Foreword |
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xix | |
Introduction |
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1 | (1) |
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1 | (1) |
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2 | (1) |
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2 | (1) |
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3 | (1) |
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4 | (2) |
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How This Book Is Organized |
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6 | (1) |
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Part I: Running a Great Game |
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6 | (1) |
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Part II: Advanced Dungeon Mastering |
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6 | (1) |
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Part III: Creating Adventures |
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6 | (1) |
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Part IV: Building a Campaign |
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6 | (1) |
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7 | (1) |
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Bonus chapters and full-color pages |
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7 | (1) |
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7 | (1) |
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8 | (1) |
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Part I: Running a Great Game |
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9 | (92) |
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The Role of the Dungeon Master |
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11 | (10) |
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12 | (1) |
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So You Want to Be the Dungeon Master? |
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12 | (1) |
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What Do You Need for Playing? |
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13 | (1) |
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The Expressions of Dungeon Mastering |
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14 | (6) |
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15 | (1) |
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16 | (1) |
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DM as a cast of thousands |
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16 | (1) |
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17 | (1) |
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18 | (1) |
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19 | (1) |
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The Goal of Dungeon Mastering |
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20 | (1) |
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21 | (10) |
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21 | (5) |
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22 | (2) |
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Inviting players to the game |
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24 | (2) |
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Using a Published Adventure |
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26 | (1) |
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Wizards of the Coast products |
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26 | (1) |
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26 | (1) |
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27 | (1) |
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27 | (1) |
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Creating Your Own Adventures |
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27 | (1) |
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Making Preparations before the Game |
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28 | (1) |
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Establishing the Ground Rules: Gaming Etiquette |
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29 | (2) |
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31 | (14) |
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Taking Charge as Dungeon Master and Running the Game |
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31 | (3) |
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32 | (1) |
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33 | (1) |
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33 | (1) |
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Running NPCs and monsters |
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34 | (1) |
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34 | (1) |
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Playing through the Game Session |
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34 | (11) |
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35 | (1) |
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Settling in as everyone arrives |
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35 | (1) |
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Gathering around the game table |
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35 | (1) |
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36 | (2) |
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Opening with the prologue |
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38 | (1) |
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Recapping the previous session |
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39 | (1) |
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40 | (1) |
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41 | (3) |
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44 | (1) |
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44 | (1) |
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45 | (14) |
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Understanding D&D as a Storytelling Experience |
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45 | (2) |
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45 | (1) |
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46 | (1) |
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47 | (1) |
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Telling Interesting and Exciting Stories |
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47 | (3) |
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Making a story a D&D story |
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48 | (1) |
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Choosing an adventure premise |
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49 | (1) |
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Mastering the Adventure Narration |
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50 | (5) |
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50 | (1) |
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51 | (2) |
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Playing the nonplayer characters |
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53 | (2) |
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Bringing the Adventure to Life |
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55 | (4) |
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Creating fantastic locations |
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55 | (1) |
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Describing intense battles |
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56 | (1) |
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Giving the players exciting challenges |
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57 | (1) |
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Roleplaying in encounters |
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58 | (1) |
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59 | (12) |
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59 | (1) |
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Looking at the Game Group |
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60 | (1) |
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Comparing DMs and Players |
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60 | (4) |
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61 | (1) |
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61 | (2) |
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What do you want out of the game? |
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63 | (1) |
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Increasing the fun quotient |
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64 | (1) |
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Setting Ground Rules and Expectations |
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64 | (5) |
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Choosing a theme and style |
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65 | (1) |
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66 | (1) |
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66 | (1) |
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Managing off-topic discussions |
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67 | (1) |
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67 | (2) |
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69 | (2) |
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69 | (1) |
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69 | (1) |
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70 | (1) |
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71 | (12) |
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Dungeon Master as Teacher |
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72 | (2) |
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73 | (1) |
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Showing how to create a character |
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73 | (1) |
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Relaxing and having fun playing the game |
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74 | (1) |
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Making Use of Helpful Aids |
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74 | (1) |
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D&D Roleplaying Game Starter Set |
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74 | (1) |
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Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition For Dummies |
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74 | (1) |
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75 | (1) |
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Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures |
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75 | (1) |
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Teaching Key Elements to New Players |
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75 | (6) |
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Explaining the premise of D&D |
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75 | (2) |
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Describing the world of D&D |
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77 | (1) |
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Showing how to use the core mechanic |
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77 | (1) |
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Explaining what a character can do |
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78 | (1) |
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Explaining character role |
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79 | (1) |
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Explaining the most important parts of the character sheet |
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79 | (2) |
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Making the Transition from the 3rd Edition to the 4th |
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81 | (2) |
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Your First Adventure: Kobold Hall |
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83 | (18) |
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Getting Started with the Adventure |
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83 | (2) |
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83 | (1) |
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84 | (1) |
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Understanding the adventure format |
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85 | (1) |
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Making Changes to the Adventure |
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85 | (6) |
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Making encounters easier or harder |
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86 | (2) |
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Appealing to player motivations |
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88 | (1) |
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89 | (1) |
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90 | (1) |
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91 | (10) |
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92 | (1) |
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92 | (1) |
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93 | (1) |
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94 | (1) |
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95 | (2) |
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97 | (1) |
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98 | (1) |
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98 | (1) |
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Doling out the treasure from Kobold Hall |
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99 | (2) |
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Part II: Advanced Dungeon Mastering |
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101 | (64) |
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103 | (14) |
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Choosing the Right Format |
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104 | (4) |
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104 | (1) |
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The dungeon-of-the-week adventure |
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105 | (1) |
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106 | (1) |
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107 | (1) |
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Building a Basic Campaign |
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108 | (5) |
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108 | (2) |
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Linking adventures together |
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110 | (2) |
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112 | (1) |
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Using the Sample Base: Fallcrest |
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113 | (4) |
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Story elements and your campaign |
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114 | (1) |
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Adventures in and near Fallcrest |
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115 | (2) |
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117 | (10) |
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117 | (2) |
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119 | (1) |
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DM Styles: Running the Game You Run Best |
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120 | (3) |
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120 | (1) |
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121 | (1) |
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121 | (1) |
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122 | (1) |
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122 | (1) |
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Establishing Your Own Style |
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123 | (1) |
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124 | (3) |
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124 | (1) |
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124 | (1) |
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125 | (1) |
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Preparation or improvisation? |
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126 | (1) |
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Creating Excitement at the Game Table |
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127 | (16) |
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127 | (8) |
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Narrating for all five senses |
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128 | (1) |
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Mixing the mundane and fantastic |
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128 | (2) |
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130 | (1) |
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131 | (1) |
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132 | (3) |
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135 | (2) |
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135 | (1) |
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135 | (1) |
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136 | (1) |
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137 | (6) |
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What does the monster do? |
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137 | (2) |
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139 | (2) |
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141 | (2) |
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143 | (8) |
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Setting Your Game in a World |
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143 | (1) |
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Adding New Rules Elements |
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144 | (4) |
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145 | (1) |
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146 | (1) |
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146 | (1) |
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Character classes and races |
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147 | (1) |
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147 | (1) |
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Getting Players Involved in the Game |
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148 | (3) |
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Crafting good backgrounds |
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148 | (1) |
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149 | (2) |
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Using Every Available Resource |
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151 | (14) |
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Buying Published Game Material |
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151 | (6) |
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Understanding what's out there |
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152 | (3) |
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Figuring out what you need |
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155 | (2) |
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157 | (2) |
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157 | (1) |
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158 | (1) |
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158 | (1) |
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158 | (1) |
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Using the Rest of the Internet |
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159 | (1) |
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Finding Story Inspiration |
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160 | (3) |
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160 | (1) |
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161 | (1) |
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161 | (1) |
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162 | (1) |
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Talking with Other Gamers |
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163 | (2) |
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163 | (1) |
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163 | (2) |
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Part III: Creating Adventures |
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165 | (88) |
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167 | (16) |
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Breaking Down the Parts of a D&D Adventure |
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167 | (5) |
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168 | (2) |
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170 | (2) |
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172 | (1) |
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172 | (1) |
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173 | (8) |
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174 | (1) |
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175 | (2) |
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Terrain, hazards, and challenges |
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177 | (2) |
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179 | (2) |
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181 | (2) |
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181 | (1) |
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182 | (1) |
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183 | (8) |
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Designing Your First Dungeon |
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184 | (5) |
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Plotting the dungeon's story |
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184 | (1) |
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185 | (1) |
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Marking the encounter areas |
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186 | (1) |
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187 | (2) |
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Adding Depth to Dungeon Crawls |
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189 | (2) |
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191 | (6) |
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Designing a Wilderness Adventure |
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191 | (5) |
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192 | (2) |
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How to use the wilderness |
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194 | (2) |
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Wilderness Adventure Outline |
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196 | (1) |
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The Event-Based Adventure |
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197 | (6) |
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Designing Event-Based Adventures |
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197 | (4) |
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198 | (2) |
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200 | (1) |
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Using Flowcharts and Timelines in Dungeons |
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201 | (2) |
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The Randomly Generated Adventure |
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203 | (12) |
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Using the Random Dungeon Tables |
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203 | (4) |
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204 | (1) |
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Using D&D Dungeon Tiles to lay out a random dungeon |
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205 | (2) |
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207 | (2) |
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Using a Random Encounter Deck |
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209 | (4) |
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209 | (2) |
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211 | (2) |
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Generating Random Treasure |
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213 | (2) |
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Paragon and Epic Adventures |
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215 | (6) |
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Understanding the Paragon Tier |
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215 | (1) |
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Understanding the Epic Tier |
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216 | (1) |
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Understanding Specific Challenges for DMing High-Level Characters |
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217 | (2) |
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218 | (1) |
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218 | (1) |
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Making the Experience Match the Level |
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219 | (2) |
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219 | (1) |
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Wowing the players with the setting |
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219 | (1) |
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Providing benchmark encounters |
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220 | (1) |
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Sample Dungeon: The Necromancer's Apprentice |
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221 | (32) |
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Dungeon Master Preparation |
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221 | (1) |
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The Necromancer's Apprentice |
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222 | (27) |
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222 | (1) |
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223 | (2) |
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225 | (2) |
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227 | (2) |
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229 | (7) |
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236 | (13) |
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249 | (1) |
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249 | (4) |
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Adjusting for group size and level |
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250 | (1) |
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Adjusting for player motivations |
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250 | (2) |
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Adding encounters and treasure |
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252 | (1) |
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Part IV: Building a Campaign |
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253 | (30) |
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Building a Continuous Story |
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255 | (12) |
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256 | (6) |
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256 | (1) |
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256 | (1) |
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257 | (1) |
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258 | (1) |
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Choosing themes for adventures and campaigns |
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259 | (3) |
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The Dungeon-of-the-Week Campaign Model |
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262 | (1) |
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Building on What the Players Give You |
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263 | (1) |
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Converting an Old Campaign to the 4th Edition |
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263 | (4) |
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Glossing over the transition |
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264 | (1) |
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265 | (1) |
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266 | (1) |
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Creating Memorable Villains |
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267 | (8) |
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267 | (2) |
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Every Hero Needs a Good Villain |
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269 | (2) |
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269 | (1) |
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Give villains every chance to succeed |
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270 | (1) |
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271 | (4) |
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271 | (2) |
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273 | (2) |
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Bringing the World to Life |
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275 | (8) |
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The World in a Nutshell: The DM's Notebook |
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275 | (1) |
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Building a World from the Inside Out: Start Small and Add Details |
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276 | (1) |
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Putting the World Together |
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277 | (6) |
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278 | (2) |
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280 | (3) |
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283 | (86) |
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285 | (34) |
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285 | (3) |
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288 | (4) |
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292 | (3) |
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295 | (3) |
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298 | (4) |
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302 | (3) |
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305 | (3) |
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308 | (3) |
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311 | (3) |
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314 | (5) |
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319 | (40) |
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319 | (4) |
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323 | (3) |
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326 | (4) |
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330 | (4) |
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334 | (4) |
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338 | (4) |
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342 | (4) |
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346 | (5) |
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351 | (3) |
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354 | (5) |
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Ten Things to Avoid When DMing |
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359 | (6) |
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Don't Get Attached to Your Villains |
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359 | (1) |
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Don't Try to Kill the PCs |
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359 | (1) |
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Don't Let the Players Become Too Frustrated |
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360 | (1) |
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Don't Compete with Other Entertainment |
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361 | (1) |
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Don't Overcomplicate the Encounter |
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361 | (1) |
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361 | (1) |
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Don't Give the Players Everything |
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362 | (1) |
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...But Don't Be Stingy, Either |
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362 | (1) |
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Don't Sit There Like a Lump |
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363 | (1) |
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Don't Center the Game on One Player |
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363 | (2) |
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Ten Things to Do All the Time When DMing |
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365 | (4) |
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365 | (1) |
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Provide Various Challenges |
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365 | (1) |
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Start Each Session with Action |
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366 | (1) |
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366 | (1) |
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Exude Drama in Your Descriptions |
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367 | (1) |
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367 | (1) |
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367 | (1) |
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367 | (1) |
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368 | (1) |
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368 | (1) |
Index |
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369 | |