I'm going to DM for the fist time. I already have a group picked out, (they don't know it yet) but only one of them have ever played before. I'm planning on doing a mini campaign with them so that we can all figure this out and then I'm going to do my campaign. Does anyone have any advice for a first time DM leading a group of first time players?
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I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
(1) Accept that you're going to make mistakes, and make a plan to learn from them.
(2) Think about contingencies and how to scale encounters on the fly.
You can always conjure up more enemies from unseen places, or turn the environment into a hazard to up the difficulty, and difficult enemies can be suffering from a previous injury to lower their effective CR. However, you need to be thoughtful of this ahead of time to keep it believable.
Once you can adapt any arbitrary encounter to be a suitable challenge for the players, combat requires much less prep.
(3) Focus on player enjoyment over world consistency.
The world only needs to be slightly more consistent than the players' memories of the world. Most groups are going to forget 90% of the minutia, so it's totally fine to make up details that you can't remember. If the players call you out on it, then you can either correct yourself and make a note, or build it into the narrative as the players discovering something new. (Maybe a merchant NPC uses a different name with their regulars, or perhaps the players accidentally found themselves at a different tavern down the block from where they meant to go.)
(4) If you can improvise things to do between major locations, then you can buy yourself extra time when the players go somewhere totally unexpected.
For example, if the party decides to go to a random major city a full day's travel or more away, then they might pass an overturned cart with bloody streaks leading into the forest. A random forest encounter is easy to throw together, and can potentially delay the arrival until the next session.
I second "don't stress the rules." It's a lot to process all at once, and everyone is going to make mistakes.
Hold a Session Zero. Discuss with your players what kind of campaign you expect. Any rules you plan to be strict or lenient on? Do you expect them to cooperate with obvious plot hooks, or is it an open world campaign? Any themes that anyone wishes to avoid?
For your "mini campaign", I'm assuming that means you're not using prewritten module. So, step through what you have planned, and think, at least on a simple level:
-Should they have to roll for that? If so, what skill is it? (Example from mine: one path required cutting down a tree. "Do I know how to do that without it falling on me? What do I roll to actually chop it?")
-If I was a player here, what alternatives might I try? Can they talk the enemy into peace or surrender? Can the enemy be ignored? Would they provoke an NPC to fight? Can they simply go the long way around an obstacle?
After each session, make note of what things tripped you up. Have a reminder on those things ready for next time.
Thanks for your advice. (that may sound sarcastic but it really isn't :D )
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
This has helped a lot I never thought of delaying tactics and I will definitely use those
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
By a mini campaign I mean that I bought a separate 2-3 session 5 level campaign
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
Make sure they all actually want to play — I get the impression they may not even realize they are about to. One person who doesn’t want to be there can really ruin it for everyone else.
This has helped a lot I never thought of delaying tactics and I will definitely use those
I suspect a lot of new DMs get burnout due to feeling like they need to outline their entire world before Session Zero, when really, a DM should only need to prep one or two sessions worth of content at any given time.
My homebrew prep is essentially this. (I went a little overkill, so it's spoilered below):
World Building [Pre-Campaign]
Outline an escalation narrative.
I) Conceptualize the Major Encounter you would like to use as your story climax. (Maybe level 12~16.)
II) Consider the "theme" of that encounter/BBEG and work backward to foreshadow it.
In my world, there will be a heavy aberration theme, so the party will be exposed to it roughly as "Basic Exposure"--->"Systemic Issue"--->"Conspiracy"--->"BBEG", in the form of a "Prologue" and 3 "Acts". This functions as a guide for what is happening in the world at large and the specifics are expected to change considerably as the party interacts with the world, so I don't bother with more than superficial details. I tossed together a visualization tool in the spoiler below.
This represents the "default" world drama that I will build around. If the party becomes attached to a particular NPC or alternate storyline, I'll come back and write a new outline
III) Outline your "Introductory Adventure", and thoughtfully create adventure hooks for each PC to explain why they should participate. (It's your responsibility to give the players enough momentum to act like a party. Once they've adventured together, they won't need as much guidance.)
Having your players figure out their character's relationships with one another before the game starts can have a lot of advantages. The more interconnected the character's are, the more invested the players will be.
IV) Decide where and how the party will come together. (Meeting in a tavern is fine, but consider giving the story a little more life by narrating what the players were doing in the days leading up to arriving at the tavern. Or asking the players to describe what their character's would have been doing up til then.)
Regional Filler [As needed; Rarely]
(1) Print/draw a map of the region representing about 1 week of travel from the party's starting point. Mark major locations and estimate paths/travel times to a couple of likely destinations.
At lower levels, this area likely represents months worth of play time. The entire map of Barovia (Curse of Strahd) is less than a day's travel, as the crow flies.
(2) Print a few pages of terrain specific random encounter statblocks, where each sheet has 2~4 different monsters of various CR.
Trivial Encounters: Creatures, like Poisonous Snake, that can be thrown around like confetti without significant consequence.
(An opportunity for a little hack-and-slash during exploration. Might not even bother with rolling initiative.)
Common Encounters: Creatures you expect to encounter regularly in an environment that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe Bandits, Kobolds, Goblins, Wolves, etc.
(Easy in small numbers, but could pose a problem in larger groups. Good for whittling away resources during an adventuring day, and luring a party off the beaten path.)
Uncommon Encounters: Creatures that the party is warned about and may try to avoid, such as Owlbears.
(Bring these to play when the party needs to be punished/entertained. A fresh party won't have too much trouble, but a tired party might struggle.)
Spotlight Encounters: These are themed pages that represent specific optional encounters. For example, I had a "Spider" encounter that included Giant Spiders, Swarms of Spiders, and a couple spider-themed traps. My party is currently exploring a Kobold's Lair that I tossed together last minute. That one has 3 different Kobold variants for flavor. I declared one token as a "King", gave it a template and a minor HP boost.
(These make great filler and can be easily recycled later. Use these whenever the party goes off the beaten path and needs a "side quest".)
(3) Outline a few optional adventures that highlight different styles of play. (This can be tied directly to the Spotlight Encounters.)
Inevitably, the players will want to talk to NPCs to discover local rumors. You can create an "rumor" sheet the same way I handle "random encounters".
Trivial Rumors are basically just gossip that can be made up on the spot, and may not even be true.
Common Rumors might reveal low risk/reward opportunities that mostly have RP value, such as fetching medicine.
Uncommon Rumors would then have more significant rewards, such as performing an exorcism in exchange for a couple of healing potions.
(These would be a means for the party to get an edge on upcoming conflicts.)
Spotlight Rumors are then optional adventures that might take anywhere from 1~3+ sessions to resolve.
(These give the party an opportunity to do some proper treasure hunting outside of the main storyline.)
Don't worry about which NPCs know what. Everyone in the same area is going to be swapping stories and news, so whoever the party talks to is the one who has the information to give. Once you've passed out the information, just make a short note of who they talked to, so that you can reference it later.
Upcoming Session [High Detail; Every session]
(1) Review each player's character sheet. (Backstory, Strengths, Weaknesses)
(I) Make sure that you don't have anything planned that depends on something the party can't actually do. If the party doesn't have a "rogue", adjust locks/traps accordingly. If the party members are all casters, make sure you don't have any traps that might lead to an immediate TPK.
(II) Identify the traits that let each player shine, and create opportunities for them. If you have a healer, make sure someone takes enough damage to need healing. If you have a high Int player, prepare some lore for them to discover. If you have a player with damage resistance, try to incorporate it.
(The players may not always bite, but having something prepared ensures that you're keeping the players in mind. You don't need to highlight everyone during every single session, but keep track of who is hiding/hogging the spotlight and try to make sure everyone gets some attention.)
(2) Give anticipated NPCs more depth.
(I) Write down the NPCs name, race, class, background, and a few interesting "quirks" that the players can discover. (Citrus allergy, bad habits, fear of women, etc...)
(II) If the NPC has a specific role, give it one or two personalized abilities appropriate for that role. (Create combat NPCs like Monsters, not like PCs)
A "Combat Caster" might have a surprising spell. A "Healer" might use a family heirloom artifact.
Anything to make it stand out.
If the players try to learn NPC magic, or steal heirlooms, then use a delay tactic to give yourself time to figure it out. Learning magic takes time, and the player may need to go on a quest for a rare material component. Heirlooms might be tied to bloodlines, making them worthless in the hands of others.
(My players travelled to a "Druid's Grove", where the resident Druid's powers were enhanced beyond normal. This allowed the Druid to help the party more "mystically" with instantaneous magic and consumables without opening up the issue of the party trying to take the Druid with them.)
(3) Plan and enhance your next two major encounters.
Whether or not you actually use them, two challenging combats should be more than enough to fill an entire session. If you have something specific in mind, get your battle station ready, and think about ways of making it more dynamic.
(I) What is the "Highlight" of the encounter? (II) What is the "Ambiance" of the encounter? (III) How much treasure do you want your party to discover at minimum, and how will you reward a Nat 20 Investigation check? (IV) What is your contingency if the encounter is too easy? (V) What is your contingency if the encounter is too hard or leads to a TPK? (VI) How does the encounter progress the story?
Following Session [Moderate Detail; As needed]
(1) Prepare a back-up encounter just in case the party makes more progress than expected.
(2) Outline a rough adventure timeline for where you expect the session to start, end, and who they might meet along the way.
(3) Make notes on what/who you want to highlight.
This chunk of prep is mostly to give the "Upcoming Session" a small content buffer and smooth the transition between sessions.
Quest Objective [Low Detail; Per Major Quest; Refine over time]
(1) Encounter Outline
Who are the major NPCs in play? What are their motivations? What tricks do they have up their sleeves? (Lair Actions? Legendary Actions?)
Feel free to add Legendary and Lair actions to any encounter that feels too mundane. There is no CR limit for such features.
(2) Character Spotlight
Who cares most about this encounter? What can you do to reinforce/commemorate that connection? How can you use this encounter to bring the party closer together? How might each player contribute? How should each player be rewarded?
(As before, the spotlight doesn't need to be equal. One or more characters will be center stage, but the others should feel like their participation matters.)
(3) Transitions
(I) Introduction
What will precede the major encounter to build-up the tension and drama? (Chase scene? Dungeon crawl?) What is special about the environment that the encounter will take place in? Do you want to prepare a monologue or detailed description of the scene? Does the party have more than one way to engage with the encounter? (Main entrance, side doors, secret tunnels?)
(II) Resolution
What is the "Best Case" outcome? What is the "Worst Case" outcome? What will the party do once they've "won"?
(III) Adventure Hooks
Its very easy for a party to lose direction after a major victory. All of their energy has been directed toward a singular goal, and as a result, once completed, their characters lose any in-game incentive to continue adventuring. This is a very important window to set the stage for the next major arc.
There may be a direct continuation, such as in the case of a major villain escaping, There may be an escalation, such as in the case of a cult ritual being stopped too late and something terrible being summoned. Or, There might be a transition, such as in the case of the party returning to town to discover that defeating a local threat created a power vacuum.
Either way, one or more significant "rising threats" should appear to propel the party forward. Ideally, this transition should switch the primary spotlight onto a new player.
TL;DR
(1) World Building (Pre-Campaign) --- Superficial story outline + Introductory adventure + Setting the scene
(2) Regional Filler (Once per Story Arc) --- Generic Maps/Adventures/Encounters
(3) Upcoming Session (Once Per Session) --- Character Review + NPC Development + Encounter Development
(4) Following Session (Once Per Session, as needed) --- Content Buffer + Trajectory estimation
(5) Quest Objective (Once Per Major Quest) --- Encounter Outline + Character Spotlight + Transitions
(Top-->Down for Specificity. Left-->Right for Frequency.)
By a mini campaign I mean that I bought a separate 2-3 session 5 level campaign
For that kind of mini-campaign, I'd recommend just giving it a thorough read, and then making some notes according to the various phases of play: "Combat", "Exploration", and "Social".
I don't think that campaign/adventure modules are well written/organized for use during play, so breaking it down into more digestible chunks helps a lot.
Have fun!! When teaching new players what I like to do is a session zero which goes over character building together and basic rules. If time allows at the end of that session zero we do a pre- game where players get a small "Help wanted" board and they get to pick one job they want to do as a team. This session zero job isn't for xp rather to test out mechanics for new players, make sure players work well together and for players to have a test run on their character. If there is something wonky with a character build or if they notice that something in their gear/spell list isn't just right it gives them a chance to fix it before that first session of the real campaign. The idea of help wanted board is that it gives your party about an hour or two of play to do exploration, combat, and some roleplay time. As a DM it is a chance to see how your players are going to roleplay their characters and what weapons/spells they like to utilize. It allows you to prepare encounters and customize things to better fit your players.
My best advice is to focus on making the players the heroes of small stories. Don't try to plan too far ahead, or have a godlike Gandalf dude send them on a world-saving quest. Just give them a new adventure every session, and make sure the characters have the chance to make a difference in how it ends (even if that means they fail). Stay flexible and focus on them, and you'll be okay! Have fun!
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Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
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I'm going to DM for the fist time. I already have a group picked out, (they don't know it yet) but only one of them have ever played before. I'm planning on doing a mini campaign with them so that we can all figure this out and then I'm going to do my campaign. Does anyone have any advice for a first time DM leading a group of first time players?
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
Don't stress so much about the rules and try to just have fun.
(1) Accept that you're going to make mistakes, and make a plan to learn from them.
(2) Think about contingencies and how to scale encounters on the fly.
You can always conjure up more enemies from unseen places, or turn the environment into a hazard to up the difficulty, and difficult enemies can be suffering from a previous injury to lower their effective CR. However, you need to be thoughtful of this ahead of time to keep it believable.
Once you can adapt any arbitrary encounter to be a suitable challenge for the players, combat requires much less prep.
(3) Focus on player enjoyment over world consistency.
The world only needs to be slightly more consistent than the players' memories of the world. Most groups are going to forget 90% of the minutia, so it's totally fine to make up details that you can't remember. If the players call you out on it, then you can either correct yourself and make a note, or build it into the narrative as the players discovering something new. (Maybe a merchant NPC uses a different name with their regulars, or perhaps the players accidentally found themselves at a different tavern down the block from where they meant to go.)
(4) If you can improvise things to do between major locations, then you can buy yourself extra time when the players go somewhere totally unexpected.
For example, if the party decides to go to a random major city a full day's travel or more away, then they might pass an overturned cart with bloody streaks leading into the forest. A random forest encounter is easy to throw together, and can potentially delay the arrival until the next session.
I second "don't stress the rules." It's a lot to process all at once, and everyone is going to make mistakes.
Hold a Session Zero. Discuss with your players what kind of campaign you expect. Any rules you plan to be strict or lenient on? Do you expect them to cooperate with obvious plot hooks, or is it an open world campaign? Any themes that anyone wishes to avoid?
For your "mini campaign", I'm assuming that means you're not using prewritten module. So, step through what you have planned, and think, at least on a simple level:
-Should they have to roll for that? If so, what skill is it? (Example from mine: one path required cutting down a tree. "Do I know how to do that without it falling on me? What do I roll to actually chop it?")
-If I was a player here, what alternatives might I try? Can they talk the enemy into peace or surrender? Can the enemy be ignored? Would they provoke an NPC to fight? Can they simply go the long way around an obstacle?
After each session, make note of what things tripped you up. Have a reminder on those things ready for next time.
Thanks for your advice. (that may sound sarcastic but it really isn't :D )
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
This has helped a lot I never thought of delaying tactics and I will definitely use those
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
By a mini campaign I mean that I bought a separate 2-3 session 5 level campaign
I love drow, rogues and Chinese weapons. I mean come on, rope darts are awesome.
My current character is a drow shadow monk, with a "unique" honor code (give him some time, he's working through some stuff). He also sucks on the socialization side of interacting with all other living creatures. which is very fun to RP.
Make sure they all actually want to play — I get the impression they may not even realize they are about to. One person who doesn’t want to be there can really ruin it for everyone else.
I suspect a lot of new DMs get burnout due to feeling like they need to outline their entire world before Session Zero, when really, a DM should only need to prep one or two sessions worth of content at any given time.
My homebrew prep is essentially this. (I went a little overkill, so it's spoilered below):
World Building [Pre-Campaign]
Outline an escalation narrative.
I) Conceptualize the Major Encounter you would like to use as your story climax. (Maybe level 12~16.)
II) Consider the "theme" of that encounter/BBEG and work backward to foreshadow it.
In my world, there will be a heavy aberration theme, so the party will be exposed to it roughly as "Basic Exposure"--->"Systemic Issue"--->"Conspiracy"--->"BBEG", in the form of a "Prologue" and 3 "Acts". This functions as a guide for what is happening in the world at large and the specifics are expected to change considerably as the party interacts with the world, so I don't bother with more than superficial details. I tossed together a visualization tool in the spoiler below.
This represents the "default" world drama that I will build around. If the party becomes attached to a particular NPC or alternate storyline, I'll come back and write a new outline
III) Outline your "Introductory Adventure", and thoughtfully create adventure hooks for each PC to explain why they should participate. (It's your responsibility to give the players enough momentum to act like a party. Once they've adventured together, they won't need as much guidance.)
Having your players figure out their character's relationships with one another before the game starts can have a lot of advantages. The more interconnected the character's are, the more invested the players will be.
IV) Decide where and how the party will come together. (Meeting in a tavern is fine, but consider giving the story a little more life by narrating what the players were doing in the days leading up to arriving at the tavern. Or asking the players to describe what their character's would have been doing up til then.)
Regional Filler [As needed; Rarely]
(1) Print/draw a map of the region representing about 1 week of travel from the party's starting point. Mark major locations and estimate paths/travel times to a couple of likely destinations.
At lower levels, this area likely represents months worth of play time. The entire map of Barovia (Curse of Strahd) is less than a day's travel, as the crow flies.
(2) Print a few pages of terrain specific random encounter statblocks, where each sheet has 2~4 different monsters of various CR.
Trivial Encounters: Creatures, like Poisonous Snake, that can be thrown around like confetti without significant consequence.
(An opportunity for a little hack-and-slash during exploration. Might not even bother with rolling initiative.)
Common Encounters: Creatures you expect to encounter regularly in an environment that shouldn't be a problem. Maybe Bandits, Kobolds, Goblins, Wolves, etc.
(Easy in small numbers, but could pose a problem in larger groups. Good for whittling away resources during an adventuring day, and luring a party off the beaten path.)
Uncommon Encounters: Creatures that the party is warned about and may try to avoid, such as Owlbears.
(Bring these to play when the party needs to be punished/entertained. A fresh party won't have too much trouble, but a tired party might struggle.)
Spotlight Encounters: These are themed pages that represent specific optional encounters. For example, I had a "Spider" encounter that included Giant Spiders, Swarms of Spiders, and a couple spider-themed traps. My party is currently exploring a Kobold's Lair that I tossed together last minute. That one has 3 different Kobold variants for flavor. I declared one token as a "King", gave it a template and a minor HP boost.
(These make great filler and can be easily recycled later. Use these whenever the party goes off the beaten path and needs a "side quest".)
(3) Outline a few optional adventures that highlight different styles of play. (This can be tied directly to the Spotlight Encounters.)
Inevitably, the players will want to talk to NPCs to discover local rumors. You can create an "rumor" sheet the same way I handle "random encounters".
Trivial Rumors are basically just gossip that can be made up on the spot, and may not even be true.
Common Rumors might reveal low risk/reward opportunities that mostly have RP value, such as fetching medicine.
Uncommon Rumors would then have more significant rewards, such as performing an exorcism in exchange for a couple of healing potions.
(These would be a means for the party to get an edge on upcoming conflicts.)
Spotlight Rumors are then optional adventures that might take anywhere from 1~3+ sessions to resolve.
(These give the party an opportunity to do some proper treasure hunting outside of the main storyline.)
Don't worry about which NPCs know what. Everyone in the same area is going to be swapping stories and news, so whoever the party talks to is the one who has the information to give. Once you've passed out the information, just make a short note of who they talked to, so that you can reference it later.
Upcoming Session [High Detail; Every session]
(1) Review each player's character sheet. (Backstory, Strengths, Weaknesses)
(I) Make sure that you don't have anything planned that depends on something the party can't actually do. If the party doesn't have a "rogue", adjust locks/traps accordingly. If the party members are all casters, make sure you don't have any traps that might lead to an immediate TPK.
(II) Identify the traits that let each player shine, and create opportunities for them. If you have a healer, make sure someone takes enough damage to need healing. If you have a high Int player, prepare some lore for them to discover. If you have a player with damage resistance, try to incorporate it.
(The players may not always bite, but having something prepared ensures that you're keeping the players in mind. You don't need to highlight everyone during every single session, but keep track of who is hiding/hogging the spotlight and try to make sure everyone gets some attention.)
(2) Give anticipated NPCs more depth.
(I) Write down the NPCs name, race, class, background, and a few interesting "quirks" that the players can discover. (Citrus allergy, bad habits, fear of women, etc...)
(II) If the NPC has a specific role, give it one or two personalized abilities appropriate for that role. (Create combat NPCs like Monsters, not like PCs)
A "Combat Caster" might have a surprising spell.
A "Healer" might use a family heirloom artifact.
Anything to make it stand out.
If the players try to learn NPC magic, or steal heirlooms, then use a delay tactic to give yourself time to figure it out. Learning magic takes time, and the player may need to go on a quest for a rare material component. Heirlooms might be tied to bloodlines, making them worthless in the hands of others.
(My players travelled to a "Druid's Grove", where the resident Druid's powers were enhanced beyond normal. This allowed the Druid to help the party more "mystically" with instantaneous magic and consumables without opening up the issue of the party trying to take the Druid with them.)
(3) Plan and enhance your next two major encounters.
Whether or not you actually use them, two challenging combats should be more than enough to fill an entire session. If you have something specific in mind, get your battle station ready, and think about ways of making it more dynamic.
(I) What is the "Highlight" of the encounter?
(II) What is the "Ambiance" of the encounter?
(III) How much treasure do you want your party to discover at minimum, and how will you reward a Nat 20 Investigation check?
(IV) What is your contingency if the encounter is too easy?
(V) What is your contingency if the encounter is too hard or leads to a TPK?
(VI) How does the encounter progress the story?
Following Session [Moderate Detail; As needed]
(1) Prepare a back-up encounter just in case the party makes more progress than expected.
(2) Outline a rough adventure timeline for where you expect the session to start, end, and who they might meet along the way.
(3) Make notes on what/who you want to highlight.
This chunk of prep is mostly to give the "Upcoming Session" a small content buffer and smooth the transition between sessions.
Quest Objective [Low Detail; Per Major Quest; Refine over time]
(1) Encounter Outline
Who are the major NPCs in play?
What are their motivations?
What tricks do they have up their sleeves? (Lair Actions? Legendary Actions?)
Feel free to add Legendary and Lair actions to any encounter that feels too mundane. There is no CR limit for such features.
(2) Character Spotlight
Who cares most about this encounter?
What can you do to reinforce/commemorate that connection?
How can you use this encounter to bring the party closer together?
How might each player contribute?
How should each player be rewarded?
(As before, the spotlight doesn't need to be equal. One or more characters will be center stage, but the others should feel like their participation matters.)
(3) Transitions
(I) Introduction
What will precede the major encounter to build-up the tension and drama? (Chase scene? Dungeon crawl?)
What is special about the environment that the encounter will take place in?
Do you want to prepare a monologue or detailed description of the scene?
Does the party have more than one way to engage with the encounter? (Main entrance, side doors, secret tunnels?)
(II) Resolution
What is the "Best Case" outcome?
What is the "Worst Case" outcome?
What will the party do once they've "won"?
(III) Adventure Hooks
Its very easy for a party to lose direction after a major victory. All of their energy has been directed toward a singular goal, and as a result, once completed, their characters lose any in-game incentive to continue adventuring. This is a very important window to set the stage for the next major arc.
There may be a direct continuation, such as in the case of a major villain escaping,
There may be an escalation, such as in the case of a cult ritual being stopped too late and something terrible being summoned. Or,
There might be a transition, such as in the case of the party returning to town to discover that defeating a local threat created a power vacuum.
Either way, one or more significant "rising threats" should appear to propel the party forward. Ideally, this transition should switch the primary spotlight onto a new player.
TL;DR
(1) World Building (Pre-Campaign) --- Superficial story outline + Introductory adventure + Setting the scene
(2) Regional Filler (Once per Story Arc) --- Generic Maps/Adventures/Encounters
(3) Upcoming Session (Once Per Session) --- Character Review + NPC Development + Encounter Development
(4) Following Session (Once Per Session, as needed) --- Content Buffer + Trajectory estimation
(5) Quest Objective (Once Per Major Quest) --- Encounter Outline + Character Spotlight + Transitions
(Top-->Down for Specificity. Left-->Right for Frequency.)
For that kind of mini-campaign, I'd recommend just giving it a thorough read, and then making some notes according to the various phases of play: "Combat", "Exploration", and "Social".
I don't think that campaign/adventure modules are well written/organized for use during play, so breaking it down into more digestible chunks helps a lot.
Have fun!! When teaching new players what I like to do is a session zero which goes over character building together and basic rules. If time allows at the end of that session zero we do a pre- game where players get a small "Help wanted" board and they get to pick one job they want to do as a team. This session zero job isn't for xp rather to test out mechanics for new players, make sure players work well together and for players to have a test run on their character. If there is something wonky with a character build or if they notice that something in their gear/spell list isn't just right it gives them a chance to fix it before that first session of the real campaign. The idea of help wanted board is that it gives your party about an hour or two of play to do exploration, combat, and some roleplay time. As a DM it is a chance to see how your players are going to roleplay their characters and what weapons/spells they like to utilize. It allows you to prepare encounters and customize things to better fit your players.
My best advice is to focus on making the players the heroes of small stories. Don't try to plan too far ahead, or have a godlike Gandalf dude send them on a world-saving quest. Just give them a new adventure every session, and make sure the characters have the chance to make a difference in how it ends (even if that means they fail). Stay flexible and focus on them, and you'll be okay! Have fun!
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club