Questions related to someone who is serving as game master (GM) for the first time.
20
votes
5answers
600 views
GM Help - Bump on a log player
I GM a World of Darkness group every other weekend, and I've come across what I like to call a "Bump-on-a-log" player. This player has been with my game since I started it up, and we're now ...
5
votes
2answers
106 views
Race Creation/Modification in D&D 3.5
I'm trying to create a set of races, based largely on the classic fantasy races of Man, Elf, Dwarf (and Gnome, but I don't consider that to be a 'classic' fantasy race). I'm using 3.5 rules, and the ...
3
votes
0answers
44 views
What should a new GM know when starting their first Paranoia game? [duplicate]
I am a new relatively new GM (under a year's experience) and have only run/played Pathfinder. For this I have lots of resources: the beginner's box and its GM and player manuals, pawns, play-mat and ...
7
votes
5answers
551 views
Newbie starting first D&D campaign
My friends want to play D&D and they expect me to be the GM; since none of us has ever played before, their wanting to keep playing or not pretty much depends on me. I have bought the Player's ...
3
votes
0answers
55 views
Can anyone teach a new player to play Pathfinder? [duplicate]
I have the core book and the Bestiary 2. My brother gave them to me but I've never found time to sit and learn how to play by myself.
19
votes
7answers
775 views
How can I screen new players to make sure they are a good fit for my game?
I'm looking to start a new Savage Worlds campaign and I need a full set of players for it. I've played in games before and ran a couple of one-shots, but I've never GMed a full campaign. There's ...
16
votes
4answers
371 views
How do I tell how long my adventure is going to be?
I'm a new DM starting a campaign I've written myself. I have a party of 4 players right now- three have been playing for years, one has never played before. My problem is I'm not sure how to tell how ...
16
votes
6answers
470 views
I'm fairly new to D&D but want to GM; where do I go from here?
I'm a 16-year-old male, and I have been interested in tabletop RPGs for a long time, especially D&D. I sorta dove into D&D really fast and hard by buying the Red box, Dungeon Master Kit, ...
4
votes
4answers
181 views
3 novices, 1 Warhammer Fantasy. How do I make sure my friends don't have a bad first experience?
I recently convinced my friends to try out a table-top RPG. Now, being an almost complete novice to table-top RPGs, and adding the fact that I will have to take point and GM this campaign... Is there ...
15
votes
9answers
542 views
Does GMing diminish or detract from being a player in games?
I started playing RPGs last year with the Pathfinder Beginner Box. I have been GMing and writing a campaign, but have also encouraged members of the party that are interested to run a one-off Beginner ...
4
votes
0answers
78 views
I am a novice, so are my friends. What should we start out with? [duplicate]
Lately I've been wanting to get into the whole table top RPG scene. I briefly played Dungeons & Dragons with very little understanding of the game; it was rather fun, even if it was over Skype. I ...
16
votes
7answers
558 views
What's a good class and race for beginners?
I'm a newbie GM and I have a new player at the table. He wants to play and I'm letting him (despite his loud, overly energetic behavior, and has a short attention span). Whats a good 3.5 class for ...
6
votes
4answers
240 views
Good games for inexperienced players and GMs?
I have been the GM for my little circle of friends for a few months. We are having trouble finding an RPG system to be comfortable with.
On my part, I seem to be unable to settle on any particular ...
3
votes
1answer
224 views
What to buy to start out 4e D&D (DM and PC) (Complete Noob, no previous experience) [duplicate]
So we're a completely new group of people, none of us have experience, and I've been assigned DM, which I think is a good idea. But we don't know where to start, or what to buy to get started on our ...
7
votes
8answers
512 views
How can I tailor an encounter so that a low level, mostly mundane party can defeat a wasp swarm?
I'm GM'ing a game with a large, mostly mundane party where all PCs at level 2. The party is made up of a good aligned cleric (i.e. no damage spells), wizard, druid (with wolf animal companion), monk, ...
6
votes
5answers
740 views
Designing my own D&D Adventure
Currently I am part of a my first campaign of D&D(4E) as a player and been having fun.
Sometime in the near future I would like to host my own game of D&D with my own adventure. So far I ...
23
votes
6answers
339 views
Non native speakers and Pen & Paper Role-Playing Games
I'm among a group of people which doesn't share the same mother tongue. We are speaking English every day and can communicate very well in daily situations and even in an academic way.
Some of them ...
4
votes
3answers
122 views
Should house rules and custom material be created before experiencing the game? [closed]
Let's take a new GM. New in the sense of "new to a specific game", not new to GMing. The GM read all the rules from cover to cover and he understands them, but never played. Should he start house ...
22
votes
5answers
503 views
How do I learn to become a good GM?
I have played and tried to GM games since I was in elementary school, beginning with games like Shadowrun, Earthdawn, and Champions. Recently, I've gotten dack into gaming with a variety of other ...
15
votes
4answers
379 views
Challenging pre-made campaign for veteran players but easy on new GMs
I just decided to start GMing. I have never done it before, but I have played lots of RPGs as a player. The group I have is a min/maxing group who knows what to do and I want to give them something to ...
6
votes
4answers
395 views
Is there an alternate rule to allow different stats for Male/Female?
I want to introduce a variant that allows for stat adjustments for males/females, but I would like something more in-depth than just a bonus and penalty to stats. Are there any existing variants or ...
6
votes
1answer
122 views
How much, and what kind of, advance planning is appropriate for a sandbox campaign?
New ZM attemping to get ideas for a campaign down something similar to a tabletop fallout game.
How much info is too much info for general prep? Can there ever be too much? Or is there a general ...
4
votes
3answers
276 views
DM going from D&D 3.5e to AD&D 1st edition [closed]
I recently purchased the following seven AD&D books:
Player Handbook,
Monster Manual,
Dungeon Master's Guide,
Fiend Folio,
Monster Manual 2,
Unearthed Arcana, and.
Deites and Demigods.
Based on ...
10
votes
5answers
314 views
How to go from a humorous campaign to a more serious one?
I am currently running a D&D 4E game. The game started off kind of goofy (we have a thrikreen rogue with glowing blonde hair, an ale-obsessed dwarf battlemind, a ditzy human wizard, and a dwarf ...
1
vote
2answers
291 views
Good RPG System/Game/style for just a single DM and single Player? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
1 GM and 1 Player games and game systems?
I am looking for a system or style of play (or even contained game/game module) which would be fun for just one player---myself ...
9
votes
3answers
296 views
How do I keep me and my player happy in a one-on-one game?
As a GM, my comfort zone is a group with about 3-5 players. I like the diversity of having multiple players. When I only have a single player, I feel I can already predict my player's actions, and we ...
15
votes
4answers
506 views
What should a DM do if a player wants to do something impossible?
If a player wants to do something a little out of the ordinary such as punching down a wall with his bare fists, what should I do? Do I make a DC for it? Do I make it so that no matter how much he ...
23
votes
3answers
1k views
Is there a core campaign setting for DnD 4e?
I'm completely new to RPGs in general, so I apologize in advance if this is an odd question. There's such an overwhelming abundance of lore on all the different campaign settings for DnD that I've ...
35
votes
6answers
1k views
Did I do a bad job as a GM?
Last night we played our first RPG (ever!) and I'm not sure if it went well.
The basic story was to find someone. There were three possible places where he could be; then the players hot wire a ...
9
votes
3answers
349 views
As a complete newcomer - what do I have to look out for?
I just orderer the D&D Red Box 4th edition. I plan to play it with my GF and maybe I can convince my flat mate as well. None of us has any experience playing Pen and Paper games (I have Baldur's ...
11
votes
5answers
356 views
How to deal with intimidating amount of rules in Shadowrun
I started to read about Shadowrun as a setting and I'm currently reading the rules and they are really intimidating. There's a lot to know as a player since every aspect of the game as it's own set of ...
14
votes
4answers
264 views
I have read the D&D PHB but am still having trouble grasping some of the basics, how can I learn more?
With credit to one of the more experienced members on the site, mxyzplk, I thought I'd ask where noobs like me should ask or find answers to basic questions about Dungeons & Dragons mechanics if ...
2
votes
4answers
281 views
How would society adjust if use of fire is reserved for the elite?
This is an extraction of one of the central questions arising from my original (overly broad) question.
In a society where the use of fire has been restricted, due to religious indoctrination, to the ...
6
votes
2answers
552 views
Starting Adventure Paths
I have never run or played an Adventure Path campaign but I am considering starting the subscription. If I understand it correctly each of the 6 part Adventure Paths start the player at 1st level and ...
22
votes
5answers
547 views
How can I learn how to negotiate as an NPC?
I'm a new GM (the system is DND 4.0 but that's not relevant here). I've quickly found that I perform very poorly when I'm portraying a negotiation between the PCs and one or more NPCs. Even when they ...
43
votes
14answers
1k views
How can I help my PCs remember clues that they found?
I'm a new DM running my first adventure (it's D&D 4.0 but that's not relevant to my question). I've heard of the "three clue rule", that there should be at least three independent pointers to any ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Choosing DnD 4th edition or Essentials for a new group and DM?
Recently I've got interested in roleplaying. My background is more or less hardcore boardgamer, I have played quite a large number of board games, even some of the most complicated ones and found it ...
3
votes
2answers
1k views
How do beastmasters' companions work?
I am playing D&D for the first time, and working on being a GM at that. We had our first session today, and it was very fun and went very well. However, one of my players chose a beastmaster, and ...
3
votes
1answer
505 views
Pathfinder: How to calculate attack roll for a monster
I'm a total Pathfinder newb and I have a question that will probably reveal just how "newb" I am.
According to the Core Rulebook, to calculate an attack roll, you use the following formula:
d20 + ...
8
votes
2answers
364 views
How to manage character arguments / conflict?
I'm a new DM and have just started a 4e game as Play by Post.
The game has started with one character (Bob) recruiting in a pub and the first response was from another character (Al) wanting to ...
8
votes
1answer
370 views
What are the main differences and similarities between Pathfinder and RuneQuest?
As the question suggests, I'm interested in the main differences and similarities between Pathfinder and RuneQuest. I'm fairly familiar with the RuneQuest system. I've heard a bit about Pathfinder ...
7
votes
1answer
123 views
Would the adventures in the Black Bag Jobs be a good starting point?
Were I new to GMing, would the the adventures in the Black Bag Jobs Laundry supplement be good as starting points or should I look elsewhere?
9
votes
3answers
246 views
New GM to a Laundry RPG game [closed]
What should a new (and not so experienced) GM watch out for when starting to run a game set in Charles Stross's Laundry universe? Note that all this could be applied to a Call Of Cthulhu game as well ...
9
votes
3answers
263 views
In Lady Blackbird, how do you NPC the characters people haven't picked?
My normal Apocalypse World crew was down a player this week, so I ran Lady Blackbird for 'em. It was my first time running the game (and we all had a blast), but I got rather confused when playing the ...
16
votes
6answers
319 views
How do I help create story around the table without writing it?
I love RPGs. I think they can create some of the most fun and enjoyable stories, both from an out-of-game and in-game standpoint.
I also realize that "story" is the result of the game played by the ...
6
votes
3answers
263 views
What do I need to make a campaign?
I am a sorta newbie DM (been playing for about 5 months) and I have a couple dungeons. So is that all I need to make a campaign? I have about 6-8 friends that I play with every week, but they are ...
18
votes
9answers
1k views
How to introduce a pen-and-paper RPG to family?
My brother and I have dabbled in D&D when we were younger. Also, at the last place where I worked, we had a weekly Pathfinder game session, which was fun.
Usually at our family get-togethers my ...
6
votes
6answers
347 views
Do I have to map out villages or outside areas?
Do I have to make a map of areas outside of my dungeons? For instance, a village or forest? Does the context of the Dungeon have to be mapped?
6
votes
3answers
266 views
Help with some ideas for a campaign
Okay, so I am a relatively new GM. I've started running the Road Trip campaign for Monsters and Other Childish things for my group. I thought I'd run a one night one-shot Halloween themed campaign for ...
12
votes
0answers
263 views
As a GM, how can I create and role-play diverse NPCs better? [duplicate]
I am new to GMing (and role-playing in general, for that matter) and I am having a somewhat difficult time making plausible and interesting NPCs. This is especially true with NPCs who are not "typical ...
