Thylein wrote:I recently started as a DM for a small group of friends that i drew into the game with the help of a won bet. You don't need to have experienced the game as a PC. It can help a bit predict the actions of the PC's but it is not a must.
A good starting point are stories of the novels or pc games. You can use some ideas from them as your first story hook. At the momen my Group is trying to assemble the Flail of Ages from Baldur's Gate.
One thing you might want to look at are the newer Editions of D&D. The 4e is in my opinion better for new players and DM's as the rules have been simplified in some aspects and I have the feeling that it is a bit more forgiving for earlier mistakes.
The fact that you have no players at the moment is a hinderance but you can begin with chosing a starting point, gather information about places and monsters (Monster Manual, Manual of the Planes, Dungeon Master's Guide 1-3 for example), then begin to create first characters (chose a main villian/evil group, allies for the group, VIP's). Don't begin with stats and abilities but with a story, their motives etc. Enemy encounters are a bit more tricky as you don't have a group to measure the enemys with.
Make notes, think about the places where the charakters will be (how do they look? Atmosphere?), think about the informations your party could get with various religion, dungeoneering etc. rolls. A dm needs a large amount of fantasy.
Some examples can also be found in the Dungeon Magazines or in most campaign books. But those are just some ideas and samples that the dm has to flesh out.
At the moment my campaign consist of 10 A4 pages with informations, notes, traps and even misinformation for the players. The biggest challenge I encountered so far are fighting encounters. You think the group should be able to handle the sucubus and her two servants but suddenly the group fails some rolls and they nearly get wiped out. In this situations, especially in the beginning, you must improvise a bit. Helping the group a bit without them noticing. Nothing to flashy but as the dm it is not your job to destroy the group but to present them with a fair, but challenging adventure.
Oh, I understand that. In fact, I have already got what I consider a really epic story and world in mind. You see, I am also a writer. The most in depth story I have written was called The Rise of Odisugas. While the story itself revolved around a sort of "Dragon Apocalypse", there was a "side plot" that referred to a land named Dorgladea. The basic story is:
- Dorgladea is a land enslaved by humans. The human empire is called Seratoutia [Pron: Sair-Uh-Too-Shuh] [I know, the name is sort of overdoing it, but I used it for so long, it would feel wrong to change it]. Dorgladea wasn't just a land of linear races. The humans enslaved Goblins, Dwarves, and Elves here. They worked in mines [Dwarves mostly for that], worked on and maintained farms [Elves mostly for this], and were often imported into the mainland of Seratoutia to build their structures.
In order to keep this land tamed, the Seratoutians sent families to live there in order to govern them. After awhile, the families realized what they were ordered to do was unjust and revolted. They [Much like the American revolution] organized a rebellion which consisted of an army made of up Goblins, Elves, Dwarves, and Humans.
As the war raged on, a hero made a name for himself. An Elf named Llorianas had [Much like George Washington] risen to power and became the persona which the rebellion would follow.
Anyways, as long as my summary may be, I need to stop there. Basically, the heroes aren't participating in this rebellion, although a "Prequal" quest sounds enticing when I get good at DMing. They are actually adventuring in Dorgladea almost 30 years after Dorgladea had won the rebellion.
I desire to also play as a character while I am DMing. Remember, I am new to D&D, so I desire to play it as much as I desire to create it. However, my characters role will act much more like an NPC than a PC. My character will be Llorianas. Although his deeds are already great, his power is still weak compared to the fate that lies ahead of the him and the PC's.
He will not be much stronger than the PC's at all... if not equal. He will progress just like them, the only difference is, he will be very enigmatic. That proves as a tool for me
and the players to use to sate curiosity
Here is what I plan to tell my new players
My character could be seen as a door into which your curiosity about my realm can be sated. If you ask him questions,
he may tell you a thing or two, or he may not. He will most likely be vague, yet even his vague information can strike your
curiosity.
It's simply a way for them to communicate with me through my character instead of just me as a person or DM, pulling them more into the story.
My character
will not be a crutch. Not only is he almost just as weak as them, but he is not always there. He's kind of like Gandalf lol. He doesn't actually hold nobility in Dorgladea. He is held as the founding father of Dorgladea, but wasn't up to be a ruler. He serves no one, only the land itself.
That being said, I've got a REALLY elaborate story and plot in mind that seems to have endless possibilities for quests and campaigns.
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My problem is that, after reading the Players Manual, there is so much that i need to memorize to be a good DM. For instance, every class has many different bonuses [For instance Elves get stealth bonuses] and even some detriments. Without knowing all of these, I risk not playing the game correctly and I don't want to be a sloppy DM.
I was also overwhelmed by things like the equipment section of the manual. It listed this seemingly 30 page long list of items and services and how much they should cost. I figured this should have been touched on in the Equipment book though, not the players manual. The more I read into the manual, the more I desired to just shut it and give up on the idea of being a DM. I was trying to adsorb too much and after awhile, I just wanted to rush it.
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The standard setting is very close to what you seem to envision, the rules are much better defined, they are more clear & consistent, but they also support great out of combat play, and your RP can be mroe readily backed up with mechanics, if necessary. It also has some other great settings, but from what I've read, I think you'll probably hate those with a passion.