Gonna be substitute-DMing and running a couple one-shot games. First time. Advice?

[AnonymousPepper]

Our DM for our online 3.5e game has gotten bogged down with finals and projects and an absolutely nasty work schedule for the next couple weeks.

Naturally, our party doesn't to miss out on some sessions. So I volunteered to substitute-DM, with the assistance of another party member with slight DM experience as co-DM (only reason I'm running it and not him is because he actually DMs another campaign that I'm in and I wouldn't ask him to do two sessions for two different campaigns in a single week), for the next month or so whenever our DM can't show.

I want to run some basic combat encounters, nothing too special, and nothing plot-related, and keep them limited to one or two sessions a piece if at all possible. These encounters will provide full XP and loot, to be credited to the players at the end of the main session story arc, using their current characters (albeit with spells allocated as freely as they like each session; with only one primary caster, this shouldn't be a big deal), although loot will probably just be in straight gold for simplicity's sake (and it's not like we need to shovel any more craft XP down my artificer's throat, trust me).

I'm just thinking mostly standard kick-in-the-door, crash-the-dungeon stuff, so as to not affect the main storyline at all.

I was going to bring my character along - I'm like 99% sure I can keep from metagaming in a little one-shot game and so can my co-DM.

The party consists of:


Warforged Artificer 7, high-op for item crafting, new-ish. Relies on a Great Crossbow for ranged attacks, and a Collar of Perpetual Attendance to keep it loaded in combat. Also fond of dynamic entry via barrels of gunpowder. (Me)
Elven Generalist Wizard5/Incantatrix2, high-op, new-ish. Banned Evoc. Abuses the crap out of Polymorph, like any good Wizard would. (Co-DM)
Star Elf Bard 7, mid-low-op, new-ish. Has Dragonfire Inspiration and Snowflake Wardance and is a decent melee fighter. Also has stupidly good diplo and bluff checks, helped even further by an eternal (don't ask, I managed to get it, we don't question it) wand of Guidance of the Avatar and his knowledge of Glibness; is capable of pulling off actual Epic bluff checks.
Elven Rogue 7, mid-low-op, new-ish. Very good at exploiting the Wizard's Haste+Glitterdust.
Human Monk 7, monk-op (lol), experienced but rusty. Is a monk - not much more to be said, really. Has Improved Trip and likes to use it.
Gnome Swashbuckler/Duskblade 7 (don't remember how many of each), mid-op, very experienced. Makes good use of Blade of Blood and his high to-hit and AC to put in reliable melee damage.
Human Hexblade 7, low-op, new and frankly the party dunce both in and out of character. Can be depended on to do a lot of damage in a short amount of time with a very nice sword, but that's about it.



Any ideas for short and sweet encounters? And most importantly... I need tips. First time DMing, and while I will have a little help, and it is just some simple combat encounters, and have a grasp of the rules of the game... I need lots of advice before I actually go to undertake this. Do's and don'ts would be greaaaaat.

[Ein0r]

A good read, about nearly everything but especially DMing: https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/bs
Lots of articles with hints and advice to about everything imaginable about being a DM, starting with "The Foundation of a Good Game"

Another good read about how to create your own first adventure: https://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/arch/ab
You probably dont want to build one for yourself yet, but it might have some tips for encounters.

For generating a random dungeon those two generators might help you. Of course feel free to adjust them to your needs :)
http://www.dizzydragon.net/adventuregenerator/gen
http://donjon.bin.sh/pathfinder/dungeon/


1. It is a game. You are a "player" too so all of you should try to make this a fun game. Dont worry. They know you are a substitute and forgive some mistakes. Shouldnt be a problem. If you ever feel overwhelmed, just take a step back and relax. If push comes to shove you still a Co-DM to help you and you can still tweak the numbers of the dice you rolled.


- How do you enjoy rolling the dice? Do you stick to the number you diced, regardles of the outcome, or do you like heavily tweaking the numbers? Both have its merits. Most of the time you stick to your dies anyway and only tweak the numbers if it is definitely needed. (3 critical hits in a row on the same person? urgh, hard to swallow for everyone )

- Dont get overwhelmed by the huge flood of inormation you gain as a DM. Dont get overwhelmed by the huge amount of numbers you should / could manage as a DM.
-For Example a rough (or exact, as you like ) overview of every PCs Hit Points. This always helps you.

If you always have an eye on their hitpoints without having to ask your players you can easily manipulate the dice without having to worry to kill of your PCs in the wrong fight. Of course from time to time it happens. For example if they are already running low on HP and they still want to press forward although there is not that much of a time pressure... well it is their fault if someone dies. You can only be generous to a certain degree. And stupidity shouldnt be rewarded. But this is a learning process for both, the PCs and the DM in how far they can push their limits.

- Or an overview of your PCs Spot/Listen checks. This way you can determine yourself if they might notice the crack in the wall, hear the rats sneaking up on them or the huge boulder coming closer.
It is definitely more interesting and more immersiven than: Please roll a listen check.

- Try to be vibrant and colorful in your descriptions, dont shy away from giving the evil guys a voice, shouting stuff at them. Embarassing at first, but it starts to get entertaining later on, drawing them deeper int your encounters. I have no experience with online play, so i am not sure if this is of any help.^^

- There are no Random Encounters. Just dont :smallamused:
The answer to "But why?" Is pretty simple. They are easy to set up, (roll the dice and here you go) but no fun on the long run, because you just cant work with them. It is more fun for PCs to kill some equipped guards that can use the terrain, than killind 2d4 Hell Hounds and 1d3 LvL 5 Fighters.


About Encounters:
You are a player yourself. What encounters do you like? Which one were memorable to you and why? Maybe those questions can give you a hint on what is cool, what they might enjoy.
A rather easy way to create a memorable encounter is by adding some sort of terrain difficulties.
"The PCs enter a room. on the other side is a door. In the middle of this 5x5 squared room is a big pool of greenish fluid with a horrible smell. You cant discern whether it is acid, poison or something completely different. The PCs notice that the whole floor around that pool has a slight descent towards it, making it hard but not impossible to walk on it without falling into the pool. They also notice that some parts are quite slippery. On the other side of the room are 3 armed monsters, ready to fight."

Here you go, an encounter with some sort of twist to it. You might now say "but they can just use [Fly] and just overgo this barrier." Well yes. But can all of them fly? If not, dont worry too much. If they have to many flight spells you might consider that one of the enemies is a Wizard. Dispel-> pop goes the fly spell -> Happy Ooze Party in the pool :D

Another Encounter idea would be that they have to fight in a room where some of the lanes get flooded by big amounts of water every other round. Those who stand on those tiles when the water comes get damage and if they fail a Skill Throw Balance (or maye some Saving throw) they fall prone and get swept away for several squares.

Or Kill the Watchdog before it can start to bark. If they dont notice the dog, or the dog start barking, you get to enjoy some of the next fights with all of your Enemie Characters fully buffed! :)

In the afformentioned links you find several ideas on adventures, encounters and what you might want to use.

[Shining Wrath]

Have each player prepare a 3x5 card or equivalent with
Player & Character Name
FRW Saves
HP
Listen, Spot, Search skills

This lets you make a lot of rolls secretly. There's poison gas in the air - odorless, colorless mild poison. Did anyone miss their Fort save? If you've got lots of D20 (and you should), you can chose a D20 per party member, make a note (e.g., "blue D20 for Monk"), and roll the saves for the entire party at once.

[KorbeltheReader]

In game you're going to be busy doing several things at once, so make it as easy on yourself as possible.

1. pregen everything you can. Have your monsters (with their tactics), treasure, and traps ready ahead of time. The fewer things you have to think up on the fly, the better. Sticking to CR is a good tack to start out with while you get the hang of gauging how difficult an encounter is. You have a slightly larger than average party with several high-op characters, so I'd say CR 8-9 encounters are about what you're looking for. CR 10 would be a good "boss" fight.

2. don't worry about not having all the answers, and don't let the pace of battle stall out by overconsulting the books. If a player needs a ruling and you don't know the rule off the top of your head, make a fair call and move on. You can always look it up later and be ready for next time it comes up.

Have fun! Don't sweat the small stuff. It'll be fine!

[AnonymousPepper]

An update: it went very well.

The plan was for four encounters, the story being that the party had been contracted by the local town guard to take out a rogue militia:

Before I say anything - no traps in this one, reason being that I discovered that our Rogue has like no levels in Disable Device. We yelled at him about it (nicely) and it should be fine when he goes to level up next, but for now, traps just aren't fair. Anyway.

First, two level 7 urban rangers and their animal companions. This could be avoided via a secret passage, which would yield some slight loot plus equivalent XP to the fight, but without leading to the party getting injured, and also granting surprise for the next encounter.
http://i.imgur.com/JspkdRK.jpg

Second, four TacticalSoldier4s (I turned it into a base class), backed up by a Cleric1/Marshal2, and six UrbanRanger2s. The tactical soldiers were built for maximum AC (28 when fully dug-in), with the cleric/marshal providing support with a polearm, while the rangers were archers. The soldiers would hold the party in a choke point, while the archers picked away at them. A stockpile of gunpowder stored nearby could be used as an environmental hazard to instakill half of the archers.
http://i.imgur.com/meFJpvD.jpg

Third, the party would face a Troll (with a rank in Crusader for extra Tank Goodness) (total CR12) armed with a honking big sword and 30STR and his Trapsmith4 (same deal as the Tactical Soldiers) keeper/buffer, with a couple low-level eternal wands of Magic Missile for some attack ability. The fight would take place on the battlements, with a strong and bitter night wind forcing DC10 balance checks and providing difficult terrain penalties on squares not directly protected by the upright battlements. The troll could be easily fascinated (poor will save) or diplo'd (his keeper and the militia in general were cruel to him, and the troll was not stupid enough to not notice this), thereby preventing a big fight. Just to be sure, healing was provided before the fight as well as a scroll of Haste, and a single-use trap of Mass Heal was left after the fight.
http://i.imgur.com/pbGyNrf.jpg

Finally, a Marshal 8, Sorc1Bard8, and four Warblade4s would form the boss fight. The Bard had a scroll of invisibility and some basic Dragonfire Inspiration (to match the party's bard, except this was a total +3), as well as a backup weapon - a wand of Force Missile. The Marshal was giving off attack roll bonuses and had some fearsome attack capabilities himself. And the Warblades were built for maximum to-hit; dex-based elves with weapon finesse and Elven Courtblades. The party would have to either nuke down the Warblades quickly or murder the Bard and Marshal as soon as possible.
http://i.imgur.com/Se4MyhR.jpg

The party successfully found the secret passage, passing the first fight without trouble, netting themselves a magic item of +2 spellcraft, much to the Warlock player's delight.

The Rogue managed to severely beat up one of the Tactical Soldiers while unaware, and the Warlock chewed up another. The party moved in to engage, spotting the gunpowder barrels in the back. The Artificer flashed up his Eternal Wand of True Strike and blew the barrels away, gibbing all three archers. They put up a tremendous fight, nearly getting the Rogue killed at the hands of the remaining archers before he could withdraw. Eventually the Tac Soldiers were worn down and the other archers dealt with. Large amounts of full plate and masterwork weapons as loot, as well as the CL7 scroll of haste.

They made it to the stairs up, finding what basically was a water cooler area - a decanter of endless water built firmly into the wall, a permanent trap of vigor, and a corkboard. The corkboard displayed a firm warning memo from the boss demanding that people stop mistreating the Troll.

The party then stepped outside, where the Bard managed to - with a little help from the Swashbuckler - move the Troll two attitudes over to Friendly (he was indifferent towards the militia - on one hand, they let him crush skulls; on the other, they were ***** to him). Which resulted in the Troll immediately smashing the Trapsmith off the battlements with his greatsword. Then, much to my surprise, the Bard then convinced him to help us take his boss down for revenge. So I added two more Warblades to the encounter and called it good enough.

The party was shown the trap of Mass Heal - it was contained in a piece of glass with the stenciled words "IN CASE OF TROLL ATTACK, BREAK GLASS" on it -and then led straight into the boss fight. Again the Rogue nearly got dunked, but then the Troll full attacked, and I'll be damned if the Troll didn't instagib four of the Warblades with Great Cleave, although not before taking huge amounts of damage from the Warblades. From there it was pretty simple; the Warlock effortlessly nuked down the enemy Bard (he ended up getting cherry tapped by a shortbow shot from the Swashbuckler) while ours Hold Person'd the Marshal (after the Hexblade got a Hexblade's Curse off on him), and from there it was over. The Troll was convinced to let the party have his sword and all was well.

All in all it went extremely smoothly. The party got a ton of masterwork weapons and such as loot, plus some low-level magic items, the troll's gigantic sword, and the wand.

The party had fun, I had fun and got a nice confidence booster, and on top of that, the Bard had been feeling useless recently... well, he just quite handily won us this dungeon crawl, so I don't think he'll be feeling useless for a while. :smallsmile: