I apologize in advance if i'm in the wrong thread, i'm new to DND beyond, forums in general, and going to be a DM for the first time here soon. What i need help with is the general lore of DND itself, and where to find it. Ive tried google searches and looking here but there's such a huge amount of information that my head starts to spin. if anyone has links to what gods have generally done what, and a basic map of the standard (?) plane of existance or something of that ilk i would greatly appreciate it!
At the risk of sounding like I am pushing a product, the Sword Coast Adventurer's guide is excellent for knowing the 5e world. There is a basic history run down of the past wars and major events that have shaped this region. Also, there is great detailed info and maps about many of the major cities. This has been a great resource for me making home brew content. The section over deities is extensive, perhaps a bit too much so (perhaps consider pairing down your personal pantheon, I did). It is at least well sorted and you get all their related symbols.
What sort of stuff specifically did you want to know? I usually build my own world based inside the material realm, which gives me the freedom to do essentially whatever I want.
I wouldn't worry too much about staying loyal to the source material, some of my best story lines have involves tweaking how the gods act or outright creating some new ones. The beauty of Dming is it's basically your world, you can do what you want.
Also ,If you don't already have it, consider grabbing the Dungeon Master's Guide, the first part of the book has some info on gods and loads on the different planes and it's a pretty awesome resource for giving you ideas.
Above is very good advice, however I would throw a slightly different idea at you. The beauty of DM'ing is that you're not by yourself at the table. The easiest way to get the players to invest in your world, much easier for them than an info dump from you, is to ask their characters about their gods. You have a Cleric at the table, that's already a deeply personal relationship with their god. Ask her about her god. Who does she worship, what does her god think about certain things. Let your players invest in your shared setting. You want to make a player care about your world then make it their world too.
You don't have to create every detail about the world by yourself. The player characters live in it, let them tell you about it sometimes and more important than letting them tell you about aspects of the shared setting is using those aspects in future sessions. They're going to be so much more invested in the game world when you allow them to tie themselves into it.
I really wanted to ask, as I am new to being a DM, and we already have dates set in place with my friends. I read as much as I could but i couldn't figure out one thing in Curse of Strahd. When do I actually perform the Tarokka card readings? At the beginning? A specific chapter??? Please help me with this struggle.
Hey! The Tarokka card readings happen in one of two situations, the players meet Madam Eva or Ezmerelda.
Your party meets Madam Eva after they leave the town of Barovia, assuming they go in that direction. You can read more about her camp in Chapter 2, it'll be area G (or the Tser Pool Encampment).
Ezmerelda is substantially later in the campaign in Chapter 11, at Van Ricten's tower. It'll be area V1.
Someone else also told me that I do a reading right before we start the campaign so to speak. So before they even get anywhere, I give them a card reading and later upon meeting Eva or Ezmeralda they can CHOOSE to do another one and change the results. Am i correct?
You do one private reading just for the DM before the campaign starts so that you can figure out where the things are by default. Then once they get to Eva or Ezmeralda they can choose to get one which will change it from the DM one.
Thank you guys so much for your help, and i will get SCAG to look at. Currently my DMG is with a friend who's also DMing for the first time, but i'll look through it again in a couple weeks when i get it back from him. The reason i'm asking is the game i'm running is Out of the Abyss, and there's a TON of things going on about deamons, and loth, and other crazyness that i'm having trouble keeping track of, but i think with your help, and lots of research, i'll be able to do it. fortunatly we just started a Tomb of Annihilation campain a few weeks ago, so time is something i have lots of before i'm starting the next campaign. thank you again to all of you!
Also, I suggest the Forgotten Realms wiki. There's a lot of Realms lore in there, but also a ton of general information on the Great Wheel cosmology, and the occasional references to Greyhawk and Planescape, perhaps others as well. One of the best purely-online sources of D&D information I've seen.
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I apologize in advance if i'm in the wrong thread, i'm new to DND beyond, forums in general, and going to be a DM for the first time here soon. What i need help with is the general lore of DND itself, and where to find it. Ive tried google searches and looking here but there's such a huge amount of information that my head starts to spin. if anyone has links to what gods have generally done what, and a basic map of the standard (?) plane of existance or something of that ilk i would greatly appreciate it!
At the risk of sounding like I am pushing a product, the Sword Coast Adventurer's guide is excellent for knowing the 5e world. There is a basic history run down of the past wars and major events that have shaped this region. Also, there is great detailed info and maps about many of the major cities. This has been a great resource for me making home brew content. The section over deities is extensive, perhaps a bit too much so (perhaps consider pairing down your personal pantheon, I did). It is at least well sorted and you get all their related symbols.
What sort of stuff specifically did you want to know? I usually build my own world based inside the material realm, which gives me the freedom to do essentially whatever I want.
I wouldn't worry too much about staying loyal to the source material, some of my best story lines have involves tweaking how the gods act or outright creating some new ones. The beauty of Dming is it's basically your world, you can do what you want.
Also ,If you don't already have it, consider grabbing the Dungeon Master's Guide, the first part of the book has some info on gods and loads on the different planes and it's a pretty awesome resource for giving you ideas.
IG + Twitter: dan_reave
Above is very good advice, however I would throw a slightly different idea at you. The beauty of DM'ing is that you're not by yourself at the table. The easiest way to get the players to invest in your world, much easier for them than an info dump from you, is to ask their characters about their gods. You have a Cleric at the table, that's already a deeply personal relationship with their god. Ask her about her god. Who does she worship, what does her god think about certain things. Let your players invest in your shared setting. You want to make a player care about your world then make it their world too.
You don't have to create every detail about the world by yourself. The player characters live in it, let them tell you about it sometimes and more important than letting them tell you about aspects of the shared setting is using those aspects in future sessions. They're going to be so much more invested in the game world when you allow them to tie themselves into it.
I really wanted to ask, as I am new to being a DM, and we already have dates set in place with my friends. I read as much as I could but i couldn't figure out one thing in Curse of Strahd. When do I actually perform the Tarokka card readings? At the beginning? A specific chapter??? Please help me with this struggle.
Hey! The Tarokka card readings happen in one of two situations, the players meet Madam Eva or Ezmerelda.
Your party meets Madam Eva after they leave the town of Barovia, assuming they go in that direction. You can read more about her camp in Chapter 2, it'll be area G (or the Tser Pool Encampment).
Ezmerelda is substantially later in the campaign in Chapter 11, at Van Ricten's tower. It'll be area V1.
On the map it will be G or V respectively.
IG + Twitter: dan_reave
Someone else also told me that I do a reading right before we start the campaign so to speak. So before they even get anywhere, I give them a card reading and later upon meeting Eva or Ezmeralda they can CHOOSE to do another one and change the results. Am i correct?
You do one private reading just for the DM before the campaign starts so that you can figure out where the things are by default. Then once they get to Eva or Ezmeralda they can choose to get one which will change it from the DM one.
Thank you guys so much for your help, and i will get SCAG to look at. Currently my DMG is with a friend who's also DMing for the first time, but i'll look through it again in a couple weeks when i get it back from him. The reason i'm asking is the game i'm running is Out of the Abyss, and there's a TON of things going on about deamons, and loth, and other crazyness that i'm having trouble keeping track of, but i think with your help, and lots of research, i'll be able to do it. fortunatly we just started a Tomb of Annihilation campain a few weeks ago, so time is something i have lots of before i'm starting the next campaign. thank you again to all of you!
Also, I suggest the Forgotten Realms wiki. There's a lot of Realms lore in there, but also a ton of general information on the Great Wheel cosmology, and the occasional references to Greyhawk and Planescape, perhaps others as well. One of the best purely-online sources of D&D information I've seen.