Thanks to the popularity of Critical Roles and D&DB, I think we have more players than ever. More players mean more people asking their friends to DM which means lots of new DMs. We all see posts from them all the time asking for advice, especially on how to get started.
I'm thinking of putting together a PDF with some rough story arc ideas, things to talk about at session zero among other things. The same kinds of advice that you'd find if you went searching everywhere but all in one place. I'm angling toward ideas to get the DM from a lvl 1 party to about 6 or 8.
1) Does anyone think this would be a good idea?
2) If you were going to make suggestions as to what this should include, what would you want to see?
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
When I started playing, I was 15 and had a bit of experience playing basic tabletop fantasy games such as Hero Quest, but the thing that really showed me everything I needed to know was a single page at the beginning of the PHB or DM Guide (I forget which) from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition (I think).
It was effectively a written out script of how a game might go, and looked something like this:
DM: You enter a long tunnel. Water drips from the walls, and there's a strange smell. Fighter 1: That wererat had to escape down here somewhere. Can I see any blood stains on the floor? DM: You look closely but the wetness of the floor means that any blood would have washed away. Fighter 1: OK let's follow him - we need to get to him fast before he alerts the others. Cleric: We should try to move quietly. Can we cover the lantern over a bit? DM: Sure, you use your cloak and manage to dim the light a little.
In the encounter being described there was a puzzle to solve (a block of stone being used as a step to reach a hidden panel on the ceiling) before the players then find the wounded wererat and enter a combat with some more. It was simple, but it covered exploration, social interaction, puzzle solving and combat. From the moment I read it, I knew exactly how to run the game.
Running the game is more about confidence than anything that can be taught, in part because every table is different. Learning is best done by doing. In general though, I'd recommend a crib sheet to include:
What should I prepare?
When should I call for a dice roll?
What do I do if the players aren't following the story?
How do I balance things so I don't wipe everyone out or give out too much treasure?
In writing a guide, I'd recommend including a flavourful script showing how a puzzle, combat or social interaction would work out in an imaginary game, including what dice are rolled, and where the rules on those things come from, e.g.:
DM: The orc charges at you and swings his axe down. [The DM looks at the orc's attack bonus on its stat block sheet, rolls a d20 and gets a 6. The orc's attack bonus is +5, so the score is 11]. The orc rolls 11 - what's your armour class, Ranger? Ranger: I have an AC of 15. DM: You sidestep the axe and the orc bellows with fury. It's your turn next, what do you do?
I also invite you to write up your ideas and impressions for what the beginning DM might need. Your perspective is important and you do have something to add.
When I was new at DMing, I would absolutely have loved to have had a guide written for me, just so I could pretend I knew everything in advance.
When I started playing, I was 15 and had a bit of experience playing basic tabletop fantasy games such as Hero Quest, but the thing that really showed me everything I needed to know was a single page at the beginning of the PHB or DM Guide (I forget which) from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition (I think).
It was effectively a written out script of how a game might go, and looked something like this:
DM: You enter a long tunnel. Water drips from the walls, and there's a strange smell. Fighter 1: That wererat had to escape down here somewhere. Can I see any blood stains on the floor? DM: You look closely but the wetness of the floor means that any blood would have washed away. Fighter 1: OK let's follow him - we need to get to him fast before he alerts the others. Cleric: We should try to move quietly. Can we cover the lantern over a bit? DM: Sure, you use your cloak and manage to dim the light a little.
In the encounter being described there was a puzzle to solve (a block of stone being used as a step to reach a hidden panel on the ceiling) before the players then find the wounded wererat and enter a combat with some more. It was simple, but it covered exploration, social interaction, puzzle solving and combat. From the moment I read it, I knew exactly how to run the game.
Running the game is more about confidence than anything that can be taught, in part because every table is different. Learning is best done by doing. In general though, I'd recommend a crib sheet to include:
What should I prepare?
When should I call for a dice roll?
What do I do if the players aren't following the story?
How do I balance things so I don't wipe everyone out or give out too much treasure?
In writing a guide, I'd recommend including a flavourful script showing how a puzzle, combat or social interaction would work out in an imaginary game, including what dice are rolled, and where the rules on those things come from, e.g.:
DM: The orc charges at you and swings his axe down. [The DM looks at the orc's attack bonus on its stat block sheet, rolls a d20 and gets a 6. The orc's attack bonus is +5, so the score is 11]. The orc rolls 11 - what's your armour class, Ranger? Ranger: I have an AC of 15. DM: You sidestep the axe and the orc bellows with fury. It's your turn next, what do you do?
Good tips and I REALLY like your example. It's more exciting and descriptive than 'he missed' but it doesn't require a full-on Matt Mercer standing animation. A very good compromise.
I also invite you to write up your ideas and impressions for what the beginning DM might need. Your perspective is important and you do have something to add.
When I was new at DMing, I would absolutely have loved to have had a guide written for me, just so I could pretend I knew everything in advance.
This was my thought and like many, I also had very little to work with when I started DMing all those years ago. I intend to include art when appropriate but it's mostly a sort of How-To guide. I see so many questions on the Forums and on various FB Pages that I feel that there must be a need.
You could get the InDesign template for DnD or a word doc template for DnD and use that as your format for it, to make it graphically consistent with DnD.
You could get the InDesign template for DnD or a word doc template for DnD and use that as your format for it, to make it graphically consistent with DnD.
I hadn't looked into the formatting that far. Thanks for saving me what would likely have been a fair chunk of time.
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Thanks to the popularity of Critical Roles and D&DB, I think we have more players than ever. More players mean more people asking their friends to DM which means lots of new DMs. We all see posts from them all the time asking for advice, especially on how to get started.
I'm thinking of putting together a PDF with some rough story arc ideas, things to talk about at session zero among other things. The same kinds of advice that you'd find if you went searching everywhere but all in one place. I'm angling toward ideas to get the DM from a lvl 1 party to about 6 or 8.
1) Does anyone think this would be a good idea?
2) If you were going to make suggestions as to what this should include, what would you want to see?
This has been done in different formats over the years. If you feel that you have something new to add to the discussion, or maybe a more palatable method of delivery, then have at it. I welcome a fresh perspective. I'll leave you this as maybe an idea of how others have covered this topic in the past.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
When I started playing, I was 15 and had a bit of experience playing basic tabletop fantasy games such as Hero Quest, but the thing that really showed me everything I needed to know was a single page at the beginning of the PHB or DM Guide (I forget which) from Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd edition (I think).
It was effectively a written out script of how a game might go, and looked something like this:
DM: You enter a long tunnel. Water drips from the walls, and there's a strange smell.
Fighter 1: That wererat had to escape down here somewhere. Can I see any blood stains on the floor?
DM: You look closely but the wetness of the floor means that any blood would have washed away.
Fighter 1: OK let's follow him - we need to get to him fast before he alerts the others.
Cleric: We should try to move quietly. Can we cover the lantern over a bit?
DM: Sure, you use your cloak and manage to dim the light a little.
In the encounter being described there was a puzzle to solve (a block of stone being used as a step to reach a hidden panel on the ceiling) before the players then find the wounded wererat and enter a combat with some more. It was simple, but it covered exploration, social interaction, puzzle solving and combat. From the moment I read it, I knew exactly how to run the game.
Running the game is more about confidence than anything that can be taught, in part because every table is different. Learning is best done by doing. In general though, I'd recommend a crib sheet to include:
In writing a guide, I'd recommend including a flavourful script showing how a puzzle, combat or social interaction would work out in an imaginary game, including what dice are rolled, and where the rules on those things come from, e.g.:
DM: The orc charges at you and swings his axe down. [The DM looks at the orc's attack bonus on its stat block sheet, rolls a d20 and gets a 6. The orc's attack bonus is +5, so the score is 11]. The orc rolls 11 - what's your armour class, Ranger?
Ranger: I have an AC of 15.
DM: You sidestep the axe and the orc bellows with fury. It's your turn next, what do you do?
I’m going to throw a +1 to what he said ^
I also invite you to write up your ideas and impressions for what the beginning DM might need. Your perspective is important and you do have something to add.
When I was new at DMing, I would absolutely have loved to have had a guide written for me, just so I could pretend I knew everything in advance.
Infinite thanks for the link! This is an incredibly extensive list! Very helpful!
Good tips and I REALLY like your example. It's more exciting and descriptive than 'he missed' but it doesn't require a full-on Matt Mercer standing animation. A very good compromise.
This was my thought and like many, I also had very little to work with when I started DMing all those years ago. I intend to include art when appropriate but it's mostly a sort of How-To guide. I see so many questions on the Forums and on various FB Pages that I feel that there must be a need.
You could get the InDesign template for DnD or a word doc template for DnD and use that as your format for it, to make it graphically consistent with DnD.
I hadn't looked into the formatting that far. Thanks for saving me what would likely have been a fair chunk of time.