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Author Topic: Any tips for a first-time DM?  (Read 32254 times)

Max White

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #165 on: April 04, 2011, 06:44:30 am »

Currently I am being forced to DM a game of dungeons and dragons.

My idea for the campaign, and I swear it isn't a copout, was that each player had to make a section of the world and together... well... that would be the world.

I hope it turns out well... Though I do have some nice twists in store. Too bad the game is likely never to get off the ground.

Suggestion, twist their suggestions against them. For example, make one of the worlds the sky of the other, so in one world you would look up and see the other, and in the other you would look up to see the first, and gravity has a strange split in the middle. Or something like that, anything to break their perceptions of their creation. It is more fun that way.

Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #166 on: April 04, 2011, 09:11:14 am »

Uh... Wow... I leave for the weekend, and this topic racks up the posts... wow...
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Neonivek

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #167 on: April 04, 2011, 02:45:33 pm »

Currently I am being forced to DM a game of dungeons and dragons.

My idea for the campaign, and I swear it isn't a copout, was that each player had to make a section of the world and together... well... that would be the world.

I hope it turns out well... Though I do have some nice twists in store. Too bad the game is likely never to get off the ground.

Suggestion, twist their suggestions against them. For example, make one of the worlds the sky of the other, so in one world you would look up and see the other, and in the other you would look up to see the first, and gravity has a strange split in the middle. Or something like that, anything to break their perceptions of their creation. It is more fun that way.

Ohh I am aware of peverting their creations. Especially with plotholes here and there. Though that is a good idea too

Though the 6th plot (the plot twist) should be enough.

Mostly because of my rule that they couldn't discuss what they were making until all the players were finished... I was hoping that the inherant incompatability of their designs would mess up the world on their own. Plus the fact that players would plant rewards for themselves in their own stories easily can be peverted against them.

I wanted to run Herosystem but unfortunately the players are against Open Creation systems...

I do however REALLY want to test to see if this idea will work before I actually run the game... but I don't know if I should.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 03:07:25 pm by Neonivek »
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Gorjo MacGrymm

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #168 on: April 04, 2011, 03:06:46 pm »

I told afew stories earlier about my friend whose character i got killed, or tied to a tree, or watched leap of a tower.  But I just remember the best character he ever played.

The female human ranger named Jade.  Played her for about 5 years.  Was a weird chick.  Just really really odd.  We all chocked it up to my friend, who is odd.  Little did we know that "Jade" had been killed and replaced by a doppleganger on her third mission and has been setting up the party for years for our main badguy.  She was eventually supposed to backstab my main character who was driving the story.  Sadly, Jade the dopplegange died in a random silly encounter and exposed.  I couldnt freaking beleive it.  I am still in awe of how he played that character.  The weirdness so totally fit.  Like not bathing with other women.  Sleeping with clothes on.  Being untalkative.  Just little oddities that oh so fit after the 5 yr revelation.  Oh man that was a mind blower.
« Last Edit: April 04, 2011, 03:22:57 pm by Gorjo MacGrymm »
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Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #169 on: April 05, 2011, 08:07:14 am »

Does anyone have any tables for random encounters they'd be willing to share? Preferably suited for a party of four fifth-level characters.
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Darvi

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #170 on: April 05, 2011, 08:09:16 am »

Depends on where they are. Try to pick a bunch of encounters of CR 3-7 that fit the surroundings, assign some probabilities to them, and you have your own encounter table!
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Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #171 on: April 05, 2011, 08:10:16 am »

Depends on where they are. Try to pick a bunch of encounters of CR 3-7 that fit the surroundings, assign some probabilities to them, and you have your own encounter table!

I've been trying to do that, but I'm to lazy/easily distracted by stuff. :P
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Darvi

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #172 on: April 05, 2011, 08:11:09 am »

So what's the environment like?
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Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #173 on: April 05, 2011, 08:14:48 am »

Plains. Roughly temperate. There is a desert not that far away, which they are going have to cross, unless they go north of the mountains and cross a moorland.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #174 on: April 05, 2011, 08:17:58 am »

Well, you can't really have ambushes on plains, so keep that in mind (unless you've got something come up from underground) or you've got some hills.

I don't really know, though, I don't use random encounters so much as follow my whims.
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Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #175 on: April 05, 2011, 08:31:48 am »

This abruptly changing the subject, but could you guys give me review on these homebrew races?
   FROST ELVES  • +2 Dexterity, –2 Charisma,.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, frost elves have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Frost elf base land speed is 30 feet.
• Immunity to magic sleep effects, and a +2 racial saving throw bonus against enchantment spells or effects.
• Low-Light Vision: An elf can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• Weapon Proficiency: Frost elves receive the Martial Weapon Proficiency feat for the bastard sword, as a bonus feat.
• +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks. A frost elf who merely passes within 5 feet of a secret or concealed door is entitled to a Search check to notice it as if she were actively looking for it.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Elven. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Gnome, Goblin, Orc, and Auran.
• Favored Class: Duskblade. A multiclass elf ’s duskblade class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
 
   
FELINS
  • Felins are Monstrous Humanoids.
• Felins get +1 bonus to AC due to their fur.
• +2 Dexterity, +2 Charisma, –2 Wisdom, –2 Constitution
• Medium: As Medium creatures, felins have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Felin base land speed is 30 feet.
• Low-Light Vision: A felin can see twice as far as a human in starlight, moonlight, torchlight, and similar conditions of poor illumination. She retains the ability to distinguish color and detail under these conditions.
• +1 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Escape Artist, Move Silently and Perform checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Felin. Bonus Languages: Any (other than secret languages, such as Druidic).
• Favored Class: Sorceror. A multiclass felin’s sorceror class does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty.
 
 
RALDORANS
  • +2 Strength, +2 Constitution , – 2 Dexterity, –2 Charisma.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, raldorans have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Raldoran base land speed is 30 feet.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Raldoran. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Giant, Gnoll, Goblin, Dalor, Gnome and Felin.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass raldoran’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.
 
   
DALOR
  • +2 Dexterity, –2 Strength.
• Small: As a Small creature, a dalor gains a +1 size bonus to Armor Class, a +1 size bonus on attack rolls, and a +4 size bonus on Hide checks, but she uses smaller weapons than humans use, and her lifting and carrying limits are three-quarters of those of a Medium character.
• Dalor base land speed is 20 feet.
• +2 racial bonus on Craft (trapmaking), Escape Artist, and Move Silently checks.
• +2 racial bonus on Disable Device checks.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Dalor. Bonus Languages: Dwarven, Elven, Gnome, Raldoran, Felin, Goblin, and Orc.
• Favored Class: First. The first class a Dalor takes becomes her Favored Class. The class a Dalor takes as her first class level does not count when determining whether she takes an experience point penalty for multiclassing.
 
 
  Mal  • +4 Strength, +2 Constitution, –2 Intelligence, –2 Charisma, –2 Wisdom.
• A Mal’s starting Intelligence score is always at least 3. If this adjustment would lower the character’s score to 1 or 2, his score is nevertheless 3.
• Medium: As Medium creatures, half-orcs have no special bonuses or penalties due to their size.
• Mal base land speed is 30 feet.
• Darkvision: Mal can see in the dark up to 60 feet. Darkvision is black and white only, but it is otherwise like normal sight, and mal can function just fine with no light at all.
• Automatic Languages: Common and Giant. Bonus Languages: Draconic, Gnoll, Goblin, and Abyssal.
• Favored Class: Barbarian. A multiclass mal’s barbarian class does not count when determining whether he takes an experience point penalty.
 
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GlyphGryph

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #176 on: April 05, 2011, 08:33:13 am »

What are they, though? Sort of an important part to include if you want us to tell you what we think!
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Darvi

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #177 on: April 05, 2011, 08:34:12 am »

Stats seem fine, but I think Felins and/or Mals might warrant a +1 level adjustment against munchkins.
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Vorthon

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #178 on: April 05, 2011, 08:45:15 am »

Oops. Race descriptions:

Dalor: small, hairless and shortlived. They have large eyes and broad noses. Their eyes are range from amber to golden to yellowish in colouration. They are geniuses when it comes to mechanical things, yet are completely ignorant about safety.

Mal: Big, brutal, and mean. These smaller cousins of ogres live in tribes and are just as brutish as their larger kin. Their skin is striped tan and dark tan.

Felin: Catlike humanoids, they have somewhat longer lives compared to humans. Agile and dextrous, they can often be found as part of troupes of traveling performers as acrobats and daredevils. Their bodies are covered in fur, and they have distinct hair on their heads.

Frost Elves: Found in the Outerlands, these elvenfolk are somewhat closer to dwarves in demeanor than their sylvan kin. Their skin can range be Lavender, pale blue, periwinkle, light blue or sky blue.

Roldaran: One of the races of the Innerlands, the Roldaran are humanoid in appearance. They have deeply sunken eyes, and there are bony ridges above their eye sockets. They lack noses, instead having slits for nostrils. The males have a 'beard' of short horns projecting downwards from their chins.


Note: Since the world is a torus, 'Northlands' and 'Southlands' don't really work all that well. 'Outerlands' refers to the portion of the torus which face outwards towards 'space' (Which is cold and dark for a big portion of the year.), and 'Innerlands' refers to the portion of the surface which is lit up all at the same time by the sun each day.

Also, Deities. I only have SRD, and it doesn't provide enough domains for the pantheon I put together. Anybody have any homebrew domains they could share?

Level adjustment suggestion noted.
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GlyphGryph

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Re: Any tips for a first-time DM?
« Reply #179 on: April 05, 2011, 08:56:47 am »

So... gnome, generic tribal thug race (be it ogre, orc, whatever), cat-person, and elf recolor.

Not the most original, but not terrible. At least you're giving them something of a twist, it seems, to make them more interesting.

The Roldaran have potential, I suppose. I wonder where you pulled them from.
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