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View Full Version : Help a new DM in his first session of D&D ever



Pagz
2007-11-25, 09:17 AM
Well, me and my friends (7 :smalleek: !) wanted to start a game of dunegons and dragons to sort of keep us all together (we all just finished high-school). The thing was none of us really knew how to play, except for me and two others who had finished Baldurs Gate (so yeah, none of us had played). In the end I put my hand up for DM, since nobody bar 1 really knew how to. So here I am trying to put together in my head what the first session's going to be like, and as trying to entertain 7 people and to get them to continue to play in the weeks that will follow may be a bigger task then I thought. So I decided that since there is such a well-spring of knowledge here on these forums, that I would post my plan for the first session, so that you may critique it and give me pointers, as Im in a big world of possibilities, and I'm worried I'll muck it up. I decided that I'll have the PC's go from level 1-3 in the first session, only because since no-one has played before, some people may not like the class they chose and may want to change, getting to level three will let them get a feel for their class, and so they're not afraid of dying from stray arrows and dark corners. Its a big first session though, so It shouldn't feel too weird (I'll be teaching them as well, that'll be interesting). The PC's are...

Human Ranger
Human Cleric
Human Wizard
Elven Ranger
Elven Sorcerer
Half-Orc Barbarian
Gnomish Rogue


Part One: Letter from the Mayor

The PC's get plot-dropped in the town of Seawell (I decided to homebrew the world for storyline reasons, the story wouldn't make sense without it, however that doesnt matter in the first session), they're there for their own reasons (wow three the/y're/re/ir's!) and in the midsts hear that the Mayor is looking out for mercenaries to fix the shortage problem the towns been having. The PC's accept and meet the Mayor in his office.

The towns regular supplies have not been arriving for the past two weeks(the town is a port town) from either land nor sea, and the Mayor is worried that something has happened to the shipments (as the town relies on trade to survive). The Mayor has also expresses his concern that he hasn't heard word from the lighthouse in a long while as well. In the end the Mayor askes the PC's three things:


1. Find out what happened to the land shipments, follow the road out of town to see whats happened. If you need further information their is a bar located 100km outside of town where shipments usually break before continuing to the town.

2. Go to the Lighthouse to get an update from the lighthouse, they may know something about the ships disappearance. The lighthouse is located 30km following the coast, walking through swamp.

3. The local Lizardmen tribes have been growing restless these past few weeks, attacking the town and travelers. This is unusual since we have always had a friendly relationship with the Lizardmen, on the odd occasion trading with each other when times got tough. Find out whats wrong with the Lizardmen and if at all possible fix their problem.


So the PC's have these three objections to complete from the mayor, either choosing to go to the lighthouse first, or the road to see whats up. They can do whatever they want in town (probably stock-up/talk about which way to go). For this summery, I'll say they go down the road first.


Part Two: The Ruins


As they walk down the road, they suddenly see wheel tracks, which suddenly stop in the middle of the road. They're heavy wheel tracks, suggesting that it was the supply carts that were heading to town. If they decide to keep walking down the road, they'll get to an inn, who will give them info on what the supplys where if they ask (if they haven't already asked in town), and his opinion on the lizardmen. All in all, they woun't find out much in the inn, exept if they ask about Goblins, the inn keeper will tell them that he's seen an unusual number of Goblins around lately, which is probably having an adverse effect on the Lizardmen now that he thinks about it. On the way back down, they'll encounter two skeletal dire rats (its a world thing)

Walking back to the tracks, a decent spot check will show them that the tracks have been cleened off the road, searching off the road will show that it looks like the carts have been dragged into the swamp. Following the trails, they see whats happened to the carts...

GOBLINS! They see a man dressed in light clothing, a listen check will show that he is ordering the goblins to take the supplies into a cave 3 kilometers down the makeshift track in the swamp. It seems that the goblins are going in and coming back for more supplies, the PC's will probably attack or scout to try and find out more. If they attack, the Man is a level 1 sorceror, there will be 4 goblins, 2 with crossbows. After that rumble if they don't hide they'll be spotted by goblins comming back for more supplies, they come one-by-one. When they get close to the cave, they'll see that there is a clearing of about 60ft from the dence swamp to the cave. if they step into the clearing, they'll be shot by 2 crossbow bolts from people inside the cave guarding it. The point is here that they have to sneak in along the outside walls of the cave and surprise the shooters from the corners of the mouth of the cave. When inside they find that there is a table, two chairs, and a large doorway. Walking through the door will show a large supply room where many cards have been sacked. They're will be a door to the north and a door to the west.

In the west door they'll find a plain rocky room, with a caved in side and two sarcophagi, looking into them will find two Dwarven skeletons and the heads of Masterwork Axes (I woun't tell them their masterwork unless someone there knows a thing or two about metalworking, they'll also have to get a blacksmith to fashion them a handle). If they decide to remove the rubble they'll find a magical seal on a door, a knowledge check will show that its a protection from evil spell. If they open the heavy stone tablet of a door they'll find a room full of scratch marks, and a Quasit.

Going back to the supply room, once they go to the northern door they'll find a makeshift pully lift with two levels going down. The first basement level will have 3 goblins mining out a new room (yay exp, they'll go). If they search the room, they'll find a dwarven statue with his hands flat on the ground, on the ground they're will be stone hole that runs a thin line from one side of the room to the other, what this is for will be shown later.

the second basement level they'll find a door. listening inside they'll hear goblins being ordered by a Man, and someone chanting a ritual. Going inside will find 3 goblins, a human warrior and a human cleric. After that little scuffle they'll see that they're in a shrine of some sort, an alter with a dwarf with his hands in the air as a small statue atop it. (the cleric will have his notes on the shrine on his body and hint about what he's doing there, with half the directions to "the base"). They'll also see words written in Dwarven along the top of the altar (Note on the world: Dwarves have extensive underground tunnels that expand nearly the entire world, or so the rumors go) "I am an old one that runs forever, but never moves at all. I have not lungs nor throat, but still a mighty roaring call. Let me live again!". The riddle is that you have to pour water down the holes from the second story so it runs down onto the altar like a waterfall. Doing this will open a doorway at the back of the room, inside they will find a +1 flail, +1 cold damage. This is a sub-plot item, so its power is warrented ^^, it'll get stronger as the game progresses, the more dwarven riddles they complete (All with the "let me live again" theme) the stronger the flail gets.

Walking out of the cave, the PC's are ambushed by goblins! They are outnumbered 3 to 1, and (assuming they don't kill all the goblins) are all knocked out...

*ding*, everyone goes up a level! I'll show everyone how to do that, maybe everyone will take a sort of break and talk about whats happened (depending on how fast that all goes).

Part Three: The Prision
The PC's at this point will be like "WHAT THE HELL MAN!". When they awake they'll be in a dungeon prision, they're all in separate cells, with a teenage redhead in another cell across the room. Talking to the redhead, they find that she and her friends are captives as well, and make a deal with the PC's to escape. A goblin is asleep with the keys (classic!), and if the mage or sorceror are smart enough they'll use "mage hand" to grab the keys and escape. Equally the Barbarian can rage and kust smash the bars (the place is pretty damp and rundown). Once everyone is out of their cages, the girl will ask the PC's to take her to the room where their items are being held. Since the PC's will probably want their stuff back, they'll go with her. On arrival to the room, they'll be faced by 2 goblins (everyones fully rested BTW) who are using their stuff. once their dispatched, everyone will grab their equipment, exept the girl, who will grab one giant two handed sword. Everyone will be like "wtf?" and follow her out of the dungeon.

On the way out, they see the odd 15 goblins that ambushed them (they can search the prision if they want, they'll probably find a few dire rats and a random treasure chest). The redhead girl whips out her sword, mutters a few undecipherable words, and shoots out 5 magical shots of energy out of her blade (magic missile, if a PC passes a knowledge check, machanics wise, the sword can cast that spell as a level 9 caster at will), these shots knock out 5 of the goblins. In an instant, she appears next to another few and in a swift swing slices another 5 in half. The other goblins practically **** themselfs and start to run, the redheaded girl hot on their tails. At this point in time, the PC's are probably going "ooooook then" (the red headed chick is a main plot NPC who the PC's will see often, she is really a High level male Teifling Eldritch Knight in disguise, running from his own problems at this point in time. A magical item he was in possession of is why he was magically trapped in the prision, however he wasnt trapped by the goblins...)

The PC's realize they're still in the swamp, and with two rangers in the party, they'll eventually track back to town (or the cave). The ambush will happen at this point in time, whether they go to the lighthouse first or the cave.

Part Four, The Lighthouse
Back to town, they'll probably refresh, buy supplies, then its off to the Lighthouse (and back into the swamp). On the road down there they'll have some encounters with the wildlife (a.k.a crocodiles, spider swarms, all those yummy goodnesses), this is more a test of wits and survival skills then random encounters though, with quicksand and the works. At the lighthouse, things look not so good. The entire place has been ransacked, blood everywhere inside, the top of the lighthouse destroyed. On their way out, they find a Man and two goblins on patrol. The goblins carry crossbows and the man a warrior. On the way back a javalin hurls towards them and lands at their feet, a lizardmen scout appears before them. He asks "State your business in these swamps humaniods!" Depending on how the PC's react, they'll fight the Lizardman or talk to him. Once the Lizardman knows the PC's arnt hostile, he'll will excuse himself for being so aggressive, but point out a lot of humanoids and goblins have been attacking lizardmen as of late. In talking further to the lizardman, they'll find out that there is a "hostile encampment" of humans and goblins somewhere in the swamp, however he only has half of a map of directions to the area where they are (that piece goes with the piece they find in the cave, and vice versa if they go to the lighthouse first). With this information, they can go directly to the encampment. (Hmm... I know this part of the session doesnt sound very long, but it was just a lot easier to explain then the other parts, however it is just a little shorter then going to the cave)

Part Five: The Encampment
They find this encampment a kilometer off shore, in between the lighthouse and the town. It seems pirates have nestled here and are causing all the havoc! They probably hired the local goblins when they hit shore. Here will be the rest of the crew, another human cleric, a sorceror, 4 warriors, 5 goblins and a 2nd level fighter (boss omgsh :o). They have two lookout towers, a man in each. Now the PC's will have to strategically take out this encampment, as a full on attack will be suicide. I assume they'll wait till nightfall then pick them off one by one (or try), however I don't know how they'll do it. On the shore they'll be a mass of ruined ships, with pirates up in the encampment burying chests silverware, jewlery and hides. It seems without the lighthouse to guide the ships, they've wrecked ashore. The battle at the encampment should be a hard one, I'm a little worried its too hard, we shall have to see! (If they befriended the Lizardman, they can go to their tribe and ask them for help, getting 3 lizardmen scouts. Also they can ask the town guards for their help as well, them offering 3 level 1 warriors, it all depends on how smart the PC's are!)

After they beat the pirates (and collect the loot!), they'll go back into town and explain it all to the Mayor. With his thanks, he'll give them 500 gold for each of the three troubles he mentioned and they answer for.

The Mayor will ask them, however, if they could possibly act as body guards on the next ship out of Seawell, just incase pirates happen to strike once more...

*ding*, level 3!


Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand thats the first session out of the way! What did you guys think? Do you think it will entertain first time D&Ders? I know it can be improved on, so I'm asking you all for your help. What should I change? How many monsters should I have for each level? Is it too long? too short? Never playing pen and paper D&D, let alone DMing a game makes this hard for me, as I really don't have much to go by. I also don't want to make it too hard for the people who have never rolled a dice before :s.

Please give me pointers, as I feel like I'm lost at sea without a paddle :s, although I think I'm going in the right direction. Also, If you have any questions about the campaign, session or anything, don't hesitate to ask.

WrstDmEvr
2007-11-25, 10:16 AM
When do they gain level two? I don't think you put it in.

Apart from that, it looks solid.

KingGolem
2007-11-25, 10:49 AM
Ahh, you've written a very nice adventure there. Well done. I do have a few pointers though...

First of all, when solving riddles in-game it's always a good idea to allow your players to make Intelligence checks to earn hints if they can't solve the riddle themselves. Some people...are just bad at riddles, myself included.

Second of all, it says that right after they exit the cave they're ambushed by goblins and outnumbered 3 to 1. Now 21 goblins vs. 7 1st level adventurers may sound like a sure win for the goblins, but just in case I suggest you come up with a contingency plan on the offchance that they make some REALLY good rolls (unlikely, but still possible).

And finally, you must do everything you can to portray the might of that pirate camp. After all, they might think, "We can't lose, were the heroes!"

And that's about all I can think of right now. Good luck with your first gaming session. :smallbiggrin:

Luean
2007-11-25, 01:51 PM
I didn't read every part of your adventure, but what i read sounds ok.

You shouldn't forget, that the adventure is not the only thing.
There are lots of things you can do to make your sessions entertaining.

I, for example, talk with different voices for different NPCs. The first time i felt uncomfortable and my players couldn't stop laughing. After some time, they and I got used to it.

Good luck and have fun ;)

SoD
2007-11-25, 01:54 PM
Remember, no matter how well you plan, they'll get their own ideas and end up changing something major.

It's all part of the fun!

Heliomance
2007-11-25, 01:59 PM
Remember, the players are probably smarter than you think. Several times, we've made our GM rethink things by solving a problem more intelligently than he expected, whether by not killing a pair of cockatrices, or by not being fooled into thinking that a real fire was an illusion and so ignoring it and allowing a lord's mansion to burn down.

togapika
2007-11-25, 04:01 PM
The only thing I would worry about is the Players getting upset with the NPC. I don't know how many games I've played in where people got pissed because of a ZOMG NPC with powers much greater than the PC's

Skelengar
2007-11-25, 06:14 PM
Having DMed for about 2 years, and starting DMing under similar circumstances to yours, I have some input.

It sounds neat.

My only recommendations that haven't already been mentioned would that you check out Weapons of Legacy for ideas about the flail and that you make sure that the encounters are enough to stand up against 7 people.

Feel free to PM me with any problems you may have throughout your campaign.

Last but not least, you might not get through this all in one session as the first session will probably run a bit slowly, since most of the players are probably not sure how it will work.

Pagz
2007-11-25, 06:18 PM
When do they gain level two? I don't think you put it in.Just above the words Part 3, the prision.
Ahh, you've written a very nice adventure there. Well done. I do have a few pointers though...

First of all, when solving riddles in-game it's always a good idea to allow your players to make Intelligence checks to earn hints if they can't solve the riddle themselves. Some people...are just bad at riddles, myself included.

Second of all, it says that right after they exit the cave they're ambushed by goblins and outnumbered 3 to 1. Now 21 goblins vs. 7 1st level adventurers may sound like a sure win for the goblins, but just in case I suggest you come up with a contingency plan on the offchance that they make some REALLY good rolls (unlikely, but still possible).

And finally, you must do everything you can to portray the might of that pirate camp. After all, they might think, "We can't lose, were the heroes!"

And that's about all I can think of right now. Good luck with your first gaming session. :smallbiggrin:These are good points. Intelligence checks for hints is a great way to give hints, and also to show that they themselves arn't the characters, that its a roleplaying game, their characters know things they don't.

Hmm... A second plan just in case the goblins get beaten may be a good idea... Although I imagine the rolls would have to be awesome, especially since the goblins will get a surprise round, unless I give the goblins some dues ex machina :smallbiggrin:

Yeah, I have to give them the impression that the pirates are stronger then them, really talk up the Captain (he'll have like 20 hit points), as if they're not prepared, he'll do some serious damage, even to the barbarian who probably thinks he's invincible after so many goblins.
You shouldn't forget, that the adventure is not the only thing.
There are lots of things you can do to make your sessions entertaining.

I, for example, talk with different voices for different NPCs. The first time i felt uncomfortable and my players couldn't stop laughing. After some time, they and I got used to it.Haha, yeah, I'll probably end up feeling uncomfortable too, some of them may feel a little overwhelmed as well. If I can lighten up the mood with funny voices and crazy goblin antics, it'll make for a better day all together.
Remember, no matter how well you plan, they'll get their own ideas and end up changing something major.

It's all part of the fun!I hope something like that happens :smallbiggrin: . I already have in my mind the major story arc, I'm curious to see how it plays out!
Remember, the players are probably smarter than you think. Several times, we've made our GM rethink things by solving a problem more intelligently than he expected, whether by not killing a pair of cockatrices, or by not being fooled into thinking that a real fire was an illusion and so ignoring it and allowing a lord's mansion to burn down.I hope this will happen as well. One thing I don't know is how intelligently the PC's will tackle my adventure, if they'll work together or as in small groups, I just don't know. After this session, though, I should have a good gauge as to how good my friends are at these things. This makes me even more excited/nervous.
The only thing I would worry about is the Players getting upset with the NPC. I don't know how many games I've played in where people got pissed because of a ZOMG NPC with powers much greater than the PC'sBut... they're level 2 :smalleek:, of course there are going to be people stronger than them, and the redheaded girl is only in one battle before she whisks away.

Thanks for all your input guys, keep them coming! Im starting to get a better grasp with what I need to do. The first session is next monday.

Sam Panda
2007-11-25, 06:19 PM
Now, I'm definately no expert and have myself only DM'ed once, but your adventure looks very well thought-out and good, except maybe its a bit linear? In my experience, with my d&d group, the players (myself included) generally veer away from doing what their supposed to a lot of the time, so maybe you should come up with some backup plans incase your players don't even bother with the mayor.

Defiant Element
2007-11-25, 11:05 PM
I know this has already been mentioned, but, I thought I'd take a moment to restate it. When you're playing with a new group, one for which you don't have a good feel, it's important to stay flexible. When I started DMing, I was constantly frustrated by groups who consistently derailed plots either via a clever solution or by simply ignoring the campaign hook. The other thing though is, keeping that in mind, make an attempt to stick with things that have an element of realism. The problem with Deus ex Machina and overarching NPAs that exert a seemingly otherworldly influence on the PCs is that they don't "feel" right. If the PCs "screw up" the adventure, it's easy to be frustrated and whatnot, but if they devised a cunning stratagem, well, they deserve to be rewarded, and so it's important to re-establish the campaign taking that into account. And if the PCs just don't wanna go along with the campaign, well... there are always ways to rope them back in whether they like it or not... as long as it remains realistic. And being able to roll with the punches isn't only something that manifests itself in how you actually run the game. I've played campaigns with DMs who think that joking around is the name of the game and others who are much more strict about staying the course so to speak. You seem to have done a reasonably thorough job of describing each of the successive elements, but keep in mind that it's the really tiny details that draw players into the world. There are times when you'll want to go to great lengths describing something, even something seemingly inconsequential. Additionally, depending on what the PCs do while in town, you might wanna consider throwing in other miscellaneous quasi-adventures or encounters of one sort or another.

Hmmm... anything else... Well, I don't know if you have time constraints, but following in the whole flexibility theme, don't necessarily count on getting all of that done in one session. Your players could very well accept the adventure but spend half the time cultivating their relationship with the local barkeep by knocking back some ale. Particularly with inexperienced players who will likely require a good deal of coaching, a little bit of patience and flexibility.

Good luck, and have fun!

The_Gleeman
2007-11-26, 10:02 AM
Well planned session I think. The only advice I could offer is if you're teaching and running a session for seven people be prepared for it to get bogged down a bit due to rule explanations and clarifications. I have run many tutorial games so I know how stressful it can be. If you reach the end of the session and you haven't reached the end of the adventure, pay attention to how your players react to the various situations. Set-up a cliffhanger so they'll be excited for the next session. I can't say that my first adventure was so well written. Hat'a off to you.

Triaxx
2007-11-26, 10:20 AM
Keep an eye on those two trouble makers early on though. By which I mean the wizard and sorceror. If either of them think ahead enough to pick up sleep, you're in for a nasty shock when they encounter those goblins. That's a very good way to even the odds.

Particularly if the fighters are quick enough to take advantage of the helpless goblins. :smallbiggrin: If they've been studying you're definitely going to need a back up plan.

Atreyu the Masked LLama
2007-11-26, 10:22 AM
When I started GMing for a group of new players, I used about 1/3 of the standard rules. It kept play streamlined and the players stayed interested. It took out a bit of the realism, but I think it helped. I let them know when I was ignoring rules to keep things simple, then later I would implement the rules and say things like "Okay, now up to this point, we've been ignoring the -4 penalty for shooting into melee, but next session I'm going to start using that. Plan accordingly." I think it worked better than every third sentence out of my mouth being "OKay, the special rule for that is........"

Although whenever they were telling our mutual rules lawyer friend about it, it made him cry.

Oh and most importantly, remember you're there to have fun and so are the players. Interpret that as you will, but remember it.

Good luck!!!

Triaxx
2007-11-26, 09:15 PM
Don't forget to tell us how it went. I'm liking this campaign more each time I read it. I might have to get the rest of it from you.

Scythoro
2007-11-26, 10:53 PM
It sounds like you've thought about this campaign for a long time. It's very well planned out. If this really is their first table-top RPG then the campaign will last more than one session, possibly three. You'll learn that being a good GM involves a lot of Psycology. Your ability to out think think them, predict what choices they might make, what they like about the campaign, what they don't like, what was too easy, what was too hard, and what will make them coming back for more. It's good that you know more about the game than them. For this being your first campaign it sounds pretty thorough. Good Luck.

Pagz
2007-11-27, 04:42 AM
My only recommendations that haven't already been mentioned would that you check out Weapons of Legacy for ideas about the flail and that you make sure that the encounters are enough to stand up against 7 people.

Feel free to PM me with any problems you may have throughout your campaign.

Last but not least, you might not get through this all in one session as the first session will probably run a bit slowly, since most of the players are probably not sure how it will work.Weapons of Legacy ay? I've never heard of it, is it a book on weapons? I've got an idea for the flail, every 5 levels (so at level 5, 10, 15 and 20) the flail will get a +1 upgrade and another +1 elemental damage of another type (so near the end of the game, it'll be a +5 flail with +1 cold, fire, acid, electrical and sonic damage). When all the pieces are together though, all the damage from the elemental parts will double (so now its +2 cold, +2 fire, ect.) and has the ability to summon the imprisoned spirit within!

Hmm... I probably should explain that

Something I though would be a good idea is to have different parts of this spirit in the different upgrades of the flail, as in the symbol of a shackled arm on one altar, the symbol of a shackled left leg, ect. then when all the parts are together the spirit containing the spell will be broken! A surprise when the PC's find that the weapon thats been with them the whole time attacks them. Then when they beat (i should say, if they beat though...) The spirit will go back into the flail, and will now be useable by the team as an activated ability once a day (during this downtime, the flail looses all its abilities and becomes a regular flail).

Yeah, I'm thinking now I may not get it all done in one go, we have the whole day though, from 10 onwards, so we should be ok (I thought it might be better if our first session was a big one so people could actually use the rules we teach them other then explaining it and only getting through two battles)
Now, I'm definately no expert and have myself only DM'ed once, but your adventure looks very well thought-out and good, except maybe its a bit linear? In my experience, with my d&d group, the players (myself included) generally veer away from doing what their supposed to a lot of the time, so maybe you should come up with some backup plans incase your players don't even bother with the mayor.Since its the first session and people don't know the rules so well, I think they'll be a little more inclined to do what the NPC's tell them to. When they get a better grasp on the rules, I may have to start thinking of backup scenarios, it all depends on the players. After we have this first session though, I'll be able to plan sessions with what they want in mind.
I know this has already been mentioned, but, I thought I'd take a moment to restate it. When you're playing with a new group, one for which you don't have a good feel, it's important to stay flexible. When I started DMing, I was constantly frustrated by groups who consistently derailed plots either via a clever solution or by simply ignoring the campaign hook. The other thing though is, keeping that in mind, make an attempt to stick with things that have an element of realism. The problem with Deus ex Machina and overarching NPAs that exert a seemingly otherworldly influence on the PCs is that they don't "feel" right. If the PCs "screw up" the adventure, it's easy to be frustrated and whatnot, but if they devised a cunning stratagem, well, they deserve to be rewarded, and so it's important to re-establish the campaign taking that into account. And if the PCs just don't wanna go along with the campaign, well... there are always ways to rope them back in whether they like it or not... as long as it remains realistic. And being able to roll with the punches isn't only something that manifests itself in how you actually run the game. I've played campaigns with DMs who think that joking around is the name of the game and others who are much more strict about staying the course so to speak. You seem to have done a reasonably thorough job of describing each of the successive elements, but keep in mind that it's the really tiny details that draw players into the world. There are times when you'll want to go to great lengths describing something, even something seemingly inconsequential. Additionally, depending on what the PCs do while in town, you might wanna consider throwing in other miscellaneous quasi-adventures or encounters of one sort or another.

Hmmm... anything else... Well, I don't know if you have time constraints, but following in the whole flexibility theme, don't necessarily count on getting all of that done in one session. Your players could very well accept the adventure but spend half the time cultivating their relationship with the local barkeep by knocking back some ale. Particularly with inexperienced players who will likely require a good deal of coaching, a little bit of patience and flexibility.

Good luck, and have fun!The plan I Wrote up is what I intend the PC's to do with what the Mayor wants them to do, I tend to do rather well on the fly, so I can modify it at any time to suit what is happening (I would be surprised if everything went as smoothly as I wrote it above).

I don't think you got what I wanted the red-headed girl to be about. She wasn't there to beat the goblins for the PC's or to help them in anyway, but to just show off her power to the PC's as they'll be seeing her later down the track. If they've seen her battle with them, they'll know that she is strong, rather then me saying she is strong.

Small quasi-adventures for the PC's from randm NPC's sounds like a great idea! I'll put that in for sure.

Haha yeah, patience will be a virtue.
Well planned session I think. The only advice I could offer is if you're teaching and running a session for seven people be prepared for it to get bogged down a bit due to rule explanations and clarifications. I have run many tutorial games so I know how stressful it can be. If you reach the end of the session and you haven't reached the end of the adventure, pay attention to how your players react to the various situations. Set-up a cliffhanger so they'll be excited for the next session. I can't say that my first adventure was so well written. Hat'a off to you.Yeah, I can imagine it grinding down to a halt if someone gets massively confused with combat (especially with critical hits (but I already got a 20!) and grapple, so many rolls, I may just gimp them depending on how well they get the basics). Hopefully I explain it clearly enough so nothing gets confused, although I can imagine it being a little overwhelming for the some who have never rolled a dice. It'll be a good first session in the sense that I'll be able to find out what they like and dislike, its hard to plan something out when you don't know how your PC's like to play. Were all friends from school though, so I can imagine either way it'll be a laugh (one of the girls wants to create a 32 foot high flesh golem and call it "zombie megatron", I'm sure we can work something out :smallbiggrin: ).
Keep an eye on those two trouble makers early on though. By which I mean the wizard and sorceror. If either of them think ahead enough to pick up sleep, you're in for a nasty shock when they encounter those goblins. That's a very good way to even the odds.

Particularly if the fighters are quick enough to take advantage of the helpless goblins. :smallbiggrin: If they've been studying you're definitely going to need a back up plan.Hmm... thats a good point, something I had not thought of. However, knowing the guy who's playing the wizard, he's quite the trigger happy mage, and after quite a few encounters (and being level 1), he'll be out of spells by the time the goblins come around. Also the girl whos playing the sorceror has never rolled a dice, where as the guys finished Neverwinter nights, so he'll probably tell her to start blasting things if he runs out, as I can imagine she'll be looking to him for how she should go.
When I started GMing for a group of new players, I used about 1/3 of the standard rules. It kept play streamlined and the players stayed interested. It took out a bit of the realism, but I think it helped. I let them know when I was ignoring rules to keep things simple, then later I would implement the rules and say things like "Okay, now up to this point, we've been ignoring the -4 penalty for shooting into melee, but next session I'm going to start using that. Plan accordingly." I think it worked better than every third sentence out of my mouth being "OKay, the special rule for that is........"

Although whenever they were telling our mutual rules lawyer friend about it, it made him cry.

Oh and most importantly, remember you're there to have fun and so are the players. Interpret that as you will, but remember it.

Good luck!!!Yeah, depending on how well they pick certain things up, I may bend some of the rules just a smidgen.
Don't forget to tell us how it went. I'm liking this campaign more each time I read it. I might have to get the rest of it from you.Do you mean the rest of what the session or what I plan to do in the future?
It sounds like you've thought about this campaign for a long time. It's very well planned out. If this really is their first table-top RPG then the campaign will last more than one session, possibly three. You'll learn that being a good GM involves a lot of Psycology. Your ability to out think think them, predict what choices they might make, what they like about the campaign, what they don't like, what was too easy, what was too hard, and what will make them coming back for more. It's good that you know more about the game than them. For this being your first campaign it sounds pretty thorough. Good Luck.Yeah, its hard to do it when you've never played D&D with the group, so after a few sessions I should get a good grasp at their mindsets, I cant wait!

Thanks for everyones input, its also nice to know that what I've planned isn't bad either:smallbiggrin:!

Skelengar
2007-11-27, 10:31 AM
Weapons of Legacy is a book of weapons that do just what your flail does, getting better the more rituals you complete. It has a lot of examples, and deatails for how to create your own.

Basically, a weapon of legacy starts out as a normal magic weapon, as you level up, it's power will increase with you. it also grants you cool abilities.
every so often, you have to reaserch into it's history to find out what to do to unlock the next set of abilities.

Triaxx
2007-11-27, 11:24 AM
How it went first, and then I'd love a copy of what you plan to do in the future. Unless you're flying by ear, which is fine.

DracoDei
2007-11-27, 03:07 PM
Reading from the start(now having read enough to know about the two parts of the map), I see no specific reason why they wouldn't TRY making contact with the lizardfolk first, instead of investigating the lighthouse or the road. Be ready with an explaination of how the lizardfolk met up with the humans for trading etc as well as ready to state if asked(and maybe even if not) that the humans don't know exactly where the lizardfolk live (Do the lizardfolk relocate a lot?).

Valinor2
2007-11-27, 07:34 PM
Y' know this campaign sounds really good besides the forementioned problems, I would love to see where this game goes.:smallcool:



:redcloak: "Sometimes I feel I should havebecome a lich then I could take over the world, only instead I'm a stupid henchman." -Aderas the Ghoul Mage

Pagz
2007-11-27, 08:56 PM
Weapons of Legacy is a book of weapons that do just what your flail does, getting better the more rituals you complete. It has a lot of examples, and deatails for how to create your own.

Basically, a weapon of legacy starts out as a normal magic weapon, as you level up, it's power will increase with you. it also grants you cool abilities.
every so often, you have to reaserch into it's history to find out what to do to unlock the next set of abilities.Nice! I just might have to look into it, it'll help me heaps in telling me if its up to standard (one thing I'm not sure about is how strong everyone will be at level 15 and up (like how gameplay is different from the lower levels, which seem more straight forward))
How it went first, and then I'd love a copy of what you plan to do in the future. Unless you're flying by ear, which is fine.I am kinda flying by ear, but I'm planning to...well, plan a lot of what I want to do in the future in the next few days (since I'm off on holiday for 10 days, I don't want to have like a 3 week gap between our first session and second, since people will probably forget/lose interest o.O). For this story arc, the PC's basically find out that most of the pirate gangs have grouped together and are slowly plundering away the worlds riches (Due to worldly purposes, nearly all trade is done by boat, so pirates are more common then they are in your average d&d world), so it'll the PC's job to hunt down and break up the syndicate, by slowly making their way to find out who's leading this group of plunderers, to disband (or gain control) of them. Yeah, It's not too original, but I don't plan for it to go for horribly long (maybe 7th level... depends on how fast they level up I guess), its more of a leveling them up thing for the far more awesome story arc I have in stall for them ^^.
Reading from the start(now having read enough to know about the two parts of the map), I see no specific reason why they wouldn't TRY making contact with the lizardfolk first, instead of investigating the lighthouse or the road. Be ready with an explaination of how the lizardfolk met up with the humans for trading etc as well as ready to state if asked(and maybe even if not) that the humans don't know exactly where the lizardfolk live (Do the lizardfolk relocate a lot?).Hmm... I hadn't fully thought out that possibility, since it was more of a last minute decision to put that option in, it was originally going to be just a side thing for them to do. The only person who knows where their tribe is located is the local ranger, who knows that "there are a few tribes out there, most consisting of about 20 odd lizardmen. He says that they travel with the seasons, but they should be south of the town (opposite direction of the lighthouse), they usually live near the shoreline". However, since there has been pirate activity, the lizardmen have relocated to inbetween the lighthouse and the town, they pay very close attention to humanoids since the pirates started attacking them on sight. So if they go looking for the lizardfolk, they won't find much other then random encounters, however they'll probably find the ruins of one of their older encampments (which would of been burnt by pirates)
Y' know this campaign sounds really good besides the forementioned problems, I would love to see where this game goes.:smallcool:Ill be sure to tell you guys all about it!

DracoDei
2007-11-27, 09:11 PM
I wouldn't be too hasty about leveling people up if I were you, especially since some of them are newbies... let both them and yourself get more comfortable with your roles and the game would be my advice. But the first few levels shouldn't be too bad and adding a few levels for durability might actually keep the "learning experiences" more managable...

Pagz
2007-11-27, 09:34 PM
I wouldn't be too hasty about leveling people up if I were you, especially since some of them are newbies... let both them and yourself get more comfortable with your roles and the game would be my advice. But the first few levels shouldn't be too bad and adding a few levels for durability might actually keep the "learning experiences" more managable...Yeah, thats what I was planing, get them to level three through this session, see if they like the class they chose or not, then keep on going with them gaining experience as normal. I agree that rushing them isn't the best idea, especially since they're still going to be grasping the rules. I thinks its a lot easier to do that when your characters consistency isn't equal to jelly ^^.

Triaxx
2007-11-28, 09:18 AM
Boats eh? Ship to ship combat? Or Viking 'grappling and boarding' combat? For the former you might want to look up... Stormwrack? I think that was the name.

Pagz
2007-11-29, 09:14 PM
Boats eh? Ship to ship combat? Or Viking 'grappling and boarding' combat? For the former you might want to look up... Stormwrack? I think that was the name.I was thinking a little bit of both, but not too much at this stage of the story. Stormwrack ay? I'll have to look into it.

Kiok
2007-11-29, 09:40 PM
Seven people is going to be extremely chaotic. Make sure to set aside some time just to let everyone cool down at the beginning. Considering it's their first time playing, they'll probably be rather timid and not ruin many plot hooks. Also, if they begin to stray into taverns, find a way for them to meet up with the party, for instance, you could put a nice shiny bard in the town center to draw everyone back together.

Pagz
2007-12-03, 07:14 AM
well, that certainly was a hectic first session! :smallsmile:

However, it was awesome.

Naturally, after the party talked to the Mayor, they want to go see the lizardmen first (the one I really didn't want them to do, they found the thought of fighting lizardmen awesome, not that they ever did), so that was most interesting. After talking to the local ranger about where the lizardmen tribe is, they find a dried up river bank, and upon first stepping on a crocodile, find that the river they're trying to cross has more dormant crocodiles. They walk down the bank a little, and find a makeshift folage bridge that was 3 meters above the riverbed, one PC decided that it was safe, however the rest didn't trust the bridge and just walked through the dried up river bed and set off four crocodiles, the one crossing the bridge having no trouble whatsoever.

After that scuffle, the barbarian decides to fling two crocodiles over his shoulder and carry them with him, you know, just encase they come in handy. They find a clearing with the remnants of the burnt down lizardmen village. remembering the words of the ranger "They'll probably find you before you find them", they set up camp for the night in the clearing, lighting a massive fire to attract lizardmen so they can talk to them, and having the two rangers and mage hide in the bushes just encase the lizardmen are hostile.

After a few hours of waiting, some lizardmen scouts find them, and a fight nearly breaks loose, until cleric came in and settled everyone down (the lizardmen threw a javalin in retaliation to the rogue trying to sneak up on them). They find out that humans have been attacking them unprovoked, so the party askes them to take them to where the humans attacked them last (I should point out, I'm making this a lot shorter then what happened), so the lizardmen take them to the cave where the carts from the road had been looted (phew! I thought, back on track).

They see a man and four goblins, however the mage walks into a tree and it crashes down. One of the goblins goes to check out what happened, so the party jump and gag him, tying him up to a tree, interrogating him and asking questions (I had no idea they would! :smalleek:). After finding out that the goblins are being paid and how many are in the cave, the barbarian and human ranger decide it would be the best course of action to light a dead crocodile on fire and throw it at the human, obviously the best course of action. It knocks the human out cold, the mage then casts sleep on the goblins, all asleep, the party then starts to coup de grace the goblins and drags the human away for more interrogation (I never realized how much sleep just owns goblins to pieces).

They come to the cave face, jumping any goblins that happen to pass them. The gnome rogue then decides to climb up the cave face, well to the side of the entrance, climb the wall sideways and then jump down to the entrance (which, I have to say, was a brilliant idea), he fell the first time he tired to climb up, but the second time everything worked perfectly, the then dropped down and sneak attacked the two guard goblins that were at the entrance (won initiative :p).

They walk into the second room, to which they find the dwarven sarcophagus'
and the door with the quasit. Well, suffice to say the half-orc kicked the door until it went down (he rolled 18 for his strength on character creation :o!), then the rogue sneak attack critical hit the quasit, who then went down by the cleric's sickle (I wanted him to be sorta hard, but they mauled it hardcore). The cleric then cut of the quasits claws, wanting to make claw gloves when she got out (these guys just grabbed everything, it was hilarious and worrying at the same time), the human ranger was the worst though, grabbing the entrails of goblins and asking me what their street price was, him and the barbarian also wanted to make a crocodile suit for the gnome, and by suit i mean stuff him down there, they were mean to the lil' ol' gnome.

Anyway, they went down to the next room went down the lift, killed the goblins, went down again, and pretty much owned the room with the cleric (at least they resisted sleep). their was one goblin, however, who lasted 12 rounds of combat, because the PC's just kept missing, it was behond a joke near the end, they were ripping their hair out, until finally the cleric hit for 5 damage and it died (for the whole session, the girl who played the cleric was the unsung hero for the party, she ended up carrying the party on her shoulders in tough situations, but in the end the praise went to the barbarian because of his damage output/hitpoints or the mage for his sleep spells (or for gagging goblins with entrails, stuffing them in beds then setting the beds on fire... that was... interesting).

The puzzle of the waterfall was interesting, they figured out it had something to do with a waterfall, and it had something to do with the drain, but instead of going up to the second floor and putting water down the hole, they kept trying to stuff water up the hole in the roof... why is totally behond me. Once again, it was the cleric who, after the louder characters (The two rangers, my god, those two rangers) said that they should just drop the water from the second story hole, so her and the human ranger went up their and cast "create water" down the hole, and behold the back wall opened. The rogue checked the room for traps (which he found, he felt so special :smallbiggrin:), then found the flail sitting on a platform. In the end everyone agreed that the cleric should get to use it, since she figured out the puzzle, she was thrilled, mainly because it did cold damage (her domains are water and destruction, and her deity is a giant squid head).

After that, they decide to leave the cave, but when they walk out, they find a firing squad of goblins! Remember the human and goblin they interrogated? Yeah, they left them in the swamp, so they ran off and went to grab reinforcements (The human ranger complained to the elven ranger that she didn't remind him, naturally), they were gunned down with tranquilizer darts, and eventually they all passed out (the cleric really worried, because she only got that magic flail then and hadn't used it yet). They then found themselves in the prison with no equipment (the human ranger more annoyed that he lost all his entrails from the various creatures the party killed, the cleric dissapointed that she lost her flail, but the mage reassured her "I'm sure it'll turn up in a conveniently placed room right next to out cell", well... he's half right :smallbiggrin:). I then taught them how to level up, what with the hitpoint and skill bonus and all that, then the rogue had to go :smallfrown:.

And, in a nutshell, that was out first session! I wrote up everyones sheets when they got there (I wanted them to roll their own stats) so it was pretty barebone, so were the rules for combat. Next time we have a session I'll introduce feats (which the two girls couldn't stop laughing, making the connection of feet and feat "how many feets do you have?" "Oh I have two, I'm getting another one after I kill this guy though, its called "nimble fingers!", it wasnt funny, but man, their laughs are infectious :smallbiggrin:).

So now that I've played a session with them, I finally have something to work with. I now know that they love the idea of capturing and interrogating their enemies (something I didn't plan for in the slightest), I now know that the mage is sleep happy (the elven ranger saying "So... he has to sleep, to put others to sleep?" (making a reference to the fact that mages have to rest for 8 hours to replenish spells)), that the barbarian has no sense of self-preservation, that the rogue gets hell scared if he gets hit by anything, the mage really doesn't put in as much effort when he's run out of spells. the cleric holds the party together, she's the shy one in the group, but if she asks anyone in the group to do something or help her, they won't give it a second thought, she's the secret leader of the group, and she doesn't even know, she's an awesome girl). the two rangers are the alpha players, as you will (the loud ones), so controlling them seems to be the biggest challenge, and their was surprisingly no PC's attacking other PC's, I was very proud :smallcool:.

I know that the group I have sounds... pretty chaotic, but I get the feeling that the more games we play, the more they'll settle down and get into it more (I saw that near the end of the session, their was slightly less arguing of plans and less setting dead bodies on fire), and I know I wasn't the best either. When we started, I was hell nervous, but that soon died down as we got the ball rolling. I can see this the beginning of a really good group of players, as soon as they get a better grasp of the rules and they start to become more in character rather then themselves, that the game will become truly a great one (I can see that they all have the potential in them to be great roleplayers, maybe if I lead by example next session... :smallbiggrin:)

Whats everyones opinion? Was this sort of like your first session of d&d? (Overall the PC's were very agreeable with the NPC's and quests in the world, even though they threatened to kill them on whim, they never did, I've found that its mainly all hot air. I think they're nervous too!) Does anyone have any suggestions for the types of players I have? I know I may make them out to sound horrible, but they really are great people, just strange around a new game format that no-one has ever done. I guess it goes for anything new really...

Your thoughts?

EDIT: I forgot to mention the elven sorcerer couldn't make the session

WrstDmEvr
2007-12-03, 07:37 AM
I sense a kindrid spirit. My players also like to pick up things and make armour/ weapons out of them. Seriously, they disemboweled around thirty chokers to try and make things.

pyrefiend
2007-12-03, 10:05 AM
I sense a kindrid spirit. My players also like to pick up things and make armour/ weapons out of them. Seriously, they disemboweled around thirty chokers to try and make things.

I had no idea other groups did this.... we specialize in squeezing the juices out of monsters to make alchemical items. Rust monster=rusting liquid, puppeteer=mind control juice, etc. Really though, sounds like a great first session, I know it's better than I did on my first try:smallwink:

DracoDei
2007-12-03, 03:37 PM
the barbarian and human ranger decide it would be the best course of action to light a dead crocodile on fire and throw it at the human, obviously the best course of action.

I was laughing so hard I couldn't see to read for about 30 seconds to a minute!

As for disassembling creatures, some of my characters do that... it is actually the central theme of one of my characters (Ranger, favored enemy Abberations). The reason he became an adventurer was that the family business is supplying spellcasters with the bits and pieces and odds and ends that go into item creation, as well as the type of spell components that are actually listed by name. Then there is Gauss of the Greensward... total geek of a mage (but with high dex and con from having spent most of his apprenticeship in a lab where things tended to "go boom" at random intervals). He is just curious about everything, so natural after you kill something rarer than a housecat you are going to disect it, right?

At medium levels burning the bodies becomes a good idea depending on the campaign so they are harder to raise... and a little after that you might end up burning at least the BBEGs to ash, grinding any remaining bone/teeth to powder and then scattering the ashes and powder on the nearest body of water so that not even "a small piece" (needed for Ressurrection) can be obtained.

And of course dragons are specifically listed as being veritable treasure troves in their bodies if you have the right source books. I haven't actually instituted this yet, but a while back I decided that in any future campaigns I run, it is not uncommon for dragons to sell off limbs cut off with guillotines enchanted to be painless (and perhaps prevent infection and stop bleeding), and then replace the limb with a Regeneration spell. The cost for the spell, and a portion to making back the cost of the guillotine is included in the sale price of the limb.

Beren One-Hand
2007-12-04, 11:45 PM
So now that I've played a session with them, I finally have something to work with. I now know that they love the idea of capturing and interrogating their enemies (something I didn't plan for in the slightest), I now know that the mage is sleep happy (the elven ranger saying "So... he has to sleep, to put others to sleep?" (making a reference to the fact that mages have to rest for 8 hours to replenish spells)), that the barbarian has no sense of self-preservation, that the rogue gets hell scared if he gets hit by anything, the mage really doesn't put in as much effort when he's run out of spells. the cleric holds the party together, she's the shy one in the group, but if she asks anyone in the group to do something or help her, they won't give it a second thought, she's the secret leader of the group, and she doesn't even know, she's an awesome girl). the two rangers are the alpha players, as you will (the loud ones), so controlling them seems to be the biggest challenge, and their was surprisingly no PC's attacking other PC's, I was very proud :smallcool:.

If the mage's sleep spell gets to be too much of a problem you can reasonably have the enemies start reacting to that character casting - especially since they've seen him in action already.

Since sleep takes a full round to cast, the mage has to sit still and be a target from the begining of his turn to the begining of his next turn before the spell effect goes off. So when the goblins see him "waving his arms and chanting funny words" they can either target him (particularly with ranged weapons) or move so there are 10' between them all (hopefully mingling with the other PC's). That way he'll only be able to take one out per spell (and possibly bringing down party members too), if he even makes his Concentration checks to keep casting the spell when attacked.

You probably shouldn't do this every time, but once or twice should let them know that the enemies learn from past experiences :smallbiggrin:

DracoDei
2007-12-05, 01:18 AM
Your method of having them realize they should do that assumes that there would have been some survivors... which their may have been if I remember correctly... if not... well they have sorcerers too, and word gets spread around about tactical tips so it is logical they would know things about not bunching up to much (or at least WHEN to bunch up).

Skelengar
2007-12-05, 03:39 PM
Must not let my players read this. They would get too many ideas. Especially the pyromaniac. He recently got drunk and burned down a warehouse.
Other then the fascination with corpses, which doesn't extend past *ornementation for my group, it's pretty similar to my first few sessions. "No you can not have a bar fight in the middle of the dungeon!"


*one of my players took some skulls from kobolds he killed and wore them as shoulderplates. this pissed off the pyromaniac, who is a kobold.

Triaxx
2007-12-05, 08:00 PM
Be honest, were they drinking before they started? :smallbiggrin:

Sounds like your party is all kinds of fun. If the Sorceror comes next time, make sure to start him at level 2. It's more fun that way.


And of course dragons are specifically listed as being veritable treasure troves in their bodies if you have the right source books.

I ran a campaign, where they fought, and killed a blue dragon. The wizard, recognizing the tremendous value of various bits of dragon, suggested they 'field dress' the corpse. Once it had been preserved, they noticed something. Dragons graceful fliers, and fast on their feet. Dead Dragons are neither. Tensers Floating disc is tremendously handy when you have to move a dragon. Of course, no one had any learned. We sat there for a game week, with the Sorceror constantly refreshing 'Preservation' on the dragon, while the wizard created a wand so we could move the dragon. Then the druid summoned a bunch of bears to pull the dragon.

Of course we had more problems with the city gates, but the Sorceror just leveled the wall. Not even the easy way, with Rock to Mud. No, he went into his variant's Rage mode, and just reduced a piece to gravel with a combination of Magic Missile, Chromatic Orb, and Melf's Minute Meteors. It was funnier than you could possibly imagine.