dm | www. Newbie DM .com

Browsing All posts tagged under »dm«

Dealing with varying levels of XP amongst your players

June 2, 2009 by newbiedm

I currently DM a group of 7 players, varying in levels from about 5 (maybe 6) to 8. Some players can’t always make it, and the way we’ve been dealing with absent players is to hand wave them as just sort of disappearing into the background, only to reappear next time the players shows up. […]

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 […]

Advice for new DM’s only!

May 14, 2009 by newbiedm

Experienced DM’s, this article is not for you, so move along. Nothing to see here… In July, it’ll be a year since I started DM’ing. Unfortunately, we don’t get to play as often as I’d like, so my time behind the screen doesn’t come about often enough. Nevertheless, the amount of time we do get […]

4th Ed. and dying

May 8, 2009 by newbiedm

I would like to put some questions out there in reference to death in 4th Ed. Is it easy to die? Are DM’s finding that their pc’s are dying too easily when participating in “level appropriate” encounters? Players, do you find yourselves facing the prospect of death often? I have been slowly coming to the realization that the […]

Playing at paragon tier, or learning to crawl before you can walk

May 7, 2009 by newbiedm

So my regular group has been having scheduling problems, so some of us decided to do a quick one shoot last night to get our fix. We decided that I wouldn’t DM, to give me a chance to play and experience the other side of the screen for a bit. Now, our DM was also […]

About the indispensable PC…

May 4, 2009 by newbiedm

A message to newbie DM’s everywhere: avoid falling into the trap of making your PC’s indispensable to your story! Picture it: You’ve got your epic adventure all planned out. You’re assembling your fellowship of heroes, and are ready to throw them into the fire. In your mind, each of them fills a certain role within […]

New DM’s: Introduce new PC’s through side stories in your campaign

May 2, 2009 by newbiedm

So your players got themselves a shiny new copy of the PHB2, and they are dying to try it out… great! But maybe the problem you are facing as a DM though, is that you’ve got your story on track, the PC’s involved are part of a greater tale within the world you’ve crafted, and […]

A sort of Eureka! moment in regards to Skill Challenges

April 28, 2009 by newbiedm

I don’t hide the fact that I can’t wrap my head around skill challenges. I find it hard to conceptualize narrating them at the table without the exercise simply becoming a series of rolls. The irony though, is that I’d love to run them at the table to break up the monotony of combat/combat/combat. This […]

Dungeon Tiles on the cheap

October 3, 2008 by newbiedm

So I’ve picked up some of these Dungeon Tiles that Wizards puts out. They look great, but not nearly enough come in a pack IMHO. Also, I consider that once I buy the Dungeon TIle, they are mine to do as I please with, like a movie or a CD, or a book. Here’s how […]