Post/Author/DateTime	Post
mauduin 07-15-05, 11:11 AM	I am very new to the D&D game and I have a few questions? What exactly do I need to start a campaign? What can people recommend to use instead of miniatures? (don't have alot of money) What tips do people have for a beginning D&D player?
COPUS Chief 07-15-05, 11:20 AM	1) Dungeon Masters Guide, Players Handbook, Monster Manual are all treated as core and are all thats technically neccesary to start up a campaign. Alot of DMs though buy other D&D thing if their campaign has a particular setting, such as Sandstorm if their world is an endless desert, etc. Also, it's advised that players have their own Players Handbook as well to help speed things along. 2) Pretty much anything that is not more than inch across. You can use quarters, pogs, squares of paper. You can scale up the grid and use action figures, apparently, but I have never deduced how to do this particular maneuver. 3) Just because they say the DM is the Ref doesn't mean everything he says is the be all-end all. Dont bog the game down in arguments over a ruling, but remember you still have a chance to talk to him (Ive known many games that just quit because DMs exercise their position too freely.) Oh, and don't wake a sleeping dragon. You are crunchy and would taste well with ketchup. That is all.
Talanall 07-15-05, 11:43 AM	I am very new to the D&D game and I have a few questions? What exactly do I need to start a campaign? What can people recommend to use instead of miniatures? (don't have alot of money) What tips do people have for a beginning D&D player? 1) You need the Player's Handbook, the Dungeon Master's Guide, and the Monster Manual to start as a Dungeon Master. If you just want to play, then the Player's Handbook is all you REALLY need, but the Monster Manual is useful if you play a character that uses summon monster spells. You also need a set of dice, a pen, and a notebook. 2) Pennies work pretty well. You can use a marker to add numbers or letters to them when there are lots of things on the board. 3) Learn the rules: Read the ENTIRE Player's Handbook at least once. After that, decide what class and race you want to play, and read both of those sections again. Take notes. If you decide to play something that casts spells, make sure that you re-read the section on magic, and especially make sure that you read and understand every single spell you have access to. If need be, get some sticky notes and use them to bookmark those spells so you can reference them quickly in-game if you forget what they do. If you are the DM, you should also read the ENTIRE Dungeon Master's Guide at least three times. The same goes for the Monster Manual and the Player's Handbook. Whether you are the player or the DM, the index is your friend. Prepare for session: As a player, you should always have two up-to-date copies of your character sheet, showing what gear you have, your feats (and what level/class you got them in), your skill totals (broken down by class ranks, cross-class ranks, ability score modifiers, and anything else, so that you know where the total came from), and a list of all spells you know/have prepared as a matter of routine. Leave one of these copies with your DM. As a DM, you should insist that you be provided with an up-to-date character sheet at all times for each player. Study these character sheets, so that you know what the players are capable of doing, and hence how to challenge them. I try to spend an hour each day preparing notes for my weekly gaming session; this prevents me from getting caught the night before with no material to use, and it also tends to help me get ahead so that I have several sessions' worth of material planned at any given time. One of the benefits of this kind of preparation is that by preparing so far in advance, you can develop several different plot hooks and adventure opportunities, allowing you to give your players a bit of choice in what happens in the game. This is especially useful as you're starting a new campaign, since the opening of a new game can be kind of bumpy. After every session, whether you are a player or a DM, take about 10-15 minutes to write a short synopsis of what happened, so you don't forget. Especially, make a note of the name and characteristics of any important characters you met or used. This logbook can save you a lot of grief, if your campaign is interrupted by other business for a week or three.
Tusz 07-15-05, 12:44 PM	If you don't want to spend money on miniatures, but you want to have some indicator of what each monster is, you can use counters. Basically little slips of paper with pictures on them that fit perfectly in the squares. You can find premade ones online (like here (http://dndcounters.tripod.com/)).
shadowfox628 07-15-05, 01:33 PM	1) You need a Dungeon Master's Guide, Player's Handbook, and (optional, in my opinion, but highly recommended) a Monster Manual. You need to know all rules, and.... well, use the monsters they give you. 2) Minitures aren't neccissary. You can make your own maps on graph paper, which is what I do. Then, you put numbers, dots, letters, etc. to represent the people playing and the monsters. 3) Well, here are my tips: 1. Half the game is manipuilating the DM. 2. The other half is letting the DM manipulate you. 3. Don't buy over-powered weapons, or, if you're the DM, give them out. They ruin a campain greatly. 4. Buy at least 2 sets of dice. Some people (in my ecxperience) don't buy them, "forget" them, really do forget them, or are to lazy to bring/buy them. 5. Listen to you're DM if you're a PC, and listen to the PC's if you're a DM. Take neither seriously. 6. Listen to what NPC's say. They usually hold valuble information.... Or something else. 7. Don't jump to conclusions. Even if you were right, you wouldn't know if you hadn't done what you were supposed to do.
NeoCount 07-15-05, 05:51 PM	I am very new to the D&D game and I have a few questions? What exactly do I need to start a campaign? What can people recommend to use instead of miniatures? (don't have alot of money) What tips do people have for a beginning D&D player? Obviously you need the three core books to get you ball off the ground ( DMG, Players Hand Book, Monster Manual.) but once you do that It all comes down to what the Players want to do and play as characters. once you find out about that you as the dm can set them up accordingly, I mean if you have a whole goup of rouge characters for example having a setting in the wood would not get you much done. Encourage Variety!!!, I usually require my players all to play seperate Classes so that each person can have there moment to shine and Glower with their strength and weaknesses. As for the Minitures, I am old school where it was up the the DM (Game Master, GM) to paint the picture of the action to the players in such a way where they could use the thing between there ears to see where everything is going on...... Not to mention, it makes the world Come alive, I personally think it is distracting playing on a miniture board all the time the players tend to study the board so intently they miss the flavor the dm is trying to describe. I usually only Use Minatures (or Counters) if there is a disagreement on placing for combat/spell scenario mop ups. Other than that it is all imagination.
Ayers 07-15-05, 06:14 PM	2) Well, my group is really low-budget, so we've always used graph paper and pins. Different coloured pins are different things. It's not too bad, but the only problem we've encountered is for creatures that aren't of medium size. But, for those, we often use other things, mostly whatever we can get a hold of.
Tedly224 07-15-05, 06:40 PM	Hey there. Some of the others gave you some good advice, but I thought I'd toss in my 2 coppers in answering your questions as there's some options not hit upon. For your first question, you will need a collection of dice and the game rules. For dice I'd recommend getting two of each of the 4, 8, 12, and 20 sided dice, as well as getting 4 of the ten sided dice and scavenge for about 6 of the six sided dice. You can also skip having to buy dice if you are planning to run the game Online. I'll get to that in a bit. For the game rules I'd strongly suggest plunking down the money to purchase the Player's handbook. If you're looking to save cash though, you can skip much of the rest and just download the SRD document for all of the other 3.5 rules. The link for this is here - http://www.wizards.com/?x=d20/article/srd35 The reason I say you can skip the rest but should really own the Player's Handbook is simple. Having a hardcopy of the exact same rules that the players will be referencing all the time, especially for spell descriptions will save a whole bunch of time. The information in the Dungeon Master's guide and Monster Manual, on the other hand, really just needs to be referenced for designing adventures, looking through magic items and other awards, looking up traps, and of course checking out monsters you'd like to use. Having the SRD is fine for this. Very rarely would you ever have to do "on the spot" references for this stuff during play. You have the chance to include in your initial Adventure notes what you needed from it. Now for your second question I'd have to ask if you're going to play the game with your friends either Online or in person, over a table top. If it's going to be Online I'd suggest using one of the number of computer programs floating around out there to help run the game in a chat room. Again, if you're looking to save on cost I'd recommend OpenRPG, as it has the chat room function, text log, die rolling and customizable macros, and a battle map function that handles movable miniatures, drawing, hexes, and of course the ability to save and load maps. The link for that is here - You'll want to take a look at the downloads and Installation instructions. http://www.openrpg.com/ If you are going to play the game on a table top instead, you WILL need a gaming surface for representing battles. I'd suggest getting a Battlemat with some overhead projection pens as a bare bones means of handling combats, or something similar. Hobby stores and the like will have them or can order them, or you can get them online. For miniatures I'd recommend using pennies and nickles and for extra added fun, M&M candies and let the players eat what they kill. Or something. As for tips for the beginner, here's a short list of advice. 1) D&D mostly centers around 4 types of classes - warriors, priests, cloth wearing arcane spell casters, and thieves and other experts. Most every base class relates to those four main kinds of professions. Advise your players to work with you a little in making a balanced party. This would be something like, say, one of each of those classes, and perhaps one or more extra warriors or priests if you have more than 4 players. You can let them know that in a later campaign you can be more flexible if they all want to make things that don't mesh together as smoothly, but for this first campaign, they should make the balanced group. 2) Have all of your players sit down and read and know what their classes can do. Likewise, you will have to do the same, especially for spells and in how combat works and what things they can do in regards to their gear and feats. Don't be afraid to run through some sample combats with them, with everyone having their books out and working through the rules and taking your time to get things straight. 3) The detail of the campaign is crucial. You are GOING to have to sit down and do some work, and it won't be a small amount of it. You will have to write up a good amount of notes involving the game setting that the players will find themselves starting off in. Things like how Magic and Religion flavors every day life and the local goverment will have to be known and described, along with current and past events for the area the group will be from. I'll leave off here... You get the idea. Do not be afraid to get some help with this from your players. Ask THEM what kinds of settings or such from movies or books that they have been able to see or read that they enjoyed, and why. Try to work some elements in or focus on some details that will get their attention. 4) The last piece of advice I have for you as this reply has gone on long enough is to remain patient, don't let your players walk over you but at the same time, cater to their needs on the kinds of adventures that would appeal to them. A lot of players will become gear or power hungry and may not seem to have much fun if they are not getting stronger and tougher with each passing hour of the game. Try not to be stingy, but try also to get the players involved with quests and the meat of the story of an adventure, and let the rewards from it be the 'dessert' of the game, or as plot hooks for the deeper story of the campaign you're running. And as a really last piece of advice (and I mean it!) keep up your communication with players and be honest in taking criticism from them involving the first few games, but don't let them say "it sucked" or "stuff went wrong" without them explaining their feelings, and giving suggestions as to what could be improved. Being a DM is a hard job sometimes, but that doesn't mean you have to do all the work! Make the players give you FEEDBACK, and lean on them for it! Good luck.
SwitchUK 07-15-05, 07:21 PM	In response to part three of your question, I have only this to say: memorise rule 0 (helpfully printed below in my sig.). Also remember rule 71, which runs - Rule 0 always applies, even when the DM is, in fact, wrong. Rule 12: "Don't let your players push you around" is also helpful. What this means is that one of the most important skills I think a DM should learn is how to wing it without having to scuffle around in the books for half an hour. Memorise the rules, and if something comes up that you don't know how to fix, then only check the book if you've got the relevant page marked and can get there inside 20 seconds. Otherwise, improvise. If your players try to tell you that it works a different way, then listen to them, but don't get drawn into an argument, and if in doubt, go ahead with your improvised version, in other words, all ahead full and damn the torpedoes. The other thing is to think of yourself as being more like the conductor of an orchestra than anything else - you don't play an instrument, but you're vital nonetheless, as it is only through your input and effort that the symphony gets played at all. You keep things moving, guide the players through the story, and serve as adjudicator, rulebook and storyteller all in one go.
Nom 07-17-05, 11:34 PM	Start small, grow big. You don't need to have read everything before starting play, although it helps. Your best bet is to get an existing starter module (eg Sunless Citadel), and play through that. However, before getting anywhere near play, the DM should read the module and read up in the rulebooks the rules for things which happen. If it's too much to take in, just read the parts of the module which the PCs are likely to encounter and then read more after the first session. As to materials: Need: DM, players, Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide, Monster Manual, dice (several sets), pencils, paper, somewhere to play. Strongly recommended: access to printer/photocopier (before session), square grid (back of DMG), some form of markers (minis, lego men, spare dice, coins, paper counters), published adventure or two (you can find free ones on the Wizard's web site), food & drink. Idea: laminate the grid in the back of the DMG and use eraseable markers. Luxuries: Multiple Player's Handbooks, quality minis, silver table service for snacks, ...
Mysthack 07-17-05, 11:42 PM	2) Lego's if you got 'em. You can make them look even more like the PC's than ordering miniatures.