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Post by Tuckertcs on Nov 4, 2013 8:29:48 GMT -5
So I got D&D about 2 months ago and I like it but it's a little confusing with all of the rules so can I get a rundown on the rules and things I need so I know the rules right and so I know I have everything. Sorry but I didn't know I NEEDED the rulebooks like DM guide and Players handbook and ... so just bare with me but I realise the books are very long so can I get a rundown of the DMs Guide or an explanation of how to DM so I can get a bit better? Also I just found out that you need to have a world not just say "A guy paid you to get his wooden box back from the goblins" then go into a dungeon and win and get the box. So can I also get the basics on how to make a world or some maps of a world I can use. Please reply!
To be more specific: In the DMG there are rules but is there any other help I can get on rules and stuff for me and the player because I don't think we're playing it right. And what other materials do I need(DMG, Player's Handbook, etc.)
ALSO: So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some?
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dmbrad
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Post by dmbrad on Nov 4, 2013 8:55:28 GMT -5
It would be easier to help answer your questions if you were a little more specific on what it is that you do not understand. As far as "Making a world". There are lots of published campaign settings that are available for purchase such as Forgotten Realms. If you do decide to make your own world start small and let the world grow along with your campaign. There is no reason to map out areas which the players will not see for many months or years. I use a piece of poster board and draw the continents. Then I pick a starting point for them to begin in and grow out from there.
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sgtslag
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Post by sgtslag on Nov 4, 2013 9:18:19 GMT -5
The DMG should have a chapter explaining the basics within it. Failing that, check your local library for Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies, or Dungeon Master 4th Edition for Dummies. I play 2nd Edition AD&D, so beyond this, I can't help you much. However, I will suggest one other book, which may not help you immediately, but it will over time: XDM X-Treme Dungeon Mastery. Get the hardback, if possible, unless you have a Kindle. That book will kick your DM'ing into hyper-drive, and you will be light-years ahead of most DM's. Great book! Cheers!
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Post by belatucadras on Nov 4, 2013 9:38:44 GMT -5
Experience. Trial and error are your friends. Finding a group at your local hobby store and playing with them is probably the best thing you can do.
Barring that, don't start world building out of the gate. Nothing wrong with your scenario of some guy hiring the players to retrieve a box from some goblins. Start there. Make some first level characters and set off. As you and the players try to perform certain skills or feats or abilities, look them up as you go along. Most skills will be handled very similarly so you will be better prepared for the next situation.
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Post by dm1scotty on Nov 4, 2013 10:28:35 GMT -5
Like anything worthwhile DMing takes some practice. Check out, "A Fistful of Dice" channel on YouTube. Matt has some great vids for new DM's. I never sit down and make a whole world. I use the system itself as a basis of where to start and then my players and I build the details as we play. You really only need less than a paragraph to set up and describe your gameworld and this is only if the characters would know this information. Remember that most people in this kind of low tech world would rarely leave their village and only ever travel 20 miles from home for their entire lives.
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Nov 4, 2013 13:55:18 GMT -5
What everyone above me has suggested is spot on. Check out youtube, there are an amazing number of people out there sharing their gaming knowledge. Matt at aFistfulOfDice is fabulous. So is PhDnd and his 'Moving Fourth' series of vids. Watch their vids and glean as much as you can from them. You can find many books online including several mentioned above by sgtslag. DMBrad's advice on starting small is excellent advice, and if you decide to play in a campaign world that already exists such as "The Forgotten Realms", "Eberron" or "Greyhawk" there are many published novels that you can likely find at your local library or bookstore that you can read and get a basic understanding of the worlds history, goings-on, and geographic regions.
RPG's can be overwhelming at first especially for those who are brave enough to step up and DM games, but with patience, lots of reading, watching others play and listening to others and a bit of time you will be DMing with the best of them. Good Luck.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 4, 2013 15:04:00 GMT -5
It sounds from your description that you have the 4e redbox, am I right? If so, the DM's guide in it is enough to get you going with the rules, though I found the entire box to be rather unclear. The first 4e game I ran, after about a decade and half since playing 2, I really didn't understand the rules much at all. But, we had a ton of fun. If it's 4e, get the DM Kit (from Essentials line) when you can, and just follow the good advice you've already gotten. When your players are ready to make characters from scratch, have them get one of the Player's Handbooks, or preferably, either the "Heroes of Fallen Lands" or "Heroes of Forgotten Kingdoms" books from the Essential line. With 4e, it got better as they went, and they made several changes. The Essentials had all the updates worked in for the DM(like the changing DCs) and better characters for players.
A fistful of dice is a great channel. I watched a video of Matt playing in a DM Johnny game (another great channel) and he is one of the best roleplayers I've ever seen. Good advice for both players and DMs from him.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 4, 2013 15:05:05 GMT -5
Also, I'll add that the Redbox was confusing as hell to me, so once you start looking at other supplements it should start to make more sense.
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Post by Tuckertcs on Nov 4, 2013 17:07:31 GMT -5
Can I get link to a few campaigns? I want a map and info on each town, village, and other important places on the map. Thanks! Edit:So i found out that in the book that comes with the redbox there is a world called nentir vale. I think I want to use that but I need more info other than a description of each town. Has anyone made a campaign for Nentir Vale and added onto it. I'd like Info on each place, town, forest, mountains, marsh, and cave and I'll add onto it.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 4, 2013 17:19:22 GMT -5
4e adventures are set in the Nentir Vale, which is described in the DM Kit and the DM Guide. You can google to try to find some free adventures, or make your own. If you use published adventures, though, I recommend dropping a little cash on Reaver's of Harkenwold and later Madness at Gardmore Abbey. Both really fun, well designed adventure modules. Here's a good Nentir Vale wiki that has more than enough to get you up and going. Honestly just googled and found it, but it looks really helpful. Even has some details on areas beyond the vale. nentirvale.wikidot.com/setting
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Nov 4, 2013 17:31:31 GMT -5
If I recall correctly Nentir Vale is in the Greyhawk campaign setting, which is the on the world of Oerth. Most of the 4e Adventures I have seen are set there.... Keep on the Shadowfell, Shadowspire Labyrinth, Pyramid of Shadows, and many more....The website bloodchoke recommended is one that I recall being very good. There are also some good pdf resources scattered about the web, google can be your best friend when looking for stuff like this.
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Post by bloodchoke on Nov 4, 2013 18:21:48 GMT -5
Ha, didn't realize it was part of Greyhawk, thanks.
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Nov 4, 2013 19:24:04 GMT -5
Ha, didn't realize it was part of Greyhawk, thanks. Actually, it seems that I am mistaken....it is part of a campaign setting called Points of Light, including the lands of Nerath .
The reason I thought it was Greyhawk/Oerth was that it uses the same diety lists as Greyhawk/Oerth as opposed to the dieties of the other campaign settings that they have previously used; Forgotten Realms/Faerun, Dragonlance/Krynn, Eberron. I guess that with 4e WotC, which had yet to create a world of their own as opposed to those created when TSR owned the franchise, decided to create their own. So my bad on that one. Hopefully this will be helpful for tuckertcs. Here is a link to some more info on the campaign setting: link
Hope it helps!
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Post by earlteagrey on Nov 5, 2013 7:15:38 GMT -5
The Mark of Nerath novel takes place in the same setting too, and covers most of the places in the map above. Would be more for inspiration than a campaign guide, but may be a easier way to get your imagination into the world than hundreds of charts!
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sgtslag
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Post by sgtslag on Nov 5, 2013 14:10:24 GMT -5
Both pre-made, and home-made have their advantages. Pre-made can be as simple as reading up on the locale you want to start with; World of Greyhawk, Gygax's maestrom of conflict, was fun, interesting, and impossible for me to wrap my head around all of the political intrigues, and complex relations between the various nations, and all of the wars they were on the verge of... With home-made campaign worlds, you can make them as big/small as you like, as simple/complex as you like, as political/apolitical as you want, and as tame/corrupt/wild as you care to make it.
Some folks excel at making game worlds. Me, I created mine back in 1983, and I've been using the same world ever since. The detail of it started out very simple, and very small. I only developed regions as the PC's adventured into them -- detailing regions, countries, and cities, when the PC's will never visit them, is a waste of time, and effort, unless you really enjoy doing it for your own sake.
I had a PC take the Etiquette Non-Weapon Proficiency (NWP, 2nd Ed. rules). I first thought, "What a waste..." Then I began to think about her homeland, a Paladin kingdom (only existed on paper, and maps; never needed to do more with it, until she chose that particular NWP...). I remembered how the Byzantine Empire was very ritualistic, how they viewed the European Crusaders as utter barbarians, uncouth, unwashed, boars! The Crusaders had no understanding of the rituals, ceremonies, and etiquette of the Byzantines... The Crusaders hated the pompous, ritualistic 'stupidity' of the Byzantine culture!
I had an idea... The Paladin kingdom would be modelled somewhat on the Byzantine Empire: they're primarily Lawful Good, so their society would be very ritualistic, with strict rules of etiquette; there would be a caste system, and penalties for those who violated the rules of etiquette. When the PC's visited the Paladin kingdom, two of their members ended up in prison, bloody, beaten, and very irate -- they chose to be belligerently difficult, so they paid the price -- they were warned, but they refused to quiet down, and behave.
I never gave the Etiquette NWP a thought, until a PC took it. It opened a whole new chapter in our gaming, and our gaming world. It opened my eyes to the differences in various cultures. Now I spend more time on making different areas act differently, with different, usually unknown, rules of conduct. It all helps immerse the players into my world.
I have been developing my game world for 30 years... Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither is a fantasy game world. Using a pre-made world is acceptable. It may even be the best approach for someone starting out -- creating a game world is a daunting task, even to me, after 30 years! That is why I am still using the same one. World creation is like building an onion: instead of peeling one layer off at a time, you build one layer on, at a time, increasing its complexity, depth, and breadth. After 30 years, I've only just moved the PC's to a second continent; the first 29 years, PC's only ventured on one continent, the size of the USA; lately they have been exploring a Eur-Asia sized continent, in the southern hemisphere. There are several other continents on my game world, but I have done nothing more than to name them, thus far -- I have not needed to use them, yet, so they are just shapes on a world map. Maybe in another 30 years, I will need them? Cheers!
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slurpy
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Post by slurpy on Nov 5, 2013 19:30:47 GMT -5
Honestly, I would never try to GM a system that I was unfamiliar with. Get on Craigslist and Meetup.com and find a game you can sit in on, even if they won't let you play.
Also, and really also, if you're playing 4E, check out the Penny Arcade games at PAX for 2010 and 2011 - they're available on Youtube (I can't remember if 2009 is, but I think so). The last two years are DnD Next, so it won't help you to learn the 4E system at all.
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Nov 5, 2013 20:30:00 GMT -5
I imagine world building is both difficult and rewarding. It's something I have not yet done as I enjoy many of the published worlds. I thoroughly enjoyed the Forgotten Realms up until the Spellplague era, (which I am now getting my head wrapped around) and am still determining whether or not I am keen on the whole Sundering thing going on. I also enjoyed both Dragonlance and Eberron and am learning the Golarion setting from Pathfinder.
The main reason I was recommending published adventures and campaign worlds for tuckertcs is that he stated that he is having difficulty with modifying and building encounters. The beauty of published material is that it is all there ready to use. He won't have tweak it and confuse himself further by trying to come up with his own material at this stage of his gaming development.
I also think he would benefit from sitting in on some games, but I'm guessing he is a younger player so I wouldn't recommend Craigslist, but I would recommend checking with his local gaming stores. Hopefully one will have at the very least a gaming night where they play 4e, where he can sit in on and either learn from the DM by watching what he does and then asking questions afterword, or playing and learning both by playing and by observing the DM. The key will be not only asking questions, but waiting to ask his questions afterword so as not to break the rhythm of the game. Also, as was suggested, watch the games you can find online...The Dungeons and Dragons youtube channel has several good game vids, as does DMScotty, Esperepsesper, and several others out there.
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Post by Tuckertcs on Nov 6, 2013 17:22:26 GMT -5
So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some?
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dmbrad
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Post by dmbrad on Nov 6, 2013 17:26:59 GMT -5
So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some? The dungeon masters guide has a section that is full of different magic items.
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Post by Tuckertcs on Nov 6, 2013 17:32:17 GMT -5
So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some? The dungeon masters guide has a section that is full of different magic items. OH! OK Thanks!
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Post by monkeywithtacos on Nov 7, 2013 1:12:45 GMT -5
So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some? The dungeon masters guide has a section that is full of different magic items. As do the Players Handbooks, Adventurers Vault Books, Heroes of the Fallen Lands, Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms, and Mordenkainen's Magnificient Emporium books. The printed item cards are just accessories and are not needed, you can write them on character sheets or 3.5 cards.
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Post by Tuckertcs on Nov 14, 2013 16:44:04 GMT -5
So how can I get items? I meen it comes with a VERY small deck of item cards but where can I bet items? I mean I've looked FOREVER and I can't find either official item cards or books, or some decent homebrew ones. When they're homebrew it says the item name and the cost but not what it does and how mush say health you get, or whatever it is. Where can I find some? The dungeon masters guide has a section that is full of different magic items. No it doesnt it just says magic item +1 and stuff the items are in the players handbook so now I need to get that too(Not that I wasn't gonna get it).
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