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Should I run a one-off D&D game for a party with (adult) non-players?

mark7570 — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 08:58:39 -0800

Any suggestions for one-off D&D game for newbies? I'm considering running a D&D game for an upcoming party I'm hosting. Guests and I are all in our mid-to-late 30s and most of us have never played D&D (though I played in my teens).

My question is, does anyone have a suggestion for a one-off D&D campaign that I can run at the party, which would be fun for people who've never played before? Something we could run start to finish in, say, two hours.

Note that this wouldn't be leading on ongoing campaign - this would just be a fun activity we haven't tried before, possibly to go on to other games for the next party.

I have some DM experience so I could do that, though I'd have to go out and buy the materials I'd need... it's been a long time since I had my old D&D manuals around.

BTW, I'm also interested to know if the answer is "don't do it" - i.e., if there just isn't an easy way to run a one-off quick D&D game for new players. I just thought that it might be an interesting game to try for people who've never had the chance to experience D&D.

P.S. I've already seen this and this question on AskMeFi and found them helpful for extra info, albeit for more advanced gamers.

One-Night Dungeon

The otter lady — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:26:01 -0800

I need a good idea for a one-night D&D game! I would like to be able to run a fun, well-plotted, and varied, but short, D&D scenario, that could be played start-to-finish in one session of several hours. Something I could use to introduce new people to the concept of RPGs, or just run as a pick-up game some evening. Ideally it would be a scenario even playable by just one person.

It should have a mixture of things; talking to NPCs, doing some problem-solving, some skill use, and some combat. And it would be great if there were several different ways to play through it; a stealthy character could sneak around through things, a brute could bash his way along, etc. A clever 'twist' is always good! Something more interesting than "Go into this cave and kill the kobolds" I can adapt other rules systems, it doesn't have to be D&D. A published module, with maps and stuff, would be great, but if you remember playing something like this and just give me a summary of the story and the unfolding plot, I can add the paperwork! Thanks for any help!

How do I extensively, safely mod D&D?

neewom — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 22:28:01 -0800

I am attempting to create a new D&D-based RPG, using a lot of non-standard races and rules. Help? Specifically, I was challenged to create a magic-heavy world that combined elements from Neverwhere, Discworld, and Harry Potter. We will be using v3.5 to start, and half of the crew dislike GURPS.

I'm aware of many D&D-universe flexibilities when it comes to types of campaigns and campaign settings, but I am hoping to modify the rules for certain races, encounters and some mechanics.

While I do have a solid grasp of the playable races from these various universes, the problem is that I am still relatively new to the world of RPG's and D&D in particular, and I know nothing about potential restrictions beyond what's already in the PHB.

Are there any sources available that will help me work out the changes to game and character mechanics without me hopelessly crippling the game? Tips, things to avoid?

I wanna be the coolest GM in the HISTORY OF THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. Need rules.

jbickers — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:13:54 -0800

Help me put together a D&D game for an awesome bunch of 7-year-olds. I've got a bunch of awesome kids in my neighborhood (including one of my own), in the area of 7-8 years old. Three or four kids, depending on the weekend. They've expressed an interest in learning D&D, and I'd like to start a totally awesome Sunday afternoon session.

Now, given that age range, I realize it'll have to be (a) very simplified rules-wise, (b) visual in some sense, i.e. miniatures, and (c) shortened, probably no more than an hour tops.

So, I'm looking for recommendations on what kinds of gear to buy - map tiles, miniatures, etc. - that will be fun but will not break the bank. I'm not looking to get into painting miniatures or anything like that - just want them to be cool and functional for the game.

Perhaps more than anything else, I need help figuring out a rule set to use - something that will provide an ample amount of dice-rolling to be fun, sufficient tension so that it's still a challenge, but not too difficult for seven-year-olds. Maybe one or two d20 tables for combat, one d6 table for random encounters? I dunno. Is there a simplified miniatures dungeon crawl game that exists in off-the-shelf format, without being a "board game" (i.e. I don't just want us to "play Dungeonquest every Sunday," I want to be able to improvise a new story each week).

Thanks in advance!

D&D via VOIP?

Squid Voltaire — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:05:05 -0800

Tips for D&D via Skype (especially audio tips?) A couple of months ago, my good friend had never rolled a twenty-sided die. Now, she has a fourth-level gnomish mage!

She's traveling out of the country for two-and-a-half months, but I suggested that we play via Skype! I was inspired by Gabe, of Penny-Arcade fame, but I don't understand how he got it to work with just a laptop microphone.

We've tried talking to her via Skype before, and for one-on-one it's fine, but when six people all yell into the laptop it becomes incomprehensible noise. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should we all wear lapel mics? And how would that even work with Skype?

Worst case scenario, I presume that you can video conference call via Skype, so I guess everyone could have an individual laptop? That sounds pretty cumbersome, though...

Baby shower gift for D&D player?

seasparrow — Thu, 07 May 2009 06:41:30 -0800

Help! Clueless dorks need to come up with a baby shower gift for our Dungeon Master. My web fu is failing me. Here's hoping the Hive can help.

I'm looking for a Dungeons and Dragons style or similar gift for a baby shower. It seems like there must be something like a little infant's shirt with a d20 on it, but I can't seem to find it.

It really needs to be a D&D or RPG themed gift-- this is for our Dungeon Master for a regular campaign that has been meeting for a while. It will be a gift from the group to the DM. The gift should be for a baby, and it would be nice if it was fairly inexpensive.

I'd be super grateful for any suggestions at all... After checking sites like ThinkGeek I'm still at a loss.

Pimp My Beholder

Parasite Unseen — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:54:15 -0800

Alright, nerds: Help me mod my upcoming D&D campaign. It appears that I will in the near future be running a D&D 4th Edition campaign for a group of my friends. We've been playing the system since its release, and while we're pleased with the core mechanic, we feel that the system in place for roleplaying and character development leaves a bit to be desired. With that in mind, I'm looking to integrate rules from various other systems in order to make the campaign a more satisfying one for us.

In the past, we've had a great deal of success cherrypicking rules from roleplaying-heavy indie systems and shoehorning them into our campaigns. Aspects from Spirit of the Century worked very well in Star Wars: Saga Edition, Beliefs and Instincts from Burning Wheel worked well in a previous D&D campaign, and Drama Dice from 7th Sea gave our Vampire story a little extra bite.

What other lesser-known rules could be used to make my upcoming campaign a more memorable and enjoyable one, and how best to integrate them?

NerdFilter: Should I buy the 4th Edition D&D Rules Books?

chunking express — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 06:28:29 -0800

NerdFilter: Should I buy the 4th Edition D&D Rules Books? Has anyone here played 4th edition? Is it any good? Reviews are mixed, but I find with anything remotely dorky people are fucking crazy. ("They got rid of THAC0? I will kill you Wizards of the Coast!")

I haven't played D&D in a very long time. I have the 2nd edition books, so I don't really have an emotional attachment to the 3rd edition rules. I'm also not entirely sure I'll be able to get anyone to play the game again, or if I'm actually interested in playing D&D again. There is a part of me that feels inexplicably drawn to the game all of a sudden. The 3 core books are on Amazon for $75, which would have been a crap load of money when I was 14, but isn't going to break the bank now that I am older and gainfully employed. That said, I really don't want to buy these books if they are a big pile of suck.

This is pretty rambling as questions go.

Extracting phantom files from old CDRW

benzenedream — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:50:41 -0800

I have a legacy CDRW which shows up empty when mounted in either Linux or Windows. Extracting an iso image under linux via dd yields greppable strings which indicate files are hiding inside. How do I extract the files without knowing what format or filesystem they are in? Mounting the iso as a loop device in Linux yields no listable files. This disc is from ~2000. I assume the final FAT written to the disc is either corrupt or unreadable but files are written earlier on the disc. Is there a "file boundary guesser" that I can pipe the ISO to, which will spit out the possible files?

How can I keep my D&D game organized?

daveqat — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:40:41 -0800

I'm launching a tabletop D&D game later this month, and it's my first time DMing what I'm hoping will be a long campaign. How can I keep things organized? I've looked around, and the D&D software I've seen for Macs has seemed really... suboptimal. I know I can sorta muddle my way through learning how to track everything with Excel spreadsheets and Word docs, maybe even a private wiki. I guess I'm looking for everything from general tips and tricks to specific software recommendations. Windows-based software is OK, thanks to the joys of Parallels. Help me keep my players happy!

Where can I find good D&D podcasts?

daveqat — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:11:18 -0800

I need a good D&D-themed podcast. The only one I've found that's still updating is a recording of a game group's actual sessions, but that's not what I want. Ideally, it'll be about running a good game, creating campaigns, &c. Any links for me? I love podcasts, since they are a way to keep my ears busy at my somewhat brainless job, and I'm looking for just one more of my interests to listen about. I need a good D&D podcast. WotC was running one for a while, but it stopped updating a year ago. I found one on a podcast directory, but it's the uncut audio transcript of one group's gaming sessions. The ITMS podcast directory for games and hobbies only has podcasts that talk about video games, which I read a lot about anyway. Something about good 'ol dungeons and dragons, wizards, etc, is what I'm after. Any suggestions?

Looking for an online D&D client.

GilloD — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 14:23:14 -0800

I'm looking for a program that will simulate the experience of playing pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons, but allow online play. More inside. It seems like such a simple, obvious idea: A program that would take the experience of D&D off the table and onto the internet. You'd be able to script a scenario, have some friends connect and then play some D&D. Someone would be DM and moderate the goings-ons, combat would be turn based. The program would handle all the dice rolls and so forth. Text-based, maybe an ASCII map

It seems so obvious. And yet I can't seem to find any program even close to what I'm looking for. My friends are I are scattered all over the world and it would be great to "get together" and play some D&D once in a while.

Am I missing it? Is my Google Fu suddenly weak? Any suggestions for anything like this would be nice. I know there's a D&D MMO and that's not what I'm looking for.

I need help finding a really nice set of dice for playing D&D

paulus andronicus — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:17:31 -0800

D&DFilter: I want to buy my girlfriend a very nice set of dice for her to use when she plays D&D. But I don't know what kinds of dice she needs, nor do I know what separates nice dice from very nice dice. Wikipedia says most role playing games use 1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d12, 1d20, and 2d10. She showed me what she called a "standard set" of dice once and I seem to recall 2d8, and no d12, but I am probably misremembering. What should I be looking for?

What makes nice dice nice? I've talked to her some about what kind of jewelry she likes (because I figured some nice dice may be made of stone). Her birthstone is emerald, but she doesn't like it very much, she prefers opal or turquoise. I googled a bit and saw some dice made of bone. I asked about that and she thinks it's kind of creepy.

At one point she had some "Aurora Borealis" dice (or maybe just "Borealis") that she was really in love with.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Killer D&D campaign

baphomet — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:16:22 -0800

How can I, as a first-time D&D 3.5 DM, make my campaign completely kick ass? I'm starting up a campaign with a group of friends who will be taking an extended stay in Ravenloft. I'm an experienced player, having done everything from D&D 2nd ed to Paranoia! to Rifts to the whole White Wolf series (circa 2000ish), but I've never run a game before.

What sort of embellishments and experiences did you, as a DM, think got the best responses from your players? What did you, as a player, think made your game totally kick ass? Some of the players in this game are fairly experienced, which is not intimidating as they're friends, but all the same I want them to walk away from our first few sessions thinking, "Man, this is why D&D is fun," instead of, "Business as usual in Barovia...yawn".

Any answers would be great; they can be as specific as particular encounters that really stick out in your mind, or as broad as general points on style and game composition, pacing, etc.

Anything specifically tailored to Ravenloft is great, but feel free to opine even if you've never played there.

Are there any really interesting web sites that discuss the video game Neverwinter Nights?

chunking express — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 10:30:37 -0800

Are there any really interesting web sites that discuss the video game Neverwinter Nights? (Ideally, Neverwinter Nights 2.) I'd also be interested in web sites that discuss D&D.

Is there something like WoW Insider or , but for Neverwinter Nights 2 or for D&D?

Help me find tools to organize and run an online pnp RPG game.

absalom — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 20:09:42 -0800

I am interested in setting up a D&D game with old friends using the magic of the internet, what tools do I need? I have the players, but they are all over the place. What are some good tools to play a pen-and-paper RPG online? All of the players have computers, headsets, and mics. Interested especially in things where, perhaps, the GM can input info (maps, encounters, etc) and the players get output. Hell, maybe they can even interact. Software, advice, etc. - all welcome.

Immortal-Level D&D Adventures?

wavejumper — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 19:29:02 -0800

Can you recommend any epic-level D&D-style adventures that might still be available? I'm looking for what used to be called "Immortal Level" adventures, stories including flight, multiple continents, other dimensions, astral realms and travel, wars directed over whole realms, floating cities, ancient beings, gods, that kind of stuff. Anyone have any old favorites they'd like to recommend? I remember seeing the cover of one D&D adventure that had a spiral staircase that you could travel up or down and on each level was a different world. I'm looking for ideas in that kind of thing. This doesn't have to be "D&D" by the way, since I won't play these adventures, I'm more just interested in what writers and gamemakers have come up with for challenges when the players have achieved god-like status. Any game modules or books I sohuld check out?

I bet chicks always roll Windlings, don't they?

ArsncHeart — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:35:46 -0800

I have been invited to participate in an EarthDawn campaign. I know nothing about "pen and paper" RPGs. What advice can you give me? So a group of my friends are all experienced, um...face-to-face RPGers. I play WoW. One of the guys mentioned that he's starting an EarthDawn campaign and invited me to participate. I'm excited about joining up and experiencing a different form of gameplay than I'm used to, but I'm a total neophyte, and therefore slightly nervous.

Some of my questions and concerns:

1. I'll be the only chick. I don't expect that to make TOO much of a difference, as none of these guys are the OMG GIRLZ LAWL type... If you've gamed with women before, or if you're a woman gamer, do you have any specific advice?

2. I'm not too worried about rolling a character; I'm sure I can get the GM to help me out with that. But how does actual gameplay work? As I said, I play WoW. I'm used to everything being handled by a game engine.

3. Besides Wikipedia, where can I find information specifically on EarthDawn's storyline, gameplay, and ruleset? I've taken a look at earthdawn.com, but it seems full of information for people who already know what they're doing. Has anyone here played EarthDawn? Can you give me anecdotes?

4. Tell me about roleplaying. We're all silly, fun, actor-types, so it shouldn't be too hard, but what helps?

Any other tips, tricks, or hilarious stories you have to share are much appreciated.

What does DS & DD mean in forums?

Maia — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 23:45:57 -0800

What does DS and DD mean on forums? So I always see people refer to their son or daughter as DS or DD, respectivly, on forums. Sample post
What the heck does this mean?

Dungeons and Dragons for a 10-year-old

PetiePal — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 09:31:43 -0800

I'm trying to start up some D&D for my 10-year-old nephew. I need a lot of advice, on multiple questions! About 3 years ago (when he was like 7) while we were on vacation and waiting an extensive amount of time for our food at a restaurant, I mapped out a simple little adventure on a napkin for my nephew. He was enthralled and has asked me about "that game we played that time" for years. I'm surprised he even remembered it! Since he's too young to play pay-for-play things like World of Warcraft, I'm trying to find ways to get him into a basic D&D game.

A little background on me...I've never actually reallllly played D&D. But I've read a ton about it, and played games based on it (such as old D&D computer games, Rogue, Neverwinter Nights, Baldur's Gate, HeroQuest etc) So I'm pretty familiar with the rules and role-playing etc.

Now I own:

-AD&D set,

-the D&D Cyclopedia book

-another "basic" set (which I suspect was actually AD&D 3.5 edition, but just called basic)

I've got a ton of dice, because for years I really wanted to start playing but never got around to it. I have 2 first-level modules, and I also bought an old print of The Keep On The Borderlands. However all of these modules are for parties of 4-6.

Should I just create something from scratch? A simple "dungeon-crawl" for him? This brings my other part of of the question. I've never really DM'ed before, only read about it. I have a lot of good ideas for the "experience" such as using music to set mood, and some good ideas for encounters/storyline etc. But I don't know the first thing when it comes to running a D&D game.

Can it be as simple or as complex as I want it to be? Can I mesh versions? What would you recommend as being the "easiest' version of D&D rules to play? D20? THAC0? What about whether the AC is greater as the numbers increase, or the newly changed method where it's reversed? Anyone have any experience in just starting out for youngsters? I need a ton of tips-I want to make it a great time for him.

memory spell needed

greedo — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 09:44:04 -0800

What was the name of the D&D store on Yonge Street (T dot) that sold lead figurines to be painted. I think it was south of Bloor and definitely on the east side of Yonge. It had elves and orcs and fighters etc in lead or some other metal that were about an inch tall.

I can't remember the name of this store. Any dungeon masters out there that solve this for me?

Thinking of opening a game store...

teishu — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:41:01 -0800

Thinking of opening a Gaming store...help...So me and the wife are seriously considering opening a gaming store, (roughly half board/casual type games and half "hobby" type games). I've read a bunch of stuff on opening a retail store in general, including some threads on here, but not much on anything gaming specific. So, two broad questions, 1. first off, any great general resources to read/get involved with for opening a retail store i may have missed?

2. We'd especially like to hear from people who might be customers of such a shop, any suggestions you have about really any aspect of the store would be most appriciated.

Little background, we're both long time gamers, I've been playing D&D since the mid 80's, so we both know most of the basics having been customers at many a gaming shop ourselves over the years (our personal fav is game towne in San Diego), but neither of us have much retail experience at all so who knows what little details we might be completely oblivious to. We're speaking with GAMA (trade organization) so thats been, and is going to be, a huge help. We currently plan to carry only gaming and gaming related accosories. There is a great long standing comic shop in town, so no reason to compete with him. We would ideally like to see the store become something of a community, with lots of regular events and special events and things like that.

More than anything, what we're looking for right now is as much input as possible from different perspectives on what people would like out of such a shop.

Girls can roll dice too!

Glitter Ninja — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 18:09:35 -0800

How do I find a roleplaying group in my area (general question, not a particular locale) for a beginner to D & D? Having just started D & D, I'm looking to find a beginner-friendly group in my local area. Here's the deal - I know people that play around here, but they all seem kind of weirded out about my being a chick and wanting to play, and assume there's something mentally wrong with me. For that reason, I'd like to go outside my circle of friends and find a group that will help me expand my knowledge of the game while not patronising me for having breasts. (The reaction I got when I asked my friends who play was, "Hahahaha. Girls can't play D & D.") Are there any sites than can help me find a group of preferrably experienced players in my area who would welcome and be willing to go slowly with a newcomer?
I tried the local game shop (Dragons and Heroes) but got much the same reaction as I did from my friends.

Also, any tips for a newcomer to the game? (I'm playing has a half-elf druid, for the record.)

How can I recover data from a mangled hard drive?

waldo — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 20:19:58 -0800

The hard drive on my fiancee's Windows machine has died, with our wedding plans, five weeks prior to our wedding. I've managed to duplicate the drive (with Unix's dd), though not without errors severe enough to prevent me from booting it. Now what? I know nothing of Windows (I'm a Mac and Linux guy). The drive began to physically fail, with the first signs being system instability, followed by an inability to boot. At that point, with the drive making some nasty clicking noises the SMART status indicating that it was "failing," I slid the dying 40GB drive and a newly-bought 40GB drive into my Mac, booted it in single-user mode and ran dd if=/disk0 of=/disk1 bs=20m conv=noerror. Eight hours later, I had a duplicate drive and hundreds of screens of reports of errors.

When I paw through the data on the duplicate drive, using strings right on hdb, I can locate any textual information that I try to track down. Based on that, I conclude that substantial portions of the data are intact. But the drive won't mount on my Mac or in Linux, reporting various errors.

Should I run dd again with different settings (such as a smaller blocksize)? Is there a Windows program created for the purpose of rebuilding mangled FATs and turning data into files again? (Or, better yet, a Linux or Mac program?) Surely others have faced this problem before.