I'll be running my first ever campaign as a DM later today (V3.5)

I'll be running my first ever campaign as a DM later today (V3.5)
Any advice from more experienced DM's to make the game more fun? I have the basic game mechanics down and have created a story & map for the characters to follow, as well as a few sidequests in case the PC's get sidetracked. Just want to make sure everyone's having a good time.

>3.5
Can't advise, you've got bigger balls than I do.

I've only ever played 3.5 and the 1st version of the game. I've been told 4 is complete trash and 5 is the easiest to start with. I'll be playing with first timer's so I hope they grasp the game relatively quickly.

4 is D&D with training wheels. 5 is much closer to 3.5, but without the open license nightmares.

hrm...don't get too hung up on rules and focus on fun story-telling?

Don't allow CoDzilla builds.

Fuck off Wayne.

Don't use a PC as a punching bag.

dont be afraid to cheat

sometimes you'll wnant to say that you rolled lower if you think the fight is being unfair, and sometimes youll want to crit their asses for being dumb

the DM can and must always cheat

Nice quads

What makes it fun kinda depends on your group, so it's kinda hard to say.
I dunno what you have planned or what resources you have, but for combat I find it helpful to have generic maps beforehand, so if someone starts a fight you have the basic details on hand. Time taken to set up encounters can make things a bit dull.

Remember you're role
>You have no control of where the story goes
>You're a storyteller. Not a navigator
>The players should have more control over their own actions than you do
>You're not a god

As for some technicals of DMing
>Just write a few names down before you DM
>Remember that the treasure trove always exists
>Don't invest so much time in a story. Invest more time in the bare bones of the map
>If you ever get stuck telling a backstory and the players want to hear it might be good to tell the story through a bard

Also don't jump plot point to plot point every three seasons. My bad DM went from sailors, to gladiators, to getting a keep then to stopping a lich lord. We are still level 5.

...

Dragon-published designer here.

A) Keep it fun and light. 3.5 has a lot of eccentricities, so don't be afraid to common-sense a lot of calls.
B) Ignore XP. No, seriously. Level your characters based on plot progression.
C) Your players WILL disassemble your adventure and run in weird directions. LET THEM. Don't have a firm plot in mind, just a rough outline of places it CAN go.
D) Give NPCs their own voices. Players WILL get more attached to them. THIS IS A GOOD THING.
E) For the love of god, don't do DMPCs.
F) EVER

To add on to the second list which I forgot
>You get XP from more than fighting
>Cheat on certain rolls

I had no idea that was a board, thanks!

So from what I gather thus far:
Storytelling > Everything else.


So DM cheating is really this common?

Gary Motherfucking Gygax once said "A good DM only rolls dice for the sound they make". Don't be afraid to fudge rolls, either in favor of the enemies (to make things harder if they're having a cakewalk) or the heroes (when it would be dramatically appropriate for them to overcome them).

Remember: You're there to give them a challenge, but not to slaughter them wholesale!

Wow, that's.... a lot to take in in 5 levels.

CODzilla builds? Please elaborate

Makes sense, that's what the barrier between us is for, after all. Lol.

Any tips on getting the heroes together as a party? Really don't want to stoop to the generic "you chosen 4" plot line but taking racial and alignment preferences into account, it's hard to tie together a Half-Elf, Elf, Orc and A Human with a racial superiority complex together.

CoDzilla is cleric-or-druid-zilla. Basically, there are ways to make clerics and druids pretty broken. Just keep an eye on how they're using buffing spells.

For getting them together as a party:
-They're all members of an adventuring organization/guild who have hired them to investigate (X PLOT POINT HERE).
-They're all convicts, just or not, given an arcane mark to tie them to a quest, which involves (X PLOT POINT HERE), and if they try to hurt the others/abandon the quest the mark will sap their strength until they die.
-They've all been hired individually by (X PLOT POINT PATRON), and aren't informed that they'll be working as a team until they arrive.

This is awesome. Thank you.