PDA

View Full Version : First Campaign Issues



Calinero
2008-05-06, 09:32 PM
I recently became interested in D&D, partially through OotS and partially through some friends who play it, and I've been to a couple of sessions. I know that it is a good idea to wait a while before being a DM, but I have got some ideas bouncing around for a campaign. The trouble is, I don't have a very good grasp of the mechanics of the game. Which stats do what, who has which abilities, etc. Any advice? The options I've come up with so far are 1. Co-DM with someone who knows the rules better, or 2. Wait until I have a better grasp of the game. Unfortunately, that would involve patience....

monty
2008-05-06, 09:38 PM
If you don't know the rules well, the newer players won't have anybody to help them figure out what's going on, and the veteran players will rape you with their optimized builds. I'd suggest that you create a rough outline of the campaign (world concept, general builds for major BBEGs, etc.) and give it to your current DM (or another willing player) to run for you. Then wait until you have more experience before you try to run one yourself. Co-DMing is possible, but having one person in charge of everything has far fewer potential problems.

Hal
2008-05-06, 09:50 PM
My first time playing D&D was as DM, so feel for ya. Thankfully my players weren't experienced. Here's the advice I can give:

1. Restrict the books available to your players.
2. Read the books you have allowed.
3. Re-read the books you have allowed.
4. Go to step 2.
5. Hang out on the boards for a while.

Seriously, read and re-read all the rules, statistics, abilities, combat rules, etc. You need at least passing familiarity with everything that's happening. You don't need to be a walking encyclopedia of definitions and such, but you need to be familiar enough with things to know how certain things play out. What skills are available, what they do, the abilities of the classes played by your players, the spells they'll be looking at, etc.

And hang out here. I learned more about playing D&D by listening in on the ramblings of this group than I would have anywhere else. It's nice to be able to feed off the collective experience of so many people.

For more generalized advice, I recommend listening to Fear the Boot (http://feartheboot.libsyn.com/), a podcast about RPGs.

Eclipse
2008-05-06, 09:51 PM
In my experience, patience is a virtue in dealing with such things. If you don't think you understand the mechanics very well, it's likely you should wait a bit. The more you know about the game, the easier it is to run, and the fewer pauses you'll have in gameplay to look up rules you don't know.

That said, there's certainly no reason you can't jump in right now. One of the best ways to actually learn the game as well as how to DM is to jump in and do it. You'll want to find patient players though, since it can be difficult running a campaign for the first time, especially if you don't know the system well. I'd also recommend sticking to the core three books for your first game. This isn't for balance reasons, but simply so you have fewer rules to deal with during your introductory game. You can always learn the additional stuff later.

Also, don't be afraid to admit it if you're wrong about a ruling, either to the benefit or detriment of the players. Let them know why the ruling was wrong when you find out, and if it hurt the players significantly, perhaps give them something helpful for their trouble (or just reverse the ruling if practical). If it helped the players, give them their victory, just make sure they understand the same thing won't happen next time.

Your idea of co-DMing a game is a good one. You can get your stories going, and have someone else help out with the crunch. Just make sure you pick someone who you work well with, and be clear about what you want them to help you with. If you do plot and your co-DM is there to help with making sure you do the rules right, it should be pretty simple, but your friend might not find that fun. If you both deal with plot, then you need to make sure that your stories mesh well and you have a shared vision. Otherwise, things could fall apart.

Finally, you could pick a player you trust to help you out with mechanics. This way, everyone gets to play, and you have help with mechanics when you need it. You just have to be sure the player doesn't try to squeeze any advantages out of his/her position of helpfulness. Otherwise, everyone else will be irritated at the advantages your helper is getting in the game.

Hope some of that might have been helpful. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

Wraith_Lord
2008-05-07, 07:41 AM
I say jump in and do it. Sure you'll get a few things wrong at first but all DMs make a couple of mistakes every so often - And any who say they don't are either lying or haven't seen sunlight this side of the century (or they're genii... :smallsmile: )

Bottom line is that D&D is meant to be about telling a story and having fun - not rolling dice and doing complex mathmatical equations that frankly make you feel like you're sitting an exam!

Starting small is obviously gonna be a smart move but I say don't worry about making mistakes and just do it - and if all else fails, pretend to roll some dice behind a screen and then make up what you thought the result should be for the best outcome of the story... worked for me when I started out...

Griffin131
2008-05-07, 07:46 AM
Pick one of the other players you trust that has experience with the rules, and make him the Judge. Youre the storyteller. Use the guidelines in the SRD as to what DC to make different skills checks, etc... I've done this (I was the Judge) and it worked really well - we faced some interesting foes (because when the storyteller threw a dozen manticores at our 3rd level party, I had to help him tone them down ... some.) but I really enjoyed it.

Azerian Kelimon
2008-05-07, 07:57 AM
Before we can give advice, we need moar info. Can you briefly describe your players and the books you have? It helps a lot to determine which advice to give.

Calinero
2008-05-07, 02:00 PM
Well, I don't actually have the books (another problem I face.) Between all the players who come, we have a fairly wide range (I'd have to check to get the specific titles), and I'm fairly sure I could borrow any that I needed.

As for the players...well, they're all fairly bright. The trouble is getting them to stay serious. Occasionally we'll have a campaign that's essentially for goofing off and having crazy characters. I would want my campaign to be fairly serious.

Kol Korran
2008-05-07, 11:04 PM
well, there are many, many types of DMs. and you only realy get experience at it by starting to DM, being a player is just realy not the same.
however, you are also very new to the game. so, here are my suggestions:

1- continue to play under some DM no matter what else you do- mostly to get mroe gaming experience, get familiar with the rules and so on. also, talk tothe other DM about your aspirations, and consult with him/ her after a session- what s/he planned, how did it go, what could have been done better, what less. s/he will probably won't be able to tell you everything, but some will do nicely.

2- the boards and other DMs: ask for advice, consult building encounters, plots, and more.

3- read the basic books you have (and i do suggest getting the PHB, MM & DMG actuall books- SRD is not nearly as comfortable, at least to me), and perhaps summarize the importent rules. (make a sheet with battle options for example) this could come in handy. don't expect to know everything by heart, but by reading it enough, you'll be able to at least "wing it" when an unexpected situation comes along.

4- read AKA BAIT's guide (on top of the forum's threads). it has soem good advice. most of DMing isn't about the rules, encounter, and so on. it's about handling players, catering to their tastes, and keeping things fun. and very few places show you how. on that note, if you can find the start of DMG2, there is a nice section there about dealing with various kinds of players. (rest of the book is fairly crap).

5- for the first campaign. try soemthing fairly simple, don't og overboard just yet. keep the group up to 5 players (3-4 is preferable), and use just the msot basic books you have. your default answer to someone wanting to add anything is "no at the moment, but let me check, and i'l lget back to you...".

6- keep on learning. i've been DMing for more than a decade (and am probably a newbie still for some on the boards), and i'm still constantly learning.

7- you said your group likes to goof off, but you want something serious. well, unless you have a real presence, or can realy captivate them, be prepared for them goofing off anyway. the game is not yours. the campaign is not yours. the DM is a part of the gaming experience, not it's controller, or owner. at most, you are conductor... my point is- build an interesting situation for the players, something with intriguing (perhaps hard) choices, with real affects, don't build a plot for them to follow.

8- the game needs to be fun, for the players, and for you. if something isn't fun, work on finding out what, and solving it. this is your prime concern. this can be because of the pace, the difficulty, the theme, or anything else dealing with the game world, or it can be related to real world issues- players and their own personalities, tastes, and more. your job partially extend here as well. just keep real life relations and the game balance and fun in mind. most problems can be dealt without compromising either.

9- start DMing if you wish (i'd suggest to make sure with yourself why you want to do it in the first place- a few good ideas tossing in your head can either mean you want to DM, or that you wantto write a book). just be aware that things may bumpy, for quite awhile. but, there is no other way to learn.

hope this helped,
Kol

LoneStarNorth
2008-05-08, 12:53 AM
If you're new to both DMing and D&D, and you have an idea for a Big Awesome Campaign that you really like, my advice would be not to run it. Not yet. If you don't have a good grasp on the rules, you should probably just be a PC for a little while. Play in someone else's campaign. And if your character dies because you don't have the best grasp on the rules, that's fine. Make another one that's completely different, and you'll learn the clockwork of more character types, which will better prepare you for running your own game. As a side-note, you don't need the books to play, as there's always the SRD, but I find it really helps. Get a PHB to start with, then a DMG and MM when you're ready to move up.

Now, after you feel more confident, you'll be just itching to lay out that Big Awesome Campaign of yours. Well, I'd recommend against it. DM some pre-published adventures first. Then DM something you came up with yourself, but not your big awesome idea; make up something else, and don't make it too complex.

All the while, you can be jotting down ideas for the Big Awesome Campaign. Working out major plot points, locations, NPCs, things like that. By the time you've played three different characters and DMed both from a book and from your own notes, you'll have made all the big mistakes that would make you cry if they happened in your Big Awesome Campaign. You'll have a good grasp on the rules and on game balance, and you can make that Big Awesome Campaign into something truly memorable.


Alternatively, you can just dive in. You'll still have fun. The above is just my recommendation if you want to ensure that one big idea turns out just how you dream it will.