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Dungeons and Dragons
Anyone who calls me a nerd, dork, geek, etc. will geta one. Anyone who is a smartass about this will get a one.
I like to play DnD, right, and I have the DM Guide, the Monster Manual, and the Player's Handbook. Last month, I considered starting a DnD group. But that idea sort of died down. Well, a few days ago I picked up the Unearthed Arcana book, and I realized what all I could do if I was DMing a campaign. So now I've been asking my parents about it again, and they say once a month---at most. Also, they reccomend that we do one all-afternoon thing to see how they like it, what they want more of, what they like, etc. So I need to know how long each session should be and stuff like that.
Also, these people are fairly low roleplayers, fairly high meta-gamers. I'm probably gonna give them each a disorder as encouragement to roleplay and make the games more humorous---not handicaps, more like being gay, thinking you're a vampire, OCD, having a lucky charm, etc. Is that a good idea? Also, any tips on how to create a scenario? Thanks all!
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Maybe give some free advice about: Random Weirdos?
crap i havn't played DnD in so long and i never got to be DM so i don't think i can help you
but i guess that sounds like a good idea to make it funny... but sometimes funny shit just happens in the game anyway
for example: we were all in a marshmallow mine then my friend(who was a 2ft. tall drawf) was hit on the head with a marshmallow and for some reason he instanly gained around 2000 pounds and blocked the exit....we were stuck in a cave full of orcs lol so sometimes funny stuff just happens but w/e yor idea sounds good
EDIT//
don't ask me why there was a marshmallow mine and why he was 2ft. tall i was't DM lol
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DnD is for hardcore losers, it's all about Vampire: The Masquerade.
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It's tough to sustain a campaign with only one session a month. A lot of your time will probably be taken up with recaps of the previous session.
It would be a good idea to run a series of one-shots, so as not to leave the action hanging over the four-week breaks. Later, when you're more comfortable with the group and with scenario design, you can set up some cliffhangers, but don't overdo it; that can get old pretty fast. Your goal should be to run a complete adventure in a single afternoon.
The players can use the same characters for each adventure, of course, and can accrue experience and all that.
As for how long each session should last, that partly depends on the group, and on your style as DM. If you keep things well under control, avoid distractions and delays, you should be able to manage a scenario in about 3-4 hours. But you could easily go as long as 6-7 hours, if you wanted to.
The disorders you mentioned are basically GURPS Disadvantages - in that system, you can get extra character design points for taking disadvantages. They can certainly apply to D&D, of course.
They can be fun to play, but it's important that the PLAYERS choose their character's quirk or disadvantage - if you just tell them which problem they have by fiat, they'll resent it and the game will probably fail. So make a list (or pick up a copy of GURPS), and let them make a selection from the list. You'll want to think carefully about the effects of different disadvantages beforehand.
Scenarios: It's hard to tell you how to create one, because it's kind of like telling you how to create a story: basically, it involves a lot of creativity, and everyone approaches it a little differently. The DMG has a list of ideas; that's a good starting point.
Another useful source of ideas is your own favorite literature, TV, or movies. But make sure that none of the players have read or seen your sources. One thing you can do is take elements from different sources, change them beyond recognition, and combine them in odd ways.
There are a lot of scenarios online, of course. You can find them via Google. And don't restrict yourself to D&D scenarios only, although those will obviously be the most easy for you to use. There are good scenarios that have been written for other game systems, and most of them can be fairly easily adapted to D&D. At the least, it should be possible for you to mine them for ideas.
One important point: make sure to read a module at least twice before you run it. One of the readings should be from the perspective of the players: what might they do to screw things up or surprise you? Players almost ALWAYS throw a monkey-wrench into a scenario at some point, and that's half the fun. But you need to be ready to deal with it. If you've thought about the possibilities in advance, you'll have a better chance of coping when things veer in an unexpected direction.
Avoid the temptation to over-control the characters' behavior. It's an awful temptation, but if the players EVER get the idea that they're being railroaded through a pre-ordained plot with no freedom of action, they'll resent it and the game will collapse.
At the same time, don't let the players dawdle or slow the game down to a crawl. As the DM, it's completely legitimate for you to control exterior events and have them impinge on the PCs, as long as there's an underlying logic and fairness to your actions. Okay, to be honest almost EVERY DM fudges a die roll now and again, but it's absolutely vital that the PCs never suspect it.
I'll give you a quick example of a real screw-up by a DM: I was in a game where the players had decided not to take a course of action that was clearly quite dangerous. Suddenly, out of the blue, a mysterious hooded figure appeared, gestured mystically, and mind-controlled us all into doing what the DM had obviously planned for us to do all along. Then that mind-controller magically disappeared. The game collapsed almost immediately, and we didn't play with that DM after that.
Remember that this is a *group* activity, and that while you hold the main threads of the plot in your hands, the players MUST be more than actors playing out the parts you've written for them. Because then you're not running a game, you're directing a play.
I've already gone on far too long, but here are a few links that you may find useful:
Roleplaying Tips
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I should admit that the author of Roleplaying Tips used to write for a magazine that I published, and has a couple of my articles on his site.
The Big List of RPG Plots
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The Chaos Project
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
The "Found Items" section of the Chaos Project contains five or six hundred random items and odd things that a party might encounter. Truth in advertising, this is part of my own site. :D
Good luck, and have fun!
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Role playing can suck up way too much time if you don't give it a frame. On the other hand, you really want to play at least a couple of hours so you have time for things to happen. I would suggest make it an afternoon with an end time. I have seen so many people ruin their schoolwork by being sucked into game play.
I wish I could remember the actual name of this game, but I remember that swashbuckling and the "trench coat mystique" was part of it. There were more zany things than that, but that was my favorite. The swashbuckling meant you couldn't enter a scene by just walking in. I actually got extra points by swinging on the chandelier.
The trench coat thing was whenever someone said "I wish I had.." whatever it was materialized in the trench coat.
You don't have to have "real" attributes to be fun. And using the books as a stepping off points will help you with scenarios. You can also borrow from your favorite books and movies. If you need an outline, write it down.
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