There's probably a whole threat for newb DMs somewhere that I haven't found! Anyway....
I did a bit of D&D at university courtesy of a homebrew Ravenloft campaign written by my flatmate that we kept going for over two years. 25 years (or so) on and I have two kids who are really interested and want me to DM for them. We've done Dragons of Stormwreck Isle but they want to do something a bit more substantial so we bought the Candlekeep Mysteries book and completed the first mystery. The problem is that there is no real narrative in the book and also a massive amount of open-ended information to aid story development. So much information in fact that I don't know how to handle it! We're all desperate to get the adventurers meaningfully on the move but I just feel like I'm stumbling all the time. So on to my questions:
1) Has anyone out there written a narrative for the Candlekeep Mysteries that they'd be willing to share?
2) Failing that would it be better to get one of the other books instead? Perhaps a campaign-based one?
3) Also I'm looking for a very basic DMs cheat sheet or dashboard, the sort that a newb could use just to remind themselves of particular rolls they should be doing and general reminders to do stuff? There's so much information available online that its completely overwhelming and I don't know where to start looking lest I end up down a rabbit hole somewhere.
1. I'm sure someone has tried, but that's hard to find organically. My understanding is that the Candlekeep stories aren't usually meant to be a campaign as much as they are little diversions to be added in. That said, you can run them as a campaign, but you just need a lose, connecting framework. E.g. your players were sent to Candlekeep to find a magic tome to undo a curse over all Faerun, and in order to unearth the tome, you must first solve the mysteries locked in the library's most ancient and forgotten tomes. You can use Candlekeep as a home base while the players search the shelves for each book, then dive into the books to solve the mysteries. Introduce a wise old librarian who has access to a small trove of adventuring goods, and you've got enough connective tissue to lead them through the story.
2. A LOT of the campaign-based stories are actually standalone modules that have been updated from previous editions and cobbled together by the developers over the years into semi-cohesive stories. If you're truly discouraged by Candlekeep, Phandelver and Below is meant to be a good introductory module for DM's and players alike, and it's pretty coherent and easy to follow. But it's also a pretty direct hack-and-slash, so it might not fit the vibe you're looking for. If you're looking for more intrigue and roleplay-based stories, you might try Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. I've heard good things, but I've never played it myself.
3. If you can get a DM's screen, that's your best bet, although I tend to find them overwhelming and they still never seem to have the answer I'm looking for. I'd honestly suggest getting some practice using the DnDBeyond search function and looking up rules. If you're new, ask your kids for patience as you're all learning the game. The best way to keep the game flowing is to say "I'm not sure what the rules say, but this is what we're going to do for now. I'm going to look up the official rules after the game, and I'll let you know if we have to change something next time." It's good to teach that kind of flexibility to your kids as well, rather than having them expect you to be perfect 100% of the time.
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Hi folks,
There's probably a whole threat for newb DMs somewhere that I haven't found! Anyway....
I did a bit of D&D at university courtesy of a homebrew Ravenloft campaign written by my flatmate that we kept going for over two years. 25 years (or so) on and I have two kids who are really interested and want me to DM for them. We've done Dragons of Stormwreck Isle but they want to do something a bit more substantial so we bought the Candlekeep Mysteries book and completed the first mystery. The problem is that there is no real narrative in the book and also a massive amount of open-ended information to aid story development. So much information in fact that I don't know how to handle it! We're all desperate to get the adventurers meaningfully on the move but I just feel like I'm stumbling all the time. So on to my questions:
1) Has anyone out there written a narrative for the Candlekeep Mysteries that they'd be willing to share?
2) Failing that would it be better to get one of the other books instead? Perhaps a campaign-based one?
3) Also I'm looking for a very basic DMs cheat sheet or dashboard, the sort that a newb could use just to remind themselves of particular rolls they should be doing and general reminders to do stuff? There's so much information available online that its completely overwhelming and I don't know where to start looking lest I end up down a rabbit hole somewhere.
A dm screen?
1. I'm sure someone has tried, but that's hard to find organically. My understanding is that the Candlekeep stories aren't usually meant to be a campaign as much as they are little diversions to be added in. That said, you can run them as a campaign, but you just need a lose, connecting framework. E.g. your players were sent to Candlekeep to find a magic tome to undo a curse over all Faerun, and in order to unearth the tome, you must first solve the mysteries locked in the library's most ancient and forgotten tomes. You can use Candlekeep as a home base while the players search the shelves for each book, then dive into the books to solve the mysteries. Introduce a wise old librarian who has access to a small trove of adventuring goods, and you've got enough connective tissue to lead them through the story.
2. A LOT of the campaign-based stories are actually standalone modules that have been updated from previous editions and cobbled together by the developers over the years into semi-cohesive stories. If you're truly discouraged by Candlekeep, Phandelver and Below is meant to be a good introductory module for DM's and players alike, and it's pretty coherent and easy to follow. But it's also a pretty direct hack-and-slash, so it might not fit the vibe you're looking for. If you're looking for more intrigue and roleplay-based stories, you might try Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. I've heard good things, but I've never played it myself.
3. If you can get a DM's screen, that's your best bet, although I tend to find them overwhelming and they still never seem to have the answer I'm looking for. I'd honestly suggest getting some practice using the DnDBeyond search function and looking up rules. If you're new, ask your kids for patience as you're all learning the game. The best way to keep the game flowing is to say "I'm not sure what the rules say, but this is what we're going to do for now. I'm going to look up the official rules after the game, and I'll let you know if we have to change something next time." It's good to teach that kind of flexibility to your kids as well, rather than having them expect you to be perfect 100% of the time.