Brand new to D&D and need some help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Brand new to D&D and need some help [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
maraa08
04-13-08, 04:40 PM Hi all, i am brand new to D&D and need some help DMing. I am half way through my first run and it is very boring so far. the players are running through a dungeon and were attacked by some rats. Here is basically what happened.
PC1: I attack a rat with my hailberd
DM: OK roll
PC1: I rolled a 15
DM: You cut through the rats skull and it dies
PC1: ok kool

The whole thing went like that. It just wasnt exciting. When my players wanted to go across the room to another room they say "i cross the room into the other room" which isnt very exciting either.

I have never played before and it has always sounded fun but so far, its fun but not exciting. Any help to make it way more exciting and to draw the players in? Or any help in general to being a great DM?
~thank you
Senevri
04-13-08, 04:57 PM Close your eyes.
Imagine the area players are in.
What do you see?
Describe it.

That's what I do.
In addition, it's important to mention the things that are IMPORTANT to players.

Heh, this reminds me. In ToB we had a halfling rogue-wizard, and I described a random encounter ( some orcs )

"Ahead of you, on the road, you see a chest--"
At this point, the player excitedly went "I go and open it and grab what's inside!"
"--Being carried by four muscular rather surprised orcs"
"...Oops."

If a player interrupts you, a lot of the time you'll need to explain the situation in further detail. Unless it's funny.

One of my players dreamed of a very big kinda orangeish turtle-like thing destroying a city, a while back. He failed his knowledge checks. :D

As for combat, you can get many cues from die rolls.

Sure, someone misses someone, but by how much.
Someone's blow is stopped by AC - what type, exactly.
Someone goes down - are they still alive, but in negatives or dead? How dead?

As for excitement, add environmental effects - puddles, higher and lower ground, slippery areas, vines etc.
TheFlyingAsian
04-13-08, 05:06 PM I know exactly what you mean.

There are two (probably more) ways to deal with this:

1) Make it more tactical. Have certain terrain, intelligent enemies that use the terrain, and stuff like that. that way, the PC's will be forced to think about the terrain and surroundings and use them, and that's usually more fun.

...or, if you don't like combat at all...

2) Get rid of combat (or just do less of it)(or just add more storyline). Do a lot of roleplaying and stuf; have a huge, in-depth storylines with NPC's and stuff. The combat will mean a lot more to the PC's if they're fighting a deluded druid that tried to wipe out a town because he thought the mayor sent the guards into the forest to wipe out the druids when actually the "guard" was a mecenary band hired by a heresy-branch of a demon-worshiping cult that's trying to both corrupt everyone in the city with a magical disease and also destroy the origional demon cult that it came from (which the druid had some obscure connection with), who's trying to infiltreate the heresy-branch cult, and thus hired the PC's to infiltrate it, but didn't tell the PC's what the true nature of their employer's are, and plan on killing the PC's once the PC's destroy the heresy-branch cult. Or something like that.

Edit of DOOM: Well, maybe not that confusing (yet). But you get my point.
touchdown
04-13-08, 05:10 PM Hi all, i am brand new to D&D and need some help DMing. I am half way through my first run and it is very boring so far. the players are running through a dungeon and were attacked by some rats. Here is basically what happened.
PC1: I attack a rat with my hailberd
DM: OK roll
PC1: I rolled a 15
DM: You cut through the rats skull and it dies
PC1: ok kool

The whole thing went like that. It just wasnt exciting. When my players wanted to go across the room to another room they say "i cross the room into the other room" which isnt very exciting either.

I have never played before and it has always sounded fun but so far, its fun but not exciting. Any help to make it way more exciting and to draw the players in? Or any help in general to being a great DM?
~thank you

It takes much work to be a good DM, but if you stick to it, you'll get better over time!

You might start with some pre-made adventures (you can buy official ones in game stores or download player-made ones online), because they usually tell you exactly what you need to do as a DM, including what to read aloud to your players and how the monsters work. Make sure to read the adventure thoroughly beforehand, so you don't have to look everything up.

If you have a way with words and a bright imagination, you can also write your own adventures, but that's time-consuming (I like writing my own; it's empowering!).

Be descriptive. The monster manuals usually give you an idea of what the monster looks like. Instead of saying, "You see a huge rat in the corner", you can use the Monster Manual description: "This enormous rat looks bigger and more vicious than most dogs. It has coarse, spiky fur, malevolent eyes, and a long, naked tail." You can add something else, such as: "It hisses at you, revealing blood-crusted teeth and bounds towards your party..."

When making a room, add details to it so that it isn't just an empty, dusty room with a monster. The DMG (page 66) has a table that lists 100 different furnishings for you, in case you have writer's block.

Players want to feel like they're in the action. They want to see the dungeon in their minds. They want to be nervous, courageous, bloodthirsty, excited, etc.! That's why you're playing D&D instead of video games.

That all said, if all of you are new to this, I suggest getting modules written by others until you get the feel for it.

Good luck!
Etarnon
04-15-08, 01:36 AM Definitely you need more description.

The way you are playing it, it's like a big square with minis, and that's all there is.

Describe the rocky walls, the water dripping down, the rank smell of mildew, the flickering light from the torches.

The whole purpose of the game is not to roll dice, score a crit, and say, "Oh, kool."

The purpose of it is to imagine yourself as a whole different person, living a life of adventure, rescuing the helpless, slaying evil, finding glittering diamonds as big as your fist, and losing it to a rapacious dragon.

Expressly NOT the kind of life you are most likely living in a 9 to 5 job, or as a student in school, doing paperwork for hours at a time.

Make it exciting, make it epic.

The sword fight atop the chasm with a 200 foot drop, while the wind roars in your ears.

The run for your life across a swaying rope bridge above a freezing cold underground raging river, while a swarm of 20 giant rats chases you.

The deadly grinding noise of a rusted trap mechanism, rapidly springing shut, that if it closes, will likely crush and arm or a leg.

Describe the "Halberd thrust, that pierces the rat, making dark red blood spray in all directions as it squeals, dying. Now you are covered in smelly rat blood, which has stained your hands, your clothes."

If the pc doesn't wash it off, then more things smell the blood, and come after him. If he does, he's half naked by a stream, underground, when perhaps something attacks,or he falls in, or.. something equally dramatic, suitable for a TV show or movie scene.

Figure out what's likely to happen next, and describe All of it.

Good luck.

Let us know how it goes.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
maraa08 04-13-08, 04:40 PM	Hi all, i am brand new to D&D and need some help DMing. I am half way through my first run and it is very boring so far. the players are running through a dungeon and were attacked by some rats. Here is basically what happened. PC1: I attack a rat with my hailberd DM: OK roll PC1: I rolled a 15 DM: You cut through the rats skull and it dies PC1: ok kool The whole thing went like that. It just wasnt exciting. When my players wanted to go across the room to another room they say "i cross the room into the other room" which isnt very exciting either. I have never played before and it has always sounded fun but so far, its fun but not exciting. Any help to make it way more exciting and to draw the players in? Or any help in general to being a great DM? ~thank you
Senevri 04-13-08, 04:57 PM	Close your eyes. Imagine the area players are in. What do you see? Describe it. That's what I do. In addition, it's important to mention the things that are IMPORTANT to players. Heh, this reminds me. In ToB we had a halfling rogue-wizard, and I described a random encounter ( some orcs ) "Ahead of you, on the road, you see a chest--" At this point, the player excitedly went "I go and open it and grab what's inside!" "--Being carried by four muscular rather surprised orcs" "...Oops." If a player interrupts you, a lot of the time you'll need to explain the situation in further detail. Unless it's funny. One of my players dreamed of a very big kinda orangeish turtle-like thing destroying a city, a while back. He failed his knowledge checks. :D As for combat, you can get many cues from die rolls. Sure, someone misses someone, but by how much. Someone's blow is stopped by AC - what type, exactly. Someone goes down - are they still alive, but in negatives or dead? How dead? As for excitement, add environmental effects - puddles, higher and lower ground, slippery areas, vines etc.
TheFlyingAsian 04-13-08, 05:06 PM	I know exactly what you mean. There are two (probably more) ways to deal with this: 1) Make it more tactical. Have certain terrain, intelligent enemies that use the terrain, and stuff like that. that way, the PC's will be forced to think about the terrain and surroundings and use them, and that's usually more fun. ...or, if you don't like combat at all... 2) Get rid of combat (or just do less of it)(or just add more storyline). Do a lot of roleplaying and stuf; have a huge, in-depth storylines with NPC's and stuff. The combat will mean a lot more to the PC's if they're fighting a deluded druid that tried to wipe out a town because he thought the mayor sent the guards into the forest to wipe out the druids when actually the "guard" was a mecenary band hired by a heresy-branch of a demon-worshiping cult that's trying to both corrupt everyone in the city with a magical disease and also destroy the origional demon cult that it came from (which the druid had some obscure connection with), who's trying to infiltreate the heresy-branch cult, and thus hired the PC's to infiltrate it, but didn't tell the PC's what the true nature of their employer's are, and plan on killing the PC's once the PC's destroy the heresy-branch cult. Or something like that. Edit of DOOM: Well, maybe not that confusing (yet). But you get my point.
touchdown 04-13-08, 05:10 PM	Hi all, i am brand new to D&D and need some help DMing. I am half way through my first run and it is very boring so far. the players are running through a dungeon and were attacked by some rats. Here is basically what happened. PC1: I attack a rat with my hailberd DM: OK roll PC1: I rolled a 15 DM: You cut through the rats skull and it dies PC1: ok kool The whole thing went like that. It just wasnt exciting. When my players wanted to go across the room to another room they say "i cross the room into the other room" which isnt very exciting either. I have never played before and it has always sounded fun but so far, its fun but not exciting. Any help to make it way more exciting and to draw the players in? Or any help in general to being a great DM? ~thank you It takes much work to be a good DM, but if you stick to it, you'll get better over time! You might start with some pre-made adventures (you can buy official ones in game stores or download player-made ones online), because they usually tell you exactly what you need to do as a DM, including what to read aloud to your players and how the monsters work. Make sure to read the adventure thoroughly beforehand, so you don't have to look everything up. If you have a way with words and a bright imagination, you can also write your own adventures, but that's time-consuming (I like writing my own; it's empowering!). Be descriptive. The monster manuals usually give you an idea of what the monster looks like. Instead of saying, "You see a huge rat in the corner", you can use the Monster Manual description: "This enormous rat looks bigger and more vicious than most dogs. It has coarse, spiky fur, malevolent eyes, and a long, naked tail." You can add something else, such as: "It hisses at you, revealing blood-crusted teeth and bounds towards your party..." When making a room, add details to it so that it isn't just an empty, dusty room with a monster. The DMG (page 66) has a table that lists 100 different furnishings for you, in case you have writer's block. Players want to feel like they're in the action. They want to see the dungeon in their minds. They want to be nervous, courageous, bloodthirsty, excited, etc.! That's why you're playing D&D instead of video games. That all said, if all of you are new to this, I suggest getting modules written by others until you get the feel for it. Good luck!
Etarnon 04-15-08, 01:36 AM	Definitely you need more description. The way you are playing it, it's like a big square with minis, and that's all there is. Describe the rocky walls, the water dripping down, the rank smell of mildew, the flickering light from the torches. The whole purpose of the game is not to roll dice, score a crit, and say, "Oh, kool." The purpose of it is to imagine yourself as a whole different person, living a life of adventure, rescuing the helpless, slaying evil, finding glittering diamonds as big as your fist, and losing it to a rapacious dragon. Expressly NOT the kind of life you are most likely living in a 9 to 5 job, or as a student in school, doing paperwork for hours at a time. Make it exciting, make it epic. The sword fight atop the chasm with a 200 foot drop, while the wind roars in your ears. The run for your life across a swaying rope bridge above a freezing cold underground raging river, while a swarm of 20 giant rats chases you. The deadly grinding noise of a rusted trap mechanism, rapidly springing shut, that if it closes, will likely crush and arm or a leg. Describe the "Halberd thrust, that pierces the rat, making dark red blood spray in all directions as it squeals, dying. Now you are covered in smelly rat blood, which has stained your hands, your clothes." If the pc doesn't wash it off, then more things smell the blood, and come after him. If he does, he's half naked by a stream, underground, when perhaps something attacks,or he falls in, or.. something equally dramatic, suitable for a TV show or movie scene. Figure out what's likely to happen next, and describe All of it. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.