Starting out. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Starting out. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
InsaneDC
12-31-05, 01:46 AM Well my friends are wanting more out of the D&D games we play so i decided to try Forgotten Realms. Well I sort of get it but could use a little help. I am having some trouble understanding how to make a good adventure using the new system. (we've been playing with version 1 up until recently)
Board_Rider
01-01-06, 11:52 AM Do you have the "Core" rulebooks for 3.5? The Monster Manual, PHB and DMG are the very least you will need to play. Read the DMG and the PHB to your head hurts. Take 2 aspirin and get a nap. Wake up and read those two books again especially the PHB's "Combat" section.

Welcome to the Realms!
Gray Richardson
01-01-06, 12:52 PM My advice is to just take it a little bit at a time. There is way too much Realms lore to digest in a short amount of time. But you don't need to.

You might just start with the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It is a fantastic wealth of information about the world of the Realms. It has adventure hooks in it you can start with. Read the parts you like. Read it a little at a ttime in digestible chunks. Focus on a single geographic area at first. You don't need to know about the whole world to run some good adventures.

Just read up on a small area, and set an adventure there. Waterdeep is a great town to start in. If you want a more in-depth book on Waterdeep get City of Splendors and you will have everything you need to run great campaigns there for months.

You don't have to start there, it's just one good place, but you can start anywhere that intrigues you. Other good starting spots are the Silver Marches, or Unapproachable East or the Shining South.

Then after a few dungeon crawls or city adventures, you might want to add in some cool villains. Get a cool book like Lords of Darkness or Champions of Ruin for some nefarious bad guys and evil organizations you can throw in to your game. Then you can start weaving your plots and introducing recurring characters and themes.

I highly recommend Lords of Darkness, I keep going back to that book to mine all the great ideas out of it, and there are tons of playable mini adventures in it that you can use "as is" or can tweak with minor variations. It's also full of NPC's of all levels. Lords of Darkness is truly a wonderful book for a new DM to the Realms. IN fact I really miss the little NPC charts that Lords of Darkness had that statted out various bad guys at every level so you could use them on the fly. I really wish WotC would go back to that.

Anyway, I am probably neglecting all sorts of wonderful books like Serpent Kingdoms but I don't want to overwhelm you.

Just start small and take it at your own pace, and you can't go wrong. ;)
Lord Karsus
01-03-06, 12:17 AM -So, you chose the Forgotten Realms, eh? Good choice!

-Asides for reading the Core Books, Source Books and everything, here is a very good tip. Before you even begin to plan anything out, talk to the group you will be playing with. Try to get a gauge of what styles of play they like. Are they only Hack-and-Slash? Are they interested in political intrigue? Would they favor good or evil? Knowing the answers ahead of time will make things a lot easier to plan once you understand the rules and get everything ready to go. Good luck.
InsaneDC
01-03-06, 08:07 PM yea i know the PHB and DMG are tough reads i have done it once before. I am going through the Forgotten Realms Campain Setting. Yea tough reads...

Anyway I have all the core books and the FGCS book but do i need anything else to set a campain in Forgotten Realms or can I jsut start out now. I know I have yet to choose a certain area and probably will let my characters decide where they want to be put. But will have choices for them. And thanks for the idea about the bad guys book. Might pick that up soon to help out.
Kuje31
01-03-06, 08:15 PM If you are using 3.5e rules then you should grab a copy of the Player's Guide to Faerun. It updated a lot of material to 3.5e and it overwrites some of the mechanics from the FRCS, like the regional feats, etc.
ClobberinTime
01-05-06, 02:05 PM If I were a new DM I would worry alot less about what world I was putting my adventures in and would buy the Shackled City Adventure Book from Paizo which takes the PCs from level 1 to 20 in a series of modules that are all tied together. The book has all of the stats for the monsters that appear and the NPCs too, so it will cut down on your preparation time, and describes the tactics the bad guys will use too.

Also get a subscription to Dungeon magazine asap.
Lord Karsus
01-06-06, 04:40 AM If I were a new DM I would worry alot less about what world I was putting my adventures in and would buy the Shackled City Adventure Book from Paizo which takes the PCs from level 1 to 20 in a series of modules that are all tied together. The book has all of the stats for the monsters that appear and the NPCs too, so it will cut down on your preparation time, and describes the tactics the bad guys will use too.

Also get a subscription to Dungeon magazine asap.

-Doesn't a module that takes players from Level 1 to Level 20, and includes all personas, monsters, enemies and places take a little fun from the game? I mean, it is time consuming to think of all that yourself, but it is fun...
InsaneDC
01-06-06, 04:15 PM yea making adventures is the whole fun of being a DM. I do use ideas from other random adventures online but i don't really copy the adventure at all. I make it 100% my own.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
InsaneDC 12-31-05, 01:46 AM	Well my friends are wanting more out of the D&D games we play so i decided to try Forgotten Realms. Well I sort of get it but could use a little help. I am having some trouble understanding how to make a good adventure using the new system. (we've been playing with version 1 up until recently)
Board_Rider 01-01-06, 11:52 AM	Do you have the "Core" rulebooks for 3.5? The Monster Manual, PHB and DMG are the very least you will need to play. Read the DMG and the PHB to your head hurts. Take 2 aspirin and get a nap. Wake up and read those two books again especially the PHB's "Combat" section. Welcome to the Realms!
Gray Richardson 01-01-06, 12:52 PM	My advice is to just take it a little bit at a time. There is way too much Realms lore to digest in a short amount of time. But you don't need to. You might just start with the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting. It is a fantastic wealth of information about the world of the Realms. It has adventure hooks in it you can start with. Read the parts you like. Read it a little at a ttime in digestible chunks. Focus on a single geographic area at first. You don't need to know about the whole world to run some good adventures. Just read up on a small area, and set an adventure there. Waterdeep is a great town to start in. If you want a more in-depth book on Waterdeep get City of Splendors and you will have everything you need to run great campaigns there for months. You don't have to start there, it's just one good place, but you can start anywhere that intrigues you. Other good starting spots are the Silver Marches, or Unapproachable East or the Shining South. Then after a few dungeon crawls or city adventures, you might want to add in some cool villains. Get a cool book like Lords of Darkness or Champions of Ruin for some nefarious bad guys and evil organizations you can throw in to your game. Then you can start weaving your plots and introducing recurring characters and themes. I highly recommend Lords of Darkness, I keep going back to that book to mine all the great ideas out of it, and there are tons of playable mini adventures in it that you can use "as is" or can tweak with minor variations. It's also full of NPC's of all levels. Lords of Darkness is truly a wonderful book for a new DM to the Realms. IN fact I really miss the little NPC charts that Lords of Darkness had that statted out various bad guys at every level so you could use them on the fly. I really wish WotC would go back to that. Anyway, I am probably neglecting all sorts of wonderful books like Serpent Kingdoms but I don't want to overwhelm you. Just start small and take it at your own pace, and you can't go wrong. ;)
Lord Karsus 01-03-06, 12:17 AM	-So, you chose the Forgotten Realms, eh? Good choice! -Asides for reading the Core Books, Source Books and everything, here is a very good tip. Before you even begin to plan anything out, talk to the group you will be playing with. Try to get a gauge of what styles of play they like. Are they only Hack-and-Slash? Are they interested in political intrigue? Would they favor good or evil? Knowing the answers ahead of time will make things a lot easier to plan once you understand the rules and get everything ready to go. Good luck.
InsaneDC 01-03-06, 08:07 PM	yea i know the PHB and DMG are tough reads i have done it once before. I am going through the Forgotten Realms Campain Setting. Yea tough reads... Anyway I have all the core books and the FGCS book but do i need anything else to set a campain in Forgotten Realms or can I jsut start out now. I know I have yet to choose a certain area and probably will let my characters decide where they want to be put. But will have choices for them. And thanks for the idea about the bad guys book. Might pick that up soon to help out.
Kuje31 01-03-06, 08:15 PM	If you are using 3.5e rules then you should grab a copy of the Player's Guide to Faerun. It updated a lot of material to 3.5e and it overwrites some of the mechanics from the FRCS, like the regional feats, etc.
ClobberinTime 01-05-06, 02:05 PM	If I were a new DM I would worry alot less about what world I was putting my adventures in and would buy the Shackled City Adventure Book from Paizo which takes the PCs from level 1 to 20 in a series of modules that are all tied together. The book has all of the stats for the monsters that appear and the NPCs too, so it will cut down on your preparation time, and describes the tactics the bad guys will use too. Also get a subscription to Dungeon magazine asap.
Lord Karsus 01-06-06, 04:40 AM	If I were a new DM I would worry alot less about what world I was putting my adventures in and would buy the Shackled City Adventure Book from Paizo which takes the PCs from level 1 to 20 in a series of modules that are all tied together. The book has all of the stats for the monsters that appear and the NPCs too, so it will cut down on your preparation time, and describes the tactics the bad guys will use too. Also get a subscription to Dungeon magazine asap. -Doesn't a module that takes players from Level 1 to Level 20, and includes all personas, monsters, enemies and places take a little fun from the game? I mean, it is time consuming to think of all that yourself, but it is fun...
InsaneDC 01-06-06, 04:15 PM	yea making adventures is the whole fun of being a DM. I do use ideas from other random adventures online but i don't really copy the adventure at all. I make it 100% my own.