A Bunch of Newbs Learning D&D Together? No Experienced DM? Help??

[almyki]

:ahem: I've read the DM Guide sticky thing up there, it'll no doubt be tons of help and I'm grateful to it, but this situation is still a bit... well, sticky. I'm pretty new to tabletop RPG gaming/D&D. I've got a 3.5e PHB I've been slowly acquainting myself with, and I've only played once, a while back with a couple more experienced friends. But I think I've got an OK grasp of things. And I've got, what, three or four D&D playing friends? Thing is, they're all playing a game already, and the DM is someone that I really don't get along with.

But I have bunch of chic friends. I've noticed recently that a few of them are actually kind of interested in D&D, but none of them have played before. I'd really like some advice or opinions on this. I've heard 4e is easier on beginners, so I'm using that (no edition-talk please). I've got 3-7ish friends to rope in, a 4e DMG, and will get a 4e PHB. MM will have to rot, I'd rather steal some homebrews or something before chucking $40 on that (or cheat and copy some down at Borders). Here's the list of pitfalls:


1. Since I know most (so sad) I'd be the DM. I'd say this sort of role was made for me, as I love creating new settings, plots, etc.. But it's a big, difficult job that I have NO EXPERIENCE IN. As a complete newb to this whole business, am I totally screwed? Any advice?

2. My friends aren't rich. My wallet's tight. They need dice (what, $10 a set?!) and PHBs. I can think of plenty of ways to improvise ourselves dice-like randomizers or sharing of dice, does that seem acceptable until they can get their own? Could I get them to share-buy PHBs before each getting copies of their own? I don't want to pressure them into chucking $35 before they know if they really like it or not. I heard one method of character-creation, where you make a booklet for yourself with everything you need to know for your character (their build, feats, spells, etc. including feat/spell/skill/etc. descriptions so you don't have to search through the PHB). We'll likely all be together for me to help them make their characters anway. Other alternatives?

3. Thoughts on what type of campaign to run? I was thinking a more heavy reliance on roleplaying rather than combat, as that brings in a whole mess of junk that we'll all have to learn. But then again, I don't really know. I want things to be simple at first so we can all get familiar with it.

4. It's a difficult game in comparison to other forms of entertainment, with plenty of rules and no one to check us for them but ourselves. I don't want to intimidate them or myself, so I'd like advice on how to keep things simple or easy to digest. Is it OK to just learn the 'base basics' and wing it/improvise from there, looking up anything we aren't sure of as we go along? Is it OK to sort of... erk... ignore some sections of rules and wing them too, until we feel we can tackle the specifics later?


I think that's it... I don't really feel comfortable asking my D&D-player friends, as I think one of them is ignoring me and the other is his brother, and the other ones I'm actually not too close to at this moment. So yeah, asking total strangers on the internet is totally the better decision XD .

<3 ali

[CarpeGuitarrem]

1. Since I know most (so sad) I'd be the DM. I'd say this sort of role was made for me, as I love creating new settings, plots, etc.. But it's a big, difficult job that I have NO EXPERIENCE IN. As a complete newb to this whole business, am I totally screwed? Any advice?
Make sure you know the rules pretty well. No, very well. Also learn how to string together events into a story. You probably want to tackle a story that goes as such...

"A bunch of heroes (1st level) are getting together to fight a bad guy. On the way, they run into adventures, get experience, and level up. Then they run into the bad guy, and fight him, and kill him, and everything's happy. Rocks fall, everybody dies."

(Just kidding on that last sentence, by the way...)

The number one thing to remember: it's not going to be the most awesomest D&D campaign evah. If you can live with that, excellent. Know that it'll be fun, and that it'll get even better as you gain experience in DMing and such. Keep notes of how you could improve campaigns in the future, and you'll be on the path to running truly epicly awesome stuff.

Just keep it simple for starters. Don't go tackling campaigns where the characters start out at 12th level.

I think there might also be a sample adventure with the PHB, but I can't say for sure.

2. My friends aren't rich. My wallet's tight. They need dice (what, $10 a set?!) and PHBs. I can think of plenty of ways to improvise ourselves dice-like randomizers or sharing of dice, does that seem acceptable until they can get their own? Could I get them to share-buy PHBs before each getting copies of their own? I don't want to pressure them into chucking $35 before they know if they really like it or not. I heard one method of character-creation, where you make a booklet for yourself with everything you need to know for your character (their build, feats, spells, etc. including feat/spell/skill/etc. descriptions so you don't have to search through the PHB). We'll likely all be together for me to help them make their characters anway. Other alternatives?
Dice-sharing is fine, as is PHB-sharing. Especially if you all live by each other. The booklet idea is excellent, because the way the rules work...is that you have simple rules for characters in general, and then the choices you make for your character add in more complexities and options. So you only have to know what pertains to your character specifically.

3. Thoughts on what type of campaign to run? I was thinking a more heavy reliance on roleplaying rather than combat, as that brings in a whole mess of junk that we'll all have to learn. But then again, I don't really know. I want things to be simple at first so we can all get familiar with it.
Actually, if you're looking at playing a RP-oriented campaign, with a view not to get into combat, D&D isn't the best system to use. There's plenty of systems tailored to RP out there. I definitely think that a combat-based campaign would be best for you. Essentially..."Do this, kill that. Rocks fall..."

The combat rules, as I've heard, aren't too complicated. However, you will need to have some sort of way of keeping track of characters on a grid. The cheapest way to do that is by drawing/printing out a grid, and using markers of some sort for each character.

4. It's a difficult game in comparison to other forms of entertainment, with plenty of rules and no one to check us for them but ourselves. I don't want to intimidate them or myself, so I'd like advice on how to keep things simple or easy to digest. Is it OK to just learn the 'base basics' and wing it/improvise from there, looking up anything we aren't sure of as we go along? Is it OK to sort of... erk... ignore some sections of rules and wing them too, until we feel we can tackle the specifics later?
It probably is OK to simplify the rules, just make sure that everyone's okay with it. I mean, if you're just looking for simple entertainment, it's perfectly fine to cut out a lot of the fine print of the game. Keep in mind, if something seems truly off-kilter or wrong, the DM is free to overrule it.

Hope that helps!

[Tycho]

1) Regarding DMing, you're learning, just like they are. As long as they know that, it should be fine. Don't bite off more than you can chew, and introduce new mechanics (grappling, terrain, magic) gradually.

Start out in an environment with minimal distractions. Try to keep a first combat as simple as possible--just straight fighting, moving, and maybe trying to run. Once you get used to that, you can add more elements and more complex foes.

2) Sharing books is fine, and d20srd.org should have most of the info you need. You can also find online dice rollers (random number generators) very easily--the Wizards one is at http://www.wizards.com/dnd/dice/dice.htm

3) For campaign style, whatever your players want! Yes, you should set up a good, solid adventure thread, but don't railroad your party (oh, you can't disarm that trap no matter what / you can't win this fight / you can't save the princess). Never tell them they *can't* do something, because that removes control of the game from them. Always let them try (though on the flipside, if they're stupid and "try" to take on the Ancient Red Dragon at level 1, they deserve to get their butts kicked/killed). Sure, a lock might be expertly made with a DC of 40, but if it is, you'd better be able to convince them there's a reason for it aside from you not wanting that door opened.

If they do something you didn't plan for, consider what impact it would have, and keep the game rolling. DMing is improvisation, not screenwriting. Get a basic idea of the location, the people, the main event going on ("goblins are stealing our cattle!"), and possible resolutions. Then let em at it.

4) The basic game mechanic is "roll a d20 and add relevant modifiers." In the case of a tie, defender wins.

Saves (Reflex/Fort/Will) are generally to avoid something bad, i.e. "you're running through the woods and trigger a pit trap! Reflex save!".

Checks are generally to do something successfully: "you try to pick the lock. Roll your Open Lock skill check."

Finally, the main rule: This game is about your players having fun and overcoming challenges. It isn't a war of "your monsters vs them," because the DM always wins those. It isn't a game of "give them everything on a silver platter," because players always win those.

Set the stage for awesome, and hope your players find it.

[Raistlin1040]

Note: This essay-like post is not linear, and kind of jumps around to all your issues, but not neccessarily in order. Sorry.

I think you'll be fine. DMing is a tough job, but the great thing about it is that it's an on the fly sort of thing. You can really do whatever you want with it. You can change rules, you can omit rules (For example, say you don't like the Grapple rules. "Sorry guys, there is no way you can tacklehug an enemy in combat effectivly. It's impossible to grapple"), you can add your own. As long as you and the players are having a good time, strict D&D rules aren't needed.

That said, if you want to stick to the rules as much as possible, read the books you have cover-to-cover at least 2 or 3 times. It might be time-consumming, even a bit boring, but as the DM, you HAVE to know the rules, or at least know where to look them up in a split-second. I would also advise you to ask your players before your first session if they have any rule questions. I don't think any 1st timers will try and make a Spiked Chain Fighter, and will need to know all the disarm/trip rules, but you never know.

Also, a note on what you've told us about your DMing style. I admit, I've never met you, or played a game with you, so I can't say, but from what you've said, you're a creative-type DM. That's totally fine, I'm the same way. However, sometimes it makes number-crunching mechanical stuff hard. What I do (and don't feel obligated to do this, if you think you have a good handle on XP and the like. I don't.) is just dole out levels "Whose line is it anyway?" style. You just killed a dragon way stronger than you guys? +1 level to each of you. If you do it this way, it'll be a while before levelups, and your players might not feel like they're getting anything for their encounters, so make sure to throw in items, gold, potions, random stuff, ect. so they feel like combat (however sparingly you may use it), actually has a point.

Onto your second problem. Many hobby stores sell individual dice, so don't splurge on the 10$ a set cases. Share dice, is an obvious solution. Another solution is to use 1 dice for as many purposes as possible. If you have a D20, you don't NEED a D10. If you have to roll one, roll the D20 and halve it, rounding up, and it's exactly the same. Same goes for D4. If you have a D8, you don't need a D4. D12 and D6 as well (Though, I'm sure you have D6s lying around somewhere) As far as I can tell, if you have a D20, a D8, a D12, and a couple of D6s, you're set.

I WOULD however, recommend each player have a PHB, if only to keep things running smoothly. However, if you make them keep a portfolio of their characters, listing everything, then that's fine. I would advise that they get everything written down in long form. That means if they have a feat, don't just write the name under feats. Describe the feat, what it does, and how it works. That way, you won't have one of your players biting her lip and thinking 'Ok, I know I have Manyshot. But...how does it work again?', and then having to grab your book on her turn. If the description is written down in her booklet, then she can be ready at the start of her turn, and you won't have to stop play so she can look it up.

Third, on what type of campaign. This is where you can really have some fun as the DM. You can decide how much RPing, combat, and other encounters is in the game, and how often they occur. As a 1st time DM, I would suggest a pre-made adventure, but if money is tight, don't bother and just make up your own. Remember, nothing you do, designing-wise, is wrong. If your campaign features one fight in the entire plot, that's completely fine. I personally am a Roleplayer, so I would enjoy that campaign. Remember though(and I believe the 4E DMG addresses this) that every player is different, and try to incorporate something for everyone each session. If one of your players-to-be picks up combat rules really quickly, and enjoys making up power tactics and the like, have a fight every once and a while so she can showcase them, even if you dislike the combat system.

I'm sorry if this seems scatter-brained. Good luck, and have a fun time DMing. :smallsmile:

[Chronicled]

1. Everyone's got to be new to it sometime (I know I was!). I'm sure you'll do fine (I did; it wasn't spectacular but it was fun enough).

2. 1 PHB should last a group pretty easily. Just be ready to pass the book back and forth or make characters 1 at a time. Shared dice or an online dice roller also work just fine.

3. Try different sorts! Have it be RPing 1 session, combat the next, puzzles the next time, and see what your group has the most fun with. Then use that knowledge to plan future sessions.

4. I wouldn't worry about knowing the rules as much as the above posts have said, so long as you're able to improvise quickly. If you don't know how to resolve something and it's not a life/death situation for a character, then it's usually better to decide how to handle it quickly ("Falling down a slope? Make an... Athletics check for less damage.") than spend time looking it up and disrupting the flow of the game ("Aha, finally! There it is! Make a Reflex save! Now, where were we?") Being able to adapt and make quick judgements is a trait of great DMing. (It depends on what sort of game you're looking for, but) The rules are a guideline for roleplaying, not the other way around.

[Tsotha-lanti]

I'm not sure why this is generally perceived as such a challenge.

I started GMing red-box D&D without anybody to show me how the games worked or how to do it, and had no more problems than you'd expect a 10-year-old GM to have. Since then, every single game I've played, I've also bought and GMed, without any help - and my players have learned the games along with me.

Having a bunch of new players learning the game with you is probably the best way to go here, too - you're all learning together.

The first session or two are always a bit slow - I have to find the page with the rule for this and that, or check that other thing - but that doesn't deter from the fun. Don't worry too much about getting it right every time - usually, keeping the game moving is more important, so make a ruling and write a note for yourself to check the rules after the game. Tell your players next time, "Well, I looked up the rules on X, and here's how it works." (Just never, ever make retroactive rulings based on the new reading. "Oh, and Jimmy, your guy should be dead. Sorry." It sucks.)

[Tsadrin]

1. Since I know most (so sad) I'd be the DM. I'd say this sort of role was made for me, as I love creating new settings, plots, etc.. But it's a big, difficult job that I have NO EXPERIENCE IN. As a complete newb to this whole business, am I totally screwed? Any advice?

Keep it simple. Don't make grand plans with elaborate plothooks. Start the characters as 1st level and run them through a few simple combat encounters (kobolds or goblins) after they spend some time introducing themselves.

With experienced players I don't like doing what I'm about to suggest, but for newbies it helps to tie everyone together with a simple plot hook in a small town. Something I used to use when I would run D&D for my friends' younger siblings was simple: The goblins from the local ruins kidnapped a few villagers and the PCs are hired by the town council/are related to the villagers and need to rescue them.

To prep this simple scenario you just need to draw up the village, a few major NPCs, the ruins and stock the ruins with said goblins. Have them encounter a goblin patrol on the way to the ruins so they get a general 'feel' for combat. This also can excite a group of new players to further glory.


2. My friends aren't rich. My wallet's tight. They need dice (what, $10 a set?!) and PHBs. I can think of plenty of ways to improvise ourselves dice-like randomizers or sharing of dice, does that seem acceptable until they can get their own? Could I get them to share-buy PHBs before each getting copies of their own? I don't want to pressure them into chucking $35 before they know if they really like it or not. I heard one method of character-creation, where you make a booklet for yourself with everything you need to know for your character (their build, feats, spells, etc. including feat/spell/skill/etc. descriptions so you don't have to search through the PHB). We'll likely all be together for me to help them make their characters anway. Other alternatives?

Sharing a PHB and dice is viable, at least for a session or two. I'd suggest you make the characters with each player a few days before your session. Then take some time and print out the stats for their abilities on a separate sheet of paper that they can attach to their character sheet and reference during the game. I also would recommend a one page summery of what knowledge the character has of the local area and campaign world. Include an alignment summary. (What the character is expected to act like given the chosen alignment.) This helps new players a LOT.


3. Thoughts on what type of campaign to run? I was thinking a more heavy reliance on roleplaying rather than combat, as that brings in a whole mess of junk that we'll all have to learn. But then again, I don't really know. I want things to be simple at first so we can all get familiar with it.

Role-playing is a great way to hook your players. Don't let the players get bored though. Be sure that everyone is involved when plans are discussed or NPCs are involved.


4. It's a difficult game in comparison to other forms of entertainment, with plenty of rules and no one to check us for them but ourselves. I don't want to intimidate them or myself, so I'd like advice on how to keep things simple or easy to digest. Is it OK to just learn the 'base basics' and wing it/improvise from there, looking up anything we aren't sure of as we go along? Is it OK to sort of... erk... ignore some sections of rules and wing them too, until we feel we can tackle the specifics later?

Don't overwhelm yourself with the rules. If you don't know the answer don't feel like you need to have the correct answer RIGHT NOW!. If a situation comes up and you don't have a quick answer and a very quick glance at the rules (do not spend more than a minute on this) does not provide the answer then tell the player that you don't know the 'official' rule but this is how we'll handle it at this moment. Produce a SIMPLE but logical rule (e.g. Roll d20+Mod vs. some made up difficulty number) and make a note. Later, after the session look for the correct answer or ask a more knowledgeable player. When your group gets together again tell them you found the rule and that you'll be sure to use that rule from now on (unless you like a lot of houserules).



I think that's it... I don't really feel comfortable asking my D&D-player friends, as I think one of them is ignoring me and the other is his brother, and the other ones I'm actually not too close to at this moment. So yeah, asking total strangers on the internet is totally the better decision XD .

<3 ali

Well I hope the advice here has helped you out. Please let us know how the session goes. If you have any further questions please speak up.

[OneFamiliarFace]

Man, this is taking me back.

People here have some pretty good ideas, so I'll just add some of my favorite DM tips that have helped me in dealing with players new and old. Before I start, it will make more sense if I mention I have played numerous games in which I am the only person who owns any books or dice.

1)New players? I used to try to teach people the rules outright, but that didn't work. So now I do a few things: I have them tell me what kind of character they want to play. I explain to them a good class and race to get the general feel. Some people say "dwarf warrior" and others say "a dashing swordsman." Then I hand them my PHB. I say, "You have a few days, and it would be really nice if you would read the section on character creation, and the one on your race and class." At least in 3.5, that was a great way to get them accustomed to the system. And even if they didn't understand all the rules, then it was a good way to introduce them to terms. After that, field questions, and then help make their character. For all the complicated rules stuff, let them get into the thick of the game and tell them beforehand, "If you ever want to try doing something, just tell me, and I'll tell you how!"

2) Test the party first. Give them some easy encounters so you can get a feel for how the party works. This way, you can even support parties who don't have all of the archetypes. It would be advisable to encourage your players to each take one of the main roles at first. And it's better to error on the easy side, or to fudge some die rolls for a new group rather than have them bite it against a few goblins. (I nearly killed my last starting grouping, because I assumed that seeing twenty armed enemies would deter them from attacking, and they thought that they were supposed to be able to handle that many.)

3) Be totally honest and consistent with your PCs. Tell them how you want to run the campaign and clear up any ambiguities they might have. In my example above, I could have mentioned to the players that there would be some enemies they just couldn't beat. At first, if they choose an option which appears foolish, it's okay to just tell them there are other options ("Your character suspects that talking to this gentleman may work just as well.") If you make a ruling, then stick to it. Discuss it or change it between sessions, not during, and tell the PCs of your decision.

4) Lie through your teeth. :-p That's why we have a DM screen. I have fudged rolls both in favor of PCs and against their favor (if I think the encounter isn't risky enough). Go ahead and lower the Ogre's hitpoints if it turns out he was too hard for them. Your players are new and don't know. Make sure to mention he looked sickly so they don't think all ogres are so weak. It is hard to find a balance between fun and exciting (and most new players will want easy-going thrown in there too), so fudging a few points here and there never killed anyone, and it sometimes saved them!

5) My favorite DM rule: The 2 Things Rule. When making an important NPC, city, or nation on a time crunch, I highly recommend starting by thinking of 2 things that makes this thing unique. This both ensures that it will be slightly more dynamic, but it also won't be overwhelming to new players as you pour cascades of history and information over their heads.

6) My second favorite DM rule (DO NOT tell my players this!): The PCs are sometimes right. Oftentimes, I have a mystery or puzzle set up for the PCs, and I always give them time to discuss a solution or possible outcome of a mysterious situation. Many times, their solution is way better than anything I thought of, and PCs like being right anyway, so I just quietly steal it an add it into my campaign.

7) Be prepared for the unexpected. Have a plan for what happens when people don't show up. If the PCs go a drastically different direction than you planned, congratulate them on their ingenuity, but note that you may have to cut the adventure a bit short that night for some hardcore planning. Bring good movies or other board games. Sometimes, it turns out people aren't in the mood, but you still want to have a night with your friends. And hey, you brought movies, so they can bring the food!

So that's about it. For your cost problems, my DM tools include my folder, which doubles as a DM screen when I take the papers out, my handwritten notes on looseleaf, some dice, a pad of graph paper, a pencil, and a big eraser. The graph paper is a little slower than dry erase or miniatures, but it works just as well, and is far cheaper. For players, I like them to bring their characters and (optional) notecards, each card with one ability on it. This was a lifesaver in 3.5.

So, this is really long. Sorry about that. But you'll notice for all that length, the rules aren't mentioned much. That is the easy part, and with luck, one of your players will turn out to be a rules lawyer. Yeah, they can be annoying, but they sure are helpful. Designate her to help you look up questionable rules while you are helping another player with her turn.

Strangely enough, I want to play so badly here that I'm super excited for you :-p. Good luck!

[xPANCAKEx]

sorry if this has already been said

definately keep it core to begin with

d20srd.org will be your friend if you're playing 3rd ed. 4th ed is very MMORPGish- so very easy to pick up

for combat, make their first encounter a cake walk (small pack of rats - 1 or 2 per PC max), and make sure to nerf the first few attack rolls in the PCs favour if they're rolling misses: Don't want them thinking "waaaaah, this game is too hard" before they've started

if no one plays a cleric, have an NPC join then for a while... dear lord make sure there is a cleric somewhere in the group

[Fhaolan]

Since everyone else is throwing out good advice, I decided to go at this a bit differently. I'm going to ask questions. :smallsmile:

1) You mention that neither you nor any of your prospective players have played D&D before. Have you, or any of the players, played *any* kind of RPG before? And I'm counting computer RPGs, and MMORGs as well in this question.

2) Do you, or any of your players, read any modern or classic fantasy as a rule? Movies? Anything that you would like to replicate in style?

Huh. Can't think of any more questions right now. Okay, I will make some generic recommendations, while waiting for the answers (which will help me give more directed recommendations).

Since you're dealing with a bunch of 'new players', and you mention them being relatively cash-poor, I recommend that *as a group* you go to the local gaming store and each of you purchase a unique set of dice. That should be relatively cheap, but it gives everyone a psychological tie to the game. It means that everyone has invested something towards the game, and because you've done it as a group, it's also a investment in the group.

You only really need one set of books for any game, while you are playing, but during the character generation phase and leveling up, multiple PHBs are helpful. Given the starting nature of the group, I recommend borrowing those PHBs. Believe it or not, some libraries will have them.

Also, another idea is that many game stores have a 'gaming night', where they have an open invitation for people to come in and try games they've never played before (as an incentive to buy them). For example, if you're in Washington State, Redmond area, Uncle's Games has such a offer.

[TwystidMynd]

It doesn't look like this has been mentioned, but if you're playing Fourth Edition, you can't use the d20srd.org site for info; that only pertains to D&D 3.5. You can, however, use http://ww2.wizards.com/dnd/insider/database.aspx until they make it pay-for-use (which won't likely be for another 2 months or more, in my opinion). That has pretty much all the info in the PHB that you'd ever need to look up.

Furthermore, the DMG is extraordinarily optional. I'd recommend browsing through it at Border's before buying; the first 6 Chapters or so can be summed up with "Do you know how to be a decent person socially? If so, skip these chapters!" I mean, they are definitely nice at analyzing your group makeup, but they're not worth buying when you're just starting out. Almost everything you need to run an adventure is in the PHB. Anything else, you could probably ask in this forum's "Simple Q&A (by RAW)" thread for any specific questions you have.

While at Border's, I'd definitely take a look at the last few pages of the DMG; it has a short 5-encounter adventure that you can take inspiration from regarding encounter design and stuff.

[almyki]

ZOMG. It's so kewl to have so many replies despite writing myself up a text-wall XD . I'm chatty, so I'm always afraid I'll scare off people from posting by typing too much ^^; . Thank you so much for the replies! And sorry it took a while to get back to this! Is it just me, or does there seem to be a heck of a lot of birthdays on the second half of June =O ?

@CarpeGuitarrem
I'm reading through the DMG right now, and once I get the 4e PHB (sneaking it past my mother, who'll freak 'cuz she thinks I should save my ca$h XP ), I'll read through that too. I usually have a good head for where to find rules/sections I've already read before, so hopefully that'll help. I thought about it, and I think I'm going to first get everyone to make a character, and then chat with them to see what kind of adventure they might like. And I suppose I'll just leave My Master Plans For T3h Awesauceist D&D Campaign Evar to myself until such a time where it is appropriate XD .

I wanted to use D&D because it's the most widely recognised tabletop RPG, kind of the genre's poster boy, and something that a lot of my friends already at least kind of recognise. I'm not really sure what sorts of things they would like, so I'll try and gauge interest and possible playstyle by seeing what they're expecting out of it. OK, I'll try and make it more combat-oriented, I just want to make sure things don't get too complicated too fast ^^; ("You want to make a grapple check, Crystal? OK, hold on, a 1dwhat for damage with that improvised weapon, Carly? I'm sorry, Andrew, you want to throw that flask of acid at that horde of goblins? I'm not sure if you can do that at that range...") .

@Tycho
Thank you for the link! I should have known there would be online dice-like randomizers out there XD . I'll try my best not to restrict them, though I've no idea how well I'd do thinking up new scenarios on the fly ^^; . I'm sure they won't mind though, luckily they're all pretty laid back.

Awesome, thank you for the advice under #4, they're totally wicked. Granted, they're kind of obvious now that I look back, but rules are hard to break down and simplify in your mind when there are so many of them ^^; .

@Raistlin1040
First off, awesome name.

Second off, no problem with your writing style, I don't mind at all!

Read through two-to-three times?? Ouch. Well, I've got nothing but time, so I should be able to handle it. I think that after playing a few times too, that I'll get a much better handle on how things work.

Awesome tip on the free-style leveling method XD . I'm totally using it. As we first start out, I'll probably just hand out levels after a while of everyone getting used to what there already is. ("OK, you guys get basic combat and your class roles, we've fought some encounters, level up! Now start learning your new skills and junk.").

Actually, I already have a proper dice set, along with my brother (weeell... technically I do, but I left some at my cousins' house, who knows when I'll get them back... :sigh: ). The others don't though, so I guess we can share the ones we have until I force them to buy their own. Good tip on the double-duty dice, it gave me ideas =D .

That's what I was planning to do with the booklets! I knew it was a smart idea =P .

For some reason, a pre-made adventure doesn't really sit well with me, for whatever reason. I guess if someone else ran it, it'd be fine, but if I'm going to be DMing the adventure, something tastes inexplicably off about it. Eh, I don't think it'll be too hard to think of a simple adventure as we start out, so I'll save myself the cash. I'll try to try out different things to see what sorts of things everyone likes.

Thanks for the advice!

@Chronicled
It's good to hear that other's first time DMing didn't go train-wreck, it gives hope ^^; .

I'm glad that only one PHB and shared dice can work out, I was afraid it might be really difficult and annoying if we did.

#3 sounds like a fine plan, I'll ask them what sort of thing they'd like to try as we go along and then ask what they liked and didn't like. I kind of panick when improvising, and I'm not sure if I'm any good at it. Hopefully it won't end up too bad ^^; . Thanks, this was helpful!

@Tsotha-lanti
Thank you, your post has greatly alleviated much fear from my heart XD . I guess I figured that most groups start with at least a couple veteran players to help with a game. I guess, if we all learn and play together, then there'll be less chance of clashing due to things like one player being used to a certain houserule from another group or anyone feeling dumb 'cuz they're 'newer'.

@Tsadrin
Luckily, it is a strange and alien concept for me to start out at a higher level than 1 at the moment, so I hadn't even considered trying anything crazy like starting at 12-level fighting some horde of ancient evil monsters with awesome magically gear and elaborate made-up party backgrounds or anything XD .

Thank you for the basic scenario, I think I might go with it (granted with a bit of my own spin for a touch of flavor, but that's a given)! My friends might poke at me for the cliched plot, but really, I'm already expecting plenty of jabs just by the fact that I dragged them all into playing the nerdiest game in existence XD .

Ooh, thanks for the tip on writing up a basic summary and alignment description.

I think I'll start the first session with a good bit of roleplaying as they learn of what they're supposed to do (meet each other, investigate town, learn of X problem by Y villians, discuss strategy and learn more of area, etc..), and then after that sort of shove them into a more combat-oriented situation when they head off to fight the evil . They can learn of different aspects of the game step by step.

Thank you very much for the advice. I'll need to plan things and see who's definitely in or not, but hopefully it'll turn out OK. I'll definitely post with how things went once we get a session in (but first I'll need to sneak-buy the 4e PHB without letting my mother know... :sigh: )!

@OneFamiliarFace
Ooh, advice on new players is good except the part where I throw a PHB at them and expect them to actually listen to me and read it XD . Our anime club, which is infested with all my friends (D&D-playing or not), is practically infamous for being lazy, procrastinative bums that never get anything done. So I'd likely just be left losing my PHB for a few months before having it returned to me with an apology for the various new scratches and dents, as well as a rather casual "By the way, I didn't get to read it 'cuz I was busy all summer, my bad =DDD !". I'll just get them together and shove character-making bare-basics down their throats XD .

Ouch, too bad for that starting group D= . Hmm, I remember my first encounter was against some rats. It felt ridiculous to 'fight' rats that I could skewer with my dagger, but I definitely was in no danger of dying XD .

Be totally honest but lie through my teeth XD ? That's consistent! And yet, I find myself unsurprised... this line of advice seems to be a bit of a DM-tip pattern, hm. Sometimes I can't help but smirk or let out an evil giggle when lying about things, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it all in!

Your two favorite rules seem indeed quite cheaterish and crude, and yet I can't help but love them. I will keep them close in mind :fufufu: .

As you can not doubt see, I've no problem with lengthy posts, and am actually quite the criminal of the same regard myself. This message board seems to have a lot of long posters, my dream-forum =P . Thank you for all the help!

@xPANCAKEx
I think I'll keep it core all the way to forever XD ! I don't find myself to be much of a fan for splat-books. Makes things too complicated (and yikes, expensive!) . Besides, if we eventually want more content, that's what homebrews are for =P ! Clerics... I'll try and nudge one of them to choose a cleric/healy person. Thanks for the NPC-helper tip.

@Fhaolan
1) Why, yes, I'm rather certain that every one of us has played at least RPG video games before. I know I've played [i]plenty of fantasy RPGs (now how many I've actually beaten... XP ), and some MMORPGs. My friends are all at least somewhat into gaming as well, and like fantasy-sorts.

2) Hrm... My friends do like to read fantasy or watch anime/movies... But I don't know if all of us watch/read one in particular. I don't know if they'd like to replicate a fantasy world. All I can think of that we'd all be familiar with would be some well-known fantasy manga/anime, and I can't think of anything in particular for that either. Oh, then again, do video game worlds count? We've all played Tales of Symphonia, at the very least. And maybe a couple others...

Nice idea with the dice! Granted, I've already bought my set, but the others haven't got any yet. I'll check out our local library (and, once school starts, definitely nudge the librarian to get some for there XD ), and if worst comes to worst, I'll consider getting my mom to take us to Borders, and we can mooch off their books for a couple hours. I'll just have to live with the guilt of ripping them by buying something at their overpriced cafe while I'm there.

Thank you!

@TwystidMynd
Ah, I noticed that about the d20srd.org place. Thank you so much for that link! I'll milk it for all its worth while it's free XD .

Uuuhhh... whhhooOOoopps... already bought it... eheh ^^; . I would have bought the PHB first, but the bookstore didn't have it stocked (blech!) and I had to pick one as my birthday gift from my sister. Still, I guess I've blown money on worse stuff... and I'll have definitely had to buy that book eventually... XD .

Well anyways, thank you!


<3 ali

[Fhaolan]

Okay, cool. :)

While tabletop RPGs are different from computer-based RPGs, there's enough simularities that the group isn't going to be complete flumuxed by the basic concepts. I had that problem with one group I was in, where a good chunk of them had never played any kind of RPG, tabletop or computer. The skillset of your group makes things a bit easier.

Given that as a group you have dealt a lot with computer based RPGs, it's probably a good idea for me to point out the differences between the two types of RPGs that might trip you guys up.

First off, people are a lot more flexible than the computer. Which means that while you *can* run a game as a pure 'point A to point C, with a combat at point B as the characters pass through', it is likely that the players and DM will come up with solutions (and problems) that a computer would consider out of scope. For example: The party need to investigate a cave that currently is occupied by a dire bear. In a computer-based RPG, usually the only solution is to defeat the bear in combat, or use some item you have found recently that auto-defeats the bear. In a tabletop RPG, the character could attack the bear, trap the bear, lure the bear away, use some form of animal-speak to convince the bear to leave them alone, and so on and so forth. As DM you have to be able to think fast on your feet about how the world reacts to whatever the players are doing. The basic traps are:

1) Trying to prepare too much ahead of time. This either leads to railroading as you try to force the players to go the paths you've already prepared, or insanity as you try to prepare *every* contingency.

2) Being the opposition to the players. While the DM is supposed to run the advisaries that the players must defeat, that does not mean that the players should feel that they are attempting to defeat the DM. DM is also running allies, neutral parties, and natural forces involved in the campaign. Make this clear from the get-go, because if the DM becomes the opponent, like the computer is most comp-based RPGs, the game can quickly become personal and tempers will flare.

3) Free-for-all. Also known as Monty Haul. These are your friends. You want them to have fun. If they want something, why not give it to them? Because things will quickly get out of hand. If everyone gets whatever they want, whenever they want, there is no challenge. This is a game, which means that there is an implied challenge. Without that challenge, it's not really a game anymore. Do the best you can to balance risk and reward. You'll mess this up, guarenteed, the first couple of times you run a game, but that's okay, it's how you learn.

Because of those issues, and the kind of group it sounds like you might have, I recommend that the first thing you do is have the group build out a bunch of 'slop' characters. These are not characters they actually intend to play in on ongoing campaign. They're just screwy, no-real-backstory, built by comittee/group consensus, caracatures purely to ram into a nonsensical adventure, just to get a feel for the way the game runs and for the players to figure out what kind of characters they're interested in before making a commitment to anything.

Now, on to my second question. The one about the kind of books and movies you want to replicate is really all about setting expectations. For example: If you liked that new movie out in theatres, 'Wanted', and want to have a fantasy game that runs something like that, then I'd say you want D&D 4e, with the primary spellcasters like wizards removed or restricted to NPCs.

If, on the other hand, you want to run a game with a similar feel to Narnia, either books or movies, you're going to have a tougher time with D&D. While Narnia would be considered a very magical place normally, it's not really a high-magic setting. Other than the talking animals, monsters, a few trickets, and one powerful witch, it doesn't really have a lot of full-on wizards calling down swarms of flaming meteors on all and sundry, or people leaping from one skyscraper to another through force of will. D&D is very, very high-magic, and it has a tough time modelling low-magic or restricted-magic settings in a satisfactory way. I've had the game Iron Heroes recommended to me for that kind of setting, but I haven't personally tried it. The systems I tend to use for that kind of setting takes a bit of getting used to and I can't honestly recomend them to a begining group.

And then there's things like Troy, and Gladiator, and any other pseudo-historical setting. I haven't really found a good system for this for a beginning group. Most of the grim-and-gritty systems are aimed toward gear-head players who want to dive into the nuts and bolts of RPGs and who are really wargamers at heart. :smallsmile:

[holywhippet]

As far as dice go, get one of these: http://crystalcaste.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CC&Product_Code=10610&Category_Code=JB and split the cost amongst your friends.

I'd start with running a prebuilt module (like Keep on the Shadowfell) to start with. That will give you an idea on the kind of things you should have planned out.

Try not to railroad the PCs too much in terms of what they do. However you need to draw a line when it comes to their behaviour. If the quest leads them east and they all decide to go west have them run into a hungry dragon or something.

[LoopyZebra]

As far as dice go, get one of these: http://crystalcaste.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CC&Product_Code=10610&Category_Code=JB and split the cost amongst your friends.

That will get you more than plenty of dice for cheap, but my pound of dice (admittedly from a competing dice manufacturer, Chessex) had many low-quality dice, around ten or so of the hundred I got were malformed to being unplayable. It will, however, give you enough usable dice for a campaign. They also sent too many d12s. :(

NOTE: Any amount of d12s is too many d12s. They sent 21, though.*

Also, like others, I'd like to reiterate that you don't need a PHB and set of dice for every player. In my experience, players tend to naturally pick those up as they get attached to the campaign. You should, however, definitely make (or obtain) a copy of a one-inch grid (there's one in the back of both the 3.5 DMG and 4E DMG) for players to use. While it is "possible" to play both systems without it, they were clearly designed with the grid's use in mind. Use coins, Legos, toys (such as army men), etc. for miniatures, to cut on costs.

*One d12 was admittedly cool**.
**For a d12.

[holywhippet]

When I bought that particular bundle I got more D6 dice that anything else. There were some tiny ones that were almost all faulty (like having two 3s and no 2s) but by and large I got a good deal out of it. There were some D12s, but not many, there were also an assortment of D20s, D10s (and the 100 digit version), D8s and D4s.

[monty]

NOTE: Any amount of d12s is too many d12s.

:thog:thog power attack for 1d12+567 damage! grrr!
Also, if you're running an undead campaign. (In 3.5, anyway. I got tired of trying to read about 4e, so I don't know what use there is in that case.)

[LoopyZebra]

(In 3.5, anyway. I got tired of trying to read about 4e, so I don't know what use there is in that case.)

Not to give you more to read, but it's mostly just greataxes. Not barbarians and greataxes, as in 3.5, as there are no hit dice. Or barbarians, for that matter. :)

[Raum]

Here's the list of pitfalls:

1. Since I know most (so sad) I'd be the DM. I'd say this sort of role was made for me, as I love creating new settings, plots, etc.. But it's a big, difficult job that I have NO EXPERIENCE IN. As a complete newb to this whole business, am I totally screwed? Any advice?First get rid of the fear of failure. You will screw up, we all do. Learn from it, laugh at it, cry at it if you must, but don't fear failure.

On a side note, many of us, mature (Certainly not 'old'!) gamers started in essentially the same spot. In fact if you've played even once, you're better off than I was. If you have a general idea of the rules you're miles ahead. While I'm on the subject of rules, don't get too tied up with them while you're learning. I'd suggest getting the basics down and then adding a single rule to learn each session.


2. My friends aren't rich. My wallet's tight. They need dice (what, $10 a set?!) and PHBs. I can think of plenty of ways to improvise ourselves dice-like randomizers or sharing of dice, does that seem acceptable until they can get their own? Could I get them to share-buy PHBs before each getting copies of their own? I don't want to pressure them into chucking $35 before they know if they really like it or not. I heard one method of character-creation, where you make a booklet for yourself with everything you need to know for your character (their build, feats, spells, etc. including feat/spell/skill/etc. descriptions so you don't have to search through the PHB). We'll likely all be together for me to help them make their characters anway. Other alternatives?There are cheaper games, some are even freely available. For that matter, D&D 3.5 is available for free via the SRD. From what I've seen (not gospel, haven't tried to follow closely) there won't be a 4e SRD.

Other cheap games include Savage Worlds, $10 for the basic book, you'll need one $30-50 setting book as well unless you create your own setting. It's also available free in the Test Drive (http://www.peginc.com/Downloads/SWEX/TD06.pdf) format. Minimum I'd recommend to play would be one setting book for the GM, one Savage Worlds Explorer Edition for the GM, and a copy of the test drive rules for each player. True20 is another easy and (relatively) cheap game. You'll need at least one copy of the rule book. And dice. You'll still need them...

Here's a list of free games (http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/freerpgs/fulllist.html). You'll need dice for most games, though a computer based die roller or deck of cards can be used in a pinch.


3. Thoughts on what type of campaign to run? I was thinking a more heavy reliance on roleplaying rather than combat, as that brings in a whole mess of junk that we'll all have to learn. But then again, I don't really know. I want things to be simple at first so we can all get familiar with it.Roleplaying is a good idea all the time but particularly while you're learning the system. There are a bunch of free adventures on the web, I'd suggest reading a few...not necessarily using them as written though. Use them to spark ideas. Combine pieces you like from one with pieces of another. But, most of all, know what your friends (players) like and are interested in...pick plots, situations, and NPCs which fit those interests.


4. It's a difficult game in comparison to other forms of entertainment, with plenty of rules and no one to check us for them but ourselves. I don't want to intimidate them or myself, so I'd like advice on how to keep things simple or easy to digest. Is it OK to just learn the 'base basics' and wing it/improvise from there, looking up anything we aren't sure of as we go along? Is it OK to sort of... erk... ignore some sections of rules and wing them too, until we feel we can tackle the specifics later? Definitely! Not just 'ok' but recommended! Depending on how comfortable you and your friends are with learning the rule set, you may want to consider a lighter game such as True20. Or simply pick out the pieces you like from D&D and ignore those you don't.


I think that's it... I don't really feel comfortable asking my D&D-player friends, as I think one of them is ignoring me and the other is his brother, and the other ones I'm actually not too close to at this moment. So yeah, asking total strangers on the internet is totally the better decision XD .

<3 aliHehe, enjoy gaming!

[Raum]

Be totally honest but lie through my teeth XD ? That's consistent! And yet, I find myself unsurprised... this line of advice seems to be a bit of a DM-tip pattern, hm. Sometimes I can't help but smirk or let out an evil giggle when lying about things, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it all in!One comment here...know your players. Some are willing to tolerate outrageous 'fudging' for the sake of the 'story' while others can't stand a dishonest game. And there's an entire spectrum of players in between the two extremes. Know where your players fit!

[Corolinth]

Fourth edition probably is more user-friendly for the new player, for the simple reason that there are no additional sourcebooks at this time, and thus far fewer options for players and DMs alike. It appears less daunting as a result, and there's certainly something to be said for that. Despite my personal feelings towards the new edition, I can not find fault with the logic of a new DM picking it to run their first game.

To start with, all of the players are going to want their own dice. Ten dollars for a set of dice isn't really all that cost-prohibitive (unless you're twelve, then maybe it is). It's certainly a lot more reasonable than expecting every player to buy a $40 book. I would suggest that instead of buying a set of dice, your friends go to a hobby shop and pick out loose dice. You can get plain opaque dice for 45 to 50 cents apiece. For ten dollars (plus applicable sales tax), you can get twenty dice. That's ten six-sided dice, and two of each other die type - plenty for any beginner. They won't fancy or shiny, but they really don't have to be. For gamers on an exceptionally tight budget, $3 will get you one die of each type used in D&D. The typical set that comes in the nifty plastic case has seven dice (two ten-sided), and game stores typically sell them for as low as $3.50 for the plain Jane solid color dice.

Another option you may wish to consider is a community dice bag. Put $20 down on 30-40 loose dice in various sizes and put it in the middle of the table. A buddy of mine did this with all his old dice, so that if someone forgot their dice one week, or we had a new player, we just grabbed a few handfuls out of the community bag.

Every player does not need their own Player's Handbook. That's just a snowjob that publishing companies try to push over on you in order to boost profits. It's certainly handy more than one, but two is sufficient to keep play running smoothly. Leveling up and creating characters is a bit slower if people have to share copies of the book, but that's not really a problem since it tends to happen at the end of, or in between sessions. If money's tight, the only one who really needs a copy of the Player's Handbook is you. You may wish to consider making one or two page rules "cheatsheets" for your players instead. A friend of mine did this for a Legend of Five Rings game we started recently, and it really helped during the first session.

What I would suggest to start is a very short game (maybe four to six sessions) where you make a dungeon, populate it with monsters, and just have a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl. Don't work too hard at coming up with a plot, and don't worry about justifying why their characters are in there. Ignore any peer pressure you might read on various forums about characters meeting in a tavern being cliche, lame, and unimaginative. (It's a cliche because it works). The PCs met somehow, and now they're in this dungeon searching for treasure - keep it simple. Use this dungeon to learn the rules about how combat works, how recovering works, and whatever rules fourth edition uses for resting (if it even has any, given so many things refresh every encounter now). Slowly start to get a feel for how monsters react. Do they fight to the death or flee? Do they send someone for reinforcements? If so, how long does it take for said reinforcements to arrive? Do any other monsters hear the battle? If so, do they care?

Don't worry too much about the rules, or how fast you learn them. It'll come with time. Focus on learning to decide and describe what happens next. Your players want to tell you what they're going to do, roll some dice, and then hear what happened. Another thing that I can't stress enough: Do not waste time arguing over the rules. Look up the rules you either know, or at least know what page it's on. Let the players explain the rules they've learned that you haven't. Make stuff up for everything else. When the session is over at the end of the night, that's when you go back and discuss the stuff you did wrong.

After your group has gone through your little dungeon, that's when you make up an actual plot and story. This is also when the players should start developing ideas like character concept, motivation, and group cohesion. Maybe people want to make new characters now that they understand the rules a little better, or maybe there's something they wish they'd done differently with the ones they have. Go ahead and let them make changes. It's a new group, there were bound to be mistakes prior to the, "Learn how to play the game," dungeon adventure.

In a nutshell, do a few sessions with simple (perhaps temporary) characters to develop the skeleton. Then start filling it out with meat.

[Kotuku]

I actually just started a new group as a first time DM with four players who had never played before, and it was alot easier than I thought. In terms of how well you need to know the rules, don't worry about it. As long as you know how to roll Hits and damage in combat, and how to make up a skill DC on the spot (unless it's something really crazy, I just go for 15) for creative thinking, it's alot easier than it seems. I've found that the easiest way to teach was just to explain the bare-bones basics beforehand, and just walk them through those first rounds of combat.

[OneFamiliarFace]

A few people, including myself, have talked about this, but I wanted to elaborate on it:

Cheating and Stealing are okay tools to use as a DM. Just so long as it's being done to increase the fun!

James Wyatt even mentions this in both the new DMG and an article he recently put up about starting your first campaign on the DnD official website.

You want to cheat sparingly, because the players need to have a sense of continuity and that the game rules apply almost as much to monsters as they do to them. But there are definitely times when bending the rules to, say, have a white dragon smash a ceiling full of icicles down on the PCs or have a blue dragon's breath electrify a whole body of water, is quite awesome. You just have to make sure the PCs can then use similar ideas (expect a mage with lightning spells to take a hint on that last one :-p).

But stealing you can do as much as you want. It's good for paying homage (to those great writers we all enjoy), humor (if you need a mood lightener), suspense (if you can't think of an exciting situation), or just plain innovation (if a monster movie is really cool). My friend changed the creature from the Korean movie "The Host" into a really hard and dynamic boss fight (one of the best I've played in 13 years of DnD). And he almost got away with it too, but I randomly found the movie on a boring Saturday night one day and caught him! It didn't mean the encounter still wasn't absolutely awesome.

The trick is knowing what to steal. And it helps you learn the rules as well, as you craft the monster or situation from scratch. The key is to think, "What do I want here," first, and then make the rules apply to that. (Though sometimes the reverse can work: "I want to get my players into a grappling brawl. What would be a good situation for that?")

[Hairb]

If your players are new not only to the system, but to RPGs in general, character creation could be pretty challenging. Think about it: if you're in the least bit skeptical about fun and dice being in the same sentence together, then filling out two A4 sheets of what could easily be tax documents or a passport application isn't the best way of getting into the hobby.

I imagine that one way of circumventing this is pregenerating a bunch of characters, letting your players pick ones that they like and sorting out the details, tweaking where necessary and so on. It's a lot of work, and by their nature, a number of these pregen characters will never see the light of day. That said, the character building phase can be a good way to explain some of the basic concepts of the game to your group. Your call, ultimately.

Good luck, in any case. Hope it turns out well.

[Grady]

The key is to not let the specifics get in the way of having fun. I was in the same position and trust me, once you get it running and everyone's got their characters setup it is alot of fun.

Your players, if they have played previous video game RPGs, will probably very intrigued and want to try out the whole "we can do anything we want" part of the game. Even if they make poor decisions don't disallow them to do anything, and let them learn from their mistakes.

As for ignoring certain rules, I did that alot. Alot of complex rules were left out to make it a more simplified game and it worked great, just make sure you have understanding of whatever rules you are using so you don't get too confused. Just remember that it may be a little confusing for your players if you go adding in rules mid-game, especially one's they've never experienced before.

(EDIT: It may be noteworthy to say that this was 2nd edition)

[LoopyZebra]

Useful advice about character creation.

Here's a link (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4dnd/20080616a) to the pregenerated characters from 4E Keep on the Shadowfell. They're level one and should do handily for another level one adventure. Like Hairb said, character creation takes a while, and trying to do it with multiple people and one book is a nightmare. As DM, I'd either make your own characters* for the group or use these.

*If you do make the characters for them, make sure you make a write-out of their powers. The power cards here (http://groups.google.com/group/tools-for-dms/files) can help with that. Also, if you need character sheets to print out, this link (http://dnd4.com/dd-4th-edition-character-sheet) has good ones.

[codexgigas]

You've gotten some good advice so far, and a lot of it bears repeating. Remember, at the end of the day, D&D (of whatever edition) is about having fun. If you accomplish that, you've been successful as a DM. I haven't run 4E yet (my group isn't interested in converting, we've dropped way too much money on 3.x for it to be worth it now), I can give you some good basic advice.

1. You should be very familiar with the rules, but ultimately the rules are just guidelines. As DM you can throw out rules that you feel don't work as they should or are simply too complicated for your players. Let the players know what you're doing though and have them agree on it. As long as you're usually upfront about what you do behind the screen, your players should be pretty okay with whatever you do.

2. You need a DM screen and some sort of grid. The screen is so that you can fudge rolls when you need to without your players knowing that you're "cheating." DM fudging is the grease that prevents undeserved total party kills. Your "screen" can simply be a folder. If you want charts on the back, you can print them off and glue them on. As far as the grid goes, 3.x plays much better with some sort of visualization (which helps to prevent arguments about who was standing where when the wizard cast the fireball), and, from what I understand, 4e is even more dependent upon grids and miniatures. The grids you can buy at game stores are nice, but they're expensive for what they are. You can buy a dry erase board for fairly cheap. Draw the grid with a sharpie and it won't erase. You can draw everything else with dry erase markers, and buttons, coins, and board game tokens make nice miniatures.

3. I understand where you're coming from about pre-published adventures. I'd much rather come up with everything on my own as well. However, there are plenty of free D&D adventures of every edition available on the internet. You should look at those, even if you don't run them. They'll help you understand how you should design an adventure and will help you get a better grip on what challenges are appropriate for characters of your party's level. Personally, I have a hard time coming up with traps and puzzles, so I mine ideas from adventures I find online.

4. Ad hoc experience works, but it can be problematic. Make sure your players are okay with it before the campaign begins. In 3.x the CR system made figuring out how much experience each character earned a headache (at least for me). However, you can find online programs that tell you how much experience an encounter is worth per character. I'm sure someone's done something similar for 4e. Plus, from what I hear, the experience system is much easier in 4e than it was in 3.x. It probably won't come up for a while (and this could totally have changed between editions), but players need to know how much experience they have so that they can craft, if they're so inclined (and I've always had exactly one player who is).

Hope this helps.