i just got issue 1 of the d&d adventuers magazine as a new player as of now it's just so i can learn to dm and my son can learn to play a few things i need help with 

I'll say this as a bit of background too i plan on playing the encounter without a map(bar the one in the dm section)

1. How do i know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2 how do i know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3 it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

3 charicter sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

4 i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

5 once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

6 being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

Our goal is to have a fun weekly night and perhaps once were compitent try introduce family to it too

He wanted to play mtg first but without just letting mtg 2015 teach him i'd struggle plus I'd end up playing mill which would probably of put a newbie off plus d&d seems better as we love story telling and rpgs

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

 

1. How do I know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2. How do I know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3. it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

4. character sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

5. i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

6. once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

7. being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

 

 
1 - DM decides and states in the description of the area. IOW, ya make it up, going with what sounds good as part of the PC (player Character's) story.

2 - They roll a 20 sided die, add any modifications to the roll, and if the number is higher than the creatures AC (Armor Class), then it is a hit.

3 - A: They have to look for it. They will make a perception check against the DC of finding it.

3 - B: They say they dig it up.

3 - C:  No, they can get it if they happen across it, find it, and dig it up.

4 - No, you erase the prior number and pencil in the new one.

4 - B: You can just ask. I have a reference sheet that tells me their ability scores, level, and hit points, and not much else. I ask the their AC and other stuff all the time.

4 - C: I always recommend pencil, but really, it doesn't matter, lol. It's just paper.

5 - You read the stuff, and let them make all the decisions, then you react to them. They may never get to the point of an encounter or do the thing to get to the goal. Players have a notorious habit of not doing whatever you think they will do, even if you come up with a dozen things they could do. If they don't, you make it up. "you hear a scratching noise from behind the wall", and when they find the door and bust it open, a rat scuttles out. Don't tell them where to go, don't tell them what to do. It is their adventure, and while you can give them hints, it would be things like "you sure you want to do that? Are you certain you are ready to leave? Have you thought about searching?"

6 - You let them head back to town or whatever and celebrate, or...     ... you say "and that's it! Hurray!" However you want is fine.

7 - a DM's character is called an NPC (Non-Player Character).  Figure that out as you go. If the adventure is for two people, then it might be hard for a single person, so I would suggest having your NPC be a back up, helping out when needed. You can also have them be a DMPC (Dungeon Master's Player Character), but I find that is pretty much the same thing.

thank you i knew asking here would help.

Seems saunting reading the guides but the more i find out the more i understand my role as scene setter/rule keeper/guide/man with a bag of die and a bigger bag of npcs and monsters

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

thank you i knew asking here would help.

Seems saunting reading the guides but the more i find out the more i understand my role as scene setter/rule keeper/guide/man with a bag of die and a bigger bag of npcs and monsters

 
That's an accurate summation, lol.

Be careful, though: if you catch the bug, you could end up like me, and still be doing it after 40 plus years!

also with my lad being younger would you reccomend A give him the rules to read or B play the sessions and break the forth wall as it where to explain rules?

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

also with my lad being younger would you reccomend A give him the rules to read or B play the sessions and break the forth wall as it where to explain rules?

 I tend to favor the "explain as you go" unless the kid is big on reading.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

thank you i knew asking here would help.

Seems saunting reading the guides but the more i find out the more i understand my role as scene setter/rule keeper/guide/man with a bag of die and a bigger bag of npcs and monsters

 
That's an accurate summation, lol.

Be careful, though: if you catch the bug, you could end up like me, and still be doing it after 40 plus years!

 yeah once i get a hobby i stick to it(i mean guitar is on hiatus atm but after a 20 year hobby and on off pro work i was a bit fed up of dead ends and plus musicans can be so much like you need to do xyz to be good) for example i first played thps in 1999 and sf/mk and mario in 1993 these days i can get a 1 mil pt combo in thps i know the mk lore waaay too much, i will argue all day that sf the movie and mario with bob hoskins are amazing and i play nsmb wii and mk wii/8 deluxe with my oh

I just think d&d is a perfect hobby its almost like taking the best of tolkenesqe fantasy and making a story with it but you dont have to be a novelist to.do so

I love mtg but only from a gameplay pov ... Unpopular opinion but the story and lore in mtg is  all over the place and not needed

I love how d&d has lore that whilst it can form one narative you can rewrite and retcon it without worrying about it really plus as we progress we might use dr who or lotr or bsg or oddworld as a setting lol

Thats something as well in the 90s/2000s i loved odd world this year i got the whole series(bar the gbgba ones) the best hobbies are life long 

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

i just got issue 1 of the d&d adventuers magazine as a new player as of now it's just so i can learn to dm and my son can learn to play a few things i need help with 

I'll say this as a bit of background too i plan on playing the encounter without a map(bar the one in the dm section)

1. How do i know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2 how do i know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3 it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

3 charicter sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

4 i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

5 once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

6 being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

Our goal is to have a fun weekly night and perhaps once were compitent try introduce family to it too

He wanted to play mtg first but without just letting mtg 2015 teach him i'd struggle plus I'd end up playing mill which would probably of put a newbie off plus d&d seems better as we love story telling and rpgs

 2 is a weapons check against the enemies armor class (AC)

Quote from bls11 >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

i just got issue 1 of the d&d adventuers magazine as a new player as of now it's just so i can learn to dm and my son can learn to play a few things i need help with 

I'll say this as a bit of background too i plan on playing the encounter without a map(bar the one in the dm section)

1. How do i know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2 how do i know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3 it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

3 charicter sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

4 i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

5 once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

6 being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

Our goal is to have a fun weekly night and perhaps once were compitent try introduce family to it too

He wanted to play mtg first but without just letting mtg 2015 teach him i'd struggle plus I'd end up playing mill which would probably of put a newbie off plus d&d seems better as we love story telling and rpgs

 2 is a weapons check against the enemies armor class (AC)

 what about things like +4 peircing is this an attack bonus and does the peircing matter or just flavour text?

I'd check out one of the many dnd podcasts or livestreams too, then you can watch a DM in action and take in some of the skills. Season 1 of Critical Roll and the first campaign of The Adventure Zone are both good for this because they came out around the same time as 5e, so the players are new to the rules and they explain a lot about what's going on. 

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

Quote from bls11 >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

 

 what about things like +4 peircing is this an attack bonus and does the peircing matter or just flavour text?

 Piercing is a kind of damage that is done. Some things will have a resistance to piercing attacks. Slashing and Bludgeoning are two other weapons damage types.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

Quote from bls11 >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

 

 what about things like +4 peircing is this an attack bonus and does the peircing matter or just flavour text?

 Piercing is a kind of damage that is done. Some things will have a resistance to piercing attacks. Slashing and Bludgeoning are two other weapons damage types.

 ah ok gotcha i'm gunna give it a go this weekend just need to decide how i want to play my dm and make the best use of my 2 performing arrts gnvqs(i did the same course twice lol first time around it was great 2nd time teachers were terrible and fellow pupils were snobby dancers so as a working class actor i never gelled with them)

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

i just got issue 1 of the d&d adventuers magazine as a new player as of now it's just so i can learn to dm and my son can learn to play a few things i need help with 

I'll say this as a bit of background too i plan on playing the encounter without a map(bar the one in the dm section)

1. How do i know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2 how do i know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3 it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

3 charicter sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

4 i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

5 once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

6 being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

Our goal is to have a fun weekly night and perhaps once were compitent try introduce family to it too

He wanted to play mtg first but without just letting mtg 2015 teach him i'd struggle plus I'd end up playing mill which would probably of put a newbie off plus d&d seems better as we love story telling and rpgs

 First take a breath there is nothing to worry about 

Point 1.   Where the monsters is placed is entirely up to you.

Point 2. While the magazine is cool and if you have not gotten the free ruleset available in  D&D bey i urge you to do so  along with the Players handbook, the dungeonmasters guide and the  Monster Manual.  A good many questions you might have will be explained with those reference materials if you can't afford i have room in my campaigns  and i am not opposed to making a new one to share the materials.

Point 3. No and if you both are using D&D Beyond  you don't even have to use paper.. However i can tell you a character sheet can last many years through many different changes. In the absence of a character sheet or the magazine for adventures  Invest in graph paper  and you will be able to make your own  

Point 4. That is not a bad way to deal with the information.  However, as you go on  use the information as a springboard   and think of ways to tailor  the encounters to your party

Point 5. this question is a little more tricky as i don't subscribe to the adventure magazine  I either make maps and adventures wholesale or i convert and older D&D module to 5e. and most of my stuff is 24-32 encounters + traps and roleplaying encounters that take 8-12 sessions to complete.  Generally we play for every other week 4-6 hours. That probably does not help you now but in the future it might.

Point 6.  You might want to make an npc to travel with your player.  You may also have to scale back the encounters, so you don't kill off your player too quickly.

Your goal is a laudable goal and I hope both you and your family enjoy the game.

The only other advice i can give you  is to get a pad of graphing paper  and a Notebook solely for your game.

Quote from AEDorsay >>

Quote from Kirtchencadet >>

 

1. How do I know how far away monsters are from the entry point to a room

2. How do I know a player has landed a hit i.e what figure am i looking at the hit points beating 

3. it says burried 5 feet below the ale celler is a skelleton holding equipment how do i tell my players its there? B how do they uncover it and C should they of already of met the encounter goal can they still get it?

4. character sheets does each level up need a new sheet? As a DM do i need copies of the sheets or do i just say thing like whats your stat(so i can do the maths)and is it better to write in pen or pencil?

5. i noticed most of the dms guide is maps stats for npcs etc and room descriptions i assume i use this info to set the scene and bounce off the players actions to guide them to the goal i.e player:open the door dm:you open the door theres a groups of rats the inn keeper has been taken hostige

6. once the goal is met how do i let the player know the session is over ?

7. being as i'm doing a 2 player setting with a new player will it be ol having 1 pc and me as dm or should i perhaps play a pc as support?

 

 
1 - DM decides and states in the description of the area. IOW, ya make it up, going with what sounds good as part of the PC (player Character's) story.

2 - They roll a 20 sided die, add any modifications to the roll, and if the number is higher than the creatures AC (Armor Class), then it is a hit.

3 - A: They have to look for it. They will make a perception check against the DC of finding it.

3 - B: They say they dig it up.

3 - C:  No, they can get it if they happen across it, find it, and dig it up.

4 - No, you erase the prior number and pencil in the new one.

4 - B: You can just ask. I have a reference sheet that tells me their ability scores, level, and hit points, and not much else. I ask the their AC and other stuff all the time.

4 - C: I always recommend pencil, but really, it doesn't matter, lol. It's just paper.

5 - You read the stuff, and let them make all the decisions, then you react to them. They may never get to the point of an encounter or do the thing to get to the goal. Players have a notorious habit of not doing whatever you think they will do, even if you come up with a dozen things they could do. If they don't, you make it up. "you hear a scratching noise from behind the wall", and when they find the door and bust it open, a rat scuttles out. Don't tell them where to go, don't tell them what to do. It is their adventure, and while you can give them hints, it would be things like "you sure you want to do that? Are you certain you are ready to leave? Have you thought about searching?"

6 - You let them head back to town or whatever and celebrate, or...     ... you say "and that's it! Hurray!" However you want is fine.

7 - a DM's character is called an NPC (Non-Player Character).  Figure that out as you go. If the adventure is for two people, then it might be hard for a single person, so I would suggest having your NPC be a back up, helping out when needed. You can also have them be a DMPC (Dungeon Master's Player Character), but I find that is pretty much the same thing.

Just a clarification on point 2: if the total of the To Hit roll (d20 + modifiers) EQUALS or exceeds the target’s Armour Class (AC), the attack has hit.