Advice for a newbie DM

[Ferkelschwert]

Hey. Hopefully you didn't have to wade through spambot hell to find this thread. Heheh.
I'm in the middle of organizing an online 3.5 D&D session with some buddies, and I'm hosting. It's not my first time as DM - it went pretty smoothly, mostly fell apart due to schedule conflicts and technical difficulties - but I'm still new enough to the pasttime (I only got into the game about two or three years ago) that I figure I might as well ask the more experienced of you for some tips.

1. What would you want to see in a DM?
2. How should I plot? Would it be most effective to make snap judgments based on what the PCs do and/or what I feel would be the best plot development at the time (more realistic - real life isn't planned, after all), or should I plan everything out beforehand (better written)?
3. What's a good way to keep encounters varied and interesting (especially at the lower levels, since fighting the same old kobolds and orcs and wild animals with little variation gets kind of old).
4. If you play online, what's your personal favorite hosting/mapmaking software?

Thanks for your time. I don't mean to sound needy, but I figure the best advice comes from the pros and all that. I appreciate the help!

[Gildedragon]

To keep encounters varied use things you wouldn't normally use (a pack of feral dogs, a swarm of vermin... Check through the books for things in the CR range that look cool)

Plan an adventure; pick up a module if just starting out. Remember "Yes and..." is an answer that allows more flow and if that isn't an option see what can be done.

Throw in complicated terrain.
Say: at the dungeon temple there is a balcony (that jut out some 15') running all around the top of the chamber, the walls have bass relief (ie a low climb DC), and pillars (cover) around the room (holding up the balcony) some toppled over, some piles of rubble... Skeleton archers in the top floor shooting down, big bad doing a ritual in the middle...

[jaydubs]

1. What would you want to see in a DM?

Minimum - Effort, fairness, not being a jerk.
Good stuff - Understanding the rules, putting together interesting characters and story, good player management.

2. How should I plot? Would it be most effective to make snap judgments based on what the PCs do and/or what I feel would be the best plot development at the time (more realistic - real life isn't planned, after all), or should I plan everything out beforehand (better written)?

Depends on the DM and the players. This is really more about what the DM/players want and can provide, rather than one being better than the other.

3. What's a good way to keep encounters varied and interesting (especially at the lower levels, since fighting the same old kobolds and orcs and wild animals with little variation gets kind of old).

Add goals other than "eliminate X creature." Escape, protection, stealth, puzzle, deception, etc. are all alternatives to simply trying to kill whatever creature pops up.

4. If you play online, what's your personal favorite hosting/mapmaking software?

roll20.net

It's free and works well.

[jedipotter]

1. What would you want to see in a DM?
2. How should I plot? Would it be most effective to make snap judgments based on what the PCs do and/or what I feel would be the best plot development at the time (more realistic - real life isn't planned, after all), or should I plan everything out beforehand (better written)?
3. What's a good way to keep encounters varied and interesting (especially at the lower levels, since fighting the same old kobolds and orcs and wild animals with little variation gets kind of old).
4. If you play online, what's your personal favorite hosting/mapmaking software?

1.If only I could reply more.....but I like an Old School DM more then the Player DM.

2.Never plan everything. You can plan somethings, but keep most of it open. Most of all you want lots of triggers. You never want to make it ''if Zorg hits the tree then the army will attack'', make it more like ''if the army feels a threat is around they will attack. Keep things as fluid as possible. You might have thought that Zara was the queens daughter, but when the game swings towards the kings plots, it makes much more sense for her to be his daughter.

3.There are tons of low level monsters. You got six monster manuals, plus lots of other books. They don't need to be orcs, you can use say catfolk or goliaths. And you can use weakened powerful monsters too.

The big trick though is to have a plot. If the players are doing something...that is they have a goal, then the fights are not ''just another fight''.

4.I hate them all. I draw stuff and scan it if I must.

[Rhynn]

1. What would you want to see in a DM?

Good, solid, and comprehensive grasp of the rules. And what follows:

2. How should I plot? Would it be most effective to make snap judgments based on what the PCs do and/or what I feel would be the best plot development at the time (more realistic - real life isn't planned, after all), or should I plan everything out beforehand (better written)?

Never script things. That's only going to work if you force it, and forcing it is pretty much the worst thing you can do as a GM without being an obviously insane person in the style of That Lanky Bugger's stories.

Prepare situations and scenarios. Know your material - who the NPCs are, what their motivations are, and so on. React to what the players do. Let them set the focus and guide the action. (But remember that you also decide what goes on in the rest of the world, where the PCs aren't present, and when that intersects them.)

Early on in a game, though, you need to focus things. Provide a clear context and an obvious goal; a small, clearly-defined initial setting with few major features is great. ("You've all heard about the treasures hidden under the Huge Ruined Pile, and you've come to the village of Small Fixed Pile, about five miles from HRP, hoping to find them.") But think about the larger context and possible future goals (the players decide which ones to pursue): the larger context can be realm politics, a coming war, a magical cataclysm, whatever you find interesting (and think your players will).

Don't create too much ahead of time. If you're going to just need a village and a dungeon, don't bother creating the kingdom the village is in, too - jot down a few notes so you can answer some questions, write down anything you make up on the spot to answer players' question during play, and then work on it over time. Prepare for the next session before working on the larger context of the entire campaign or setting.

After every session, make sure you know what the PCs are going to do next time. Asking the players is a good idea, even if you think it's obvious - you'll be forever surprised by how weirdly players can think.

3. What's a good way to keep encounters varied and interesting (especially at the lower levels, since fighting the same old kobolds and orcs and wild animals with little variation gets kind of old).

Minority opinion ahead:

Encounters - fights especially - are never all that interesting themselves, ultimately. Their context and their stakes are interesting. Alternatively, the larger consequences they can have can be interesting ("We've got a badly wounded party member and we're separated from help by miles of dangerous wilderness!")

There's nothing wrong with fighting just humans, humans, and humans, if the context and results are interesting.

[Airk]

There's nothing wrong with fighting just humans, humans, and humans, if the context and results are interesting.

But...but... how will I motivate you to buy my Folio of Monstrosity now?!

[DM Nate]

Good, solid, and comprehensive grasp of the rules.

And, failing that, what my DM taught me when I first started. "If you can't find the answer in under a minute, make something up, and keep going. The point is sticking to the flow of the story and keeping people interested, not heavy-handing the rules."

[Angelalex242]

All I'd like to add is, don't be afraid to have the party run into friendly supernatural critters once in a while. Don't even be afraid to let those supernatural critters help in certain planned encounters.

There's a certain verisimilitude to the world when a party that saves people from bandits just because they can one day saves a polymorphed Gold Dragon or Shapechanged Celestial. And that being then goes on to repay the debt someday when the players need it. Because as a newbie DM, sooner or later, you're going to overestimate the players, or the dice will all fall the wrong way. When that happens, you can reward their earlier kindness with the good creature saving their bacon, and it was all the reward for kindness and good deeds they were doing anyway.

[Teapot Salty]

Something that my DM taught me when I first started was that, if you have big plans for city A, and no plans for city B, and the PC's head to city B, make city B a copy of city A.


As for plot, have the skeleton, the overarching plotline planned out, but leave the finer details and have them always point the pc's in the right direction.

[Rhynn]

But...but... how will I motivate you to buy my Folio of Monstrosity now?!

Does it have green orcs, blue orcs, red orcs, two orcs-- er...

And, failing that, what my DM taught me when I first started. "If you can't find the answer in under a minute, make something up, and keep going. The point is sticking to the flow of the story and keeping people interested, not heavy-handing the rules."

That is true. If the GM doesn't know the rule on something, it's more important to make a quick decision and keep the game moving than look it up and get it right. (Generally, choose the interpretation or ruling that helps the PCs or screws them less.) Make a note to look up the rule after the session ends, and tell your players what the rule is (at the end of the session, or at the start of the next one) so everyone (or someone, anyway) is clear next time.

Also, generally don't indulge players who want to argue about your rulings, at least in the moment. Just say "we'll clear that up after the session." (If it's somethings simple and obviously true like "actually, daggers deal 1d4 damage" then sure, go with it, but if it's about how the order of actions in grappling works, just keep the game going.)

[Dienekes]

Well, a lot of this will probably have already been said. But here's my list of GMing advice.

Understand the game. You don't need to remember every single minor little rule, but try to be consistent in your rulings if you don't know. Stopping to look up the book can grind games to a halt. However, if someone at the table does know the rules, don't get angry at them, or feel ashamed. It happens, role with it. If you get corrected a lot, then you probably need to go once over the rules again. It happens, don't worry about it.

Ask your players what they want to do. A lot. This is a shared game. You are not the sole writer and you should make sure that everyone's having fun. This can mean for one player that they get to kill things really cool. For another fun could be seeing their character's plot arc come together. Your job is to balance this all out to be fun for everyone.

Despite what I just said, you kind of are still the writer. How much you prepare can depend on your style of GMing. For me, I plan everything. I know what a character will say, I know how the plot will go. And I know what my players will choose. Then, I look at what I have just written, try to find all the points where my players can jump off the rails and plan for those possibilities as well. I plan a lot. My planning pays off though, because in my many years of GMing only once has a player decision completely thrown me for a loop and took the game in an entirely different direction than what I had anticipated. This does not work for everyone, some GMs can wing it. I am jealous of those GMs. My advice? Try new things your first couple of games. Find your own niche and what you're comfortable with. But make sure your players are cool with your style as well. Ultimately, your the players guide, but the decisions on where to go are theirs. You might be very good at predicting where they'll want to go, you might be terrible. It comes with practice.

On a similar note, if you are thrown for a loop and don't know what to do. Tell your players. They'll understand, you're doing a lot of work to make this game fun. Take a 10 minute break to rethink where to go from there. Another little trick is to plan a couple random encounters and generic short side quests. They give you some time to think. But be careful not to overuse these. If you find yourself throwing giant rats or some equivalent at your players every game you may need to rethink your GM style.

Never use giant rats or spiders in a generic encounter or side-quest. They're overdone. You can use them if you build them up for a major side-quest or part of the story. But just go down to the cellar and kill spiders/rats is dumb and even if your players don't call you on it, they're thinking it.

Be wary for players that feel outperformed. D&D 3.5 is particularly bad at this, where certain classes can outshine everyone if they know how to play them. I'm not saying this will happen, only that it can. Watch out for it. If a player is feeling overshadowed try helping him out, and design a couple encounters that go right in his/her specialty. If one player is overshadowing everyone, talk to that player about dialing it down a little bit.

Make sure your players know what they're getting into with the game. If the game is a gritty down to earth style roleplay, having one player base their character off of Deadpool will not end well. Speaking from experience on that one.

Be fair, and be mature. So many problems can be solved this way. It doesn't matter if you're playing with your best friend or significant other. Be fair with your players. That and don't take criticism personally, your players are trying to help you shape the game to be the best for everyone. Unless of course their criticism is entirely personal. Then it's some real life things getting in the way of the game, you and your player need to work that out.

Don't be afraid to say no. Sometimes a player wants to do something that would invalidate another player or are obviously abusing knowledge they shouldn't know. You can prevent them, and afterwards talk to them about it.

Don't be afraid to say yes. Even if this ruins days of planning, even if it one-shots the Big Bad that you were going to make an epic fight. If the players come up with something awesome, let them do it. If their actions and decisions don't ruin the fun of another player, it's best to let them do what they want to do.

There will be a player who will try to take control of the game/break their character/or do other self centered crap. Learn to deal with them.

Don't start in a tavern, it's tacky. This isn't exactly a hard and fast rule, but, I don't think I've ever seen a truly awe inspiring beginning of a game, that sets the tone for the rest of the game come out of a tavern.

Hopefully, this doesn't happen for awhile. But, if you ever grow tired of GMing, just need a break, or can't put in the effort anymore. Just tell your players and stand down. It's better to give up the crown than be deposed. If you're not having fun, your players can tell, and it will lessen their fun.

There are a couple ways to keep encounters interesting. One, make it directly related to the progression of the story and/or the goals of your players. This is the first and best one. Remember talking is a free action. An enemy fighting you and trying to reason with you, or taunt you, or give exposition even can be interesting and fun. Just don't take it too far. Giving an entire soliloquy during a 6 second round is pushing it.
Two, add unique features and twists to an encounter. Yes, orcs, goblins, humans can be exciting if you only fight them. But try to mix things up, simply changing the setting can add a lot. Having to deal with a raid, or being raided, or defending a narrow pass, or being shot at across a ravine, or maybe you have a time limit you have to beat the enemy before a bad thing happens. These add to the uniquenesss of the encounter. Or give interesting equipment and spells to the enemy. Don't be afraid to bend the rules a little bit if it means making a memorable encounter.
Three, surprise them. Having reinforcements show up midway through the battle can be terrifying. Or, revealing that one of the normal looking goblins is actually a powerful mage. That "Oh ****" expression on a players face is priceless. Keeping them on their toes means they'll have to be thinking and staying focused.

As to your last one, I've heard good things about Roll20, but never really used it myself.

[HammeredWharf]

Others have already covered most of what I'd suggest, but here's something I like to do:

2. How should I plot? Would it be most effective to make snap judgments based on what the PCs do and/or what I feel would be the best plot development at the time (more realistic - real life isn't planned, after all), or should I plan everything out beforehand (better written)?

I make flow charts of my plots from both the party's and the antagonist's perspective. The party's flow chart is a bunch of plot hooks that influence one another and are vague enough for some/most of them to be skipped. The antagonist's flow chart is better-defined and generally has a plan and a back-up plan or two. I alter the charts between sessions as circumstances change and write down important details next to them. This allows me to make decently-built stories while keeping things open enough not to railroad players.

I also try to bring up the past often, as that makes the players feel like their choices have consequences. These consequences may be entirely fake, of course. The NPC who told them a secret because they saved his son may have told them the secret anyway, but the players will never know. Unlike video games, your campaign will most likely only be played through once, so you don't have to worry about alternate consequences.

[ElenionAncalima]

1.If only I could reply more.....but I like an Old School DM more then the Player DM.
Most of all you want lots of triggers. You never want to make it ''if Zorg hits the tree then the army will attack'', make it more like ''if the army feels a threat is around they will attack. Keep things as fluid as possible. You might have thought that Zara was the queens daughter, but when the game swings towards the kings plots, it makes much more sense for her to be his daughter.

Seconding this.

It will save you a lot of headaches when your player act unpredictably.

[draken50]

Learn your style.

I wing quite a bit, but I have to have an outline or things drag and I get lost. Prepping beforehand always helps, but I don't have all the time I'd like, so instead I try to do a couple of things.

1.Figure out goals for the session. What do I want to move the players toward/have the players deal with this session. If I have no idea, or only know what's up with the start, I often thumb through the monsters/setting books to try to get some inspiration.

2.What are the exciting encounters/scenes I can use in that progress. Again, I tend to try to find things to help give me ideas.

3.What pitfalls can the session run into? For me this is usually figuring out ways the players can bog down the game. Extended shopping, indecision, too many boring encounters in a row. I usually try to spice things up with humor or drama if there's going to be a lot of investigating ect.

From there I go strongest to weakest in terms of prep. I start with what I'm strongest at, and spend my prep first on that. I'm really good at running combat that my players reminisce and talk about so I figure out what combat encounters I want to have, and what rules I'd need for them, I get the page numbers written down, as well as whatever notes I want and move on.

That for me is pretty quick. Next, I make decent NPCs if I make their personalities interesting enough, this takes more time/creativity, but usually I can come up with something. In my case, the more subdued the personality, the less players want to deal with the character. (Mostly because I suck at making these characters interesting.)

From there I usually mix prepping longer campaign references and brainstorming alternate encounter solutions.... I rarely get to this. Usually my long term planning is just me jotting things down on post it's on non-game days. After a few weeks I end up with a fairly good plot-line influenced heavily by my players and their characters. Sometimes I'll just have broad encounter ideas I'll write down to remember for when they'll fit.

Ultimately, pay attention to your players, are they having fun? Are they engaged? Did something cause honest emotion? Do that kind of thing more... not the specific thing.. but the general. If they're bored or disinterested, figure out why. Do they feel railroaded? Are they going through the motions? Is it just a bad day? Do they feel relegated to the background? Is there a way to please them?

GMing is an art, and everybody has their own style and ideas, but the big thing is to remember not to chase an ideal. I wanted to be the intricate world building, interesting NPC making GM that ran combat well enough to get by that my first GM was.

I'm not... I suck at most of it, in fact, interesting/engaging/satisfying combat encounters are my strongest suit, and I take forever to prep any kind of good world building, that doesn't drag my game into an abyss of exposition and tangential b.s.

I tried way too long to be the kind of GM I'm not, so don't make my mistake. Play to your strengths, and remember the encounters your players talk about, and you'll be good at it faster than you think.

[draken50]

Wow, that was really long.

In response to question 3:

The feeling of danger is more important than how dangerous a fight actually is. Descriptions and setting do far far more, than CR or even the creatures themselves.

Examples I've used:

Dire Mountain Lion plows into the parties carriage upending it. The wizard is on her back with the great cat trying to claw into it from atop the now sideways carriage. The players can all picture this huge cat, trying to claw the wizard inside but unable to reach her, which gives everyone an impression of imminent, likely deadly danger, while actually giving them a couple free rounds to scramble to their feet and attack.

A Thieve gang ambush at a smugglers dock. The dock is only accessibly at low tide and the stone is covered in slime and muck. The dock itself is made of pontoons as the rival thieves showed up in boats and arrows. An explosive runes spell knocks out the parties unimportant contact as they attack with bows and leap nimbly to the shore.

The actual total CR of the encounter was below the parties equivalent, but between the muck on the ground
(That effected both groups)
the seeming tactical advantage
(which actually made sneak attacking harder)
and the armored PCs fear of the water
(the rouges didn't have any, which seemed an advantage but made them easier to kill)
they actually felt like they were in far more danger than they were actually in.

Add in some dramatic description of balance checks failing and near misses and boom, scary encounter that left the PCs feeling lucky to make it out alive.

[Garimeth]

Lots of good advice already, so want to keep mine short:

roll20.net Was already suggested, but seriously roll20.net

Did I mention roll20.net?

The voice client is kinda crap though, imo, so we use Mumble for the client, and roll20 for the table.