Hi all, me and my friends ware always into DnD stories games ...etc .. but just a couple of day's ago we found of that one of our friends has DnD starter set. Dice .. etc .. and then we found on market some kid selling Player, monster and DM gude, We bought all of that for cheap price and now we are organize a DnD first game :D I have just a some questions that trouble me. 1. Does DM has to read and know the adventure before the first role. Cause .. some Adventures have like, 300 pages. Or the DM can fallow along the story as game progresses.
1.1 Is there some good video that showes how adventure is supposed to be read.
2. Movement on the map. 1 square is 30 feet. ad that is used to calculate the battle. but what when players just move trough like empty corridor that is like 100 m ... Does DM let them pass straight. Or they must move ( how many squares they can move) one at a time. 3. Why DM is using the panels to hide his D20 .. or what ever dice rool?
0) Welcome! I hope you and your friends enjoy making stories and adventures together!
1) MMV on how much preparation one needs, but for a first timer, it's probably recommended that you err on the side of reading more than less. I recommend having an idea of the overall story, and then reading enough ahead on details to keep up. There are range of good videos on youtube that you could look up. Try searching for Matt Colville to start with. Many people here recommend him.
2) Typical combat size map grids are 1sq = 5ft. Typically, you only use map grids in combat. Otherwise, one only uses them to keep track of where everything is or for "navigation".
3) It's up to each DM on private vs public dice rolls. There is no rule.
1. Knowing the general plot of the whole adventure (particularly people and places) and the specific details of only the next chapter (or part if it is non-linear) is usually enough. Just try to stay one while session ahead of the players.
2. For areas with combat or traps, usually 1 square is 5 feet. For maps used only for navigation, grids are less important.
3. It isn't required to hide your dice rolls, but some DMs do it to fudge the results (usually in the player's favor). For example, if a monster rolls a critical hit that would kill the character, a DM might decide that it only does enough damage to knock the character unconscious.
Getting started can be a bit overwhelming, but it won't take long for you all to get a feel for how things should go.
In general, there are a lot of different guides/vids etc available now, most are useful but almost all are a bit different. I recommend keeping things simple to start with.
Have an initial session/pre-first game (aka session 0) so that everyone can kind of get on the same page with regards to things they are interested in and what they want from the game. If none of you really know that to begin with, that's fine. You may come up with a list of questions for everyone to work on.
To answer your questions specifically.
1. The DM is the person that's going to end up doing the most work in the game, both before each session (preparation) and during each session (running all of the battles and all of the non-player characters). Because of that, they should have a general sense of what the plot/story is. They don't need to know every detail, just be enough in advance. As they get more comfortable they will learn how to ad-lib a bit more and will prepare based on how they understand your game group to play.
2. DnD can be played like a tactical board game, with each square being 5 feet. It can also be played very abstractly (this is called "theatre of the mind") , with maybe only a rough map for basic positioning. There are pros and cons to both approaches. A detailed map certainly helps players visualize the encounter, but can also quickly devolve into is this 20' or 25' -- as opposed to a more narrative based combat. Try both and see what works best for your group.
3. The DM can roll in the open or behind the panels. That's up to how they want to run the game. A DM may want to roll "hidden" to prevent the players from seeing how many dice are being rolled, or to fudge things if need be. I think from a practical standpoint, having a DM Screen gives me another way to organize my notes (ie on the inside of the screen). Rolling diced then behind the screen just saves me physical movement so I don't have to reach over everything.
Good luck!
Here's a link you may find useful. Again there are a lot of different styles, and this is just one person's take.
Matt Colville: Your First adventure, running your first game.
Notes: embedded the video for increased visibility because it's a really good video :)
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
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Hi all, me and my friends ware always into DnD stories games ...etc .. but just a couple of day's ago we found of that one of our friends has DnD starter set. Dice .. etc .. and then we found on market some kid selling Player, monster and DM gude, We bought all of that for cheap price and now we are organize a DnD first game :D
I have just a some questions that trouble me.
1. Does DM has to read and know the adventure before the first role. Cause .. some Adventures have like, 300 pages. Or the DM can fallow along the story as game progresses.
1.1 Is there some good video that showes how adventure is supposed to be read.
2. Movement on the map. 1 square is 30 feet. ad that is used to calculate the battle. but what when players just move trough like empty corridor that is like 100 m ... Does DM let them pass straight. Or they must move ( how many squares they can move) one at a time.
3. Why DM is using the panels to hide his D20 .. or what ever dice rool?
0) Welcome! I hope you and your friends enjoy making stories and adventures together!
1) MMV on how much preparation one needs, but for a first timer, it's probably recommended that you err on the side of reading more than less. I recommend having an idea of the overall story, and then reading enough ahead on details to keep up. There are range of good videos on youtube that you could look up. Try searching for Matt Colville to start with. Many people here recommend him.
2) Typical combat size map grids are 1sq = 5ft. Typically, you only use map grids in combat. Otherwise, one only uses them to keep track of where everything is or for "navigation".
3) It's up to each DM on private vs public dice rolls. There is no rule.
1. Knowing the general plot of the whole adventure (particularly people and places) and the specific details of only the next chapter (or part if it is non-linear) is usually enough. Just try to stay one while session ahead of the players.
2. For areas with combat or traps, usually 1 square is 5 feet. For maps used only for navigation, grids are less important.
3. It isn't required to hide your dice rolls, but some DMs do it to fudge the results (usually in the player's favor). For example, if a monster rolls a critical hit that would kill the character, a DM might decide that it only does enough damage to knock the character unconscious.
Welcome aboard!
Getting started can be a bit overwhelming, but it won't take long for you all to get a feel for how things should go.
In general, there are a lot of different guides/vids etc available now, most are useful but almost all are a bit different. I recommend keeping things simple to start with.
Have an initial session/pre-first game (aka session 0) so that everyone can kind of get on the same page with regards to things they are interested in and what they want from the game. If none of you really know that to begin with, that's fine. You may come up with a list of questions for everyone to work on.
To answer your questions specifically.
1. The DM is the person that's going to end up doing the most work in the game, both before each session (preparation) and during each session (running all of the battles and all of the non-player characters). Because of that, they should have a general sense of what the plot/story is. They don't need to know every detail, just be enough in advance. As they get more comfortable they will learn how to ad-lib a bit more and will prepare based on how they understand your game group to play.
2. DnD can be played like a tactical board game, with each square being 5 feet. It can also be played very abstractly (this is called "theatre of the mind") , with maybe only a rough map for basic positioning. There are pros and cons to both approaches. A detailed map certainly helps players visualize the encounter, but can also quickly devolve into is this 20' or 25' -- as opposed to a more narrative based combat. Try both and see what works best for your group.
3. The DM can roll in the open or behind the panels. That's up to how they want to run the game. A DM may want to roll "hidden" to prevent the players from seeing how many dice are being rolled, or to fudge things if need be. I think from a practical standpoint, having a DM Screen gives me another way to organize my notes (ie on the inside of the screen). Rolling diced then behind the screen just saves me physical movement so I don't have to reach over everything.
Good luck!
Here's a link you may find useful. Again there are a lot of different styles, and this is just one person's take.
Matt Colville: Your First adventure, running your first game.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"