I'm looking to start up a new group with a handful of my long-time friends, but unsure on what Adventure Path/Module to run and looking for some advice. A few details:
- I'm a first-time DM, have played previously but not in the last 18 months
- The group will consist of my wife (previous player, about the same experience as me) and 3-4 brand new players, who've never played a tabletop RPG before.
- I'm excited to do an AP, but worried about leaping into that headfirst and thought we might start with an easy module before going to an AP. I've heard Hollows Last Hope and Dragons Demand mentioned, are they suitable?
- My wife and I last played RotRL, so it's likely off the table. Skull and Shackles is taking my fancy right now.
Thanks in advance!
Always start with an adventure that makes you excited as a DM to run or find one that everyone in your group wants to play. Modules can hit slow spots and dull patches, so it helps to run something that everyone wants to play.
Adventure Paths are written one module at a time and can be run just the same. It is usually quite simple to run any part of an adventure Path as a stand-alone adventure. You don't have to run all six parts - and most likely never will as it takes a year or two (or more) of committed playing.
Choosing a premade adventure path/module/whatever:
1. Keep it short
2. Use premade characters
3. Let everyone know it's your first game and there will be plenty of mistakes.
That should take a bunch of the pressure off.
After that, a quick guide to DM'ing:
1. Set the scene
2. Ask "what do you do?"
3. Resolve their actions
4. Go back to #1
--that's literally it. Just keep doing that for a few hours, and that's a session.
I cannot recommend The Angry GM's blog enough. He's a bit obnoxious, but he's also the most analytical, straightforward and crystal clear source of advice on the hobby that I've ever found.
At a minimum, I'd recommend keeping a list of NPC names of every possible race they might encounter and for each gender. Your AP should have all the normal NPC's they'll come into contact with, but as soon as your PC goes up to <random shopkeep> and asks "What's your name friend?", having a list of pre-generated names for each race/gender helps make sure you're not fumbling to think up a name on the fly. You should do the same for Shop names, because only the gods know what your PCs are going to come up with in-session on a whim, and rather than call everything Ye Olde X Shop, you can have a pre-generated list of Shop names too. Same thing for Evil guys they might come across too. I recommend doing this with Fantasy Name Generators.
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Thank you so much for the advice guys. I'll take all this on-board, and hopefully we'll have a successful campaign!
Some general tips:
● Use Combat Manager (discussion thread here). I'm using that program and I honestly don't know how I would be able to GM without it. A library of not only monsters (with templates addable), including probably all the ones from your AP, but also feats, spells, and rules. I've made characters for my PCs so I can roll stuff like perception without my players noticing. I also use the initiative roller, because while "roll initiative" at the start of combat can be cool, it a) wastes a lot of time, b) distrupts the flow of the game and c) prevents the GM from using initiative for situations that may or may not result in actual fighting (because when they have rolled initiative, the players will presume a combat is absolutely going to happen).
● Use some method to track initiative for the players. I'm using little folded pieces of cardboard with the PCs names (and numbers for monsters that the party knows about) on both sides that I put on the top of my laptop and move around so that the one farthest to my right (the players' left) is the the current character and the players can see who's next and so on.
● Don't rolls ability scores or hit dice! Both might feel like important RPG staples, but in reality, it's asking for trouble. A melee character that has less HP than the party Wizard is fun for absolutely no one. I'm using "average rounded up" for HD, and point buy for ability scores. I'd also suggest not using too low a point buy (nothing below 20), because a) it increases the inherent disparity, and b) usually leads to less rounded out characters. Higher point buy does not actually mean more powerful characters, because players react to the point buy.
● Always expect the unexpected, and learn to roll with it. Using an AP there are some limits, and it's really more an art than a science, but expect the players to always do something else than what you've thought they'd do. When in doubt, invent some NPC or use some quickly selected monsters (Combat Manager helps here) when the PCs really want to investigate that run down house that the AP description doesn't expect to be visited. Don't feel bad when you need to call for a short time out when the players catch you flat footed because they did something weird.
● Read ahead, and familiarize yourself with both the plot, and with the monsters the party will face, especially their special abilities (a monster/NPC uses some ability that fascinates? Read up on it!). Expect NPCs (both friend and foe) to be interrogated.
● Make the PCs create cheat sheets for their characters, where they have all the important statistics, including attack rolls and damage rolls under different sircumstances. Here are some examples. Calculating the currently valid attack roll(s) every round is probably the biggest time waste during combat. Likewise, have the players use Spell Cards and the likes for spells, active abilities (bardic performances, hexes, etc.), and printouts for complex on-the-fly choices like Summon Monster.
● Check everything your players selects (to see if it's actually legal, and to prevent imbalances, i.e. characters that are too weak or too strong in comparison to the other PCs). Try to familiarize yourself with every ability your PCs have. Asking for the spell/ability card in question (or looking up the thing in Combat Manager) can't hurt, you'd be surprised how ofter people overlook something semi-hidden in the description.
● Remember that very few creatures fight to the death. If a combat is too lethal, but the monster/NPC side has also suffered losses, having them retreat/cut their losses or use diplomacy even if they'd likely won the fight is a good and realistic alternative to fudging dice.
● Be honest and forthcoming with descriptions - the players only know what you tell them. Focus on information that is or may be actually important.
● Be willing to always listen to your players, but enforce rulings and decisions when necessary.
● When a rule issue come up, pick the solution that helps progress the game. When it could really go both ways and doesn't make much of a difference, just flip a coin!