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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
 Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 00:46:55
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I have recently organized a new DnD group. Now, while i have DMed before im looking to enhance my players expireance and make my new game more of a roleplaying oriented one. I want to use some of the Wizards of the Coast adventures such as "The Ettins Riddle" and "The Hamlet of Relmouth" and some of my own ideas as well. While id love campain hooks and will probably post n this Topic asking for them for the next few months on and off, he reall reason for this post is I want some of the ore expireanced DMs to teach me some of the tricks of the trade, usefull tools, and just general tips on how to run a better campaign.
I could also use suggestions from a players point of view.
Id appreciate the help
-The Rogue
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Edited by - Alaundo on 20 Apr 2004 10:37:14
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Salabasha
Learned Scribe
Portugal
216 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 01:18:56
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| So basically you want to know how to be a good DM? |
Life is like a box of chocolates. Once you eat the poisoned one you die. |
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 01:23:41
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Yeah.
-The Rogue |
"Spirit. Its a Heros strength, a mothers resiliance, and the poor mans armor. It cannot be broken and it cannot be taken away. This i must belive"---Drizzt Do'Urden |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 01:26:07
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Hmm...
*Arivia reaches into a bag and pulls out a tome edged with silver and covered in runes. The title reads: "Secrets of Successful Dungeon Mastering: Horrors and Secrets, Wonders and Stories.".*
I entrust this to you. Keep it well. |
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Salabasha
Learned Scribe
Portugal
216 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 02:03:15
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| Looks at Arivia and her book, nods, and pulls out his "DM for Dummies" |
Life is like a box of chocolates. Once you eat the poisoned one you die. |
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SiriusBlack
Great Reader
USA
5517 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 03:04:22
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| Organization is what I always get complimented on when I DM. Not surprisingly, lack of organization is what always irked me the most when I am a player. |
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 06:04:17
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quote:
Originally posted by RogueAssassin
I have recently organized a new DnD group. Now, while i have DMed before im looking to enhance my players expireance and make my new game more of a roleplaying oriented one. I want to use some of the Wizards of the Coast adventures such as "The Ettins Riddle" and "The Hamlet of Relmouth" and some of my own ideas as well. While id love campain hooks and will probably post n this Topic asking for them for the next few months on and off, he reall reason for this post is I want some of the ore expireanced DMs to teach me some of the tricks of the trade, usefull tools, and just general tips on how to run a better campaign.
I could also use suggestions from a players point of view.
Id appreciate the help
-The Rogue
RogueAssassin, have you seen the current 'Random Encounters' column on the WotC site lately?. It is dealing with the "The Hamlet of Relmouth". It might provide you with some interesting ideas.
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"Once upon a time the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'." -- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett |
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 09:13:52
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This is my golden rule about the most important thing a DM can do:
1. Ensure that the game remains a game and remains fun.
While this isn't completely your responsibility, I'd hazard to say that about 80% of it is.
Be prepared to adapt your gaming style to meet the needs and expectations of your players. Don't let arguments get out of hand, instead take a break and try to have everyone conceed that it is a game and not worth getting upset over. Don't try to run a deep-immersion campaign chock full of minutae if your players just want to knock back a few beers and throw dice around.
Ideally, at the end of the gaming session, you want to ensure that everyone -- including yourself -- was glad to have come and enjoyed themselves. If you can accomplish that, everything else will be easy.
Sarta |
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SoulLord
Seeker
Mexico
62 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 17:43:06
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One thing that has been very useful for me is to reward the players
with xp (it seems its the only thing that motivates them enough) for journals.
Which can be about either the gaming session and how it was seen from the perspective of the character
or
stories about before they joined the group (family, friends, lovers, childs etc..)
this usually gives me either good information about what the character expects and what is he is paying atention to (names. places etc.)
or interesting possible plot points for future adventures.
The; You find the guard has a brooch that signals he belonged to the swordschool of master eurin like you did.
Another thing that helps New Players and consequently the dm is to give blank cards to the spellcasters so they can write down their spells with things like lvl, dc and what does the spell do.
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 20 Apr 2004 : 21:16:30
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RogueAssassin, have you seen the current 'Random Encounters' column on the WotC site lately?. It is dealing with the "The Hamlet of Relmouth". It might provide you with some interesting ideas.
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Yes i have seen "The Hamlet of Relmouth" and i am going to be placing that into my campaign, once the majority of my party is 5th or 6th lvl. I have a DM screen and plenty of dice, but are there any other usefull tools that will help me get more organized. Belfar ( a RL friend) suggested that I get combat sheets to help combat run more smootly. Anyone know of good places for these sheets or similar items that will help things run smoothly. Organization is the main thing that i am worried about other than the story falling apart altogether. The location we have choosen wont allow me to use a computer like i used to.
Ty for the Help
-The Rogue |
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 21 Apr 2004 : 11:00:26
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Be sure then to let me know how using the 'Hamlet of Relmouth' goes. I'm thinking about including part of those random encounters in one of the two adventures I'm currently writing up, and I'd love to hear about your experiences.
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"Once upon a time the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'." -- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett |
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 21 Apr 2004 : 21:16:15
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Will do. It may be a month or so as one of the players is on lockdown untill we get outta school. It looks very good though.
-The Rogue |
"Spirit. Its a Heros strength, a mothers resiliance, and the poor mans armor. It cannot be broken and it cannot be taken away. This i must belive"---Drizzt Do'Urden |
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2004 : 03:02:00
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Along the same lines of thought that SoulLord pursued, I'd suggest having each of the players write down 5 things they'd like their characters to accomplish. These can be short-term goals, campaign-spanning long term goals, or even goals that cannot be reached during the scope of an ordinary campaign.
I tend to run a fairly loosly organized campaign, having some player-driven plotlines floating around really spices things up and encourages participation.
Many new players fall into the trap of waiting with baited breath for the DM to hit them on the head with the next plot-hook. As a result, they don't become as attached to their characters, nor the storyline. However, if they all decide that one goal of the characters will be to form their own trade priakos based out of an inn that they own they are all of a sudden empowered to pursue their own goals.
Sarta |
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2004 : 07:32:35
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quote:
Originally posted by RogueAssassin
Will do. It may be a month or so as one of the players is on lockdown untill we get outta school. It looks very good though.
-The Rogue
That's right, sorry . . . . Sometimes I have to be reminded that most of the scribes here live on a US education schedule  .
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"Once upon a time the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'." -- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett |
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SoulLord
Seeker
Mexico
62 Posts |
Posted - 22 Apr 2004 : 18:42:00
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Besides the Suggestions presented so far
Something i do is give the players a mission that relates
to their characters it could be something as simple as.
Present yourself to cormyr with this message, to
find the thief of the dark scroll whose location is suspected to be cormyr :)
Also try to interwine this character plots so they'll all have motivation to pursue related interests.
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 15:37:28
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In the "Burning PLague" adventure from Wotc (a 1st lvl adventure) the PCs must face a lvl 5 Cleric, after already fighting about 20 kobolds, a few lesser zombies and possibly geting the plague them selves. DO you think this is a bit of an unfair match for about 4 PCs? I also ave a big question about challenge ratings.. Where can i find a chart for CRs for partys. I really dont know how this works.
Help me out please!
-The Rogue
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"Spirit. Its a Heros strength, a mothers resiliance, and the poor mans armor. It cannot be broken and it cannot be taken away. This i must belive"---Drizzt Do'Urden |
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Lady Kazandra
Senior Scribe
Australia
921 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 16:18:56
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In the back of the Monster Manual there is a chart of CR, for each of the monsters in the book. It's a quick and easy reference for DMs so that they can determine which type of creatures they want to throw at their party of players using the challenge rating system.
From the SRD -
quote:
Challenge Rating
This shows the average level of a party of adventurers for which one creature would make an encounter of moderate difficulty.
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"Once upon a time the plural of 'wizard' was 'war'." -- The Last Continent, by Terry Pratchett |
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Arivia
Great Reader
Canada
2965 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 16:54:22
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quote:
Originally posted by RogueAssassin
In the "Burning PLague" adventure from Wotc (a 1st lvl adventure) the PCs must face a lvl 5 Cleric, after already fighting about 20 kobolds, a few lesser zombies and possibly geting the plague them selves. DO you think this is a bit of an unfair match for about 4 PCs? I also ave a big question about challenge ratings.. Where can i find a chart for CRs for partys. I really dont know how this works.
Help me out please!
-The Rogue
That adventure seems to be horribly written, and I think I'll be getting a laugh out of a CR 1 cloud of flour for a while now. So, in short, yes, it is an unfair fight.
Read the sections on EL, CRs, and the XP tables in your DMG thoroughly. The EL is really what you match a party against, not the CR-it's a common mistake, and Wizards doesn't seem to be helping any. |
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 19:39:18
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Yes sacks of flour was pretty funny....i just imagined one of my players pulling the rope on accident. "oh no!....FLOUR....AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH." well ty i belive ill go study my dmg then. If anyone has tips on where i can find lots of maps or official supplements that i can dl ,please tell me . I already have all the maps from Wotc so dont bother with that.
-The Rogue |
"Spirit. Its a Heros strength, a mothers resiliance, and the poor mans armor. It cannot be broken and it cannot be taken away. This i must belive"---Drizzt Do'Urden |
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Sarta
Senior Scribe
USA
505 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 21:13:29
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quote:
Originally posted by RogueAssassin
Yes sacks of flour was pretty funny....i just imagined one of my players pulling the rope on accident. "oh no!....FLOUR....AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH." well ty i belive ill go study my dmg then. If anyone has tips on where i can find lots of maps or official supplements that i can dl ,please tell me . I already have all the maps from Wotc so dont bother with that.
-The Rogue
That trap can be far more deadly if the characters have any open flames about them (torches). Clouds of flour are fairly combustible.
Sarta |
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RogueAssassin
Learned Scribe
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2004 : 21:15:21
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That trap can be far more deadly if the characters have any open flames about them (torches). Clouds of flour are fairly combustible.
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Your kidding? i gotta go try that.
-The Rogue |
"Spirit. Its a Heros strength, a mothers resiliance, and the poor mans armor. It cannot be broken and it cannot be taken away. This i must belive"---Drizzt Do'Urden |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 30 Apr 2004 : 19:17:05
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One thing that I have done for players (and they really liked) was to print out packets for each player. In other words, give each character different knowledge then the next one. For one, they usually love the extra knowledge. If you give them each different, then they tend to get competitive about it and try to read through it all in an attempt to find relevance to what is going on with them.
What type of info do I print out? Well, all of my players are not used to the FR (and I prefer it that way, really). So, I have each character come up with their character concept and to also pick a home town. I then write up and print out an info sheet on that home town (usually based on the FR Adventures book format). I remove anything that involves states or things they wouldn't know, of course. But basically, they have common knowledge about their home town. If ever the party goes there, everyone looks at the fighter to find the best inn in Ordulin....or what churches there are in town....or who is the most powerful mage. That type stuff. It works great, especially if these places are places the party is planning on visiting. If not, then the group at least gets some detail on the game world overall (that you can control).
Other stuff that I give out to various players depends on their skills. If someone takes knowledge (religion), then I print out a short description of all the gods and goddesses. This way, if the players have a question about how to spell a god's name, or which god was the goddess of posion again? They can turn to that player and he can answer them. This can give in-character knowledge that the players can really use. If there is someone with knowledge (history), I print out a lot of general history about the areas that they are going. Perhaps it has something to do with the overall plot, and perhaps it doesn't. I've had a character love this aspect so much, he is playin a bard, just to get the most handouts.
There are things that I print out for the party all at once. It usually involves where they go. If they have spent a bit of time in Tassledale, then I print out a short description of the Dale that I have compiled from various sourcebooks. I might even print out a map for them to use, too, but I prefer them to spend in game coin on maps. I really do prefer to use the various source books form 1E to 3.5E to use different maps. The nice (and more accurate ones) cost more coin then the cheaper ones. I like this method, as the players don't have to ask me where they bumped into that cobbler with that one story. They can look it up themselves.
Now, I am trying to figure out a way to use a website to help inform the party. I have a newer group that isn't as interested as the previous group about in-between game material. So, I will have to see how that goes.
That's one of my tricks. |
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SoulLord
Seeker
Mexico
62 Posts |
Posted - 30 Apr 2004 : 22:46:32
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Very interesting
i'll definitely have to adapt your idea to my campaign
if you have more ideas like this one dont stop
and keep on writing |
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Lashan
Learned Scribe
USA
235 Posts |
Posted - 12 May 2004 : 15:58:33
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Sorry for the delay, but I was on vacation and it's taken me a bit to get back to things.
Now, I have a few ideas for things if you are able to get a web page together and know (or know someone who does) about making web pages. I've been wanting to do this for my current game, but am not getting the players involved as much. My current game is a kinda-monthly game, and the delay between sessions keeps the players out of the loop. It's a bit frustrating. All the attempts at pulling the players into things between sessions seems to fall to the wayside. One or two will be interested, but the others get caught up in the daily life. So....if you have some players that are really into the game, there are a lot of things you can do with a website or at least an email list service (which there are many free ones).
Now, besides all that, I usually build some sort of plot or sub-plot around my players' character or background story. Sometimes, I have fits of inspiration that make the overall storyarc more interesting and developed. It can be anything from one character being a cleric of Selune, and therefore bringing in a secret cult of Shar that is messing with a few things behind the scenes. Another character in my current game is a noble son, who has given up on his family for humility and the church. Well, the family is on tough tims and keeps asking the now powerful paladin for help with a few things. I've created a background story that ties the fortunes of the family into the overall plotline of badguys. There was even a ranger who loved cheeses. I had developed what types of cheeses were common and when rare cheeses usually came in from which caravans. If there was ever a delay on caravans from a particular spot, that was enough to want this ranger to run out in the wilderness to see what was holding up the caravans! So, I try to so SOMETHING with each character to tie them into the overall plot somehow. It keeps everyone motivated and involved in what is going on. Also, you can always slip in side plots and counter objectives into the group to keep things interesting. |
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SoulLord
Seeker
Mexico
62 Posts |
Posted - 13 May 2004 : 22:49:05
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Very nice in my current campaign some of the players have background plots that are tied to the main one.
I'm only missing to integrate a few of them to the metaplot but ill get them eventually :)
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Reefy
Senior Scribe
United Kingdom
892 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2004 : 17:49:18
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quote:
Originally posted by RogueAssassin
That trap can be far more deadly if the characters have any open flames about them (torches). Clouds of flour are fairly combustible.
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Your kidding? i gotta go try that.
-The Rogue
Nope, that was my old chemistry teacher's favourite trick, blowing up flour.
As for DM tips, organisation is definitely useful and allows you to be ready for most situations. However, once in a while one of the players will do something you hadn't anticipated so you have to be ready to wing it.
Lashan's idea of individual information for characters is definitely something I'd like to introduce to my campaign.
My main tip, and this is something that a lot of people have alluded to in posts, is to make the PCs the stars. It's a lot more involving if their PCs are really making a difference and doing things, not just being pulled around by the authority figures. Also, while it is nice to use some of the iconic (by that I mean very well known)Realms characters, don't let them take the attention away from the PCs too much. |
Life is either daring adventure or nothing. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2004 : 18:31:20
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The blowing up flour trick was also used in one of the BattleTech novels. I forget which one, but it was the one where the Northwind Highlanders were hired by the Draconis Combine to take a world in the Periphery from Clan Smoke Jaguar... 'Twas the second book about the former Death Commando Loren Jaffrays.
Having made an exceedingly non-Realms-related post, I shall now go hide from any lurking moderators.  |
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DM Apprenticeship
