Advice for a novice DM with newbie players?

[Mitchbones]

I will start running this AP again Monday (I ran earllier in the year, but it fell apart due to half the players doing drugs).

I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me or for my players.

Also, what houserules do you use for your game?

Thanks!
P.S. Props to the paizo crew, from the issues I've looked through it looks amazing!

[lin_fusan]

I would stick to the Core three books (Player's Handbook, Monster Manual I, and Dungeon Master's Guide).

I would also make sure everyone knows you are all just learning and that mistakes will be made. Take-backs are OK, as long as they are reasonably soon after an action.

Ham it up! Savage Tide is a swashbuckling adventure! Talk pirate talk, use a lot of "Yarrr!!!!" "Avast!" and "Davey Jone's Locker." It's a lot of fun, gets people to relax, and players pay attention.

The Savage Tide is a meat-grinder. If you run as-is expect a lot of character deaths. Your players should know and expect that. Or tone down the damage a little. Your choice.

And I have a policy of no drugs or alcohol during games. I'm not a prude by any means, but when someone is on drugs or drunk they are a bit...distracted. This slows the game down a lot to the point where you aren't really playing a game anymore and only hanging out, which you can do without all the dice, books, and character sheets.

Lastly, be prepared for your games. Have lots of scratch paper, print extra copies of maps so you can refer to them, have extra copies of monster stat blocks. Read at least one or two adventures ahead so you know what the prepare for.

[Orcmonk220]

One thing I would suggest is printing off a lot of the maps and pictures from Google. Photos of ships, islands and cavern can all help inhance the feel (as there are a lot of cliche but fun places in the campaign).

Also, make sure you understand your main NPCs. Lavinia and the like can be tricky to fully establish (Lavinia i'm still trying to find. So far, all I have is that she smiles a lot, but I'm thinking a little bit of a drama queen...), and even though some don't last for long, they are still fun to play out to their utmost.

Finally, I'd agree with hamming it up. I didn't first session, but next I plan to give thugs grunting voices, Lavinia a cut accent, and the like.

Mostly, have fun. It's an amazing campaign, and one I'm glad we'll get to see the conclusion of...

EDIT: Forgot to thank those involved with the campaign, and also suggest that you have a copy of Lavinia's manor's floor plan handy. It can be a lifesaver :)

[Festivus]

I also suggest (if you have the time) is to read through some of the play by posts threads. There is one at ENWorld that I have been enjoying:

D&D - Malvoisin's Savage Tide, Act 1 - There Is No Honor

It's a bit more flowery that tabletop but it will give you an idea of the flow. You can read my journal as well:

Fest's Savage Tide Journal

Though it's chock full of grammatical errors and whatnot as I didn't have a ton of time to put in on it.

[stingraylonnie]

You can read my journal as well:

Fest's Savage Tide Journal

Though it's chock full of grammatical errors and whatnot as I didn't have a ton of time to put in on it.

I like what you have done, and it makes for some interesting reading. Will you be posting more of your journals?

[Paz]

Mitchbones wrote:

I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me or for my players.

I am also DMing novice players, and if yours are like mine, they'll struggle with the rules from time to time, so 'cheat sheets' can come in useful.

There are some good ones HERE, specifically the ones called 'Reference Sheet 1' & 'Reference Sheet 2' (for players) and 'DM Reference Sheet 1' & 'DM Reference Sheet 2' (for the DM).

I hope this helps.

paz