Post/Author/DateTime	Post
piromaniacson 03-08-07, 12:42 PM	I'm a new DM and I have only been a DM once before in a one shot game. I'm suppose to be the DM today and create a new world and story and I really don't have anything plan yet, and I'm afraid my players are going to blow through everything too fast. The players are starting off at level 3 the characters are probably (not 100% sure yet) Ranger1/Barbarian2, Fighter2/Rogue1, Sorceror, and Druid. The players are only limited to the basic PHB btw. Any storyline, encounters, plots, BBEG, town ideas are welcome. Btw we start at 4pm so please give me your ideas as fast as possible :D .
Doleth 03-08-07, 12:54 PM	Make them create their character very slowly, ask them question about their character and about what they want from the game. Use this as guideline so you'll be able to prepare something for the next game. If you fail to waste all the time you have to play, then go to the campaign builder forum and use the kingdom of Generica, so you'll have an excuse if your first adventure is pretty generic.
Mnky 03-08-07, 12:56 PM	Put them all in prison, make up the escape as you go along Seriously, there are loads of threads similar to this, try to find some of them
kharnethedestroyer 03-08-07, 12:59 PM	The best bet is to use the game ideas found in the d.m.g. thier generic but they work. If your starting as a new d.m. use what you know. Run a game based in the dark ages of europe. there is a wealth of info just from what you learn from history. Some of my best games have come from ideas spawned by watching the history channel.
CroBob 03-08-07, 01:02 PM	Well, for starters, you might want to plan things before the day they occur. There are randome dungeon generators out there, I'm sure you could think of a way to attract them to the dungeon and keep them in there for a while. The rest could be what you have planned by the time things begin.
illyrus 03-08-07, 01:17 PM	This has been overdone, but here is another idea that could help you thru the first session or two with minimal planning: They wake up on the beach, shipwrecked due to a naval battle. Unknown to them the "enemy" has setup a small scouting post with a tiny port about 20 miles down the coast, with a few small ships off to the side. Possible encounters: - The lightly defended scouting post EL: 5, 1 lvl 3 commander and 2 lvl 1 grunts, orcs or hobgoblins could work well here - The survivors of the ship they were fighting EL: 5, 4 lvl 1 grunts, the same race as the scouting post - Some creatures on the island, dinosaurs such as raptors or giant ants could work, I'd only have them encounter an EL: 2 to 5 group of them though - An underground group that could be neutral or friendly to the PCs, perhaps gnomes or dwarves that have lived on the island as exiles for several years Ideally they'll be able to get a small scouting ship from the port and could leave the island to end that segment of the adventure. They could possibly ally with the underground race, use bait to cause the monsters to attack their enemies, or whatever. I'd have the monsters come out to the beach soon after they woke up to avoid the "we take a week to collect wreckage and build a raft". As they progress thru the area they should be able to find clues about the scouting post, the other shipwrecked team following them, and the underground race. Just my 2 cents, good luck.
Nobody_ 03-08-07, 04:56 PM	Prepare next time. This may sound harsher than it needs to be, but being a DM is a commitment, and if you aren't willing to put even your spare moments towards thinking about what you could do for your first session, then you need to to use those moments thinking about going back to being a player. It doesn't exactly take huge amounts of creativity to have timmy get trapped down a well being attcked by wolves, ya know? Or have the adventurers get framed for a murder, or heck, have the local magistrate send them to find a dingus. Or better yet, you could start to look up ideas online BEFORE the day of. Or look up ideas out of the DMG. Or if that is really too hard, buy a published adventure. If you had asked even one day ahead of time, you wouldn't be reading this now. Now step up to the bar and act like a DM. -Nobody
Charlym_Zuardan 03-08-07, 05:02 PM	Prepare next time. This may sound harsher than it needs to be, but being a DM is a commitment, and if you aren't willing to put even your spare moments towards thinking about what you could do for your first session, then you need to to use those moments thinking about going back to being a player. It doesn't exactly take huge amounts of creativity to have timmy get trapped down a well being attcked by wolves, ya know? Or have the adventurers get framed for a murder, or heck, have the local magistrate send them to find a dingus. Or better yet, you could start to look up ideas online BEFORE the day of. Or look up ideas out of the DMG. Or if that is really too hard, buy a published adventure. If you had asked even one day ahead of time, you wouldn't be reading this now. Now step up to the bar and act like a DM. -Nobody I couldnt have said it better myself
High Octane 03-08-07, 05:19 PM	Panic. It helps.
ArchonJohn 03-08-07, 05:22 PM	I've run games where I've prepared for months in advance, games where I prepare weeks in advance, and games where I make it up on the fly. The most successful is the make it up on the fly game... but that's because it's my own little world, and I still kinda map out dungeons in my head before game, and have *shoved* roleplaying down the players throats. I'm planning on writing it up so other people can run it. The months in advance one was my first game, and it was awful. Best advice, prepare a bit ahead of time, a day or two. Don't worry too much, if it's your first time your game won't be a majestic work of art. MY POINTERS- 1) Kill Characters. Whether for stupid mistakes or for noble intentions. Too many games have chars live through die fudging, it's a game firstly, and secondly it's supposed to be dangerous, that adds to the challange factor, making it more fun. (Don't do this often at levels 1-2, but third level opens the slaughter doors!) XD 2) Give players encounters they CAN'T win. Allow them to escape, but give them a choice at least. EX - You'll need a boat. You can get loaned cash to get one, you can steal one, or you can overtake a pirate ship to get it. (Pirates is a bad idea...) But let them choose. OR, they open a door and see hordes of loot, and a Y-A Red Dragon. They *might* win, but it's unlikely. Who knows, they may surprise you and get the glory and cash they deserve for such a win. 3) ROLEPLAY!!! Even if it means goofy voices and less than ideal situations. Make them make choices they're chars would. 4) SCREW YOUR PARTY! Break their magic items. Give them cursed gear, etc. This stuff happens to everyone. Just because you're a PC doesn't mean you are immune to suck. 5) PLOT - Have someone fight an unwinable (barely) battle and die, only to wake up from their nightmare. Give great room descriptions, absorb your players into the game. And remember this takes practice. Your games will suck, and suck less, and suck less... then they'll get good. And don't worry about dumb mistakes or plot holes, they happen to everyone. The words "Stupid DM inconsistency" followed by 'what eally happened' can fix a lot of stuff, it may disrupt play, but life continues.
Kukamunga 03-08-07, 06:25 PM	Unless you are an experianced DM.. dont plan more than a few days in advance.. I like DMing so im always building stuff for my world.. but being as that i have DMed several dozen campains.. i know what stuff will stick and what stuff will go out the window on a PC whim.. dont plan the whim stuff until the day before.. and even then try to improv when you can on the other side of the fence.. dont wait untill the last minute.. spend even an hour planning.. the DMG2 actually has some really good information on how to spend your time depending on how much of it you have i suggest the read.. it is fairly benificial if you are having time management issues
Cthulhu-LQ 03-09-07, 12:21 AM	You can also improvise a dungeon crawl. There are no reason why, but the PCs are there in a dungeon killing creatures and taing their stuff. This is the origin of the hobby so it can't be that bad! And before next game, you can think of a reason why they were there and what happens next
Kukamunga 03-09-07, 01:10 AM	Actually.. every single Elder Scrolls game has started with memoryless people in some form of a dungen and they navigate their way out... the Dungen crawl idea is as good as any
mlasater 03-09-07, 04:18 AM	Start with 1st level characters. Lower level, fewer options & abilities, easier to run for & gain experience.
fiendlurking 03-09-07, 08:21 AM	Really if your thinking you might be unprepared...odds are you are!...the emphasis of being the DM is to handle the story and to maintain the rules of the game...and if you believe you are gonna have trouble with either of those, then DMing isnt for you (atleast at this point)...and alot of games ive seen play out anytime the DM wasnt completley sure of his actions, the players ended up running all over him and the game went to hell...not much fun for anybody when that happens and the end result is the players may not want to play your game again?...anyways if you are unsure of being ready, postpone the game untill you are ready and go from there!
sciguy98 03-09-07, 09:05 AM	this is why I keep every map I've ever drawn, Every NPC I've ever rolled up, and every monster I'ver ever advanced in a folder with my DM kit (yes, I call it a kit, lol) but that's a little ahead of where you are now ^^;; My first time DMing was a D&D game day. I was running the advanced campaign (the Forgotten Forge?) and ended up with 12 PCs because one of the other DMs was a no-show. That was rough, I'll tell you. I quickly doubled all of the monsters in the encounters and somehow I made it challenging enough for the new players. compared to that first experience, my second crack at DMing was a collosal failure. I overplanned. I had grand ideals about style and flavor and the PCs simply didn't buy it. The primary thing that I did wrong at first was try to develop a plot. I'm a decent author (or so I'm told) but while there can be a plot in a game, it isn't a story. You can't plan for PC actions, especially with new characters that don't have all of their quirks yet. I've been playing with my group of friends for about 4 years, two of which I only DMed, and you know what? They still surprise me. Just two weeks ago I had a "Wait... you do what?!" moment, lol. Point is, come up with a few hooks (there's a random hook table in the DMG), think up a few NPCs, and generally let the players dictate where the game goes. Make up interesting things on the fly and write them down. If the PCs found a blue rose on a corpse and five levels later deal with a really sly-sounding wizard (who likes botany) they suddenly think "WOW! You planned this meeting 20 sessions ago?! That AMAZING!!" and it'll earn you a reputation as a thoughtful DM who plans elaborate plot lines... even though you're just winging everything ^_^
Undrhil 03-09-07, 09:22 AM	Actually.. every single Elder Scrolls game has started with memoryless people in some form of a dungen and they navigate their way out... the Dungen crawl idea is as good as any I beg to differ. Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall did not start out with your character as a memoryless person. In fact, that game had your (extremely low-level and ill-experienced) character as the champion for a high-ranking government official. But this is off-topic talk. On topic: As your players are making their characters, do *not* allow them to play *evil*. At least, not during this first game. It's hard enough to make stuff up on the fly, but to try to make stuff up to suit an evil character, well, that's just going to drive your players away. Evil characters don't do charity work. They oftentimes won't go to the rescue of the damsel in distress, no matter how much reward is offered. Sometimes, they just want to scout out the various buildings in town in case they get bored that night and decide to do some impromptu shopping with their trusty lockpicks in tow. Just start with the dungeon-delve as was mentioned before. Flesh out the details as you go. You can be thinking about a storyline while the players are trying to get out.