Home For DMs Tips for the Beginner Dungeon Master Tips for the Beginner DM - Part 2

Tips for the Beginner DM - Part 2

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A Few Important Vocabulary Bits

Let me first clear up some vocabulary you will likely run into as you read more about role-playing games (RPGs) and Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) in general:

D&D 3^rd Edition: The specific set of rules used to play the game Dungeons and Dragons, which has been around for a very long time in several incarnations. The third, most recent, edition came out in 2001 and was a dramatic change from the previous editions. This is the rule-set that Neverwinter Nights (NWN) is based on.

PnP: Pen and Paper. This is any RPG where people sit around a table and play the game using only…well pens, paper and the rulebooks.

Module: A specific story or adventure that a group of players can play through with a definite beginning, middle and end. One module can usually be completed in a short number of play sessions.

Campaign: A number of modules put together to represent a longer span of time in game terms. A campaign may represent the entire adventuring life of a particular character. It is generally expected that a character will grow and develop as he or she gains experience during a campaign.

Encounter: This is an event where something specific happens that affect the players. An encounter does not have to be violent, or even exciting, as it encompasses everything an adventurer may run into during the course of a module. Some examples are meeting the local butcher, being attacked by orcs, talking with the shady bartender or rescuing an old woman's cat from a tree.

PC: A Player Character. This is the character of someone actually playing in your game.

NPC: Non-Playing Character. This is everybody else in the world. The pageboy, the king, the enemy general or whomever the players come across during the game.

Grade 6 D&D/ Munchkin D&D: (No insult intended to those of you in Grade 6, as I am sure you are much smarter than I was at that age). These two terms refer to a style of play that can be fun but is for a very specific type of DM and Player. The following would be an example of a Munchkin describing a typical game: "First I went into the future and got a laser cannon, then I killed Thor, and took his hammer which I used to slay Odin and Zeus who were asleep, and then I took over the world using my Panzer tanks I invented when I was granted 17 wishes...".

You get the idea.

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