Accesories

[Vladislav Slavov]

Hello again.

See I'm New to all this stuff. I mean AD&D.
I've never played FRPG before, but I'm interested...so I bought Player's
Handbook, DMG, Monsterous manual and Birthright boxed set and started
reading....I want to be a DM. I know that it will be very difficult just to
start with DMing, but I don't know any gaming group around here. So I'll
try.
About Birthright...can you give me some advices how to manage the campaign,
what accessories I need to make more detailed game world and so on... I know
that I can make my own adventures, but without any practice before....
Is it difficult to DM Birthright campaign? Because there they introduce some
more rules for running the domains. Isn't it easier to start with simple
adventures?

Thanks for your patience.

Vlad

vlad@mweb.co.za

[Pieter A de Jong]

Vladislav Slavov wrote:
>
> Hello again.
>
> See I'm New to all this stuff. I mean AD&D.
> I've never played FRPG before, but I'm interested...so I bought Player's
> Handbook, DMG, Monsterous manual and Birthright boxed set and started
> reading....I want to be a DM. I know that it will be very difficult just to
> start with DMing, but I don't know any gaming group around here. So I'll
> try.
> About Birthright...can you give me some advices how to manage the campaign,
> what accessories I need to make more detailed game world and so on... I know
> that I can make my own adventures, but without any practice before....
> Is it difficult to DM Birthright campaign? Because there they introduce some
> more rules for running the domains. Isn't it easier to start with simple
> adventures?
>
> Thanks for your patience.
>
> Vlad
>
> vlad@mweb.co.za
>

Well 1st off, you're right. It is *very* difficult to step right into
being a DM without spending some time as a player 1st. Look around
locally and see if you can possibly find an experienced gaming group to
play with. If this is impossible, I suggest ignoring the birthright
domain rules at the start of your campaign. In other words play
straight
AD&D in the world setting of Cerilia, no blooded PC's, etc. Starting
this
way will allow you to get a direct handle on the basic rules of the
game.
Once you feel you have mastered the basic game, then move on to the
domain
rules.

Pieter A de Jong
Graduate Mechanical Engineering Student
University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

[TOMMY.ASHTON@asu.ed]

On Thu, 17 Dec 1998, Vladislav Slavov wrote:
> About Birthright...can you give me some advices how to manage the campaign,
> what accessories I need to make more detailed game world and so on... I know
> that I can make my own adventures, but without any practice before....
> Is it difficult to DM Birthright campaign? Because there they introduce some
> more rules for running the domains. Isn't it easier to start with simple
> adventures?
See if there are any local groups by contacting the local game store. There
are two ways to DM in my mind: 1) Read, Reread, and Re-re read the rules
and just jump in with a group of friends with each running a separate regent
and learn by trial and error. The other way to work a campaign that may
work for you was presented marvelously in a module called The King of the
Giantdowns written by the master, Ed Stark, which works you through having the
players first just be a group of adventurers (standard D&D fare with the
Birthright setting) and by a series of adventures set yourself up as regent.
Both ways a fun. If you want a modules of just adventures, Legends of the
Hero Kings again by Ed Stark is a series of adventures that can be stand alone
or woven together and there seems to be one in there for every area of
Cerilia.

My two cents,

T

[prtr02@scorpion.nspco.co]

- ----- Begin Included Message -----
Hello again.

See I'm New to all this stuff. I mean AD&D.
I've never played FRPG before, but I'm interested...so I bought Player's
Handbook, DMG, Monsterous manual and Birthright boxed set and started
reading....I want to be a DM. I know that it will be very difficult just to
start with DMing, but I don't know any gaming group around here. So I'll
try.
About Birthright...can you give me some advices how to manage the campaign,
what accessories I need to make more detailed game world and so on... I know
that I can make my own adventures, but without any practice before....
Is it difficult to DM Birthright campaign? Because there they introduce some
more rules for running the domains. Isn't it easier to start with simple
adventures?

Thanks for your patience.

Vlad

vlad@mweb.co.za
- ----- End Included Message -----

Welcome to a great hobby! We're glad to have you. I think you'll find you're
lucky, having started out in the greatest campaign setting ever designed by TSR instead of finding your way there after numerous monty haul, killer DM, and geeky TSR campaigns.

Buy Blood Enemies, any of the area expansions (esp Havens of the Great Bay and Tribes of the Heartless Wastes.) and the Books of Magecraft/Priestcraft. Buy specific BR adventures. Legends of the Hero Kings and King of the Giantdowns are much better than say- Sword of Roele. Using one of these adventures esp King of the Giantdowns will save you lots of headaches trying to make a complete, believable world for your player's characters to "live" in.

I would strongly advise playing before you attempt to ref. If you can't find a AD&D game in
your area, try to play in ANY RPG that you can find. There are better game systems than AD&D, but D&D is the granddaddy of them all and certainly remains one of the most flexible. Try to
experience the group dynamics of an RPG session before attempting to run one. I'm afraid that
if you try to run a group of players who never played before the group will be overwhelmed. If
you see a DM (hopefully a good one) in action, you'll have a lot better idea of what to do.

I'd stick with just using Birthright as a campaign setting to start with. That's what I did,
and I've been DMing for longer than I'd like to think about (about 20 years). Look in the BR
Rulebook under "The Birthright Campaign", it's toward the back. Use the "Common Heros" approach. No one should start out as a regent. This will allow you to learn the basic AD&D rules
while simultaneously learning about the world of Cerilia. Starting out as common people in a campaign world where one can be a king will make your campaign richer in the long run.

In some ways I envy you. I remember the first few years I played RPGs. Everything was new.
I couldn't get enough. You've discovered a world of adventure and wonder that you'll explore the rest of your life. Once again, welcome.

Randax

[Brian Stoner]

When I first started DMing, I jumped headlong into Birthright...and I think it
was a mistake. I allowed the players to run their seperate domains and had to
learn both Birthright and DM rules...way too much to learn at once. I did not
have the help of this mailing list at the time, however. First, I suggest
running a standard adventure campaign and not a regent campaign. This way you
only have to learn AD&D itself. Keep the politics heavy, to keep the flavor of
the setting in air, but don't let the players rule...at least for a while. If
and when you do choose to let them be regents, it is vital that you keep a
record of the most important NPC domains and all their actions. Roll all the
actions they undertake that do not involve the players before the game, and have
everything ready so that the game doesn't get bogged down during the session.
Always be ready for the players to do the unexpected, and remain on your toes.
Most important, remember that it is about having fun...don't let the rules get
in the way. That said, the rules are there to keep things fair and "realistic",
so don't abandon them completely.

- -Dearnen

Vladislav Slavov wrote:

> Hello again.
>
> See I'm New to all this stuff. I mean AD&D.
> I've never played FRPG before, but I'm interested...so I bought Player's
> Handbook, DMG, Monsterous manual and Birthright boxed set and started
> reading....I want to be a DM. I know that it will be very difficult just to
> start with DMing, but I don't know any gaming group around here. So I'll
> try.
> About Birthright...can you give me some advices how to manage the campaign,
> what accessories I need to make more detailed game world and so on... I know
> that I can make my own adventures, but without any practice before....
> Is it difficult to DM Birthright campaign? Because there they introduce some
> more rules for running the domains. Isn't it easier to start with simple
> adventures?
>
> Thanks for your patience.
>
> Vlad

[JulesMrshn@aol.co]

My best advice to you is to have a few throw away adventures. Sit down with
your players, roll characters all fighters and pick Weapon Profs. Learn the
system of Combat first. Do like 3 adventures, have them in Cerilia, then toss
the characters out. Start over again this time including non-weapon
proficencies and alignments. Have them flesh out their characters. This
group should be Rouges and Fighters. Do 3 more adventures, and have them be
less combat and more use of skills. Next have them all create Mages, Clerics,
or Rouges... no fighters. Play 3 more adventures and then let them play any
of the characters they have tried, or roll up new blooded/non-blooded ones.

This will give all of you time to get to know the rules, and do it with out
fear of killing their characters since they are throw away anyway. It also
gives you and your players a chance to read and discuss the rules, what you
like and what you don't like. Finally, it gives you a chance to master the
basic rules before expanding into the Domain turns. Remember, being a DM is a
lot of paperwork and work but it is well worth it.





In a message dated 12/17/98 2:08:32 PM Central Standard Time, vlad@mweb.co.za
writes:

[DavTyr@aol.co]

Starting off DMing, is much harder than you think it is. if you like the
Birthright setting then tell everyone on this list that you are looking for a
group & what City & state your in & maybe a good person will come forward and
invite you into their game. Also go to your local Game store & see if they
have a postings board(all good stores do), so you can post that you are
looking for a game, check the posting and respond to a few that are their.

DMing requires alot of juggling, planning & experience. I'm not saying that
you can't start off DMing right away but I do reccomend that you play a few
times 1st. aAs a DM you have to set up a fun & challenging game for the
entire group of people that you are playing with, and since A,D & D is a ROLE
PLAYING GAME the real fun of the game is in interaction not in killing
monsters, although there are alot of people out there that would rather just
Hack N' Slash instead of think.

Thats enough for now,