Does anybody here play D&D?

[Xiuhcoatl]

I wouldn't feel comfortable DM'ing without knowing the system fully yet. That would be like riding a bike blindfolded! Here's what I gather so far;

SYSTEM: AD&D 2nd Edition (with a mix of house rules/net books)
MEDIUM: AIM, ICQ, MSN IM, (Trillian for all these plus more); I prefer MSN IM personally
TIME: For me, would have to be after 8:00-PM (UTC/GMT -8 hours : Pacific Daylight Time)

I would also like to use dice rollers that everyone can see. The DM can still always roll his own "secret" rolls. This is just my opinion however, and I feel that the DM should get to pick the medium and rather he/she would like to use dice or not.

Here are a few more tips:
The only person who needs to be very familiar with the rules is the DM. Players who have used other game systems, even those that are not any version of DnD, will pick up the rules easily. Most people might not realize that they have been exposed to 2nd Ed ADnD rules through Baldur's Gate 1 & 2 (an other pre-NWN ADnD based crpgs) and are more familiar with 2nd Ed than they believe. The only required reading for a player is the Player's Handbook (PHB).

A handy tool for the DM is a copy of Core Rules 2e (on cd). It has all of the 2nd Ed core books as well as many supplementary books (class/race handbooks and option books for spells, high level adventures etc). It is out of print but I've seen it on e-bay and offered through a few online stores.

The fastest way for players to learn the rules is to jump into a game and start playing. This might sound odd, but as in RL pnp games it is true. I had one player who was a compete noob and he did fine. After a few sessions and browsing through the PHB he blended into the group. Of course, having some veteran players as role models helps too.

The chat should be conducted in a private channel. You do not want to bother or be bothered with the scrolling text from people who are not in your game. Eventhough I post all game transcipts on my forum, I advise all participants to keep a log of the chat.

The DM should have a majority of a "module sized" adventure finished before starting the game. This allows the DM to fine tune the online game. This is important at the beginning when everyone is still learning the ropes and being introduced to online role playing, new rules, characters and unexpected obstacles.

Background information leading into the adventure should be distributed to all players prior to the game. A forum or website is handy for this task but e-mail works too. For my current game, I wrote a short story and several pages of background and history. Something less ambitious such as a few paragraphs of background info is adequate especially if you are using a well publicized game setting (such as Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk or Dragonlance).

If you have any questions, feel free to PM them to me as I do not often check this forum.
Xi