Dungeon Master^® For Dummies^®

by Bill Slavicsek; Richard Baker; Foreword by: Jeff Grubb

• ISBN13: 9780470050880
• ISBN10: 0470050888
• Format: eBook
• Copyright: 2006-07-01
• Publisher: For Dummies

Summary

Whether you've been a Dungeon Master (DM) before and want to fine-tune your skills or want to get ready and take the plunge, this is the book for you. It gives you the basics on running a great game, info for more advanced dungeon mastering, guidelines for creating adventures, and tips for building a campaign. It shows you how to: Handle all the expressions of DMing: moderator, narrator, a cast of thousands (the nonplayer characters or NPCs), player, social director, and creator Use published adventures and existing campaign worlds or create adventures and campaign worlds of your own Conjure up exciting combat encounters Handle the three types of encounters: challenge, roleplaying, and combat Create your own adventure: The Dungeon Adventure, The Wilderness Adventure. The Event-Based adventure (including how to use flowcharts and timelines), The Randomly Generated Adventure, and the High-Level adventure Create memorable master villains, with nine archetypes ranging from agent provocateur to zealot To get you off to a fast start, Dungeon Master For Dummies includes: A sample dungeon for practice Ten ready-to-use encounters and ten challenging traps A list of simple adventure premises Mapping tips, including common scales, symbols, and conventions, complete with tables Authors Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker wrote the hugely popular Dungeons and Dragons For Dummies. Bill has been a game designer since 1986 and leads the D&D creative team at Wizards of the Coast. Richard is a game developer and the author of the fantasy bestseller Condemnation. They give you the scoop on: Using a DM binder to keep records such as an adventure log, PCs' character sheets, NPC logs/character sheets, treasure logs, and more Knowing player styles (role players and power games) and common subgroups: hack'n'slasher, wargamer, thinker, impulsive adventurer, explorer, character actor, and watcher Recognizing your style: action movie director, storyteller, worldbuilder, puzzlemaker, or connector Using miniatures, maps, and other game aids Using 21st century technology, such as a Web site or blog, to enhance your game The book includes a sample adventure, The Necromancer's Apprentice, that's the perfect way to foray into DMing. It includes everything you need for a great adventure-except your players. What are you waiting for? There are chambers to be explored, dragons to be slain, maidens to be rescued, gangs of gnoll warriors to be annihilated, worgs to be wiped out, treasures to be discovered, worlds to be conquered....

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Running a Great Game

The Role of the Dungeon Master

Preparing for Play

Running the Game

Narrating the Adventure

Dealing with Players

Teaching the Game

Sample Dungeon: The Rat Lord's Lair

Advanced Dungeon Mastering

Running an Ongoing Game

Knowing the Players

Choosing Your Game Style

Creating Excitement at the Game Table

Growing Your Game

Using Every Available Resource

Creating Adventures

Tools of the Trade

The Dungeon Adventure

The Wilderness Adventure

The Event-Based Adventure

The Randomly Generated Adventure

The High-Level Adventure

Sample Dungeon: The Necromancer's Apprentice

Building a Campaign

Building a Continuous Story

Creating Memorable Villains

Bringing the World to Life

The Part of Tens

Ten Best Classic Adventures

Ten Best Dungeon Magazine Adventures

Ten Best 3rd Edition Adventures

Ten Challenging Traps

Ten Ready-to-Use Encounters

Ten Things to Avoid When DMing

Ten Things to Do All the Time When DMing

Index

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.