Reasons Why I Like to Play With Inexperienced Players

Beginning Player Basics[edit]

For the True Neophyte, this is a list of what every beginner should know before playing. For players of role playing games, knowing the rules is optional. However the heading Guide Books Consulted gives a list of not only the rule books used by the Dungeon Master in running the game but, also, the reference material used to create the realistic fantasy world the players' characters will inhabit.

What Materials Players Need to Play[edit]

Players should attend all games with their own

1 - pencil

2 - pencil sharpener

3 - eraser

4 - notepad for taking lots of notes and doing math

5 - a set of polyhedral dice (one set of dice includes: 4-sided die, 6-sided die, 8-sided die, 10-sided die, 12-sided die, and 20-sided die) Dice are referred to as d4, d6, d8, d10, d12 and d20.

All other materials will be provided by the Dungeon Master. Dice can be provided to new players by the Dungeon Master on a short-term basis. However, it is best for each player to have his or her own personal set of dice.

Basic Rules[edit]

Roll d20, add the resulting number from that roll (1-20) to modifiers in an attempt to match or exceed a number that represents an in-game difficulty. Two in-game difficulty terms often used are:

1) Difficulty Class (DC) that is often associated with skills such as remaining balanced on a slippery surface, climbing a cliff, setting a trap, dismantling a trap, searching an area for clues, spotting anything suspicious while on watch, listening to hear a noise, etc.; and

2) Armour Class (AC) that is associated with the difficulty to punch, kick, grapple, or otherwise attack an opponent.

Both in-game difficulty numbers (DC & AC) are determined through a mathematical formula known by the Dungeon Master.

Example. The Player Character (PC) wants to dismantle a trap with a difficulty of 25. To be successful, the player must achieve a number of 25 or greater using the roll of a d20 plus any modifiers the PC may have for training, luck, natural abiility, assistance from others, etc.

Food and Drinks at The Game[edit]

A food break during the game will allow players to eat a meal brought from home or to order in a meal from a restaurant. Players are responsible to provide their own food and drink. A large pizza, for example, shared by four people also shares the cost 25%.

Snacks and drinks at the table during play are understood, and expected, to be a "community property." For example a bag of chips is contributed into a large bowl from which everyone eats the chips and a 2 liter bottle of drink is poured into individual glasses. Everyone offers the group a snack and/or drink in respect to the player team and the Dungeon Master.

Game Information For Experienced Players[edit]

The Dungeon Master's Style of Play[edit]

While this world can accommodate a simple game of Imaginary Melee Casino, it is unreasonable for experienced players to expect a game that is essentially random encounter rolling within the shell of an abstract seat-of-the-pants story telling. Not after all the work I have put into creating my version of The Flanaess. I would write a novel if I wanted that level of personal achievement.

This world has been manipulated to trigger certain events, in a certain order in a certain time. The world is meant to have high character involvement with its NPCs and storyline. There is much to learn about the world and the campaign storyline that will bring the epic adventure of this world to the characters. Logically, this is a story about Celene and the Elven Nation. Had it been a story of The Great Kingdom, I would have started players in that region of Flanaess.

So get to know Celene well. This is not a demand but a necessary requirement for me to have fun role playing. If you want an Dungeon Master to roll dice on random charts, babysit the table of players and tabulate events that lead to risk and reward, hire a babysitter with a calculator. My job is to have fun too

I have a style of play

Player Back Story and History[edit]

The Player Character (PC) history is an interesting and important part of the role-playing experience. It provides inspiration and opportunity for the Dungeon Master (DM) to create continuous and personalised adventures for each and every player. Players are required to give the DM the PC history before the PC can reach the third level.

Information about the PC’s past is important. This information comes from the player’s imagination and it requires some thought from the player: what potential storylines do you want your game to play out?

Who were the PC's parents' and how many siblings does the PC have? Are they alive? Was the PC adopted? Who are the PC's childhood friends? What was the PC's childhood like? How did the PC receive 1st-level experience? Was the PC part of a guild or have a trade? Why is the PC the type of character played: what is the career path and how did that path become a choice for the PC in the first place? Were the PC’s family connections supportive in locating work? Was the PC good at the job?

There are so many questions that could lead to future adventures that will be unique to the PC and the player during the course of the character’s life. These could turn out to be side quests created by the DM or they could fit into the main story.

However some questions need time to answer. The player needs to be familiar with the world the PC inhabits. Take as an example the PC’s education: did the PC attend school as a child?

Answering such questions depends on the world the PC inhabits. Did moveable type exist or did a tutor mentor the child? Was a formal education even possible for children of less than noble birth? What sort of government or economy existed to permit parents to school their children? What sort of education was received and is the knowledge immediately accessible – was writing learnt as a regional dialect for example?

What is the purpose of schooling institutions in the PC’s world?

Clearly some player experience with the DM’s world is necessary to answer these types of questions. Also, what player wants to invest too much story development in a character of first-level that dies before reaching the second or third level? These hardscrabble, low-level games of survival are an opportunity for the players to learn about the world where the PC inhabits.

No character history is expected from the player until his or her PC reaches the second level of experience. But before the PC may advance to the third experience level, the player is required to give the PC history to the DM. PCs will not advance to the third level without a history.

A name and physical description for a new PC is mandatory. Let’s not go overboard.

What Hit Points Represent[edit]

Damage And Death[edit]

Death more often than not results from hemoraging from internal injuries, meaning that it is rare that one blow even from a sword slices the head off an enemy or thrusts deep into the heart of an opponent.

Player and Character Knowledge[edit]

Guide Books Consulted[edit]

Guide books are not necessarily the game rules, although they are usually in practice. The Dungeon Master is the one who fixes the actual game rules. The following list provides inspiration and guidelines.

CORE RULES FOR v3.5 D&D[edit]

Dungeon Master's Guide

Player's Handbook

Monster Manual 1

Supplemental Reference Books Cited[edit]

Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Dungeon Master's Guide, first edition

The World of Greyhawk Fantasy Game Setting Boxed Set 1983, which includes an 80-page World of Greyhawk Guide; a 48-page Glossography to the Guide; and a two-piece 45" x 35" full-colour wall map of the land of Flanaess, being the eastern portion of the continent Oerik, of Oerth.

Nobles and Nobility

Life in a Medieval Castle

Gary Gygax's Living Fantasy

Heroes of Battle

Libris Mortis

Dynasties and Demagogues

Crime And Punishment