Dungeon Master For Dummies (PDF)

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....