New player [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

New player [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Blades_of_Fury
04-23-06, 01:52 PM Im new to playing the forgoten realms and have little playing experence Playing D&D 3.5. My dad played the AD&D version(I have played it some) and thats what got me started. I have read abour a dozen of Forgoten Realms based books, mostly by R.A. Salvatore and we have several D&D rulebooks but not much playing experence with them. we play with my little brother and cousin who are 7 and 12 so when we do play (once a week if were lucky) we dont get to play long( short attention spans). My dad DMs but he dosent have much time to plan(or dosent spare time to plan) often. We have been diccusing leting me DM because I have more time to do it. any advice or info on FR DMing/Playing would be apreciated.:weep: I need some help!
Blades_of_Fury
04-23-06, 03:30 PM Hello? :help: I need some advice :help:
Timgib5
04-23-06, 06:21 PM Get the FR rulebooks; and read them all, cover to cover.
Repeat above.
Now that you actually have an idea of FR lore and history, plan your first campaign.
I reccommend starting at 1st level, and something I used for a group of mine, was to begin with the party kidnapped. (Don't let them have starting gear)
The PCs awoke tied and gagged, lying in two covered wagons.(Seperate group, sending the half not active into another room)
Getting free, they find scattered remains strewn about the outside of the wagons, remains of horses and men.(Use lurid descriptions of piecemeal bodies)
At this point I gave them mere remnants of gear. (Made them scavenge)
Then I sprang on them the fact that they were apparently in the middle of a desert.(Review DMG rules on Starvation, Thirst, and Heat exposure)
(I used Anaurach, and made the captors Zhents)
East is the Dalelands, North is the city of Shade, West is Western Heartlands, and South is Cormyr: each fertile adventure ground.
Lord Karsus
04-24-06, 12:46 AM Here are the "Essentials":

Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting
Faiths & Pantheons
Player's Guide to Faerūn

Here are some sourcebooks that present some really great info, but aren't neccesary:

Lost Empires of Faerūn
Underdark
Lords of Darkness
Magic of Faerūn
Races of Faerūn
Monsters of Faerūn
Dragondm6
04-24-06, 06:25 PM I was forced to DM since our previous DM didn't have the time either. I read the DM's guide, learned how to handle the PC's, how to mold quests together, how to dish out magic items, how to make the game fun.

Here's my advice, start the game over, make them lvl 1 (its funner to level up, and you level up fast at low levels), read something in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book that you can base a quest off of. Or, in the Monsters of Faerun book, each monster has a vague description of what's happening to them in the world. Use those descriptions to build a quest around.

Keep the players interested in their surroundings, think of many hooks that might want the players to do the quest. You never want to lead the PCs by the nose, let them do what they want, but sometimes you have to motivate them to do what they want.

For me, right now my characters are starved for gold and they'll do anything for it, which gives me many opportunities to give them small jobs, etc.
Blades_of_Fury
04-24-06, 08:33 PM Thanks for the advice, I also wanted some advice on how to keep my brother and my cousin minds on the game. One of there favorite past times in-game is to play around with the miniatures.
Gnomosexual
04-24-06, 09:41 PM keep the minis behind your screen until combat, once combat ends take minis away
Blades_of_Fury
04-26-06, 03:27 AM Does anyone know where can I find some of FR history. I know whats in the FR campaign setting and the(posibly unreliable?) info from the Neverwinter Nights PC game, but from reading some of the other posts I feel out of the loop. Also thanks for the help already :D
Lord Karsus
04-27-06, 12:45 AM Does anyone know where can I find some of FR history. I know whats in the FR campaign setting and the(posibly unreliable?) info from the Neverwinter Nights PC game, but from reading some of the other posts I feel out of the loop. Also thanks for the help already :D

-Go to Candlekeep, and download 'A Grand History of the Realms'. I, and many others, highly recommend it.
Petrankov
04-27-06, 03:19 PM The best way to learn how to run a game is to run modules. They pretty much walk you through it. That is how I and every other DM I know started. After running for a while you can begin to use the books to craft your own campaign once you are comfortable with the rules and how to make an adventure flow properly.

Ask your Dad to pick up a few issues of Dungeon with low level adventures. For $10 you will have enough material for weeks if not months of game play.

Good luck.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Blades_of_Fury 04-23-06, 01:52 PM	Im new to playing the forgoten realms and have little playing experence Playing D&D 3.5. My dad played the AD&D version(I have played it some) and thats what got me started. I have read abour a dozen of Forgoten Realms based books, mostly by R.A. Salvatore and we have several D&D rulebooks but not much playing experence with them. we play with my little brother and cousin who are 7 and 12 so when we do play (once a week if were lucky) we dont get to play long( short attention spans). My dad DMs but he dosent have much time to plan(or dosent spare time to plan) often. We have been diccusing leting me DM because I have more time to do it. any advice or info on FR DMing/Playing would be apreciated.:weep: I need some help!
Blades_of_Fury 04-23-06, 03:30 PM	Hello? :help: I need some advice :help:
Timgib5 04-23-06, 06:21 PM	Get the FR rulebooks; and read them all, cover to cover. Repeat above. Now that you actually have an idea of FR lore and history, plan your first campaign. I reccommend starting at 1st level, and something I used for a group of mine, was to begin with the party kidnapped. (Don't let them have starting gear) The PCs awoke tied and gagged, lying in two covered wagons.(Seperate group, sending the half not active into another room) Getting free, they find scattered remains strewn about the outside of the wagons, remains of horses and men.(Use lurid descriptions of piecemeal bodies) At this point I gave them mere remnants of gear. (Made them scavenge) Then I sprang on them the fact that they were apparently in the middle of a desert.(Review DMG rules on Starvation, Thirst, and Heat exposure) (I used Anaurach, and made the captors Zhents) East is the Dalelands, North is the city of Shade, West is Western Heartlands, and South is Cormyr: each fertile adventure ground.
Lord Karsus 04-24-06, 12:46 AM	Here are the "Essentials": Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting Faiths & Pantheons Player's Guide to Faerūn Here are some sourcebooks that present some really great info, but aren't neccesary: Lost Empires of Faerūn Underdark Lords of Darkness Magic of Faerūn Races of Faerūn Monsters of Faerūn
Dragondm6 04-24-06, 06:25 PM	I was forced to DM since our previous DM didn't have the time either. I read the DM's guide, learned how to handle the PC's, how to mold quests together, how to dish out magic items, how to make the game fun. Here's my advice, start the game over, make them lvl 1 (its funner to level up, and you level up fast at low levels), read something in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting book that you can base a quest off of. Or, in the Monsters of Faerun book, each monster has a vague description of what's happening to them in the world. Use those descriptions to build a quest around. Keep the players interested in their surroundings, think of many hooks that might want the players to do the quest. You never want to lead the PCs by the nose, let them do what they want, but sometimes you have to motivate them to do what they want. For me, right now my characters are starved for gold and they'll do anything for it, which gives me many opportunities to give them small jobs, etc.
Blades_of_Fury 04-24-06, 08:33 PM	Thanks for the advice, I also wanted some advice on how to keep my brother and my cousin minds on the game. One of there favorite past times in-game is to play around with the miniatures.
Gnomosexual 04-24-06, 09:41 PM	keep the minis behind your screen until combat, once combat ends take minis away
Blades_of_Fury 04-26-06, 03:27 AM	Does anyone know where can I find some of FR history. I know whats in the FR campaign setting and the(posibly unreliable?) info from the Neverwinter Nights PC game, but from reading some of the other posts I feel out of the loop. Also thanks for the help already :D
Lord Karsus 04-27-06, 12:45 AM	Does anyone know where can I find some of FR history. I know whats in the FR campaign setting and the(posibly unreliable?) info from the Neverwinter Nights PC game, but from reading some of the other posts I feel out of the loop. Also thanks for the help already :D -Go to Candlekeep, and download 'A Grand History of the Realms'. I, and many others, highly recommend it.
Petrankov 04-27-06, 03:19 PM	The best way to learn how to run a game is to run modules. They pretty much walk you through it. That is how I and every other DM I know started. After running for a while you can begin to use the books to craft your own campaign once you are comfortable with the rules and how to make an adventure flow properly. Ask your Dad to pick up a few issues of Dungeon with low level adventures. For $10 you will have enough material for weeks if not months of game play. Good luck.