So the story is written and ready to be told...

Yup! Time for the real thing! Before the start of the event, make sure you have with you:

• Pens and paper, players and Dungeon Masters alike will need to write notes, especially Dungeon Masters who will have to write down the health of the monsters.
• Make sure everyone has their character sheet.
• The three Dungeons and Dragons manuals.
• Dice!
• Your adventure.

Also, have all the figurines, tiles and props you're going to be contained and organised. This is so you can whip it out without fumbling around making the players wait. Gather everyone around a large table or around in the living room and you're ready to begin! Just to note, it will take a few hours to play, so make sure everyone has a free evening.

There's no proper way to tell the story, so I decided to write some tips down instead:

Tips:

• Vary your tone when you read out the descriptions you have written. Having a monotone voice can put players off.
• Maybe use some real life props if you're feeling creative...give them pretend keys to chests or maybe a letter with a riddle in.
• Make sure there are no distractions...having a TV or radio in the room is my biggest enemy, so many times have players turned on the TV to watch Eastenders only to have the atmosphere be ruined by Peggy bellowing at her customers.
• Have fun with your role as a Dungeon Master, maybe act out the voices of your NPCs or act out a few gestures, such as a sword stabbing someone or a fireball being cast, encourage your players to do it...it really does enrich the atmosphere making it fun for everyone.
• If you want to encourage role play then do so by giving players experience points or gold. Everytime they perform a good piece of role play place a tick next to their name, and each tick can be 100 experience points which can be given at the end. Suprise them at the end, it'll have a bigger impact and the other players will quickly follow suit!
•  Change the pace every now and again, I sometimes pick up the pace during combat to add to the excitement, then slow down when they meet an NPC or walking into a cave.
  

• Change the pace every now and again, I sometimes pick up the pace during combat to add to the excitement, then slow down when they meet an NPC or walking into a cave.
• Just remember, this is suppose to be a fun and cooperative game, make sure there is no player grabbing all the loot because it selfishly ruins it for everyone else.
• At the end of the session, take a few minutes to get some feedback so you know how your players felt...was it too easy? Too hard? Boring? Not enough combat? More story telling? More puzzles? What about the Dungeons and Dragons rules? If you or your players feel they are innappropriate or unnecessary then take them out. There's no rule preventing you from doing this. From this feedback you can adapt your future games to your players liking and make it a more enjoyable experience.
  
  Finally, no amount of preparation will be enough for the unprepared moments. Players will behave unpredictably but don't let this throw you, go with the flow and some funny moments can occur. For example, a party was gathered in a town and were trying to gather information about a possible attack on the town...getting nowhere my friend said "I just want to climb a tree!", I allowed her to do this...she succeeded her climb check only to see in the distance (with a moderate spot check) the army of bandits! This allowed the players to quickly prepare the town for a war!