Sorry but my book is not in front of me however, as I recall you have the group start outside the dungeon. I recall a statue with acid burns, a cave entrance covered with a curtain of some type (vine?), and the goblins behind it. I figured since the goblins are watching and waiting for the players to get closer they should have a surprise round. Am I wrong? I did not see anything about it being a surprise round tho. Later in another room it talks about the monsters (don't recall which) getting a surprise round. So I am confused, did they forget the surprise round at the beginning? Did the goblins not get it because they are drunk? How did you run this?
On to my next question. I am having a terrible time coming up with follow up adventures. I mean exactly how to build them. Maybe it's just me but I would like more examples, hand holding, etc. I just feel when I try to make up an adventure the monsters don't really belong. Also find it hard to do a "talk" encounter. And of course the "trap" encounter does not seem easily explained, as in why would there be a trap here? I don't know, maybe I am trying to over think everything. Seems that I am having a hard time explaining myself perhaps some sleep will help.
Thanks,
+J
I think the first combat is there just as an introduction on how the players actually do combat. If the players are completely new to Pathfinder especially if this is there first RPG then I would advise to leave this as it is to try and ease them and you into the idea of the game and not throw to much around at once.
However at the end of the day it is up to as your the GM. If you think this should be changed then change it just make sure that your players are comfortable with the rules of combat and it won't matter to much. When I played this I just played it with what was written in the book to get an idea.
I found that when I first started making adventures to just draw the shape of the dungeon or cave or wherever then get an idea of what the end goal might be, then fill it with monsters from there that would match with the end goal. My first one was about a giant rat queen as the 'boss' of the dungeon so naturally I filled the dungeon with rats, then I thought that might get boring so put some skeletons in that had been attacked by the rats, then thought that there could maybe have been some huge battle happen previously.... and that's how I go through creation. This works for me but probably won't for a lot of people. I would also say to only think about one adventure at a time and not an entire campaign otherwise it's easy when first starting out to get bogged down.
In the GM handbook there is a quite a few story arch ideas that you may want to have a go at if your struggling for inspiration and there is also a part about random encounters and it gives details on what monsters might be found in certain terrains. This is not law just for inspiration.
The trap encounter is just a simple someone didn't want that gem to be taken kind of encounter. It is there to serve as an introduction to the players of how traps work and what to watch out for. If you want to add more depth to that then you should there is no reason why you shouldn't.
'Talking' and role playing is a lot harder with people you know and even more so if not everyone is doing it. I think with this it might be a good idea if you just take the mick and not be worried about looking stupid it will make the game fun and the players will be more likely to join in as well. I struggled with this as well at the start of my GMing. I always found Beer helped for some strange reason.
Sorry for going on for a bit but hope this helps and just remember to have fun and that it's perfectly fine to make mistakes I know I do.
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Sorry but my book is not in front of me however, as I recall you have the group start outside the dungeon. I recall a statue with acid burns, a cave entrance covered with a curtain of some type (vine?), and the goblins behind it. I figured since the goblins are watching and waiting for the players to get closer they should have a surprise round. Am I wrong? I did not see anything about it being a surprise round tho. Later in another room it talks about the monsters (don't recall which) getting a surprise round. So I am confused, did they forget the surprise round at the beginning? Did the goblins not get it because they are drunk? How did you run this?
On to my next question. I am having a terrible time coming up with follow up adventures. I mean exactly how to build them. Maybe it's just me but I would like more examples, hand holding, etc. I just feel when I try to make up an adventure the monsters don't really belong. Also find it hard to do a "talk" encounter. And of course the "trap" encounter does not seem easily explained, as in why would there be a trap here? I don't know, maybe I am trying to over think everything. Seems that I am having a hard time explaining myself perhaps some sleep will help.
Thanks,
+J
Everyone on this board draws inspiration from some form or another. Just do what is comfortable to you and do not fret too much about doing it 'right' when you are new. This is because you can't really do it wrong. You just become more efficient and entertaining as time goes by and with practice. I will give two outlandish examples as, well... examples:
Die Hard (the original)
An ongoing multilevel skirmish battle for a solo player easily adapted to a warehouse/sewer system type environment.
A commute to work.
When I was a designer for a new Multiple Listing Service in Kansas City, I had to commute among a number of highways and three different Interstates every day to get to and from work. Each leg could be thought of as a 'tunnel' in a dungeon or sewer with hazards, and each intersection where PEOPLE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO MERGE can become an encounter chamber etc. Or imagine a mission to deliver a letter through city streets during a market day or festival. The commute alone can make you want combat.
Three: whatever you want. A dungeon is just a flowchart with decorations. Start small. the rest will come. Have fun.
Re more adventures - there are good ideas for the Sandpoint mini-campaign in the GM's book. You can also make some rolls on the random monster tables and go from there!
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Practice accents and speech patterns....they don't have to ever be good (My english accent blends into my australian accent blends into my scottish accent and my indian accent is good but so fake it hurts), they just need to be different. Look to movies for inspiration for the "talkie" parts. Writers for movies get paid for good dialog writing, steal from them. Of course if you use the most popular references from the most popular movies it might help to switch up the wording a bit so it isn't a blatant steal...
Always remember that most people are not professional actors, writers, architects, or RPG designers. It is OK to take ideas from professionals and adapt for your game. The whole point is to have fun, keep absorbing the info you find online and in pop-culture with an eye toward RPG usability, and always remember to have fun. Yes, have fun is that important.
Here's a few links that may help...
random dungeon generator
EdOwar's Blog, some really good Beginner's box stuff. also Check out his whole site for ideas, there is a great one page Goblinville that is awesome.
His site also led me to the Pocket Full of Peril link which is one page themed dungeons that only need some tweaking and monster stats to finish off. I would download them all and really look them over.
That should start you off. Don't want to overwhelm you and sorry for the Wall of Words I seem to have cast.
Thanks for the info & links. And please whelm me, I love to learn and read.
Thanks,
+J
So are you not for trying pre-made dungeons? At least for me personally, it eliminates te prep time and there's a lot of adventures that just seem like a lot of fun to run. They also give me ideas for what I want to design myself.