Running a typical campaign

[Atrelegis]

Oookay, this is gonna sound weird, but I've been playing DnD for about 5 years now and I have almost always been the DM. Problem is, being the huge fan of writers like Harln Elisson, Michael Moorcock and Ocassionally Grant Morisson that I am, I have never run a standard campaign.

Sure I;ve done end of-the-world, parallel realities, time paradox, alien invasion and horror stories, but never a purely sword and sorcery one with standard magic.

I've always thought of it as a bit boring, m'self. But now I wanna give it a try. Can anybody give me any handy advice on magic item distribution, power, etc?

[Lord Lorac Silvanos]

Take a look at the Wealth by Level guidelines in the DMG (and item-level suggestions from Magic Item Compendium if you have that), they should give you a pretty good idea of what is appropriate and when.

[Ranis]

The chart I refer to most is the expected wealth-gain by level chart. With this in tow, I make sure my PC's get the appropriate amount as they level. This is especially important due to the fact that I DM for 10 people.

However, sword+magic campaigns are never boring if you make them properly. Put enough political intrigue in with the hack+slash, and you've got yourself some happy PC's.

[Matthew]

Consider getting your hands on the Greyhawk Gazetteer and using the Free Downloadable Dungeons & Dragons Adventures (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20030530b) from the Wizards Website.