I am a fairly new DM who has tried looking for a more experienced D&D player to DM for me and my group. I have 4 other players who are new but know some of the mechanics of the game. I tend to have a problem with my group not knowing how to rollplay or them being distracted. I know that there is no right way to play but I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting though the campaigns and I feel that as a DM I could be doing more to make it more fun for my players. It seems like my players are thinking about quitting the game altogether if I don't hurry up and be a better DM. I have tried explaining to them that it is pretty difficult to make things interesting when I am learning about everything they are at about the same pace they are. I try and learn more and more about the game and how to DM but one of my players is my partner who is very interested in the game and is very good at absorbing the lore and the game mechanics. I have had them play DM once and they are good but they are not responsible enough and I end up doing all the DM work while they get all the credit. I am mostly looking for some fast or easier ways to learn the game and how to seem like I know how to address an issue when it arises.
some questions... could you elaborate on "I tend to have a problem with my group not knowing how to rollplay" can you put your finger on what is distracting them? "them being distracted" what campaign are you playing how long has it been going? what bits of the campaign do you feel they engaged in /liked? what areas of DM'ing do you think you need to "hurry up and be a better DM" at?
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
In the meantime, if your team wants more action, try simpler encounters with more bad buys to crush. If it seems to easy, just add a few more, or the opposite if they get into trouble. Use a published adventure like Lost Mine of Phandelver or another classic module that you find interesting and simple enough to DM.
Keep the adventures light and easy for awhile until you get used to it. Then you can add more rolepaly. Instead of having to roleplay, have a quest giver just tell them where to go next, or make it obvious from clues.
Take it easy on yourself too. It has to fun for you. If they are distractible, put them into an encounter where they have to pay attention or risk their character! or a McGuffin they can't see that is causing damage to the party. give the one or two players most distracted an opportunity to fight something, figure out a puzzle or some other encounter only they can do on behalf of the party. in this latter idea, find a language or ability only they have and create a situation that depends on it.
Are you running a published or homebrew campaign? If homebrew my suggestion is to stop and switch to one of the starter published campaigns Lost mines or Dragon of icespire peak are 2 good ones, lost mines is a little more railroadey.
This allows you to focus on learning to DM without also trying to create the story and all the NPCs and enemies etc.
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I am a fairly new DM who has tried looking for a more experienced D&D player to DM for me and my group. I have 4 other players who are new but know some of the mechanics of the game. I tend to have a problem with my group not knowing how to rollplay or them being distracted. I know that there is no right way to play but I seem to be having a lot of trouble getting though the campaigns and I feel that as a DM I could be doing more to make it more fun for my players. It seems like my players are thinking about quitting the game altogether if I don't hurry up and be a better DM. I have tried explaining to them that it is pretty difficult to make things interesting when I am learning about everything they are at about the same pace they are. I try and learn more and more about the game and how to DM but one of my players is my partner who is very interested in the game and is very good at absorbing the lore and the game mechanics. I have had them play DM once and they are good but they are not responsible enough and I end up doing all the DM work while they get all the credit. I am mostly looking for some fast or easier ways to learn the game and how to seem like I know how to address an issue when it arises.
some questions...
could you elaborate on "I tend to have a problem with my group not knowing how to rollplay"
can you put your finger on what is distracting them? "them being distracted"
what campaign are you playing how long has it been going?
what bits of the campaign do you feel they engaged in /liked?
what areas of DM'ing do you think you need to "hurry up and be a better DM" at?
some answers...
Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I have the same questions as JustinDarkness.
In the meantime, if your team wants more action, try simpler encounters with more bad buys to crush. If it seems to easy, just add a few more, or the opposite if they get into trouble. Use a published adventure like Lost Mine of Phandelver or another classic module that you find interesting and simple enough to DM.
Keep the adventures light and easy for awhile until you get used to it. Then you can add more rolepaly. Instead of having to roleplay, have a quest giver just tell them where to go next, or make it obvious from clues.
Take it easy on yourself too. It has to fun for you. If they are distractible, put them into an encounter where they have to pay attention or risk their character! or a McGuffin they can't see that is causing damage to the party. give the one or two players most distracted an opportunity to fight something, figure out a puzzle or some other encounter only they can do on behalf of the party. in this latter idea, find a language or ability only they have and create a situation that depends on it.
Are you running a published or homebrew campaign? If homebrew my suggestion is to stop and switch to one of the starter published campaigns Lost mines or Dragon of icespire peak are 2 good ones, lost mines is a little more railroadey.
This allows you to focus on learning to DM without also trying to create the story and all the NPCs and enemies etc.