Post/Author/DateTime	Post
CurtisSpiers 01-13-07, 01:05 AM	Heh umm, I don't know if anybody can help me. Ok, me and my friends like to play D&D but... well we don't have anybody that can DM very well. I have the Core Rulebooks, also the Forgotten Realms campaign setting and the Mystries of Moonsea book but I just can't get the DMing down. I just can't bring the game to life so to say. I was thinking about buying to Dungeon Master for Dummies book but I wanted to see if anybody could help me out first or tell me wether or not I should buy it. Thanks! :D
kelvinaw273 01-13-07, 01:29 AM	It is a Black Art and no mistake ... you learn by trial and error. Some pointers: 1) paint the scene - describe what is going on. Tell it as vividly as you can, don't just recite from a script. 2) Use common sense - don't get pedantic just because you can't figure any other way of challenging the players. 3) Think on your feet - players will ALWAYS throw something at you that you hadn't thought of, or not do what seems to you to be glaringly obvious. 4) When you make a ruling, stick with it. Don't spend half of the session arguing. 5) Never be afraid to admit you got it wrong, if you think you did. 6) Know the rules. 7) Allow no favourtism. Read. Read as much fantasy genre as you can get your hands on. It will give you ideas, and it will enrich your ability to tell a story.
TheChilliGod 01-13-07, 01:31 AM	There's a Dummies book for DM's? I know of the one just for D&D in general, but ain't heard of one specifically for the DM...
Mitchell 01-13-07, 03:20 AM	Make the call. Even if you are wrong, it is important to keep the game moving. In the event that you are uncertain about the call to make, if making it one way causes great death and hardship, while calling it the other way means the PCs odds of surviving increase, then err on the side of the PCs. Whenever you make a call, jot it down and read up on the pertinent rules later. If you made a mistake, then you can tell your players about the mistake and they will know not to count on that ruling in the future (that is to say, learn from your mistakes).
KurenaiYami 01-13-07, 04:03 AM	There's a Dummies book for DM's? I know of the one just for D&D in general, but ain't heard of one specifically for the DM... Yeah, there are two of them that I am aware of. Dungeon Mastering for Dummies and Dungeons & Dragons for Dummies. Nobody seems to buy the copies from my LGS, so those two copies just kinda sit there...
Azezel 01-13-07, 04:15 AM	Before you buy an insulting little yellow book, try running a game. Make it clear before-hand that it will be imperfect - you are playing with your friends, they will foregive you. You will become better with time. As for running a game: When you steal from one source it is plagarism, when you steal from many it is research. Re-read kelvinaw273 and live by them, they are golden rules. Pick up the DMG II - some people love it, some hate it, but all agree that it is a great book for a new DM.
Free1983 01-13-07, 07:14 AM	I don't know if you'll be able to do this, but the best way to learn DMing is by observing (or playing with) a good DM. If you happen to have a good DM in town but you're not able to play with him (because of the size of the group,...), you might want to ask him if you could sit at his/her side for a session. I picked up most of my skills from my DM's (it helps to have different ones) by just playing with them. But of course, you need an experienced DM to begin with and perhaps that's just what you are lacking. Cheers
Rogue Elendae 01-13-07, 08:49 AM	Okay, I have one question first. Are you looking for suggestions on how to flesh out the game, or are you having problems with the rules and enforcing them? It seems that there's been quite a few people who have taken it to mean the latter, but it sounds more like the former is your reason for posting. Am I right? Either way, I'll address both, though I'm not really versed in rules difficulties. As far as rules enforcement goes, I advise following the suggestions previous posters made. Also, keep your rulebooks (I'm assuming you meant you have the basic 3: PHB, DMG, and MM, along with the FR books?) close by and handy to ensure that you can prove your point. As to the other problem, if that's more your concern, it's all about imagination. Can you envision the place you want your players to be, whether it's a damp dungeon room or a noble's manor house? Then describe what you think is most important and attention-catching about it, in a way that you think it'll make the players see it. Tell them about the waft of damp, earthy air that wafts from down the corridor as they descend into the dungeon, or the elaborate chandelier that hangs above the vast oak table in the manor's dining hall. Mention that their torch flickers in the chill wind that flows from the mouth of the mountain cave, as the darkness seems to wrap around them like a shroud. Give them something to wrap more than one of their senses around, but not enough to be overly detailed and lose their focus. Don't feel you have to lay out every detail of a room right down to the floor pattern, but mention some things that might catch the casual observer's notice, or that stands out to you. If the floor pattern's important (like a puzzle or trap), then do something else to draw their attention to it, besides laying it out elaborately among what they see. Also, don't try to necessarily tell them how they feel/react (don't, for example, say that as that chill wind makes their torch flicker, that they feel a sudden rush of fear), but imply it (such as, "the endless dark of the tunnel might frighten some enough to flee this place); that way, you're not manipulating the characters, as some people might protest it. However, you are indicating the danger involved. Same goes for NPCs. Give them enough to picture the person (short, tall, fair, swarthy, peculiar features, something), and make that person seem a bit more real. You don't have to be able to act or "do voices" as so many people on these boards seem to complain about not wanting to do or being useless to roleplaying (though it can sometimes be amusing, if you're capable of doing so), but try to make there be something singular about NPCs, particularly ones that'll be mainstays of the campaign. If the person's gruff, grumble and growl. If they're shy, don't look someone in the eye, or speak with a tremor to your words. If they have a twitch, try to display it. Maybe the Fighter offering to train one of the PCs twirls a dagger in his hand; you could twirl a pencil to show this, if you're so inclined. Maybe that Sorcerer with the snake familiar hisses when he speaks. Give them something that marks this person as being more than just "Generic So-and-so #5944." Also, I'm personally one of the sorts that prefers and advocates homebrew campaign settings, largely for the fact that you know the history of it better than the players, and can therefore also build the world around them a bit more than you can with a vast setting like FR, which is already so laid out and settled in its ways; this also eliminates players that know the world better insisting that you can't do something because it goes against the storyline of the world. If you want to use it or another pre-con (seeing as you said you have the FRCS), that's your prerogative, but I'd suggest thinking about working a small, self-created world that you can build up around the PCs as you go; a town here where they meet, a lord's mansion where they get their quest that's a mile outside the city proper, etc. Eventually, if you're interested in such, you can create a whole world starting from that one tiny bit, or create the world around them first, then focus on where the PCs are. I find it helps to work in this fashion. Anyway, I find that the best thing if you're wanting a good, immersing world is to be able to describe what's going on in a way that's not too long and overly detailed, but can still give some realism, and gain responses from the PCs. Try to apply a few different senses, besides just visual information; some people take cues for what their character might do next based on sounds or scents, after all. An attentive Elf PC might be inclined to hear something and go investigate, for example. Also, keep your NPCs (besides just your BBEG!) interesting enough to seem alive and real to your players (but don't mind if they make with the stabbity on them, at the same time :) ), and don't be afraid to be strange or silly. If you're not afraid to try to act as an NPC might, or put on a funny accent if it strikes you, then your players might find it easier to slip into a character's persona as well. Also, as one more "rules" pointer, I'd say that it might help to try enforcing an "IC/OOC" rule of some sort, so that you don't get lots of distracting goofing off right when you don't want it. Tell the players how you want OOC conversations relegated; be it completely banned, or carried out under certain circumstances, etc. Also, I personally think it's best to make sure everyone speaks as their character (first-person); no "Well, he (Jake the Bard) is going to play a song to do X," or what have you. Try to convince them to say "I'm going to raise everyone's spirits with an energetic song!" (as an elaborate example) in comparison. And try to get them to help you describe things; in my D&D group, when I or my group's regular DM runs a campaign, we usually ask that the players describe the actions their characters take, in fairly clear detail. No "I attack the Orc!", but rather "I thrust my rapier at his heart, dagger in my free hand to guard," or something, so that it's easier to describe what happens if they succeed or fail ("Your blade pierces cleanly through his chest, puncturing deep into his lung," or "Your foe dodges neatly aside, parrying your weapon away from any of his vitals," for example). In my group, we seldom needed to make Bluff or Diplomacy checks, simply because we all got used to describing the scene so well that the DM often let us have it, such as when our Rogue was bluffing some card players in order to cut one's coin purse. Your players might not be inclined to go quite that far, but their descriptions of something happening can help you know where to go with yours. And in particular, just have fun and run with it. This is the sort of place where you can act in a manner completely different from yourself. Both the players and the DM are essentially playing characters (several, on the part of a DM), which means you can say that they're doing something far different that what you might normally do, and run with it. Get invested in the characters; some DMs might suggest that the players write a background for their PC (this can be especially useful in developing a homebrew setting), which might later shape what sort of magic items they might find/acquire later in the game, or shape NPCs that might know them, or help create locales where they've been. Essentially, I think it helps if there's something more to a character than stats on a page, and that it in turn makes it easier both for the player to play their character, and the DM to work up ways to challenge them or interact with them as NPCs if the character feels more like a real person, just as interacting with NPCs feels easier if they feel like an actual person. Of course (given the debate I saw on another thread), opinions on this vary. Anyway, hope my long-winded advice helps. And don't worry too much; this is stuff all newer DMs worry about (and veterans, sometimes. My group's DM is still worried about this at times, and he's been at this for a while). Just go for it, and then try to learn from any mistakes you think you made.
DmofAlterak 01-13-07, 04:13 PM	Well if you are trying then I would suggest: Reading all you can about it. Keep on playing games and you'll eventually get the hang of it by trial and error. If you can find a good DM anywhere see if you can get some advice or maybe play as a player for a little while and learn as you go. I remember the first few games I DMed...They were horrible every time I would make the same mistakes and get discouraged and then not play again for a couple of months and try again until I finally got a good campaign off and it went up from there. Here are some of the mistakes I made to begin with (so you might be able to avoid them yourself). THE GAME IS NOT THE DM VS THE PLAYERS. THE GAME IS NOT THE PLAYERS VS THE DM this is more a problem of the players as they think they must win by beating the DM. explain that you are not trying to beat them and they shouldn't be trying to beat you. Then do that. DONT FALL PREY TO MONTY HALL try not to give out to much treasure but allow them to get some so they'll still have fun. +1 sword yes +2 or more sword no. DONT FORCE THE PCS TO DO ANYTHING you make up the adventure and then the PC's decide to do something silly or something you hadn't planned and then you havn't a clue what to doà Example problem: you plannned for the pc's to fight a dragon and save the princess its gaurding but they get the wrong idea and decide to visit the swamps of the lizard men which you have done absolutely no planning for. Keep calm, Don't freak out, It is a time honoured tradition for all PC's to do this. Simply play the game out in a logical consistent manner and as you do this try to think up some interesting things to happen and maybe even get the PC's back on track. It may seem impossible but if your creative and imaginative enough it should work out. the pcs will think your a genius (or more likely not even notice) and everyone should have fun. Example Solution: since the swamp is named after lizard men you describe in deatail the trek in the swamp until you come up with a suitable scenario in which the PC's are attaked by large forces of lizardmen until they are captured (most likely remember not to force them into being captured) then the PC's are sacrificed to guess who? a big old dragon in the cave not far from the swamp. But one of the pcs manages to free himself as the dragon approaches... So here are two tips; DM to the best of your abilitie planning adventures in advance with lots of interesting stuff and all manner of cool things you would like to include. Then the PC's will muck it up as best they can and it's your job to not cry and try to make it work as best you can while not forcing the PC's into anything and making up more interesting stuff as you go where your adventure design work had not gone before... Hope some of this is helpful. Good luck. DmofAlterak.
CurtisSpiers 01-13-07, 05:28 PM	Wow thanks for all the help guys. I think that I was having a major problem not with the rules just actually bringing the game to life. I know somebody who is supposed to be running a game at a local comic shop of mine maybe I can sit in on it. Thanks again guys for all the help.
DmofAlterak 01-13-07, 07:50 PM	Your welcome!:)