Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Malzerious May 26, 2015 18:00:40	I've DM'd for many years, so I am not a rookie DM, however I am about to run my first 5th Edition campaign. I''ve run every edition from 1st to 4th and Arcana Unearthed. What rookie 5E mistakes shoud I be on the look out for?
#2 iserith May 26, 2015 18:18:00	First, don't try to run D&D 5e like another edition of the game. Treat each edition as its own standalone game, leaving any baggage or assumptions related to other editions at the door.   Next, don't underestimate the fragility of apprentice-tier characters.   Finally, do learn how to adjudicate actions well.   Good luck and have fun!
#3 Alduran May 26, 2015 18:41:20	Iserith makes a very good point, and to reiterate (without any of the eloquence) - handle newbies like they were glass or you will (most likely) kill them.   The biggest difference that I've found in GM'ing 3.5, 4e and 5e is that this newest edition feels like the GM really is driving the ship. If you are the type that relies on the rules heavily, you may want to consider how to modify that a bit.
#4 Barky May 26, 2015 18:46:54	Don't take any spells or monsters for granted. There are differences between the versions: some are subtle, some are pretty significant.  So read up before you use any of them.
#5 BRJN May 26, 2015 18:52:49	If you are going to start with a Spellcasting Villian, give him a 'game plan' - figure out what he wants to do for the first few rounds.  Example: Adult Dragon R1  Frightful Presence.  Alpha Strike (dragons have a huge long multiattack) anybody who Saves vs the Fear.  Fly to ceiling and cling R2  Breath Weapon biggest cluster of enemies.  Fly out-and-back to ceiling. R3  Alpha Strike some one person not running away yet, using extended Reach to avoid counter-attacks.  Fly back to ceiling. R4  Entertain pleas of surrrender.  Check for Breath recharge.   Encourage your PCs to start al lowest-level, not necessarily L3 or L5 (when 'my character gets more powerful').  Both you and they need to 'grow' into the game mechanics via experience.   For your first few sessions, run one-off scenarios.  No permanent GP or XP will be awarded, we're all learning how the rules work.  Set up a combat, a Skill challenge, a Role-Play event.    My group playing Hoard of the Dragon Queen stopped the storyline when we had lots of new people come in and ran a 'dream sequence' episode, so they could figure out what their characters did well and how to do it.
#6 OoftaMeg May 26, 2015 18:54:12	My general, not in any order list off the top of my head Low level characters are really, really squishy again.  Do not throw a monster with a challenge rating 3 at a group of level 1 characters.  Death will likely ensue. Magic mart is gone.  If you use the standard randomized treasure, people won't have much magic until mid to high levels, and even then they won't have anything close to what most people expected in 4E It's ok that people don't have a bunch of magical toys. Advantage and Disadvantage are your friend.  Somebody come up with a really cool way of attacking by swinging from a chandalier?  Give 'em advantage on the attack.  Firing a bow from a small boat being tossed by waves in a storm?  Disadvantage because it's really tough (but doable). Multiple instances of advantage/disadvantage do not stack.  If you have advantage and disadvantage at the same time they cancel Helping someone gives them advantage, even if multiple people are helping. Super high ability scores are not necessary.  For example,  most monster's passive perception hover around 10-ish so having a +5 to stealth is actually pretty decent. Let people do wierd/fun stuff (it's probably in the adjudicate actions list I'm sure but this is my list) like throwing the halfling at a fleeing perp to give the halfing advantage on their attack. The rules are vague/flexible in several areas (such as stealth) so that you can implement them in a way that makes sense to you and works for the feel of your campaign. Skills and skill names still trip me up.  There is no more bluff, it's a Charisma(deception) check.  No more Open Locks it's a Dexterity (thieve's tools) check Backgrounds are a really fun way of customizing characters.  A wizard with the criminal background can fill in many of the roles of a rogue for example. Short rests are an hour. Those are some of the main points I can think of off the top of my head.  To me 5E plays most like a streamlined 2 or 3.x with hints of 4.
#7 CCS May 26, 2015 18:58:17	1)Think about how you want to determine surprise. It's pretty vague this time. 2) Throw a few extra monsters at the party - because damage causing cantrips got a huge boost in this edition.
(Reply to #2) Malzerious	iserith wrote:
(Reply to #3) Malzerious	Alduran wrote:
(Reply to #4) Malzerious	Barky wrote:
(Reply to #5) Malzerious	BRJN wrote:
(Reply to #6) Malzerious	OoftaMeg wrote:
#13 J-Dubya May 26, 2015 20:25:37	Malzerious wrote:
(Reply to #12) OoftaMeg	Malzerious wrote:
#15 Rya.Reisender May 27, 2015 0:11:54	Malzerious wrote:
#16 BoldItalic May 27, 2015 0:13:23	@OP: There are no "surprise rounds". Surprise works differently in 5e.
#17 OGRE1984 May 27, 2015 2:10:01	Malzerious wrote:
#18 Danny_Montanny May 27, 2015 6:35:17	Make sure your Session Zero happens. Get all expectations out on the table and decide as a group how certain things might be handled. Namely hiding and passive perception. Also, some of the feats can be a little tricky when it comes to the action, and bonus action, economy. Definitely read iserith's Adjudicating Actions guide, there's a lot of good ideas in there. Ultimately, don't rely on the rules so much if it's going to take away from play. The system is a lot more open and broad for a reason, try to embrace it.
#19 iserith May 27, 2015 6:53:23	Malzerious wrote:
#20 Ralif_Redhammer May 27, 2015 7:09:33	Keeping track of concentration and attunement spring immediately to mind. Personally, I have a hard time remembering to reward PCs with Inspiration, but I’m trying to rectify that.   I agree on the whole starting at 1st level thing. I’ve really come to hate advanced starts.
(Reply to #19) Malzerious	iserith wrote:
#22 iserith May 27, 2015 8:52:12	Malzerious wrote:
(Reply to #22) Malzerious	iserith wrote:
#24 OoftaMeg May 27, 2015 10:09:06	Another thing I've found helpful is to find an encounter calculator online. I'd give you a link, but I downloaded a spreadsheet a while back and have no clue where it came from.
#25 Barky May 27, 2015 19:33:33	Malzerious wrote:
#26 ThorgritAnvilforge May 27, 2015 19:59:18	Something that threw me for a loop was opportunity attacks.   1. OAs use a Reaction, which most characters only get one of per turn.  If they do decide to take an OA, and have other Reactions available to them, they miss out on them. 2. Casting a spell doesn't provoke an OA. At all. Near as I can tell, there's no penalty at all for casting spells that don't require an attack roll. 3. Ranged attacks (including spellcasting that requires an attack roll) only grants Disadvantage when trying to use them against an adjacent enemy. Not an OA.*   (* probably not exact wording, look up rules when need be)
#27 durntaur May 27, 2015 20:16:11	ThorgritAnvilforge wrote:
#28 OoftaMeg May 27, 2015 20:39:40	Speaking of Opportunity Attacks, you trigger one when you leave someones reach, not a threatened square.  So you can dance around your enemy all you want, just don't move away from them unless you Disengage.
#29 BRJN May 28, 2015 18:13:04	Malzerious wrote:
#30 Ralif_Redhammer May 29, 2015 8:20:17	A successful Hold Person on a BBEG can really nerf an encounter. Happened to me and boy, was I gritting my teeth until he made his save.   BRJN wrote: