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Don’t make the PC’s ride your newbie railroad!

July 25, 2009 by newbiedm

One of the pitfalls I discovered in my early days as a DM, was the tendency to “railroad” or lead my players on a track right into a storyline that I thought I needed them to follow. This, my beginner DM friends, is not a good thing. Players want to have free will. They do […]

On 4th Ed.’s simplified skill list

July 21, 2009 by newbiedm

I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around the argument coming out of some forums regarding the 4th Ed. skill list, in that mainly the list is too short to create fully fleshed out and distinct characters. I’m not buying it, as there are many ways to accomplish just that without needing too much […]

Tell the PC’s to leave their powers at the door

July 19, 2009 by newbiedm

This post is aimed directly at a newbie dm who may be DM’ing a set of newbie players through their first experiences with role-playing games… You’ve got the books, you’ve played a few sessions, and you’re really digging it. Your players are getting more and more comfortable with the rules, your table management gets smoother […]

The DM binder, folder, or notebook

July 10, 2009 by newbiedm

In the world of scripted television, writers have what’s called a show bible. The bible serves as a reference for better understanding the characters, settings, and plot situations of that particular showe It also serves to teach new writers how the “universe” of that show works. Great, Mr. TV. What does that have to do […]

Table Drama: Handling PvP & angry players

June 22, 2009 by newbiedm

I went backpacking through Europe for a month back in 1996. I was 23 years old, had a couple of hundred bucks saved up, so I decided to take the plunge. I went with 3 other friends, and spent the month traveling from hostel to hostel aboard rickety old trains. It was a great time, but […]

A reader written tutorial on making your own Dungeon Tiles.

June 5, 2009 by newbiedm

I received an email from one of my readers suggesting an idea for a tutorial. Rather than have me blog about the topic without really knowing much about it, I suggested he write it and I just host it. So, here now is reader Alex, with a pretty kick ass tutorial about making your own […]

XP Budget Chart for more than 5 PC’s

June 4, 2009 by newbiedm

If you DM more than 5 PC’s in your 4th Edition D&D game, you may find this useful. I cooked it up for my game because I was getting tired of having to do simple arithmetic that I have been terrible at since I was 7. The chart gives you XP encounter values for up […]

Fire tokens

June 2, 2009 by newbiedm

My party fought some Runeflame Skeletons this weekend, and they have a tendency to set things on fire. Basically, they can go insubstantial and move 8 squares, setting everything on fire as they walk around it. The fire then blocks line of sight. They also have a nasty aura that stacks, causing damage to those […]

Are you a new DM looking for players?

May 21, 2009 by newbiedm

So, you are a new DM with a wonderful idea for a campaign. You’ve got it all planned out, down to the one liners your bad guy will throw at your players in their final, epic encounter. Unfortunately, you’ve got no players to play with. Boo-hoo. What do you do? Go back to kill the […]

Bribe your players with bonus tokens.

May 16, 2009 by newbiedm

I’m going to start something new in my campaign in order to speed up gameplay. I run 7 players right now, and sometimes the game grinds to a halt due to slow decision making during combat. I understand that the tactical nature of 4th Ed. somewhat created this situation, as opposed to other, more abstract forms of […]