Newbies would like advice

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Me and my freinds are all pretty knew at D&D 3rd. We played in the past a little A D&D with a different DM but started a different group. We have been playing for a few months but none of us have ever had a character over 5th level. Dose any one have any advice for us, pertaining to being a good DM and/or?

 

To the DM:
1.Dont use the same monster over and over. It gets old.
2.Any plot no matter how lame is better then a slash and hack.
3.Be creative.

To the Players:
1.Try all kinds of things. Players I knew once killed a dragon by shooting an arrow with a hunk of meat at the end in to the dragons snout(each side) then put a rope over the dragons mouth and the dragon died due to no air.

 

DM: Be imaginative, don't just read woodenly from some book. Have a decent knowledge of the rules, or at least have an idea where to look in the manuals. Prepare ahead a little. Don't allow mega-super-uber characters throw off the balance of the game.

Players: Ask alot of questions, really flesh out your characters, and aim to further the plot, rather than just kill everything that crosses your path. Also remember kiddies: Everyone has a few things they're good at. Let everyone's strengths and weaknesses be a part of the roleplaying experience.

 

Well, that's quite the open question How about some general pointers.

For players: Think of your character as a 'project'. How do you want them to progress? Are there prestige classes you have in mind for them? If so, can you meet all the pre-requisites? Skills, feats and spells are all ways to help define your character, but you need to build towards them. On the role-playing side, what kind of reputation do you want for your character? Regardless of what world your playing in, as the character advances in level they will become a more prominent figure in that world, and as a result they will have an 'image'.

For DMs: Know your players! This is the biggest key to good DMing. What kind of adventures do they get the most enjoyment from? What about encounters? Do they like straight-forward fights, lots of magic, traps, riddles, etc. When you know your players, you can build adventures and campaigns to suit their tastes - and yours. As the DM, it's important that you enjoy the game as well by creating the stories. Use NPCs to interact with the characters (careful not to overdue this though ) and to give them lots of choices in their travels: never railroad them into one story-line or another! At the end of one adventure, always leave it open to the players (characters) to decide what's next by giving them several options: rumours about an abandoned dwarven mine, what happened to that sneaky mage, etc, etc.

There's lots of things to keep in mind for players and DMs, and you'll find lots of advice all throughout this board. But the most important thing is to make sure you're having fun

 

DMs shouldn't do this stuff .

 

For the "New" DM - Purchase some of the Adventure Modules. You don't have to run them as is or at all, but they can be a valuable resource in creating adventures. They are usually fairly good adventures by themselves and are designed for a specific party level range.

For the Players - Think. If you have a diversified party, there are many skills that can be used to give you an edge. Use your feats and skills, that is what they are for. It does you no good to put skill points into a skill that you don't use or obtain a feat that you don't use.

[This message has been edited by Baldak Oakfist (edited April 10, 2002).]

 

I also have some questions concerning dungeons and dragons. Me and my friends are planning tot start a campaign soon, but none of us has ever played it before (I have played cRPG's though), so I would like to know which books we will need apart from the players handbook and the dungeon masters guide..

Do we need other books too? And I've also heard something about a playboard..?

Thanks in advance

(And yes, I'll buy the books through one of the links on this site, Tal )

 

In addition to the PHB and DMG you will also need that Monster Manual. There are a lot of other books and add a lot to the game but are not strictly required.

The Class books add more Prestige class, feats, skills, and equipment. I bought them all but I've been playing for 17 years and don't mind spending the money.

The campaign setting books - Forgotten Realms, etc are good if you using that world or just want ideas.

I'd be happy to talk about any of the books in detail with you or answer any other question you may have.

Edit - Silvershade you can either leave me a message on the private mail boxes Tal so nicely setup or you can respond to the Email I sent you. Both of these methods will be faster than just posting your questions. I look forward to helping you with your entry into D&D. It's so much fun!

[This message has been edited by Voltric (edited April 16, 2002).]

 

Thanks a lot Voltric!

And I do indeed have some other questions, but I'll just mail them to you if you don't mind

/edit

Horborg: Thanks to you also and sorry for using your topic for my personal questions

Voltric: Hm.. since your e-mail is not available I'll just post my other questions here in a while..

[This message has been edited by Silvershade (edited April 10, 2002).]

 

Thank's everybody for the replies I appriciate the help.
Also Silvershade though I am not myself extremely well ept, there are also things that you don't need to buy, such as a book of player sheets. Just use a Character genorator, or if you don't like that, there are tons of places on the internet to get specialized ones.