Maybe DMing A Game For the First Time Soon, Halp! (Eberron, 3.5)

[Glawackus]

My group's current DM really wants to play again, and being that he's been DMing for the past few years (:smalleek:), everyone's pretty much in agreement that we should play a game with someone different running the game.

My name has come up several times--I guess it's for my usual patient demeanor and planning skills (which most people in the group don't have :smalltongue:)

I've got quite a few questions, and I think breaking this down with GitP's "PBP game questionnaire" will be easiest.

1. What game system are you running , and if applicable what edition?
D&D 3.5--it's what we've always played.


2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be? What is the setting for the game?
We've played mostly FR, and only Eberron once, and I'm looking towards Eberron, mostly for the novelty of the thing.

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

There's 4 players and me. Maybe 1-3 other players, but that's a big maybe.

5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Here's once place where I need some help: starting level. In the past, we've always started at level 1 or 3, and it's been pretty slow going. I'm thinking more like 5 or 6, but I've heard that Eberron tends to be more "high-powered"... :smallconfused:

6. How much gold or other starting funds will the characters begin with?
I'm thinking basic starting gold for whatever level we select plus a house rule--you can roll to get one magical item, with the DM able to refuse based on item power. (We've never had any problems with this before)

7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Never had any problems here, although there's one guy who always wants to play psionics, and I'm a little wary of adding something else I don't really know into the mix.

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
And when the guy from 7 can't play a psion, he tries to play a monstrous race. I'm thinking that I'm going to restrict it down to the normal stuff, maybe LA+1. One thing I can see happening is one of the new players wanting to play a Drow, though--I seem to recall they're LA+2. Anyone know a good homebrew way to make them more playable?

9. By what method should Players generate their attributes/ability scores and Hit Points?
We've always had the DM roll attributes for everyone with the usual 4d6 drop lowest, and then let them assign them as they see fit. I don't think I'll be changing that much.

10. Does your game use alignment? What are your restrictions, if so?
I'm going to try and keep things from getting any crazier than LE.

11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Suggestions/thoughts on this one?

13. Are there any homebrewed or optional/variant rules that your Players should know about? If so, list and explain them, or provide relevant links to learn about these new rules.
I've already mentioned the "1 magic item" rule...can't really think of any others.

14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
While we're on the topic of the campaign setting here, I'm thinking most of the action is going to be in Sharn and perhaps Karrnath, with a Blood of Vol agent acting as the Big Bad. I'm not sure how "long" the game will be (see 15), so I won't go into plot details here unless someone asks.

15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
One of my little complaints so far has been that things have been really "open"...the party always seems to end up with free time waiting for something to happen. Not that this is a bad thing, but it always seems "too long"--people get bored of saying "Yeah, I walk around the city, have a look in the shops, maybe get into a barfight" and then everyone loses focus. I'm thinking, therefore, that the game is going to be self-contained with a cliffhangerish ending, so that if I'm a big hit, we can continue on with the characters.

16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
My group usually shares books pretty freely, and here's what I recall we have off the top of my head:

Complete books
Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness
Eberron/FR CS
Races of... (FR/EB)
Oriental Adventures
Core books, of course
Psionics Handbook (3.5)

Any of these set off a red flag for anyone? I know that Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness are usually a no-no, and to be honest, I've never really had much time with those to see what's in 'em other than a quick skimming.

Can anyone answer those questions for me? Or point out an area where I'm likely to have problems?

Finally, does anyone have any good organizational tricks? I'm not incredibly organized, but I find that I do better going into something with at least a few crude tools rather than nothing at all.

[Nermy]

8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
And when the guy from 7 can't play a psion, he tries to play a monstrous race. I'm thinking that I'm going to restrict it down to the normal stuff, maybe LA+1. One thing I can see happening is one of the new players wanting to play a Drow, though--I seem to recall they're LA+2. Anyone know a good homebrew way to make them more playable?


Not a homebrew per say, but using Unearthed Arcana's level adjustment buyback makes Drow a lot more playable:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/races/reducingLevelAdjustments.htm

[AKA_Bait]

Ok. I'm going to try to be helpful by commenting on each thing I have a comment on.



2. What 'type' or variant of game will it be? What is the setting for the game?
We've played mostly FR, and only Eberron once, and I'm looking towards Eberron, mostly for the novelty of the thing.


I would actually advise against this unless you feel really secure in your knowledge of Eberron. If this is your first time DMing I would put it in whichever setting you are most comforatble and familiar with.



3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

There's 4 players and me. Maybe 1-3 other players, but that's a big maybe.

I'd advise just sticking with the 4 players. Your outside number of 7 can be cumbersome even for a very experienced DM.



5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Here's once place where I need some help: starting level. In the past, we've always started at level 1 or 3, and it's been pretty slow going. I'm thinking more like 5 or 6, but I've heard that Eberron tends to be more "high-powered"... :smallconfused:

This is another reason I would suggest sticking with Ferun. It's easy to mess up a game by over or underpowering the party regarding your expectations. If you aren't really sure what an appropriate power level is either read up on the setting or stick with the one you know better.


7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Never had any problems here, although there's one guy who always wants to play psionics, and I'm a little wary of adding something else I don't really know into the mix.

I would disallow it then. As DM you need to know what your players are capable of to make challenges that are actually, well, challenging. Since it's your first game, I'd keep it simple.


11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Suggestions/thoughts on this one?

I see no reason not to allow it. If you are awarding exp normally, you may want to do away with the multiclassing exp penalties. It just makes things simpler and doesn't change much.


16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
My group usually shares books pretty freely, and here's what I recall we have off the top of my head:

Complete books
Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness
Eberron/FR CS
Races of... (FR/EB)
Oriental Adventures
Core books, of course
Psionics Handbook (3.5)

Any of these set off a red flag for anyone? I know that Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness are usually a no-no, and to be honest, I've never really had much time with those to see what's in 'em other than a quick skimming.

Nothing other than the two you already mentioned set off a big red flag for me. Just bear in mind with BoED and BoVD that the roleplaying aspects of the classes and feats in those books are part of how things are balanced mechanically. Be sure you, and your players, know that the RP restrictions need to be enforced to keep things from getting overpowered.

Psionics Handbook also, but that's just because I have a deep and abiding prejudice against Psionics in general. Not a good reason for you not to use it if you feel comfortable with it.


Finally, does anyone have any good organizational tricks? I'm not incredibly organized, but I find that I do better going into something with at least a few crude tools rather than nothing at all.

1. Have everyone roll iniative at the beginning of the session and during 'mop up' after combat. This lets you move seemlessly from rp into combat withuot breaking the flow of the game to roll iniative. During mop up, when people are all making notes on their sheets, it's less distracting.

2. Use post it notes, or index cards, to keep track of iniative. I find this really useful for adjusting when people hold their actions etc. Instead of needing to scribble on a sheet you just move the card in the pile.

3. Have a crib sheet of any rules you don't have memorized that you expect to need in any given adventure handy.

4. Depending upon your group, have the players make a Party Contract (how stuff is split, what's not ok to do to other party members, whats not ok to do at all etc.). This avoids issues later if your group is not really mature.

5. Preroll things you expect to need that require a lot of dice. If you know you have an NPC of x level that is going to be casting fireball for 10d6, roll it a few times before hand and just have the number handy to save time.

6. Don't be afraid to wing it/fudge it.

[Glawackus]

I really like the initiative notecard idea, and I agree that that's a very clunky part of the system. :smallsmile:

The odds of there being 7 players are really minimal--it's possible, but it's a slim chance. I'm thinking it's going to be 5 tops.

And as far as Eberron goes, I think I have enough knowledge to be comfortable running a game, and I think I still have a week or so before this maybe-game occurs. I'm really more worried about the mechanics of the game and the flow of the game more than anything else.

Please, keep the input coming!

[AslanCross]

I'm going to be running an Eberron campaign (more like a one-shot adventure, actually) soon. Been running FR for a couple of months, and since I'm holding this with a group of my more mature players, I thought Eberron would be a good change of pace.

I'm running this adventure: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/duad/20071031

It's pretty creepy, though it's already for level 10 characters.

My answers to your questions:

2. As I've been learning, Eberron is difficult to pull off unless you're really familiar with it. I ended up just taking a published adventure. (see above)

4. Level: This may be a challenge for you. Balancing encounters has been quite a challenge for me in the six or so months I've been DMing. The above adventure is quite challenging and really requires a lot of intelligent play. The setting makes it difficult if not impossible to ask for any outside help.

5. Wealth: I believe the DMG has guidelines for wealth by character level. I did something similar to what you do: give some starting gold and a single masterwork weapon of choice and masterwork armor of choice for Lv 5 characters. Turns out that was a mistake. (I run a party of six, so encounters tend to be a lot more difficult. The problem is, if everybody has substandard gear, they can't do much if the monsters are too strong.) But if it works for your group, then there's no problems.

[Mr.Bookworm]

3. How many Players are you looking for? Will you be taking alternates, and if so, how many?

There's 4 players and me. Maybe 1-3 other players, but that's a big maybe.

I'd go with 4 if this is your first time DMing. Four's managable, and you won't be calling the half-orc Barbarian "Princess" by mistake.


5. What is the characters' starting status (i.e. experience level)?
Here's once place where I need some help: starting level. In the past, we've always started at level 1 or 3, and it's been pretty slow going. I'm thinking more like 5 or 6, but I've heard that Eberron tends to be more "high-powered"... :smallconfused:

Are we thinking of the same Eberron? No epics? Sixth level is high-end? Yeah, anyway, Eberron is fairly low-powered. Especially compared to FR. But 5-6 is good. It's at the start of the range where everyone is useful. Except for Soulknives, Monks, and Samurai. Sorry, guys.


7. Are there any particular character classes, professions, orders, etc. that you want... or do not want? What are your rules on 'prestige' and/or homebrewed classes?
Never had any problems here, although there's one guy who always wants to play psionics, and I'm a little wary of adding something else I don't really know into the mix.

Psionics are fairly easy if you decide to include them. Just remember the key rule, you can't spend more PP on powers than you have Manifester levels.


8. What races, subraces, species, etc. are allowed for your game? Will you allow homebrewed races or species? 'Prestige' races or species?
And when the guy from 7 can't play a psion, he tries to play a monstrous race. I'm thinking that I'm going to restrict it down to the normal stuff, maybe LA+1. One thing I can see happening is one of the new players wanting to play a Drow, though--I seem to recall they're LA+2. Anyone know a good homebrew way to make them more playable?

LA buyoff works. Though a drow would be... interesting in Eberron, as they're all basically savages.


11. Do you allow multi-classing, or have any particular rules in regards to it?
Suggestions/thoughts on this one?

Regular rules work. Or you could just eliminate the penalty altogether.


14. Is a character background required? If so, how big? Are you looking for anything in particular (i.e. the backgrounds all ending up with the characters in the same city)?
While we're on the topic of the campaign setting here, I'm thinking most of the action is going to be in Sharn and perhaps Karrnath, with a Blood of Vol agent acting as the Big Bad. I'm not sure how "long" the game will be (see 15), so I won't go into plot details here unless someone asks.

There's actually a splatbook called Sharn: City of Towers, that details Sharn. If you're playing in Sharn for any length of time, you might want to get it.

There's also a PRC in the Faiths of Eberron splatbook called Thief of Life that's exclusive to the Blood of Vol. It's kinda neat.


15. Does your game involve a lot of hack & slash, puzzle solving, roleplaying, or a combination of the above?
One of my little complaints so far has been that things have been really "open"...the party always seems to end up with free time waiting for something to happen. Not that this is a bad thing, but it always seems "too long"--people get bored of saying "Yeah, I walk around the city, have a look in the shops, maybe get into a barfight" and then everyone loses focus. I'm thinking, therefore, that the game is going to be self-contained with a cliffhangerish ending, so that if I'm a big hit, we can continue on with the characters.

Just keep the action, of any sort, coming at a steady pace. Just be prepared for the PCs to never do what you want or expect.


16. Are your Players restricted to particular rulebooks and supplements, or will you be allowing access to non-standard material? What sources can Players use for their characters?
My group usually shares books pretty freely, and here's what I recall we have off the top of my head:

Complete books
Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness
Eberron/FR CS
Races of... (FR/EB)
Oriental Adventures
Core books, of course
Psionics Handbook (3.5)

Any of these set off a red flag for anyone? I know that Exalted Deeds/Vile Darkness are usually a no-no, and to be honest, I've never really had much time with those to see what's in 'em other than a quick skimming.

If you have the Faiths of Eberron book, under no circumstances should you let the player take the Planar Shepard PRC. And I find ED/VD to be too much trouble than it's worth, unless you specifically build a campaign with them in mind.

Just avoid all off the usual cheese.


Finally, does anyone have any good organizational tricks? I'm not incredibly organized, but I find that I do better going into something with at least a few crude tools rather than nothing at all.

If you have laptop, great. Make a folder and store a bunch of Word documents with everything in it, and always take the laptop with you. Otherwise, I'd dedicate a notebook for, well, notes. Just keep everything in one, manageble place. Probably easier to do with a laptop, though. Oh, and if you have a spare hard drive, back up everything. Never know when it might be useful.

Hope that helped.

[AKA_Bait]

If you have laptop, great. Make a folder and store a bunch of Word documents with everything in it, and always take the laptop with you. Otherwise, I'd dedicate a notebook for, well, notes. Just keep everything in one, manageble place. Probably easier to do with a laptop, though. Oh, and if you have a spare hard drive, back up everything. Never know when it might be useful.

This is essential too. I'd suggest getting an automated dicerolling program and keeping the SRD open at all times during play if you have a laptop to use. Open pages of the SRD you might need, like monsters you expect them to fight, and minimize them. Modern technology has made the DM screen obsolete. :-)

[AslanCross]

This is essential too. I'd suggest getting an automated dicerolling program and keeping the SRD open at all times during play if you have a laptop to use. Open pages of the SRD you might need, like monsters you expect them to fight, and minimize them. Modern technology has made the DM screen obsolete. :-)

I agree. This is how I run my games. My laptop has the SRD open and all the documents I have are in OneNote (easier that way because it saves automatically). I prefer rolling real dice, however. Something about the sound I guess.

[Glawackus]

Thanks for all the input! I'm always amazed how quick people are to respond to questions on this forum.

Re: laptops: I don't own one right now, and I don't think I'm going to be getting one between now and the game...is it worth making a DM screen out of a cardboard box or something?

That published adventure looks really neat...I wish there was some site that had polished things like that ready to go.

Looking at the adventure, another thing comes to mind: is it important to draw up maps for the adventure? We've never had any, and I think the game has suffered a bit because of that.

Please, keep it coming, guys. I feel like I need all the help I can get. :smallredface:

[AstralFire]

If there's deadspace, make it not dead. Do something to keep the party excited (IC) at all times, be it simple NPC conversation or elaborate descriptions or a fast-forward or whatnot.

[Just Alex]

Never let things settle down for too long in an Eberron game. Unless you're intentionally giving the players some time to rest or craft, keep throwing things at them. Eberron is an action flick given DnD rules. You don't merely take the Lightning Rail from Breland to Karnath. You get on and halfway through, a group of train robbers show up. The hidden temples of Xen'drik all have boulder traps ala Indiana Jones. The bad guys will go out and hire the good guys to do the dirty work.
It can be a lot of fun, but if things keep flowing, it can be quite a bit of fun.
Barring the boulder actually crushing a PC, that's not cool.