM is a matter of habit, and very hard to break. Better you be a DM with good habits than bad ones. Know your limits. You're new at this. Don't expect to master everything upfront. Don't expect to have memorized complex rules. Don't expect to go without making mistakes. Don't expect to go without cheesing off a player. Stuff happens. Don't try to be perfect - just do what you know you can. Ban grappling. Seriously. Those rules are a pain. Relax! DMing is serious, not solemn. So take it seriously, but don't wreck yourself over it. If the players are your friends, they'll help you work through it. If they're strangers, then it really doesn't matter if you screw up or not - if you don't, you've got players, and if you do, you'll probably never see them again anyway.Those are just a few pointers. The best training in DMing comes from experience, but starting with reasonable expectations and slowly expanding your knowledge is a very solid way to become a great DM.

Legato also makes a very valid point. I happen to agree, a good DM can run the mechanics smoothly, but a great DM immerses his players. That said? Focus on walking before you can run. It's all well and good if you create the perfect setting for a game in your head, but until you feel comfortable in the DM's chair, you won't do it justice.

[Legato Endless]

If you are nervous about the mechanics even after some reading, remember, if you don't know it, fake it.

The first few times at a table are complex enough especially with new players. It's usually better to keep everything flowing than maintaining precise consistency. Actually knowing the down and dirty is a necessary skill with experienced players and keeping things balanced, but the first foray can be forgiven if you pull something out of your butt once or twice for the sake of pacing.

And this bears repeating what Red Gel said, be flexible enough to improvise. Even in a one shot, unless you are blessed/cursed with the most rout players imaginable, the PCs will do something you couldn't imagine based upon an impression completely outside your intentions. This isn't your fault, it happens to all of us.

And yeah, relax. Your players should he understanding as this is your first time. If they lack that grace, I doubt it would be fun playing with them anyway.

[tadkins]

I'd like to be the open-minded sort of DM, so any idea my players bring up to me I will consider, even if it came from another book. If one of them really wants to play a Warlock for example, I have no issues re-reading Complete Arcane to accomodate him or her. While I do plan on using the PHB/DMG as a base, I don't mind putting a little extra in if it makes my players happy.

As far as a one-shot goes, I like the idea, though it will have to tie in to the rest of the campaign. I know my friends somewhat, and they get attached to the characters they make. It'll be something that'll allow them to play again later.

But yep, this just sounds like the kind of thing one has to jump into to get used to, like a swimming pool.

[jedipotter]

Just thinking about it all makes me grateful for these forums. Anyone here have some advice they can offer? :)

You need to get comfortable changing and making stuff up on the fly. The whole CR, encounter, and such systems are just to vague. And they don't take into account what type of players you have. By the book, a group of trolls should be a challenge for X number and levels of characters. Sort of, but not always. But by the book, does not happen exactly that way in the game. Some times the group does a good move or two and defeats a beholder in two rounds...and other times six kobold's with Bohemian Earspoons decimate a group.

And that is where changing stuff comes in. If ''suddenly'' and encounter is too strong, or not strong enough, you need to be able to change things up quickly.

[tadkins]

And that is where changing stuff comes in. If ''suddenly'' and encounter is too strong, or not strong enough, you need to be able to change things up quickly.

Changing an encounter to be tougher is easy; just add reinforcements.

How would one go about nerfing an encounter in progress without seeming cheesy, though? Players don't like to be rescued by NPCs, and randomly going "oops but the tunnel collapses and kills the beholder" seems a bit wrong too.

[Legato Endless]

If your table preferences mean that a chance TPK from a mere encounter is odious, you need to get devious. A few examples:

Give them the option to flee. Don't bring overwhelming power to bear during the period between when they're debating fleeing and trying to flee. This is simple and direct, but also depends on common sense by your PCs.

Fudge HP. One of the creatures die after two solid hits when it should have taken 5. This works best in differentiated encounters when your players don't precisely know how stamina the monsters have. You can also fudge your dice rolls, but this can be more conspicuous. Fudge a defense value that they haven't exploited. That armor class sure is high. But that will save the wizard just targeted? Surprisingly low.

Bring in a third party that attacks both sides which crucially disrupts the monsters' potency, but seems "fair" by hacking at both. Works well early in an encounter when you see portents of doom, probably bad if the PCs are visibly panting.

Turn what was originally just another encounter into a plot point. Have the Bandit leader taunt the PCs after knocking them senseless, but she refuses to kill them for as yet unknown reasons. With enough flair you can make the PCs think this was your intention all along. Be careful not to be too heavy handed about this, or it will feel like rail roading when it was anything but.

I was in a group that had a chance encounter in a forest when we ran afoul a pride of lions. (the DM didn't really understand how random encounters worked) The monsters took our five level twos apart. After the last of us hit the ground unconscious, we then woke up in a town 200 miles away 1 week later. What was originally going to be a quest to wipe out a coven in a forest became a mystery drama as we unraveled what had happened to us.

[Scootaloo]

The first consideration is simple... make it fun.

First off, your own fun. DM'ing is hard work, and so, I'm not ashamed to say that ensuring your own fun is possibly the most important part of it. when being a DM feels like unpaid labor, the quality goes down massively and the whole group suffers. so the first step is to think of ideas that are fun for you, thatyou would enjoy flinging at your players.

Second... .you DO know your players, right? I'll assume you have a regular group, so the answer is yes. What's fun for all of them? If you're not sure, ask 'em. If you have a set idea for what setting you want to use, might as well let them know now - my idea of fun in Eberron is different from my idea of fun in a high mythic Irish-themed campaign, after all! Knead these ideas into what you'd already started with.

Familiarize yourself with the rules. It DOESN'T have to be perfect, and really it doesn't even have to always be consistent, but if you have NO idea what you're doing, then your players have no idea what they're doing, and the whole train derails. Know how combat works, familiarize yourself with movement, flanking, all that stuff that ALWAYS comes up, etc. since most of the mechanics in the game revolve around hitting things with other things, even a partial understanding means you're most of the way done with the rules. So long as people are enjoying themselves, a lack of laser precision isn't going to break anyone (unless you have a That Guy in your group, but, well...)

If there's a mechanic that makes you falter this session, read up on it and try to feature it in the next session, so that you can get everyone used to how it works, including yourself.

Running a game is a skill, not a talent. You need practice, practice, practice... And the only way to stomach all that constant practice is to make sure thatyou and everyone else enjoys the experience.

[jedipotter]

How would one go about nerfing an encounter in progress without seeming cheesy, though? Players don't like to be rescued by NPCs, and randomly going "oops but the tunnel collapses and kills the beholder" seems a bit wrong too.

Have a foe ''forget'' to use an ability, like say power attack or such, and make more of a normal attack. Also making something like a trip or sunder can lessen the encounter. The foe will just trip the character and not kill them outright.

A foe might have a maximized super ultra daisy chained scorching ray.....but just decide to zap with buring hands instead.

A foe might even do something foolish, like stop to drink a potion...or gloat.

Sometimes, you might just need to change something....like if the foe had a sword +3 of flaming, you might need to knock that down to a master work sword with buring oil. Or make that amulet of natural armor +4, and amulet of light. And you can always take a way a couple Hit Points too...

[Vhaidara]

HP changing is probably one of your best friends. If your players are rolling badly to hit (I've seen a 5 round encounter where the PCs only rolled above a 7 twice), then make it so it takes fewer hits.

On the other hand, if your group has insane turn 1 nova (do not allow ToB and you should be safe from this for a while), then just double an enemy's health and maybe take it's damage down to 75%.

And I have to stress this: DO NOT LET ENEMIES CRIT. My friend was DMing and did a town encounter. Level 3 Duskblade, Sorcerer, and Fighter (sword and board with full plate) against 2 thugs (no official statblock, but 30hp, AC 15, dual wielded daggers with +8 to hit and did 1d4 + 2 damage). One of the thugs got 8 critical hits. He nearly killed the group. And no, they didn't have surprise, or flanking, or anything.

[Captnq]

Hi.

I make a great deal of handbooks and the DM Handbook is on the backburner right now. However I will check back on this thread at a later date, so please, everyone continue with your insight and comments. I will sift it when I am finished with the psionomicon.

[Morphie]

Really great advice has been already given here, so I'll just add my 2 electrum pieces:
I started DMing with a published adventure and I think it is a good base to start from, because it takes care of the main quest/plot and handles de encounters. Then you take care of the frosting on the cake: make up some quirky npcs, develop the mood of the adventure and change things according to the group you have.
Once you are sure of how the game works, it is just a matter of group dynamics: It can be really a fun experience if you know your players and you make things they remember in times to come.

Oh, and don't forget to have fun :smallwink:

[Coidzor]

There've been a few attempts to make a guide. The old one here wasn't too bad. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474)

edit: As far as monsters go, one resource which may help you out with understanding and running them is the Monster Handbook (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=207928) that Ur-Priest put out. Boning up on Natural Weapons (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=482.0)may also be of help with some of them, though that's fairly quick for the basic parts of interest.

[tadkins]

Thanks for the posts, everyone. :)

I've got some pretty awesome players, so no real worries there. Starting to form up the first adventure in my head. One of the things I promised myself I'd do on my first DM run is not have the group start in a tavern, but throw them right into the action. xD

Can any of you recommend some good resources I can use for maps, objects, tokens and the like? I'm planning on using Maptool to run my campaign.

[Coidzor]

Can any of you recommend some good resources I can use for maps, objects, tokens and the like? I'm planning on using Maptool to run my campaign.

Dungeonographer (http://www.dungeonographer.com/)is supposed to not be half bad.

Inked Adventures (http://inkedadventures.com/main/) is supposed to have some nifty map tiles as well.

Those are just two things that came up in the Red Hand of Doom Handbook for DMs (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171284) on the most recent page. Which may be of interest both for eventually running that campaign and also for illustrating how you can customize/tweak/re-write published adventures.