Preparing to be GM; would like advice.

kurodaniyamame

Channel: dungeons-n-drags

So, a bit of backstory: I normally play with 3 other people, all friends, but I can't really confide anything *TO* those three, as when I GM, they're going to be the players. I don't want to let really any serious knowledge towards them, in case they take advantage of it. As a bit of information about them:

One of them is very good at "Breaking" systems to the point that the other characters have to struggle to keep up, it's either make the game stupid-easy for him, or so hard the others are being carried.

One of them is decent at the game, and can turn bad situations good, but he complains if anything gets re-used, and that's a key factor in a couple of specific NPCs and aspects I have planned as of now.

One of them is new to D&D, and can't get over the fact that the tank should initiate, and tries to copy someone else's strengths, when he has his own he's neglecting.

The worldspace is one I've been working on for some time: with an odd planet where there's basically 5 spheres, each one being an Elemental Plane, and a border crossing between the planes, that modifies the ship and spells to correlate with where one is. Every race has the effects of a Genasi of their home plane, and a second amorphous power that changes based on the Plane one's in.

The planes are: The Great Sea(Water), The Sandsea(Earth), The Soaring Islands(Air), and The FIresea(Fire). Each one can be reached via a special layline that converts ships while they sail inbetween the seas.

The main quest is likely going to be utilizing the Laylines, which are being tampered with and corrupted by an unknown Champion, who commands the Four Great Demons, each demon being a powerful warrior form the home plane.

I have lore and explanations for some things, but my biggest issue is going to be balancing out most of the enemies, as so far, the Four Great Demons, using the systems the characters have access to, are going to have to be demigod level or higher to even last more than a turn, where the first one's concerned.

Anyone have any advice? For the Tech, It's going to be plane-dependant. 3.5 rules, obviously major Homebrew.

Tags: DnD | dungeons and dra | need advice | new to GM | new DM

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Submitted:	08/08/2015

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#1 - sideism (08/08/2015) [-]

one major piece of advice is don't EVER get involved with the party before the first game starts, when talking to them outside of games make sure you say as LITTLE as possible about the campaign. Don't talk about the campaign before the campaign starts. If you're not good with people, this is really helpful so that they don't start hating your guts even before the first game starts.

Another piece of advice is don't give them too much loot or XP. They might end up being too powerful, too fast. This is a common mistake most new DMs have, they end up giving too much.

When you see an unreasonable or hostile player, kick them from the game immediately without hesitating. If you know little about them, and they start biting your ear off over trivial **** , kick them as soon as you start noticing it. Saves you a ton of trouble in the future.

If you're using a custom setting, make sure you write down very little thing you come up with. You'd be surprised how easily you could forget minor details that lead to major plot holes later down the line.

#2 to #1 - kurodaniyamame [OP](08/09/2015) [-]

Well, the first and last points aren't going to be an issue at all really, as all they know is that Stormwrack's going to be the most important book to look through, and I've been making huge amounts of notes just about the world's terrain, island types, and lore.

As for loot and xp, It doesn't matter if I give them 15 or 150 gold and xp per goblin, one of htem WILL play a mage and WILL find a way to break the game.

They're mostly reasonable. I'm not going to banhammer any of my friends out, we play often, though it'll be my first time being the DM.

#14 - anon (09/01/2015) [-]

I'd say a good way to keep your "gamebreaker" PC under wraps is by devising scenarios that in which the best (smartest) option for him is to use the strengths of the other PC's. If he's headed for Wizard or any Int class, it'd be good to enforce being in character by making the PC think it was his idea all along to utilize his allies. Most people like that know a good amount about many classes, so it makes sense that you could nudge them into the seat of the defacto "leader". That could also help with your newbie, giving him fresh insight into his character's own strengths. Honestly, combat is the focus of breaking the game for many characters, so just ease up on combat and make it more social. Reward creative uses of skills and abilities and try to make it feel less like a videogame.

#6 - troopermk (08/11/2015) [-]

Also for anyone who is a new player and wants to get started in dnd and are interested

in maybe a Small DnD venture give me a pm, currently looking for 1 player of any

class/race to Assist a dwarven hunter in his travels,

#5 - troopermk (08/11/2015) [-]

I DM regularly for a group of friends and i can honestly say that making up my own campaign, vs using one that is prebuild is so much better it gives them a chance to do almost anything, but you have to keep focused that they might not want to spend hours roaming a city looking for an NPC, throw in some random ass encounters along the way, open up your mind and let the players experiment with new ideas most importantly, Sit back, watch these adventurers tell their own story, and dont dictate to them what they should and shouldnt do, if someone wants to jump into a 100ft chasm, let them, keep your brain two steps ahead of the party, let the dice do the talking and second most importantly.....Make sure they have fun, otherwise you might not be cut out to be a DM

#7 to #5 - kurodaniyamame [OP](08/11/2015) [-]

Cities aren't going to be a major thing in this particular Campaign :p

The world's basically 4 Planes, each one is a massive sea of a differing element. There's harbor towns, but they're small.

#8 to #7 - troopermk (08/11/2015) [-]

Sounds alot easier than the campaign i have going atm lol although i feel that towns

and cities have to be used atleast once, i let my party talk to whatever NPC they wish,

most of the time they are sensible...other times they tend to kill anyone that looks at

them the wrong way, but they still have alot of fun so im not complaining

#9 to #8 - kurodaniyamame [OP](08/11/2015) [-]

Well, I already have a tip from one of he players. "Don't plan out a main quest. Know where it starts, and where it ends, and let the players get there."

as for cities, there's not much land suitable for cities, as the Elementals that are normally peaceful very actively are hostile towards anything that TOUCHES the sacred islands.

#10 to #9 - troopermk (08/11/2015) [-]

Yea thats a pretty good tip, in your head you should have a rough idea of where you are going, alot of improvisational skills are useful too, being able to think on your feet is essential

#11 to #10 - kurodaniyamame [OP](08/11/2015) [-]

The big change is that a number f mechanics present in standard D&D are going out the window. Magic is going to be rare, feared, and considered a plague. Psionics are going to be a BIT more common, though still not a starting option, and everyone's going to have their own boat.

#12 to #11 - troopermk (08/11/2015) [-]

That is kinda how i run my games, i let the players roll their own stats and characters,

switching up rules in DnD can sometimes be a hastle, i would call my campaigns more

of a "sandbox" type of DnD, so i can fully customise enemies and encounters as i see fit

but the one thing i maintain is to let the dice do the talking and be open to anything really

#3 - gunmandude (08/09/2015) [-]

As for that problem about your game breaking player, let him have his fun for the first session but after that start giving him challenges that would be a big issue for his class.

Example: have you ever seen how hard it is for a wizard to break a grapple before learning the Dimension Door spell? Very hard.

If he is in fact a Wizard then you could throw some sorcerers at him for a magic battle ( I say sorcerers instead of wizards because that way he won't be able to take their spell books to learn more spells). Hell, you could try to just drain his strength score because it is probably really low. You can't cast spells if you can't stand or lift your arms.

#4 to #3 - kurodaniyamame [OP](08/09/2015) [-]

I don't want to be the only one of the 3 DMs that actively tries to kill off or severely harm one specific player. I may introduce a cursed mechanic, where each party has to roll on a table every now and again, to see what happens.

I've sort of got an idea on how to stop the OP one, and he normally plays Sorcerer to begin with. Specifically Metamagic-Focused Wild Sorcerer. because of how long he's been playing D&D, he can cast pretty much any spell at level 1 if he rolls properly.

#13 to #4 - sketchE (08/21/2015) [-]

my dm gave me a tip for dming those kind of people. make one or two shot minions. ive got a psion who one shots groups of rooms. so his advice was to throw massive amounts of easy to kill enemies so she runs out of powers and is basicly useless later on and has to learn to control her power