Current Events > I plan on starting a DnD group and being the DM. We're all new.

(+) Yeah! (+)

I just bought all 3 of the rule books (PHB, DMG, MM)

You think itll be hard for someone with no experience playing to write an enjoyable quest for people who are also new? I fancy myself a pretty good writer, and making quests with branching paths sounds like a cool challenge.

My only real question is what level will be the funnest for everyone to start at, being that were all new? 1 sounds like itll keep everyone bogged down (I know from playing baldurs gate playing a level 1 character blows). But being too high-leveled will probably be overwhelming. Anyone have a good recommendation for this?

2 or 3 is when classes start gaining their unique traits if you don't want to start at 1. Early game hell is a thing, ESPECIALLY for Wizards since they crumple just by looking at them funny basically.
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Level 3 is the ideal place to start imo. By that point all the classes get their subclass, and you're a lot less fragile.

Ic3Bullet posted...

You think itll be hard for someone with no experience playing to write an enjoyable quest for people who are also new? I fancy myself a pretty good writer, and making quests with branching paths sounds like a cool challenge.

My advice on this front is to remember that your players aren't characters you control. A lot of players will fight it if you try and railroad them into a plot, or just do things that you don't expect. Be prepared to drop or totally change your plans on the fly. Winging it is probably the best skill a DM can have.

Good luck and hope you have a blast. I've been playing D&D for 20 years and still love it.
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With new people starting at 1 will let them learn and grow with their characters.
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PMarth2002 posted...

Level 3 is the ideal place to start imo. By that point all the classes get their subclass, and you're a lot less fragile.

I think since they are all new they should start at one.

Also, it's your world. My friend takes from the main stories and writes his world around that. So he has a base and it's easy for newer players to follow along.

He did change some of the races, gods, and languages around.

Use a level one start to introduce the new players to the game. Have em fight Goblins and Bug bears and stuff. Probably run em through some practice adventures before you start the main campaign
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I'd recommend that if you're just starting out as a DM, use a premade module. Official, adventurers league, whatever. Make sure to read the material, look up the enemies, etc. so you can play them properly in combat. Jumping straight to making your own scenarios, you'll not have nearly enough planned branching paths because players WILL surprise you and try to handle situations in ways you'd never consider.

Like. Last week in DND, there was a chest that is cursed and shrinks whoever touches it. Near it was a hill giant... But tiny. CR3. Fair fight for our group. He also had a bear cub as a pet. The kids at the table tried using the bear as a hostage then able handling check succeeded to end up getting the bear to become their pet. The dm ended up having to figure out how to handle that entire thing, and gave low skill checks so they could succeed. But the fact that the module didn't have any scenario for that was worth noting. All it had was either we fight them, trick them, or sneak past. The bear cub didn't even have stats or reference any monster manual parallel.
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I4NRulez posted...

I think since they are all new they should start at one.

*shrug* thats fair. Personally I just find 1st level characters less fun than 3rd level characters, but without an experienced DM, its not a bad idea to start off at 1st level either.
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gunplagirl posted...

I'd recommend that if you're just starting out as a DM, use a premade module. Official, adventurers league, whatever. Make sure to read the material, look up the enemies, etc. so you can play them properly in combat. Jumping straight to making your own scenarios, you'll not have nearly enough planned branching paths because players WILL surprise you and try to handle situations in ways you'd never consider.

This is also solid advice, even if I've not had much experience with modules outside of adventurer's league.
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Play drunk
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PMarth2002 posted...

I4NRulez posted...

I think since they are all new they should start at one.

*shrug* thats fair. Personally I just find 1st level characters less fun than 3rd level characters, but without an experienced DM, its not a bad idea to start off at 1st level either.

I mean I'm with you. If I was creating a new character I wouldn't start at 1.

But since his groups all new. They should get the feel of it.

Also use levels 1-3 as a chance to let people change characters and things. Luckily my DM when I first started was already a DM for a while and that's what he did for us.
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PMarth2002 posted...

My advice on this front is to remember that your players aren't characters you control. A lot of players will fight it if you try and railroad them into a plot, or just do things that you don't expect. Be prepared to drop or totally change your plans on the fly. Winging it is probably the best skill a DM can have.

Yeah I was planning on being as flexible as possible.

I was planning on having them start off as prisoners in an inescapable prison. At the very beginning, a character informs them that he has received orders to make an important and dangerous delivery, and has been instructed to select a team from amongst the prisoners to escort him (obviously thats where my friends come in). Along the way, they are intercepted by bandits or something, and the guy who selected them is held at daggerpoint. Their first decision will start here. Save the guy they came with and see if they can profit by continuing along his adventure, or let the bandits kill him and go with them (or whatever alternative they can conjure).

So being that theyre low level and all, would it be unheard of for whoever escorts them along their adventure to have a surplus of resurrection spells/potions or something, until theyre high level enough to go without handholding?

Ic3Bullet posted...

PMarth2002 posted...

My advice on this front is to remember that your players aren't characters you control. A lot of players will fight it if you try and railroad them into a plot, or just do things that you don't expect. Be prepared to drop or totally change your plans on the fly. Winging it is probably the best skill a DM can have.

Yeah I was planning on being as flexible as possible.

I was planning on having them start off as prisoners in an inescapable prison. At the very beginning, a character informs them that he has received orders to make an important and dangerous delivery, and has been instructed to select a team from amongst the prisoners to escort him (obviously thats where my friends come in). Along the way, they are intercepted by bandits or something, and the guy who selected them is held at daggerpoint. Their first decision will start here. Save the guy they came with and see if they can profit by continuing along his adventure, or let the bandits kill him and go with them (or whatever alternative they can conjure).

So being that theyre low level and all, would it be unheard of for whoever escorts them along their adventure to have a surplus of resurrection spells/potions or something, until theyre high level enough to go without handholding?

Bad idea to make them significantly more powerful. You don't want them outshining the party. Make them the party's level and don't use them to solve all of the players problems, use them as support. I'd recommend a life cleric npc with the healer feat if you're worried about keeping the party alive.

I played that and I managed to keep a party alive through like six fights in one game day at 1st level. The healer feat is very very effective at keeping low level players alive because you can use it on every character once per short rest as long as you don't run out of healer's kit charges (you get 10 per kit). Its actually significantly more efficient than the basic healing potion.

Nix the ressurection idea. For one, ressurrection is canonically expensive, and two there should be consquences. Death is a thing that happens in D&D sometimes.

I'm not personally a fan of the prison scenario, but I'm willing to play it if its brought up before hand. I'd come up with two or three scenarios and run them by your players though. Communication with your players is pretty important.
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Starting out with a module is a good idea to get a real feel of the mechanics. Me personally I find modules restricting. Im much more on the fly, and lots of interesting things can come of it.
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5e is wonderful. I agree with level 3 being ideal. No one likes spending hours making a character only to have some fuckhead orc one shotting you without critting.
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If you feel comfortable enough with the fact that your party will completely disregard your "plan" and do whatever they want, then yes go for it and make your own story. There are tricks you can use to get your party to where you want them to go. Like if they come to a fork in the road, which ever path they take leads them to where you want them to go.
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I also highly suggest making a map, doesnt have to be large, but with that you can pepper in a bunch of locations and whatnot and wherever they end up just have your encounters/events occur.

It all seems daunting at first, but when you get a few sessions under your belt, it becomes much easier.

Also dont be afraid to say no. My party early in kept asking for certain treasures at first and I did not oblige, mostly because they were looking at it like a video game. Sure I hand out magic items and the like, but sometimes making them a bit off kilter of the actual item, doing this also can lead into exciting adventures just based on one item!
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