Hello! I'm Thomas!
I am a completely new GM (startet last weekend) with 3 other who is also new to D&D. As the DM, the players consult me about rules, which is ok, but me being new aswell and only read the startet set, I has hoping you guys could help me answer a few questions. I am also awere that "house rules" are very popular, but as for now I'd like abit more struckture so we all can learn the official rules 
Here's what I'm wondering:
Experience points
For instance, if 3 players defeat a goblin which rewards 50xp (challenge 1/4), do I give each player 50 xp each or 50 divided by how many player there are?
If only 2 out of 3 players hit the foe do I only reward XP to those who had the chance to hit?
If the group split up, and one of the groups wins a fight, do I reward everyone in the party or only the once fighting?
Saving throws
Do you get a saving throw either way, or does it have to be specified in the spell/attack? I know you get a saving throw if the target you attack 1/2 and 3/4 cover. If yes, does that reguard NPCs and PCs?
Items
Items such as a club, does it replace your weapon or do you just get +(stat) on your current one? (we are not far enough for magical items yet, might as again later) :)
currently that is all I am wondering, would be very thankfull if you guys could help me out on this!
Thanks!
Thomas
MrLawsen wrote:
Hi Thomas! Welcome to D&D!
MrLawsen wrote:
Awesome!
Thank you both for the great answers, learned something valuabel! :D
I just started DMing too, but it's become an obsession for myself an my group!
I highly, highly recommend reading the Player's Hand Book, cover to cover. I did so in a single day (and several pots of coffee a some beers) and it filled me with great ideas for stories and fun encounters.
Since then I've DM's 13 sessions, coving a huge campaign of intrigue 11 sessions long.
Here's my re-craps,
http://www.thelaughingpigtavern.com/
Have fun dude!
He's not kindding man, read at least the players handbook. I have the PH, DMG, and MM and I read them on a daily basis, they are in fact my bible lol. I've been running games for almost 3 years and playing for about 4 but I will always read them as much as I can, and I certainly recomend it, as long as you don't let it confine what you do, in the end it's all just a stepping stool to help you reach higher into your own awesome creativity!
Have fun and let us know if you have any questions!
I concur with those above even as an experienced GM (over a decade of running games) it helps a lot, the DMG felt very much a back to the basics that reminded me of the core of GMing and really helped me with a few issues, and to create some new ideas I had not worked with. I would implore you to also read through the PHB as it does have some fantastic concepts in it, as well as your players will most likely come up with questions about various abilities and it helps to have read the ability before answering.
Also I found that the dm shield for this edition is a nice one, not just the art work, but also the random name generator, and various rules tid bits on the screen can be a great help to a new dm
Ranthalan wrote:
Archon007 wrote:
If the group splits up.... it is up to the DM how to handle it. There is no right or wrong way based on the rules, so you will need to make the determination for yourself.
That said, for me it depends on the situation. If the party splits up (stupid party...) to accomplish a goal, then I will usually credit everyone for any XP. There are situations, however, where I will only give XP (or extra XP) to the ones directly involved.
Coredump00 wrote: