Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Understand the types of characters your party has created. Your campaign would fail if you developed a detailed campaign but the actions required do not fit in well with your party's group. For example, if your party has created a group of wizards and rogues, do not base the campaign on hunting down orcs or goblins. Your first goal is to create a campaign that is interesting to the players, not just to you.
Develop a story and possible encounters before playing to allow you to guide the players throughout the world you created; however, avoid structuring the campaign too strictly. Allow the game to unfold and flow naturally in the direction that the players want it to go.
Allow players to determine how they react. If you want them to notice, for example, that an assassin is hiding behind a crate, do not tell the players "you see an assassin hiding behind the crate." This is too structured and the players are not free to play. Instead, have the characters roll dice to determine if they can see something. If the roll is successful, tell them about the hidden assassin.
Use detailed descriptions, but do not go overboard. D&D is a shared game and the players need to imagine the events and locations in the same way you do. Keeping the details short will focus the game on the players' actions rather than your storytelling techniques.
Keep track of the characters' experience points, or XP, throughout the game. Although the Core Rule Book tells you to give XP at the end of a session, some players can't wait that long. When the majority of the players want their XP, give it to them; there is no point to waiting for the end of the session.
Keep control of the game. If the players disagree with your decisions, do not change your mind. If you do, the players will take control of the game and the campaign will slowly fizzle out.