Rookie GM requesting advice.

[Crom]

Within one week the plan is for me to be running Monte Cook's demo adventure <i>Between Life and Death</i>. I have only GMed a game once before and that was a total fiasco.

I was wondering if perhaps the more experienced GM's could offer some advice. Especially if you have already played <i>Arcana Unearthed</i>.

[Hotfoot]

Apart from giving you generalized tips which are likely to be of little use, how about telling us what sort of adventure it is, what game system you're using (and what it's like), your general familiarity with the rules, and the players you will be running the adventure for.

I can provide all sorts of hints for running pre-fabs and making them fun, but I'm as close as I get to being totally drnk without having any alcohol whatsoever.,=

Jesus fuck...how can I get dfrunk on air?

[Crom]

Apart from giving you generalized tips which are likely to be of little use, how about telling us what sort of adventure it is, what game system you're using (and what it's like), your general familiarity with the rules, and the players you will be running the adventure for.

1. The adventure revolves around getting two noncombatants with holy artifact to a certain location with a castle. The castle is filled with groups of undead, illusions, and one ooze. Get artifact A, and targets B, to location C, and then get out of C and away safely to collect reward.

2. Game system is D20, specifically using Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. It should run similar to D&D 3rd edition, if you're familiar with that. If not, well, you end up rolling a d20 for just about anything against a number assigned by the GM picked to indicate the difficulty.

3. I have played only a handful of times. I am vaguely familiar with most of the rules, at least for combat. I have some grasp of how Initiative and Attacks of Opportunity work. I plan on taking notes and preparing some before hand.

4. The players should consist of, at least, my two roommates, and the friends of one of my roommates. One of my roommates is a long time gamer, who has an admitted problem "breaking games" when he thinks something is happening that does not make sense.

He usually GMs for some of the people who will be playing. The other roommate has probably never role-played much, at most as much as I have. The other people should be relatively experienced.

I can provide all sorts of hints for running pre-fabs and making them fun, but I'm as close as I get to being totally drnk without having any alcohol whatsoever.,=

Jesus fuck...how can I get dfrunk on air?

I don't know, but if you figure it out, let me know. Any hints for making Pre-Fabs fun will be appreciated.

[Hotfoot]

1. The adventure revolves around getting two noncombatants with holy artifact to a certain location with a castle. The castle is filled with groups of undead, illusions, and one ooze. Get artifact A, and targets B, to location C, and then get out of C and away safely to collect reward.

Okay, so it has sort of an Army of Darkness vibe....get the Necronomicon to the Holy Alter, it wipes out the undead/evil and all is well...until next time.

2. Game system is D20, specifically using Monte Cook's Arcana Unearthed. It should run similar to D&D 3rd edition, if you're familiar with that. If not, well, you end up rolling a d20 for just about anything against a number assigned by the GM picked to indicate the difficulty.

Okay, yes, I'm familiar with it (despite myself, but I digress). Needless to say the vast majority of all Role-playing helper programs are for that particular rules system (or at least some variation of D&D).

3. I have played only a handful of times. I am vaguely familiar with most of the rules, at least for combat. I have some grasp of how Initiative and Attacks of Opportunity work. I plan on taking notes and preparing some before hand.

Good. I would strongly suggest you do the following:
If you don't have maps, make them. If they don't have details, make them. Don't just have empty 10'x10' rooms. If this is a castle, then people used to live there. If a fight breaks out in the guard's sleeping chambers, have the bunk beds get in the way of combat (and allow your players to take advantage of the details, it can make for some great gaming moments if your players are quick on their feet). Also, consider getting minatures and a Combat Map (get all the markers, too, so you can sketch out obstacles and such and not have to worry about building any actual terrain). Let each player have a distinctive miniature so that they can always know where they are, then use whatever you want to represent the bad guys (I usually use cheap plastic minis that can snap together and all look the same, with a few "special" ones for the more important bad guys and NPCs.

Doing this will help simplify combat, and helps to eliminate "character warp" and the old "I wasn't in the front" or "I was WAAAAY behind him, and to the left!" excuses when the shit hits the fan.

4. The players should consist of, at least, my two roommates, and the friends of one of my roommates. One of my roommates is a long time gamer, who has an admitted problem "breaking games" when he thinks something is happening that does not make sense.

In other words, if he's feeling like he's getting gypped or "played", he'll respond negatively. In that case, I'd suggest that you try and get him to agree that he won't actively try to ruin the game so long as he can tell you (after the game, of course) his problems, in the hopes of resolving them. If something happens in the game that he feels is BS, try to explain your reasoning to him, don't get defensive, just try to tell him your side. If he makes a very good point, don't be afraid to come to a compromise about it. After all, you're all there to have fun.

He usually GMs for some of the people who will be playing. The other roommate has probably never role-played much, at most as much as I have. The other people should be relatively experienced.

Good. Remember to call on him for help between sessions as to how to effectively guide the game and the players.

I don't know, but if you figure it out, let me know.

Still a mystery. I didn't think it was possible to fumble a health check that badly.

Any hints for making Pre-Fabs fun will be appreciated.

First off, remember that while pre-fabs have a lot written down for you, that doesn't mean you can't add in your own personal touches. Don't do everything mentioned in the module just because it's there. If something doesn't seem to make sense, leave it out or modify it, the D20 police won't come to hunt you down.

Also, make your own NPCs, and make the NPCs your own. When players go off somewhere to gather information, get a drink, or do some shopping, play out the NPCs they meet along the way. Obviously not every single one, but if someone says "I'm looking at the last person on the line" or something to that effect, make something up. Maybe it's the person you saw in front of you at the checkout isle at the local supermarket the last time you went shopping, maybe it's the mailman, whatever (if you need help coming up with random NPC descriptions and characteristics, there are several programs online that facilitate the process). If the players inquire further, give the person a name, maybe some friends and family. Most importantly, give the NPC some sort of attitude, a defining personality trait, something to make them seem alive. This isn't "just another town" that needs saving, it's the rural farming village of Therris, home to dozens of families who labor year after year to provide you with food and drink. The NPCs have lives, experiences, mannerisms. Talk to someone you don't know on the street to get an idea of what it's like. Also, instead of just rolling for persuasion and diplomacy stuff, have the player roll and try to roleplay it. Maybe give hidden bonuses for good roleplaying. For example, if a player says "Greetings, friend Tobias! How does this day see you?" instead of "I say hello to Tobias and ask him how he's doing in an attempt to butter him up.", maybe give the roll an extra nudge towards a favorable result.

The best part about this technique is that it requires no more work than the players are willing to extend, so there's no need to do detailed character stories for a town of 500, just the two or three the characters take an interest to. If they get really into some of the NPCs, perhaps some sidequest opprotunities will present themselves. Like perhaps Tobias' brother went missing three nights ago...were the undead at the castle involved, or was some other force at work? Maybe Tobias killed his brother and wanted to blame it on the undead, or maybe Tobias is a habitual liar and doesn't even have a brother.

Since you're going to have two NPCs in the party by default, definately try to make them memorable to the PCs. If they are moderately powerful or useful characters, make use of their abilities as much as possible (but be careful not to steal the player's glory. Have them cast a pell to give the group that extra edge, or heal one of the PCs if needed, or help with the killing of the smaller bad things). Basically you want to encourage your players to become attached to the NPCs in some way (even if it's just through hating their guts because they're supposed to be a royal pain in the ass). Ideally, if presented with the opprotunity to adventure with those NPCs again, you'd want the players to react with "Yeah! All right! Those guys were cool!" If the NPCs got killed, you'd want them to react with something along the lines of, "Noooo!! You BASTARDS!" (especially if ressurection magics are not easy to obtain in this system). You don't have to go for the extremes right now, but get started. Make it so that by the time you get to the castle, you at least have your PCs shouting warnings to the NPCs as well as each other.

Now for the most hair raising bit: what to do if the players "wreck" a scene. If either through incredibly good (or incredibly bad) rolling, tactics, or judgement, the players manage to jump off track somehow, it's not the end of the world. Sometimes a player will come up with a really good plan or critting streak that makes a supposedly tough fight really easy. Don't penalize the player by then making the opponents tougher or senting grudge monsters at him. If you do, he'll just feel justified and look for more ways to trip you up. Let him have his moment, you'll get yours later. Alternatively, if the players really foul up, let them know it, but don't let it ruin the game. If the magic artefact is destroyed/lost/stolen by the bad guy, find a way to get it back, or find a different way to complete the task at hand. If they're gettng their butts handed to them in combat, give them a way out to catch their breath. Remind them that retreat is always an option. If the enemy is overwhelming, go back the way you came and barricade the door. Remember to describe the wounds they recieved, with perhaps CON or WILL rolls to try and ignore the pain. Remind them that they are in a dangerous sitaution and need to think of a way out. Zombies are clawing at the door, skeletal fingers are scratching beneath the gap. The stench of decay pervades every aspect of the room. As they check their own wounds, they find bits of rotten flesh have scraped off of the zombies and ghouls and are saturated with their own blood. They can feel the taint pulsating in an unnatural accompianment to the beating of their own hearts.

Anyway, I hope that helps some. Good luck with your game.

[Shortie]

Check this out for some advice:
http://members.aol.com/dwcope/guides.htm

[Crom]

Anyway, I hope that helps some. Good luck with your game.

Thank you for all of your great advice. I will endeavor to put it to good use!

[Crom]

Check this out for some advice:
http://members.aol.com/dwcope/guides.htm

Thank you for the link.