hey does anyone have any advice on being a dungeon master, its my first time being one since I started playing three years ago?

What system or game are you playing ?

Generally : know the rules as best you can, but don't get too caught up with being 100% accurate. If something is more fun than the official way then go for it.

Aside from that.... know your players : there's no point writing some serious high drama that is based around betrayal and deceit if your players actually just want to crack jokes and blow stuff up. Similarly if your players love intrigue and interplay it is possibly a bad idea to dump them into THE DUNGEON OF DOOM. All that said, every now and again a brisk change of pace helps keep things fresh and rewards the better players.

im using 3.5 edition rules for d+d since the new edition is so expensive.

thank you.

Ok. Key thing is flexability. Your players will ALWAYS derail your most detailed plans. Need them to go left? They will go right. Want the baddie to live? They will kill him. Allways allways roll with the punches. Don't let them see you sweat is also important. If they do something you did not forsee try to think "Ok. What would my bad guys friends do? Family?". I never try and punish my players...but its important that you maintain some semblance of control.

Like..don't let them run rampant through a town killing and stealing.

Solved: You might mention that all of a suden (make them roll a perception test which you tell them they pass..even if they roll a 1) a town guard is seen down the street...or if theyre trying to kill someone...they Captain of the Guard.

I know thats alot of rambling but the key thing is this:

Get an idea of what you want to do. Get an idea of what your players want their character to acomplish (talk to them one on one outside of the game) and try to mesh it together.

Roll up a dozen or so actual player characters and use them as your baddies. Once you do that..never throw them out. Always save your players dead characters. Always do an entirely new character sheet each level. I know its a pain but if you get a nice charcater generator program this is a snap. With a few tweeks all of these can be rused over and over again. Need a minion for your boss who is lvl 8??? Pull out your old Fighter who was level 3 and then duplicate it 4 times...done.

Hope that helps.

One of the most important things is talking to your players about the kind of game you want to run, and being involved in the creation of the characters. Try and get them all together and have a chat about why they're working together, who they are, have they met, what kind of game they like, what they don't like.

Remember that fun is more important than anything else.

Don't railroad your players or fudge the rules too often- if they kill a major villain too early, shrug and get on with it. your players will love you for it.

Go with a genre and theme that you are comfortable with. I like running horror/black humour games, my recent foray into running a swashbuckling game didn't go great. Similarly, I prefer slightly steampunk/modern settings, and find high fantasy hard to run. Know what you and your players like and you're well ahead of the game.

Also, an invaluable tool is a list of random NPC names and roles so when they ask the name of shopkeeper #146 you don't miss a beat before answering and generating a persona. Same with tavern names and stuff. I like working in an established setting because it's less work (though I will alter bits and add in my own twists), you may prefer to make your own setting.

If you can borrow a 4th edition DMG it really does have lots of good advice for budding GMs.

Oh and I nearly forgot: 3.5 has several serious rules issues. Consider limiting the splat books players are allowed access to or you could be in trouble. Stuff like the orb spells really break the game at high levels.

Good call Boss...oh and don't Grapple in 3.5...just don't. You and your players will be much happier...

ok thank you for all your help

all of my friends charaters died last campaign while they were fighting an anceint white dragon and being really stupid at the same time

this is a rough draft so i dont have any checks yet. let me know what you think

for the first part i have the pc traveling from below the empire's map heading towards a port called Condoga
before they arrive they they are ambushed by a full warband of level 1 goblins when half of the goblins are dead they will attempt to retreat, if more than half are killed they surrender, they then answer any questions asked about any more ambushes

if the characters continue to port condoga they are attacked every 5 miles by 8 goblins, about 4 times but if they go to a town called sisari they are not ambushed.

when they arrive in town it is dusk and a watchman greets them he questions them breifly and calls over another watchman to take them to one of three inns

green wyvern inn
blue moon tavern
iron door inn

once they arrive at the inn the watchman will not let them leave.

if they choose to attack the watchman all 30 watchmen enter the fight after round two three rounds later they are arrested

if they choose to stay they can buy a meal and a room for the night. they can ask the inn keeper questions about the town


the town is attacked by a warband and a gang of goblins early in the morning, the inn keeper wakes them up and asks them to help the town if they do he will give them three days of free lodging and meals. if the dont he throws them out of the inn(cannot be avoided)

if they are thrown out they are attacked by a gang of goblins three minutes after.

if they agree the inn keeper shows them which way the battle is at is.

after the battle given the towns folk win the town holds a meeting to discuss what to do with the goblins. if the heros dont volunteer a watchman that was at the battle will recommend them. the adventurers are offerd each a horse, provisions for one week and their choice of a suit of armor or a weapon. if they refuse they are then offered the same as above except it is both a suit of armor and a weapon. if they still refuse the towns folk throw them out of town and the heros are attacked by 10 goblins.

if they accept the towns folk show the heros the general direction to the caves that the goblins are living in.
the heros are attacked outside of the cave bey 10 goblins the goblins retreat if half are killed and surrender if more than half are killed. the heros can ask them questions about why they are attacking the town. the goblins explain that their are orcs that are making them do it and they kill any one that refuses. the goblins offer "many shiny things" if they kill the orcs
the cave has 5 chambers the first is completely empty except for goblin corpses
the second has 8 goblins in it they fight to the death
the third has 2 orcs in it with three dire wolves
the fourth has 4 goblins with one worg mount and a orc with two dire wolves
the fifth has a level 4 orc with a dire wolf three level 2 orcs and two level 2 goblins with worg mounts

the reward from the goblins is 10 gp, 8 sp, and 30 cp

i dont have the NPC's stats yet but what do you think?
do you think the rewards arent enough or do you think it should be less?
is the adventure as a whole a good story line so far?

Let me ask, what classes are your PCs? This game might not go so well past lvl 5 if you have a Druid/Wizard/Cleric with a party containing a Fighter/Bard/Sorcerer, the power level gap between them just becomes astornomical by lvl 11. I'd suggest just investing in 4th edition. It will really make life much easier on a new DM.

i dont have 120 dollars to spend right now im only 16 and i just lost my job.
so i dont see me getting the new rules any time soon.

what did you think about it?

there is a dwarf fighter, an elf cleric, a human paladin, and a halfling rogue.
for some reason those are the only ones my friends will play. i prefer playing dragonborn or tiefling.

4th edition is much better.
I'd agree that Druid/Wizard/Cleric run the risk of becoming overpowered. In my last game, a wizard with a battlebelt was capable of dishing out 90 D6 of damage in a standard action, and then using his battle belt to do more.


As to your plot, it's pretty basic but nothing wrong with that.
Try throwing in some other monsters of similar CR with the goblins to spice things up- like for example, a couple of tame wolves or worgs, or a hobgoblin or bugbear.

gamefreak wrote:i dont have 120 dollars to spend right now im only 16 and i just lost my job.
so i dont see me getting the new rules any time soon.

what did you think about it?

there is a dwarf fighter, an elf cleric, a human paladin, and a halfling rogue.
for some reason those are the only ones my friends will play. i prefer playing dragonborn or tiefling.

You could slowly buy into the new rule set but this thread isn't about that. Sorry, I'll drop it.

Well Dragonborn and Tiefling in 3.5 are overpowered when you stack them up against the other races. Your party looks ok except for two things. The fighter will slowly be outclassed by the cleric and the Paladin might have issues with lawful/good unless you aren't strict on it (don't be). The Rogue will probably due well until things start having DR or a lot of undead/constructs start showing up. I think other stuff is immune to Sneak Attack in 3.5 but I can't remember.

Actually, on reading it, it doesn't sound like you're giving your players a whole lot of choice. It seems very "yes or no". Instead of having them be lead by the nose (by watchmen or innkeepers) why not let them explore on their own, and have a bit more freedom?
It'll take some quick thinking on your part, but your players will have more fun!
Instead of thinking of the game as a story that goes in a line, think of it as a sandbox. the players can go anywhere, but your villains are still going to go ahead with their plans, so it may be better or worse if they don't intervene!
Do you get what I'm talking about?

Here's the thinng that I have learned after going from Noob to old hand in a very short time.

Make a bad @$$ setting... make 3 super amazingly Bad@$$ settings.

Randomly have monsters and people who give quests.

Throw in a few very cinematic moments.

The large (did i mention LARGE.... like HUGE) setting will have your characters wandering around for several ( one ) session without getting bored. If they do get bored move on to the next setting. Don't plan too much except for the basic groups of villains that you will throw at them, as well as the basic plot.

Cultist

Str12
Dex14
Con 8
Wis 10
Int 12
Cha 8

AC 13

AB +2

HP 5

CR 1/2

Bam... now you have your staple mob guy...

Also, don't be afraid to bend the rules, just make sure that the way you are bending them equals out as far as treasure, character ability, or experience is concerned.

gamefreak wrote:ok thank you for all your help

all of my friends charaters died last campaign while they were fighting an anceint white dragon and being really stupid at the same time

this is a rough draft so i dont have any checks yet. let me know what you think

for the first part i have the pc traveling from below the empire's map heading towards a port called Condoga
before they arrive they they are ambushed by a full warband of level 1 goblins when half of the goblins are dead they will attempt to retreat, if more than half are killed they surrender, they then answer any questions asked about any more ambushes

if the characters continue to port condoga they are attacked every 5 miles by 8 goblins, about 4 times but if they go to a town called sisari they are not ambushed.

when they arrive in town it is dusk and a watchman greets them he questions them breifly and calls over another watchman to take them to one of three inns

green wyvern inn
blue moon tavern
iron door inn

once they arrive at the inn the watchman will not let them leave.

if they choose to attack the watchman all 30 watchmen enter the fight after round two three rounds later they are arrested

if they choose to stay they can buy a meal and a room for the night. they can ask the inn keeper questions about the town


the town is attacked by a warband and a gang of goblins early in the morning, the inn keeper wakes them up and asks them to help the town if they do he will give them three days of free lodging and meals. if the dont he throws them out of the inn(cannot be avoided)

if they are thrown out they are attacked by a gang of goblins three minutes after.

if they agree the inn keeper shows them which way the battle is at is.

after the battle given the towns folk win the town holds a meeting to discuss what to do with the goblins. if the heros dont volunteer a watchman that was at the battle will recommend them. the adventurers are offerd each a horse, provisions for one week and their choice of a suit of armor or a weapon. if they refuse they are then offered the same as above except it is both a suit of armor and a weapon. if they still refuse the towns folk throw them out of town and the heros are attacked by 10 goblins.

if they accept the towns folk show the heros the general direction to the caves that the goblins are living in.
the heros are attacked outside of the cave bey 10 goblins the goblins retreat if half are killed and surrender if more than half are killed. the heros can ask them questions about why they are attacking the town. the goblins explain that their are orcs that are making them do it and they kill any one that refuses. the goblins offer "many shiny things" if they kill the orcs
the cave has 5 chambers the first is completely empty except for goblin corpses
the second has 8 goblins in it they fight to the death
the third has 2 orcs in it with three dire wolves
the fourth has 4 goblins with one worg mount and a orc with two dire wolves
the fifth has a level 4 orc with a dire wolf three level 2 orcs and two level 2 goblins with worg mounts

the reward from the goblins is 10 gp, 8 sp, and 30 cp

i dont have the NPC's stats yet but what do you think?
do you think the rewards arent enough or do you think it should be less?
is the adventure as a whole a good story line so far?

The bones are there.

Few points : How do the players know about/discover they will be safe in this town of Sisari ?

I'd make the attacks at least seem a bit more random, perhaps make it seem the goblins are actively hunting someone-- the party will have to assume it is them if you play it right.Be carfeul in case they capture and interrogate one of the gobbos though !

The goblins have some motivation, but with those sort of numbers it seems to me that they would stand a reasonable chance of beating the orcs in a fight, the orcs, whilst bad ass enough to challenge the players, seem to lack the capacity to dominate the goblins.

Unless perhaps the actual orc leader isn't there at the moment ? He's off gathering more goblins under his control... for whatever his evil masterplan is.

right now the orc leader is on his way to the orc stronghold just south of dragons' teeth ridge, he has left 30 orcs at the caves but only 6 fought the adventurers the rest left the cave to go to another one just south west of the original cave, the orc leader is going to get another fifty orcs and they are going to raid the goblin outpost just northwest of the giants' plataue and east of the grey marshes.the orcs plan to bring the captured goblins down to the cave to mount a massive assult on sisari, and afterwards on port condoga.

ill post more here later after i write more.

two questions that still have yet to be answered:

but do you think that the rewards are enough, too much, or not enough?
how much xp should i give them for the mini adventure?

reds8n:

the adventurers do not know that sisari is safe or not.

i think that i will have the orcs acting through the goblins to get back at the blacksmith's son for killing 10 of their raiding party, and the orcs ordered the goblins to attack all travellers and take all the valuables so they can be ready to fight the town again.

da boss:

i never said they had to go to the fight, i just said the inn keeper points them in the right direction, it's totally up to them if they go or not.

Why would they go there then ?

to help the towns folk, they could be heros or they could leave them to defend themselves.

No, you misunderstand me : why when they are travelling along are they going to divert to this town, they need some reason to actually GO there.

Or do you mean they just happen to travel through it on the way ?

ill see if i can scan in my map so you can see it. i have to edit out the grid lines though.

here is the entire map
the pc enter the map on the east road the one that leads directly to sisari


this is the north east part of the map


this is the north west part


this is the south east pat of the map


this is the south west part of the map

i think the map is too empty what do you guys think?

Pics are broken links...could you check your links again?

Great ways to get players to go where you want them to:

Noble offers large cash reward for...

- Orc Warlord's Shield (because he collects shields, obviously, and may have a nice magical one to offer as a reward too)

- Rescuing Daughter (or remains - offer a very large reward with no dead/alive condition. Returning with deceased daughter leads to reduced reward, and moral action is up to the players...)

- Peace in town (Raids are troubling his income, or he may be a genuinely nice guy)

Bard's Tale...

- Orc Chieftain has powerful shield of legend, yada yada... Bards always exaggerate anyway.

- Orcs have a beautiful girl in captivity. Your players may see this as opportunity in itself, if glory is not enough.

- Glory, glory, glory! Bard offers to accompany and document your heroic rescue/assault/liberation - gives you a chance to drag an irritating NPC along, if you are so inclined. Kill him off as you see fit.

No Choice...

- A goblin or similar filcher steals a PC's treasured item during a fight with raiding orcs... make it something he/she'll insist on retrieving. This should help in the very least.

- The good 'ol "You all get clubbed over the head in your sleep and you wake up in an Orcish prison". Not clever - don't actually so this under any situation, but you get the idea. Any situation that leads to the player's captivity can make for an interesting stealthy escape (with beautiful girl or stolen shield), or bloody fight from the inside-out. Consider a pit-trap, or other way to 'capture' the players, although don't make it inevitable. Give them a good couple of hours to attempt escape before anyone arrive to 'liberate' them.

- "I have a cunning plan"; involve an NPC who has, say a vial of poison that would take out the whole tribe if put into their water supply. Sounds too easy to be true.... and it's up to you to make sure it ISN'T that easy.

---------------------------------------------------

There ya go. Hope any of this helps.

yea i had to go and buy an adventure because mine wasn't ready.

lets see if the images work this time


entire map of Narisvadador


north east of the map


north west of the map


south east of the map


south west of the map

sorry if the lines are a little choppy the entire map was done by hand over 2 weeks ago so there is some fading too.

i think its a little empty what about you guys?

Empty is good good good. Unless it's critical to the story, or the a major point in that night's session, your players shouldn't know any better than you what's going to jump out. Makes things interesting for you as well.

10 miles per square is great - most people stick things together too much. Write up, or get your hands on, some random encounter tables, and use them whenever the travel gets boring. This fills out your world nicely, if say the enounter was a caravan, make it into a caravan route - then it would make sense if there was a raider encampment somewhere along that road, or a clump of hobgoblins behind the next rock! You can then add your raider encampment to the map. The lord of the nearest tower may or may not be aware of them, may or may not care... etc. It makes for a great, organic game when you just let the world unfold instead of planning too hard ahead. Try hard to give your characters some motivation, but then just see where it takes them.


My current campaign world is a while pile of islands, with a prominent volcano in the middle, different factions on each main landmass, barbarians on the distant mainland... (it's a little bit Japanese themed)... I did a watercolour map for that.

Maps are great. Look up maps of, say, English villages from around 1600 - they're easy enough to find, and get an idea of where to situate industry, residential areas, town centres... get a feel for it, and you can knock up a town in no time. There's also a great downloadable random name generator online that I used to use all of the time... EBON or something.

i have a list of some of the places on the map and have the general monsters i am going to throw at the adventurers

port condoga:
gang of humans
sorcerer
undead


sisari
goblins
orcs
bugbears
hobgoblins
worgs
dire wolves
lizardfolk

quirm
guild of assassins
dragon in human form

modcas
narisvadador army
dragon in human form

port velantir
pirates

karzas(keep)
dwarf defenders

karzas(mines)
trolls
goblins
hobgoblins
bugbears

sargasta:
dwarf defenders
dragon born

barbarian villiage:
barbarian tribe(of course)

orc stronghold
orcs
dire wolves
trolls
goblins
hobgoblins
bugbears

goblin outpost
goblins
worgs
dire wolves

it isnt all of them but i will post some later

can you guys send me some links for some FREE online tools for d+d this is getting very tiresome and all the ones i find are for either users only and it costs $10 a month or the app costs $5

My advice to all new DM's as well as serious players is to beg, borrow, or buy the Campaign and Catacombs book. It is an older, blue book, pre3rd that has a great section on knowing what your players are looking for in a game and how to implement it.

Thalor

What sort of 'tools' are you looking for, exactly?

a random encounter generator a npc generator, an item generator, a chest generators. just any thing that will make my job a little easier.


oh and i need them compatible with 3.5e

thanks

Random Encounter Generator: Make a table, as I said before, and roll a d100. For example, for Sisari you listed:
goblins
orcs
bugbears
hobgoblins
worgs
dire wolves
lizardfolk

So, here's a table suitable for a 1-3 level party:

1-20 = 2d6 Goblins
21-30 = 1d6+2 Orcs
31-40 = NO ENCOUNTER
41-50 = 1d2 Bugbears
51-65 = 1d6+2 Hobgoblins
66-75 = 1d2 Worgs
76-80 = 1d2 Dire Wolves
81-90 = Friendly Encounter (Make seperate table)
91-95 = NPC Party Encounter (DMG has sample NPCs, jtake stats from there if you haven't got anything written up)
96-99 = 1d4 Lizardfolk
00 = Dragon! (because running away can be fun too)

Surely you can come up with tables for loot, etc yourself? Nothing will teach you to manage PnP gaming better than working with hand-written tables - computer aids will slow your development of good DMing IMO. They can be helpful in a huge battle... I once had a party fighting on a large shipyard, with detachments of townsfolk and mercenaries fighting four seperate boatloads of enemy mercenaries... then an 18th level Cleric of Velsharoon emerged from the sewers with an undead host to attack EVERYBODY. The players fought their way out of a ghoul-infested sewer, across the dockyard, onto one of the boats to slay an enemy commander, back into the melee,, into a thick wall of bog-zombies... and then everyone pretty much routed from the town because the undead force gained too much momentum. I had to keep track of a lot of stats... but seriously, learn to handle smaller encounters on paper first and things will be a lot faster and easier in the future. I still did most of that 'encounter' on paper.

ok ive come up wih the leader of the guild of theives his name is kantaros sarnos
he is a 15 level rogue who killed all his companions in their sleep and took all of their items treasures armor and weapons then he set up a theives guild in the capitol city of modcas and later he expanded it to quirm. ill post his stats in the next two days

oh i was wondering should i lie about the rolls? lets say a PC has 8 hp left and an ogre comes and scores a crit on him should i say that the ogre missed or should i let the dice decide what happens?

also how do i know if i put too powerful of a magical item in the game?

The dice decide, my friend. Dead is dead. PLayers too headstrong to retreat when they ought to will learn their lesson soon enough. Tell 'em to write up a new character in line with the rest of the party's progress if you're feeling generous, though.

ok I just dmed last night and a new guy came to our club and claimed that he has a pet dragon should I let him have the dragon or not?

gamefreak wrote:ok I just dmed last night and a new guy came to our club and claimed that he has a pet dragon should I let him have the dragon or not?

Depends. At some levels you can acquire cohorts (followers) and if you are high enough level and meet the perquisites, yes, you can have one.

Just remember that dragons are generally smarter than people, and being a "pet" isn't exactly a position they would enjoy. They also do not enjoy being living shields and combat monkeys.

Agreed. Let him have a pet dragon if YOU can control it.

Actually, scratch that. Make them conform to YOUR starting equipment rules. Who do these players think they are?

Otherwise require the Leadership feat... you're still playing 3.5 right?

REgarding the death of characters, one nice trick is involving a priest in mission dispatches. He asks the party for a deposit (say 1000 to 5000gp * average party level, depending on how gold-ful your campaign is), which is for 'Raise Insurance'. If no one dies, they get half back - the rest is considered a donation to the temple. If someone dies, but the party brings back a limb, the character will be raised. This works out cheaper than paying a temple, because the mission should be in the interests of the faction involved.

well not really a pet its an animal companion
ok Ive got the first adventure mostly finished after I have it finished I'll post it there and I'll let you guys use it if you want.

R. Talsorian (of Cyberpunk fame) said it best:
"If your players are getting out of line, go ahead and waste them!"

As to your specific questions:
To kill the players? YES, roll da bones and call 'em as they fall.
Powerful Magic Items? See how it plays out - if it does seem unbalanced, let them know about a hidden ability of it. (e.g after 10 uses, or 6 months, or whenever you realise it is bad, it shuts down, or starts draining HP/XP/STR/etc per use. Or draws the wrath of the Demon who originally forged it. Don't take it off them, make it not worth using.
Pet dragon? New players to YOUR game must fit to your rules. If it's not gonna fit, tell em so. "Sorry, pal, not in this game - the dragon has gone to hibernate for a decade/off finding a mate/never existed in this reality"

ok i've gotten grounded for 2 weeks so i wont be able to work on the adventure until after that so i have to skip next weekends meeting too. So... i'll have 2 weeks of brainstorming with no writing it down. well... ill be able to post here for a while because i'm at school. ill post some background of the world that Narisvadador is in tomorrow.

What? You so grounded that you can't write?

I only ever got banned from using my computer, and that only gave me more time to waste.

yes all i do basicly is read write play video games and go to school.

ok.. later when i get sometimelater ill post the background of the world.

I mean, you can still write on paper, though? Right?

i can and i can't see i've got homework to do and that is fine for me to be writing, on the other hand i write a bunch of background on my dungeons and dragon pcs that i have played, i keep an entire log of each of their quests so far i have about 300 pages on my currend character, a dwarf fighter named Ulic Evage (OO lick E vaj). that is what they are banning me from writing.

ok my worlds back ground:
this might take a couple of posts to finis because i have very limited times i can get on the computer.

my world is called kanturnos (CAN tur noss), it was created by the god Dalyah (doll yah). kanturnos is a flat disc, both sides are neutral and are exactly the same in all ways but one: if one person on one side flips a coin and it lands heads, the same person on the other side tosses an identical coin and it comes up tails. this being the case both sides are extremely different. on kanturnos dolyah has hidden 6 artifacts; blood song which can alter a persons form so drasticly no one would be able to reconize him, forest song which protects the forests and punishes all that harm them, sand fire which gives the deserts their heat, water heart which replenishes kanturnos's water, the everknowing book which seems to always hide from man no matter how hard he looks, love which she hid inside of all being's hearts, and the moons' face, this artifact lies in the center of kantaros and will until the end of days.
dalyah has witnessed the rise and fall of hundreds of thousands of empires and kingdoms, many of which had power hungry rulers that would stop at nothing to get their hands on the moons' face to make all others fall under their sway.
there have been many millenia since the last ruler tried this, and so the moon's face has fell into legends and myths.

now Dalyah had no intention of letting the people on both sides of the world to unite and try to uncover the other artifacts so they can finally find the moons' face but she has been losing power ever since the magicians found the the plane on which she had resided. then she had to flee and create another plane that would take another hundred years to find, with this in mind she has decided to reach into the minds of many adventurers to convince them to seek out the moons' face and destroy it so that no more evil can ever attempt the feat that the civilizations are now trying


ok ive got to go hope you guys like it but now im late and im gonna be in trouble if i dont hurry and get home, see yah

Good to see you know how to throw a pen down! Is this an original concept or an appropriation? Sounds as though it would make a nice background either way.

I've always been fond of 'disc' worlds. A campaign I have in the pipeline has one side as mostly a desert wasteland, where most natural life was magically stripped away to power massive contained hive-towers. The creators of the hives are long past, but many of their systems and defenses are still active, and they're inhabited by people who usually have very little idea of how most of the machines work. The majority of the hives are uninhabited mechanical deathtraps, and each is powered by a large crystal at the deepest level, which taps the energy of the other side of the world.

The other side of the world is a lush, verdant paradise of life... to the point where Darwinism rules, and massive carnivorous beasts roam the endless jungles. Rather than undead, there are 'lifesteeped' creatures, bizarre, all-consuming mutations of positive enrgy raging out of control. All manner of fell beasts exist, and there is little, if any, intelligent society. Since the PCs are born on the other side, and may never even see this place, I haven't developed it nearly as much.

i kinda got the idea for the coinflip thing from a futurama episode i watched and i took the artifacts blood song and forest song from that game called barbarian that i bought and no one here knew what it was. but besides that i came up with every thing else on my own. i dont have much time so i wont be able to post any more of the back ground for a little while but i'm glad you like it.

ive got a new language that i came up with too.
its called skorlod, basicly it is the common language of every sentient being on kanturnos
I'll see what i can do about loading up the paper i have it drawn on so you guys can see what you think.
you wont be able to read it unless i have the key which it may take a litle while for me to load both of them up but once i do you chould be able to read and write in it.

how should i go about making paper, books and the like look old?

i want to have a couple of scolls to pass around too but im not sure on how i would do this.

If you've got good handwriting and access to inkpens, then you're set. I've got a large collection of interesting nibs, most of which I'll probably never use.. hence the 'collection'. Carry the written article in your pocket for a couple of days, then fold it letter style... then refold slightly incorrectly. Kick it around your backyard, get some dirt on it... blood, sweat, excrement... This helps give an impression of wear. Articles that become obscured are no less genuine, especially maps.

For a parchment/aged sort of look, many people use strong tea or a light wash/dip of watered down brown paint, but it helps to have good quality paper in that case. This will often make the ink run, so do it first.

ok thanks again.

alright does any one have any suggestions for what i should include in my background or in the campaign?

all of my friends charaters died last campaign while they were fighting an anceint white dragon and being really stupid at the same time

the penalty for stupidity when you are really fighting dragons is actually death. Combat isn't funny its serious. Kinda. =p

for the first part i have the pc traveling from below the empire's map heading towards a port called Condoga
before they arrive they they are ambushed by a full warband of level 1 goblins when half of the goblins are dead they will attempt to retreat, if more than half are killed they surrender, they then answer any questions asked about any more ambushes

can the goblins speak common // can the players speak goblin ?
once they arrive at the inn the watchman will not let them leave.

the town is attacked by a warband and a gang of goblins early in the morning, the inn keeper wakes them up and asks them to help the town if they do he will give them three days of free lodging and meals. if the dont he throws them out of the inn(cannot be avoided)

if they are thrown out they are attacked by a gang of goblins three minutes after.

if they agree the inn keeper shows them which way the battle is at is.

after the battle given the towns folk win the town holds a meeting to discuss what to do with the goblins. if the heros dont volunteer a watchman that was at the battle will recommend them. the adventurers are offerd each a horse, provisions for one week and their choice of a suit of armor or a weapon. if they refuse they are then offered the same as above except it is both a suit of armor and a weapon. if they still refuse the towns folk throw them out of town and the heros are attacked by 10 goblins.

if they accept the towns folk show the heros the general direction to the caves that the goblins are living in.
the heros are attacked outside of the cave bey 10 goblins the goblins retreat if half are killed and surrender if more than half are killed. the heros can ask them questions about why they are attacking the town. the goblins explain that their are orcs that are making them do it and they kill any one that refuses. the goblins offer "many shiny things" if they kill the orcs
the cave has 5 chambers the first is completely empty except for goblin corpses
the second has 8 goblins in it they fight to the death

where does the goblin fight take place ? how far outside town, are the 10 goblins marching in a line, are 2 scouting ahead, is 1 the leader with a level of rogue and better armour?

the third has 2 orcs in it with three dire wolves
the fourth has 4 goblins with one worg mount and a orc with two dire wolves
the fifth has a level 4 orc with a dire wolf three level 2 orcs and two level 2 goblins with worg mounts

that's a bit of a power creep from bunches of goblins. What level are you're PCs ? 3-5 ?

i dont have the NPC's stats yet but what do you think?

- do you have the monstrous manual ?

do you think the rewards arent enough or do you think it should be less?
is the adventure as a whole a good story line so far?

it depends on the pcs level, the risk versus reward. a lvl 20 vs an imp is no reward, a lvl 2 vs an imp should be a bigger reward than a lvl 5 versus an imp for example.

oh i was wondering should i lie about the rolls? lets say a PC has 8 hp left and an ogre comes and scores a crit on him should i say that the ogre missed or should i let the dice decide what happens?

put him at -8 hp and next round roll the dice for the stability check behind your screen (infact roll most checks behind the screen - like spot checks so that they dont know to 'keep looking') and say that he's stabilisd at -9hp. If the pc's think that they cannot die 'we're the heroes - we can't die!!' syndrome then let them die.
Alternativey if he dies the others might have to go on a sub quest to find a cleric or druid to ressurect him.

also how do i know if i put too powerful of a magical item in the game?

ok I just dmed last night and a new guy came to our club and claimed that he has a pet dragon should I let him have the dragon or not?

how did he get the dragon ? what level is he ? Maybe its a pseudo dragon or a fairy dragon which are familiars not actual dragons.

If they are low levels masterworked weapons made from adamantine (bypasses hardness +1 magic damage) or darksteel (+1 electricity damage) or mithri (40% of original weight)l are fine. The players should only have what they need. If facing a bunch of werewolves and they have no silver they should have a chance to escape.

I'm not asking questions to undermine you, just to help you think a bit more in detail. also 3.5 edition is fine, just use the 3 core books and some common sense. If you want to play 4th edition - dont, just buy a WoW subscription

I've played with some dummies in the past, advice earlier is spot on - players will do the oposite of what you want! kill the wron people, escape when they shouldn't, die fighting the easy stuff, either solve a puzzle too quick or just not get it.

Best advice to give - don't plan in detail - player will ruin it. Have a rough plot line and blag your way through it.

Have spare npc names to hand!

always give them a way (or 5!) out of everything.

props (cruppled maps on brown paper, half a jewl, a key etc are great for adding a bit of realism

give them pictures etc - the more they feel in the game the more senible (and preticatble!) their descisions will be.

if somthing goes wrong - your the DM how can it!!! so what they kill the bad guy - do what the movies do, he/she come back, biggfer badder and a bit more ugly and definatly more pissed!

Want them to do something? tell them not to. You give them two doors, one labbeled no entry they're gonna go that way. Really really not want them to? well then there's plenty of deadly unescapable traps, teach them the hard way! It could always be a dreamnt preminition.

also - skip the boring slow rules - if they play a 'kick the doors in and kill stuff' game then don't worry about anything that slows the game down like swim checks etc. If they do kill stuff rather than question then the answers could always be on a piece of paper in the dead things pocket. As Eistein said every action has a reaction. You give the reaction as DM, that way whatever they do, it's still want you want!

Also don't let on you have a 'God' complex - they just get bored as soon as they realise their fates are already decided

i'm going to come up with some random phrases that are considered extremely vulgar or insulting just for fun?

waddya guys think?

Is this related to the OT or just out of the blue?

yes sorry i was in a hurry and i wasnt really paying attention on how the post would sound.

does any one know a good program for putting a grid ont a map that i didnt do on grid paper?

does any one have any unique magic items that that would let me use them in my campaign? if so please post them.

thank you

gamefreak wrote:
i was wondering should i lie about the rolls? lets say a PC has 8 hp left and an ogre comes and scores a crit on him should i say that the ogre missed or should i let the dice decide what happens?

Now this all depends. A lot of people say yes, go ahead and kill him. I usually won't outright kill a PC. Give his party memebers every opportunity to save him, if they can't..... kill him, or you can 'hand wave' a solution later.

This being said the REAL question is, how attached to this character is the player?

Has the player written out the PC's background?

A well thought out and written background helps both of you figure out plot that involves the PC, give the player 'proper' motivation for roleplaying, and helps you predict his reactions to a given situation.

Does the PC have a very distinct personality?
This should go hand in hand with a background. A PC with a personality will help drive the group as a whole, letting you play off the PCs and guide the party through roleplaying instead of handwaving.

Does the player come to you between games with ideas about what he wants to do with the character in the future?
Sometimes the very best plotlines come from the players themselves. Often future plotlines are inextricably tied to one or more of the character's backgrounds.

If you answered yes to at least two (preferably 3) of these questions you shouldn't let the character die because of a random die roll. Adjust the results to something that isn't lethal, or let him 'die' only to be helped by a far greater power in exchange for a favor, or something else equally 'believable'. This character (and more importantly the player behind it) is going to be among your top 3 tools for running your campaign. It's rare to find one such player in any given RPG group; feel truly blessed if you have more.

Generally even when a player meets all of these criteria, a character that dies within the first 5 level usually won't upset them that much. All of this can be done again relativey easily. It's when the player has invested a LOT of time and effort into a character (7+ levels or so) that killing them can REALLY upset someone.

gamefreak wrote:does any one have any unique magic items that that would let me use them in my campaign? if so please post them.

thank you

HOW powerful?

well my campaign is going to take the pcs all the way from the first level to the thirtieth level so it doesnt matter how powerful they are it will just determine at what point i include them.

Ok then, here's a nice weapon for a rogue in your party, ESPECIALLY if they go with the Master Thrower prestige class from the Complete Fighter book. I have provided some 'fluff' to go with; This weapon is actually one I designed for my rogue, and let the DM approve. Feel free to change any parts you want (it IS your campaign after all).

THE DISKS OF RIZA

These are a set of 12 razor sharp disks held in a pair of 'docker's clutches' under the arms. They magically reappear in the Clutches when one of three conditions are met: 1. When a Disk is thrown at a target and misses, it automatically returns to the clutch. 2. When all the Disks have been thrown at a target and have all hit their respective target(s), they will all automatically return to the clutches. Once a day, when the command word 'Commalla' is spoken, all unrecovered Disks will immediately return to the clutches. The return of the Disks is instantaneous, and they do not travel through space. In all three circumstances distance, physical, and magical barriers pose no hinderance to the return of the Disks. However this ability will not function if the Clutch(es) and the Disk(s) in question are on separate planes. A null magic zone around either the Disk(s) or the Clutches will negate this and all other abilities held by the Disks, but will not otherwise harm them. The Disks are magically crafted to be more accurate and damaging than they would normally be (+2 to hit and damage).

Nonmagical disks have a damage range of 2-5 (1d4+1) plus strength bonus, if any.
Range increment: 25 ft
Weight: 4 = 1 lb.
Type: Slashing

Riza's Docker's Clutch

This is actually a pair of compartmented bags, or clutches, that hold the Disks. The Clutches hang suspended from the shoulders by a pair of straps which connect in an 'x' between the shoulderblades, and are looped to the wearer's belt by two hanging straps. They are magically enchanted with the Disks, and the Disks will not function without the Clutches, nor can the Disks be 'holstered' in any other type of receptacle while magically active (see above). If a Disk is removed from a Clutch and placed on or in anything besides the Clutch it was removed from, it is treated as a 'miss' and the Disk teleports back to it's compartment. The Disks will never fall out of a Clutch, and can not be removed except by the person who wears Riza's Gloves, making them impossible to steal or lose, unless under the effects of a null magic zone (as above), or the whole Clutch is stolen or misplaced. The Disks will never cut or tear the Clutch, and in fact, the Clutch is highly resistant to all forms of damage (insert appropriate saves here). The Clutches were constructed so they can be easily hidden under a cloak or long jacket, or even incoporated into a custom tailored article of clothing, although they can not be stitched due to their resilliency. Each Clutch holds 6 of the Disks, and the Disks are each attuned to one of the Clutches; They can not be 'swapped'.

Riza's Gloves

These Gloves were constructed and enchanted along with the Disks and the Clutches. It is said that Riza's hands were totally impervious to all blades and points; He never cut himself. Whether this is true (or attributable to the Gloves) is unknown; The Gloves ARE totally impervious to the Disks, and anyone wearing them will never cut themself while throwing the Disks. The gloves do not impair tactile sensation, and the wearer recieves no skill penalties while wearing them, however they also do not provide any thermal protection whatsoever, and the wearer's hands will be vulnerable to extreme heat and cold as normal. Only the wearer of the Gloves can remove a Disk from a Clutch; Anyone else who tries will find themselves empty handed, and the Disk instantly back in it's place. Only one person may wear the gloves at a time (no sharing.)

The Disks of Riza have been unused since Arthur of Eld confronted The Dark One, and their magic has waned a little; The set has these abilities while 'dormant'. With use the magic will once again wax untill they regain their full abilities; Treat as a protean weapon.



There you go. 'Protean items' are magical items that 'grow' with their owner; As the character levels the item will gain new abilities. In our game you could choose a new ability from a list for every 3 levels starting at 3rd. This Item was meant for a 6th level character and improved from there. Unfortunately I don't have the list of abilites (My GM moved to Baltimore to work for GW), but the traits I had added were these:

-Distance: X2 range
-Heart Skewer: +2d6 Sneak attack damage
-Speed: +1 attack/round


Just remember, that although these Items were meant to work as a set, you can always split them up, and make the character quest for the pieces, giving the set more and more of it's power as each piece is found.

The problem with 'Protean' weapons is that they're very advantageous to one player, in an almost relic-like fashion.
I've run a few campaigns where ALL of the characters are bonded to their increasingly powerful weapons, but I really think you ought to split them up, or involve some sort of curse, if you're going to make them accessible in one set in your campaign. It sounds too much like finding a 'Tome Of Kensai Prestige Class Advantages'.

SIKKIKALN:

'Sikkikaln' are a pair of rather over-sized looking bracers that attach to the back of the forearm, providing protection as a light shield. Towards the end of the hand, however, they extend into a pair of sharp claws. A length of chain connects the sikkikaln, making it effective for disarming and occasionally tripping opponents.

A character with proficiency in shields may use them as shields, but they require a specific Exotic Weapon Proficiency to use them effectively as weapons, either singly or paired (1d6, slashing, 19-20/x2 crit). To retain the AC bonus when attacking with them, the Improved Shield Bash feat is required as nomal.

A character with proficiency in the weapon itself (and using a pair) may attempt to disarm or trip an opponent who fails his 'To Hit' roll by 10 or more. Let the player know that the opponent is off-balance, and if they choose to make the maneuvre, immediately resolve the trip or disarm attempt against the original attacker. Failed attempts can be reversed, as usual.

Finally, Sikkikaln arm firmly secured to the character's arm, so treat as though the character is using Locked Gauntlets for the purposes of hostile disarm attempts. When worn they impose a -penalty to Climb, Swim, etc. just as wielding a pair of light shields would. They take approximately 5 minutes to properly secure to the arms, but only a single minute to remove.

Grab their nipples, twist and squeeze as hard as you can. Laugh when they cry. Except do this emotionally rather than physically.

Arctik_Firangi wrote:The problem with 'Protean' weapons is that they're very advantageous to one player, in an almost relic-like fashion.
I've run a few campaigns where ALL of the characters are bonded to their increasingly powerful weapons, but I really think you ought to split them up, or involve some sort of curse, if you're going to make them accessible in one set in your campaign. It sounds too much like finding a 'Tome Of Kensai Prestige Class Advantages'.

This is a valid point, and in the campaign my weapon was designed for, it was actually the LEAST of the protean weapons in the party; I still think that it's a good weapon to include, and you should definitely give other PCs items of equivalent power. Just try to make each item unique and interesting.

Also bear in mind that Items aren't the only way to maintain balance; custom designed abilities are always fun. Having a PC or two who 'has the King's ear' goes a long way towards balancing the power of items as well. The hardest part is to make sure that there is as little 'overlap' as possible: The Tank should be king of Damage mitigation, The Rogue should be best at traps and doors and recon, so on and so forth. A bit of redundancy isn't a bad thing, but when a player has a specific role in mind for their character, try not to buff other members up in that area to the point where the character isn't needed, or feels useless in comparison.

If you keep the 'role' of the characters in mind when handing out rewards, then having one person with a truly awesome weapon doesn't sting so bad for the players without. When that '30d6 greatsword of blasting' doesn't help disarm that DC45 acid trap, the rogue with the 'super automatic pickgun +20' will forget about never being able to match the fighter for damage output.

thanks so far i am going to use both of them, they will be put in around the 10th and 12 level.
one of my friends wanted me to come up with a new class and i want you guys to tell me what you think and give me some suggestions for it after i post it. it will be in about 6 hours before i'm able to get to another computer though

Track down the Players Handbook II - that has new official classes. I also recommend some sort of Technomancer if you'd like your campaign to allow rudimentary steam-powered technology or something.

sorry i wasnt able to post it yesterday i had to set up another network last period but today i have a substitute in networking so i can do any thing i want. (except smoke weed)

sorry it didnt work i couldnt center it under the headings. i'll try to type it out on word then turn it into a pdf file and put it on here later.

ok here is the calss i came up with sorry it took so long i got caught up with a scholorship contest.

so without further delay here it is.

the name isn't very original so any suggestions would be much appreciated. also if you find something that you think should be changed post it here and a reason why and i'll see if you convince me to change it.

am i the only one posting here anymore?

if not what do you think of the class?

another question:
should i come up with a map for every building in a town or should i have five or six that i roll a dice to determine which one they enter?

I can't comment on the class w/o some playtesting. but right off the top it looks a bit overpowered.

As far as the maps thing goes, I'd go ahead and stick with the 5 or six, and roll for it. No real sense in mapping out every single building in a town; The only ones you realistically might have a need for at random: the Inn, the Bath-house, the Smithy, the Church and the Bar (if it isn't also the Inn). AKA the places your PC's will immediately head once they get back into town. Any other buildings you need to map out (such as a job for a rogue) can be done off the top of your head for the session; The PC(s) will probably never be back to visit that particular place, or won't notice if something's different if they do.

Of course there are the times when you've scripted a new place, feel free to premap that. All in all just remember K.I.S.S. Too many maps and stuff will bog down the game and bore your players while you're shuffling through your parchments looking for the exact page.

EDIT: On further review, that class is WAY too much. Restrict the PC to ONE element of thier choice and then trim the list up. Then make it a Prestige class. That seems much more balanced. I would make it easiest for Monks to progress naturally into the class, followed by Druids, then Rogues, then everybody else. Also note that in 3.5 there is no game difference between a punch, kick, or even a headbutt; They are all unarmed attacks, they deal the same damage.

i did the punch and kick separate b/c i had the kick require the ranks in jump and tumble.

ok so i will change it to a prestige class and only let them choose one element b/c i can see where you are coming from, i thought it was overpowered too but i wanted to see what you guys thought b/c i lack jugdement as far as pc power goes.

any thing else?

Yes, be sure to trim it down to 10 levels.

well i think i am about out of questions right now but i want more feed back from the people who downloaded it but havent posted here since then.

Well I'll make an effort to answer your questions, but I might be a little slow, especially over the weekends. So far your campaign is looking like a lot of fun. I hope your players appreciate the amount of effort you're putting in.

sorry its upside down i didnt notice this until i uploaded it.



and this one too, i'll see what i can do as far as photoshopping them to add some grids to this one and flipping them both around




here are somethings for my campaign i have in my gallery, i'll make sure i upload some more today and post them here
i'll get the description for the maps up a little later.

Some good resources I use are:

http://www.rdinn.com/armoury.php

http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

talk about thread necromancy, but thanks OverbossGhurzubMoga. *no i didn't type your name i copied it, its way too long.*

Necromancy schmecknomancy. I've been waiting for more questions from you for, like, ever.

ok well i have had qute a long time to think and mostly you guys have been very helpful. umm... any suggestions on what kind of bottles i should use for a riddle? i need seven different ones.

umm... i came upon a speed bump when dming last week... a guy bought a pouch and a 15gp worth of chalk. he crushed up all of it and put it in the pouch. when he came to a stream and they were out of food he dumped half of it in the stream and he said it would choke the fish out of the stream. I'm wanting to keep SOME reality to my campaign, does any one know if that would really happen?

I'd just have him roll to see if it works. Use survival, tell him it's to check to see if he picked the right spot in the stream. The DC should be high enough that he has to roll an 11 on the die (if you don't want them to have to worry TOO much about food) or 15 (if you want it to be a bit harder on them). Or, if you don't want them to eat at all due to plot, have it work WONDEROUSLY well, then have a Selkie (or other water type fae creature) attack them for poisoning the river. Regardless of whether or not they win, either the Selkie or a minion will have absconded with all the fish at the end of the fight.

Regardless of whether or not it's realistic, it IS a clever idea, and those should ALWAYS have a chance to work unless they're OBVIOUSLY ludicrous. You WANT your players to be thinkers, especially if you want them to solve riddles and such.

Also what part do the bottles play in the riddle? Are THEY the riddle? Do they contain pieces of the riddle? Are they the answer to the riddle?

they are a part of the riddle and two of them are answers to the riddle. one will let them move forward the other will make them go back and not be able to get the treasure.

Danger lies before you while safty lies behind
two of us will help you whichever you would find
one among us seven will let you move ahead
another will transport the drinker back instead
two among our number hold only nettle wine
three of us are killers waiting hidden in line
chose unless you wish to stay here forever more
to help you in your choice we give you these clues four
first however slyly the poison tries to hide
you will always find some on nettle wine's left side
second different are those who stand on either end
but if you would move onward neither is your friend
third as you see clearly all are different size
neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides.
fourth the second left and the second on the right
are twins once you taste them though different at first sight

the one to go forward is the smallest bottle
the one to go back is the bottle on the far right

I highly suggest using graphing paper for your maps. It isn't especially useful for outdoor encounters, but inside of a dungeon it assures uniform scale and no 'woopsie' moments when your chambers cross. As an added bonus, you don't have to write down the dimensions of anything. Just count off the squares and stick to your scale.

yes that i have found out. but thank you any way.

do you know how to put a grid on the map above of the cave?

The original Forgotten Realms boxed set came with a map with no grid, and a clear sheet of grid-paper (plastic), so you could pop it over at any angle.
I'm not sure where you'd buy such grid-paper, but a stationers must have some, or know where.

For places that do fit to a grid (Dwarven settlements, Lawful Cities), squared paper is useful, but for more abstract places (natural caves, cities that have matured over time, with no rebuilding, Elven homes), I like to use plain paper, with a ruler and clear grid-paper handy.

gamefreak wrote:they are a part of the riddle and two of them are answers to the riddle. one will let them move forward the other will make them go back and not be able to get the treasure.

Danger lies before you while safty lies behind
two of us will help you whichever you would find
one among us seven will let you move ahead
another will transport the drinker back instead
two among our number hold only nettle wine
three of us are killers waiting hidden in line
chose unless you wish to stay here forever more
to help you in your choice we give you these clues four
first however slyly the poison tries to hide
you will always find some on nettle wine's left side
second different are those who stand on either end
but if you would move onward neither is your friend
third as you see clearly all are different size
neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides.
fourth the second left and the second on the right
are twins once you taste them though different at first sight

the one to go forward is the smallest bottle
the one to go back is the bottle on the far right

God I am going to sound like such a damn dork....but...
that sounds a lot like the riddle from the first Harry Potter book.

yup... i pulled a lot of my old books from thier shelves and opened their extremely dusty pages and looked through them for some extra stuff. dont think this would infringe on copyrights or any thing so i am still gonna use it. i also got some stuff from my collectors edition LotR books. i gots some from a terry pratchet book and a book from the pendragon series. i used to read all that in middle school. but yes you are right i got it from the first harry potter book and i am going to use the sphinx's riddle from the fourth (i belive thats right)


well my pcs have finally found the deck of many things i have been trying to give them for the past two levels (level 10 now) and the pc who got it got imprisoned on the first draw. mwahahahaha.... he was complaining about how everything was either to easy or too hard so i gave him it and now... well lets just say he committed suicide when he was imprisoned (not literally) and made a new character and started over.

thanks blackspike i'll look around for some

AH ... Deck of Many Things! So much fun! (For the DM, and occasionally players! )

gamefreak wrote:yes that i have found out. but thank you any way.

do you know how to put a grid on the map above of the cave?

Scan it (or just copy it) and print it using graph paper instead of normal paper.

good idea didn't think about that.

came up with another riddle:

what is gold?



what do you think?

Lol. That's unique and hard to figure out. A riddle I once had played on me as a player follows.

Well, first, some back story. In our campaign, there is a diety who calls himself "The Fool." He appears as a monsterous version of the creature from the 'Alien' movies, with a few minor things added. Like, really cartoon-y eyebrows. He also likes to mess around with the group of adventurers and screw things up. Although he has infinite cosmic power, he's too stupid to do anything that could harm us.

His only goal is to be the universes largest imbicile [and he succeeds very well]. There are a lot of quirks but too many to list here.

Anyways, the riddle went like so: "Only a mind of a child's will open this door."

Everyone spent 30 minutes trying to figure it out. So, I grab The Fool, stick his head in the opening of the door, and viola, it opens.

I'm not going to bother reading any of the rest of the thread, and I'm just going to answer the original post. When I write an adventure I try to give everyone a moment to shine. Never be obvious, make it look like it was all their own creativity that made it happen. This makes you look good, like you can create this awesome world, and makes the players feel good too. When making a "villain" or an opposing group I start with a philosophy or a quote. Now take that quote to the furthest extreme you can. I just googled "quote generator" and this is jsut one that popped up:

"Confound these ancestors.... They've stolen our best ideas!" - Ben Jonson

Time travel? A down-and-out pauper from a town with a strong caste system looking to destroy all the libraries so everyone can be equal and noone can be proven to be royalty? That's just off the top.

To downgrade the human mind is bad theology. - C. K. Chesterton

Someone looking to destroy all temples and elevate earthly beings to their "rightful place?" Or flip it, certain temples are forcing their ways more heavily than others, and it's the players job to stop an inquisition from happening?

"You and I as individuals can, by borrowing, live beyond our means, but only for a limited period of time. Why should we think that collectively, as a nation, we are not bound by that same limitation?" -- Ronald Reagan

A town's faithful guardian dragon has dissapeared due to a foolish leader who refused to throw it a birthday party, because it felt like the dragon owes them for not slaying it.

Those are just a few ideas.

Always have a motivation for the characters. I like to trick my players into agreeing to take the bait, as it feels like they've chosen to roughly follow your path then. Beyond your path, just have a world fleshed out. That way if they start going in the opposite direction (which there is NOTHING wrong with), you have at least some immediate answers.

Always reward creativity, and do not give any extra credit to cheesy power gamer types. Don't harm them purposefully, but know that they have their reward.

Those are the initial thoughts. Damn I'm good

sorry about my extended break from the forums.

ok hiding under bones? should it provide a +2 circumstance bonus?

Hiding from sight?
Are there a lot of bones?
If so, then yes. But should make a will-based saving throw to keep from sneezing because of all of the dust. [it's what I would do.]

Being a DM is a tough gig. It requires a lot of extra "work" on your part.

Tailor the quests/storyline to the PCs classes - also don't forget to play to their alignments. This usually makes the PCs WANT to do whatever it is you are planning.

Do your best to populate the region that the PCs are in, makes it easier to ad lib when the characters go off on an unforseen tangent.

Sometimes you have to use the "carrot-on-a-stick" method to get the characters to play into your plot hooks. If the quest revolves around a town in trouble, just have the heroes assaulted by masses of people looking for help.

If one of you PCs classes are religious, just use the divine method - a priest/vision can help move a story along well enough. Heck you could even have the PCs get forced to do a couple quests - this requires leverage (kidnapped friend/family member/ etc)

I currently have a group of PCs trudging through the underdark and seemingly endless tunnels (lots of work - and LOTS of random encounters). I through in a bunch of different quest points throughout the tunnels, including towns/guard posts in distress, and other such random quests.

It really depends on how important a main campaign course is to you. You can do anything, you are the DM. Don't forget that.

yes i know this will probably be considered nedromancy but a problem just came up:

one of my Pcs who is a 9th level wereboar human sorcerer is about to take a level of dragon disciple and afterwards he is going to try to become a lich. My main problem is which bonuses override the others. second when he becomes a lich should he lose his shapeshifting ability? third the dragon disciple level bonuses still count right? and fourth the books dont have a specific way to make the phylactery, what have you guys done if this has happened to you?

What? You're going to let a PC become a Lich? That's crazy. How is he going to justify that?

How would he interact with commoners? How do you balance his massive bonuses? What is everyone going to think of a massively powerful undead monster?

Liches are intended to be a form of 'sub-boss' enemy. They're far too powerful to be PCs.