Catching Up

I have gotten an e-mail about how a new dungeon master starts out. This is a very good question. There are a few diciding factors. Has this dm played for awhile( a couple of years or so), or are they trying to something new? Either is fine. I myself, played about 3 games before I started to study the books. That's right, I said study.
When I started out in the game, I was using 1 ED rules, with some of the 2  ED flair. The one thing I took to heart in the 1st ED rules, was there are NO rules. All the books, modules, and other things you can get, are nothing more than guides. I then started creating my own world. What I did was chose an area, let's say Dark Sun for instance. I spent about two days, figuring where in my world this place would fit. I'll get into that later.

1st you need a basic understanding of the game. Character generation is the main, then you need a good imagination. A new DM in my opinion should only worry about limited things at the start. The players rules, the dungeon masters rules, and of course the rules for your creatures. You need the players book, the DMG, and a monster manual. Now if you wanna just throw something out there just to get your feet wet, you could always get a campaign module, and there you go. Always be sure to read up on the story ahead of time.

I hope this helps, and if you wish, you can e-mail about ideas for the game.

Good luck and Good Gaming to ya!