New DM needs some help

[Nitties]

Hi there,

so just moved to a new small town and a few week on dnd withdraw i finally found some people interested in playing some. thing is i only have 3.5 books and no one else wants to dm. this wouldn't be a problem if i wasn't so incompetent of a dm lol. that and my fee time is limited and short.

So, im wondering if anyone can hook me up with some links to downloadable campaign adventures (i don't mind paying i just need as soon as possible so download is best lol) that are fun for newbies and easy on crappy dms lol.

secondly is there any guides to dming better? like i've never bin able to figure out what the challenge ratting of a group of monsters are, or what the CR should be for the party. see what im getting at? lol any help would be amazing and i love you. thx

[Troacctid]

secondly is there any guides to dming better? like i've never bin able to figure out what the challenge ratting of a group of monsters are, or what the CR should be for the party. see what im getting at? lol any help would be amazing and i love you. thx

A guide to being a dungeon master? Well, uh, at the risk of stating the obvious...how about the Dungeon Master's Guide? :smallsmile:

[slade88green]

If you have never run an adventure before, a good one to start with would be Scourge of the Howling Horde. It has tips for new DM's and is a fair adventure to learn with. I would suggest reading the Players Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide cover to cover.
http://www.4shared.com/office/uhhpf24sce/Scourge_Of_The_Howling_Horde.htm
The adventure can be downloaded here. Click on the download button next to the share button, then click on the free download and it will auto start in 20 seconds.

[Kol Korran]

For improving your DMing skills, This thread is quite useful, and very friendly. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?76474-So-You-Wanna-Be-A-DM-A-Potentially-Helpful-Guide-%28Reposted-and-Updated%29)

That said, the only real way is to play, see what you're doing wrong, what you're doing right, and then use that thread, the DMG and the forum's help to improve. It's a long process, you WILL make mistakes, all of us have, accept it. All that is really needed is the enthusiasm and commitment to try and make the game fun for everyone, and the willingness to improve, which you seem to be down with.

I don't know many modules that are specifically DM friendly, but I'd suggest maybe the Pathfidner ones (Yes, you're playing 3.5, but the two are similar enough, and they write all of the abilities. Plus, if you really need to, there is always the PFSRD site (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/). All of the rules are there, and very accessible.

Rise of the rune lords Adventure path (Starting with Burnt Offerings) was initially planned for 3.5, and is said to be quite good and "classic", so it might do well. If your players really like it, you can always purchase the next module. All of the PF modules are downloadable (For a price) on the Paizo site (http://paizo.com/). I haven't played it (I'm playing another AP), but it is generally well regarded.

[Fallenreality]

Kingmaker is another good Pathfinder AP in high regard. Eventually your players get to manage their own town. It's pretty fun.

I'm considering picking up Skulls and Shackles at some point, having a good pirate themed setting to bring out is always useful.

[atemu1234]

When I started DMing, this forum really helped me. If you have a rules-question, post it here. And if you foresee one, post it here. Really sometimes if you have a good hypothetical question, post it here. Basically, post it here.