I'm thinking of possibly trying my hand at dming at some point, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for a good first time one shot? I already know the group won't be big, maybe like 3 or 4 players at most depending on schedules, and I have a rough outline for a story I want to try out that I don't think is too complicated. It's more like just trying to get back home than anything like a grand, kill the dragon save the kingdom kind of story. (I guess the closest thing I could think of would be like Over the Garden Wall but like, d&d in a sense?)
I guess I'm more worried about the actual down and dirty stuff that comes with dming, like building balanced encounters and keeping track of the rules (I'm still kind of new to d&d in general so I'm still learning!), as well as trying to think of things on the spot if the players go off the rails since you know, I want it to be fun for them too. I guess what I'm asking is are there any tips for a scared new dm that you wish you got for your first time? (I'm also not totally married to only using dnd rules if there are easier ones out there to start with! I just know d&d has lots more resources and help than like others might)
I’m going to second the recommendation to listen to Mathew Colville, he is a River unto his people.
You’ll do fine, though.
Just remember as DM you can tune encounters as you go, if it looks like the players are going to die, and you don’t want them to, send some help in. Legolas shows up with a snipers rifle or something, if it’s going too easy, Legolas still shows up, but he’s on the other team!
Again, you’re going to make mistakes, and have gaffes and goofs but also, you’re going to do fine. It’s all a learning process. After 34 years in the DM chair I find I’m still learning from other people and most importantly, from my players.
1. Start with a world for your campaign. It can be templates or maps or just ideas in your head. It's always a good idea to have somewhere for your players to go if they head somewhere you didn't expect.
2. Try not to get too attached to one particular side quest or mission. The players are unpredictable, so there's a good chance tat if something comes up, that quest will be put to the side.
3. Try not to plan ahead too much. The players will probably subvert around 70% of your ideas for the campaign. Stick to a few key details to your story, and leave the rest open.
4. Be prepared for mayhem to commence, and have slight consequences or caveats in mind to respond to certain actions. If the players kill that shady merchant, maybe the town guard will get involved.
5. If all else fails, and your players completely trash your story, pause the campaign and talk it over with them. Don't yell at them or punish their characters for your player's actions.Just be civil about it.
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Anything from the Yawning Portal could be a good way to test the water. There's plenty of adventures that could be a short mini adventure that will give you and your players a taste of whats to come! Best of luck to you, however, and always remember its your game so your rules.
omg guys I leave this for a couple of days and I come back to so much good advice! Thank you so much everyone! I'm already trying to start writing down the nitty gritty stuff like a few encounters and and big bad at the end and you guys made me feel so much better about doing this for the first time. Y'all are too kind! :'D
My biggest piece of advice is to plan what everyone decides to do Except the Players.
As soon as you write down "The players will go to the cave and be ambushed by a Roper", you've made something the players can, and will, scupper.
Instead, say "the cave has a roper in the entrance, disguised as a slatacmite. It's hungry, and wil ltry to eat one person and then defend itself. The party are pointed towards the cave by a mysterious man".
Now, whatever the players do, they cannot erase this plan - it's all past tense - there's already a roper at the cave, there's already a man who wants the party to go there. If the party decide to build a spaceship and nuke the cave from orbit, which I don't recommend you let them do, you're not going to have to cross out "they get ambushed by a roper", you just accept the roper is dead, and it died hungry!
Obviously, you'll need to plan what will happen in your story, but keep it loose and don't rely on the players perfectly navigating this story. Bear in mind that if you write the story then expect the players to act it out perfectly without deviation, it's the same as expecting a monkey at a typewriter to write Hamlet!
All good advise, but I would say to make sure to communicate with ur players. U guys are really just writing a story together, so u are all on the same team. Explain that u are new and unsure about the rules, and ask for grace and patience with the mistakes u will inevitably make. l also agree with big lizard, using a pre made, normally lv1-3 is the best idea for a new dm. ( I would suggest frozen sick by CR. It’s simple and fun, and if u want to edit it it’s very easy. It’s also free😉)
Yeah. I'm a new DM and if I dared to create a campaign using my own tiny brain, I would get carried away with magic items. A module would be good for a new dm. I remembered in 1e (not even ad&d) you didn't need to think to much about like plot twists and exploring because there was no role playing involved and the basic set had no exploration rules. Simplest of all, the players spend their whole level in some ruined tower. The bad thing is because the players leveled up with treasure, they'd have alot more gp to know what to do with (the fighters don't spend all their money on plate mail because it only cost 60 bucks). But this is 5e and it turns my brain to mush so I would suggest a module.
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Good for you! I am pretty new to DMing too. When we play, it is laid back while keeping it ROW.
#1 rule. It has to be fun.
I am not a 100% expert on anything other than putting together some story threads together and flying by the seat of my pants oftentimes but there is usually a story arc that develops as the party tackles objectives. If I am mistaken or misguided on a rule, my players will point out the error of my ways. Myself and the players in our groups are all learning as we go.
Players do not always go where you would like them to go so put together simple and intriguing encounters for when players are meant to go left at the TEE in the road but go right. e.g. the road to the right leads to a bridge guarded by an irritated ogre with issues that has a massive dislike for a particular race or class.
I also like to leave a safety valve in case things start to south. Nothing is more demoralizing as a TPK. But likewise, a party mowing through everything that they face without breaking a sweat is not enjoyable too. As you progress, you will learn and be able to tune encounters to your players abilities.
Good for you! I am pretty new to DMing too. When we play, it is laid back while keeping it ROW.
#1 rule. It has to be fun.
I am not a 100% expert on anything other than putting together some story threads together and flying by the seat of my pants oftentimes but there is usually a story arc that develops as the party tackles objectives. If I am mistaken or misguided on a rule, my players will point out the error of my ways. Myself and the players in our groups are all learning as we go.
Players do not always go where you would like them to go so put together simple and intriguing encounters for when players are meant to go left at the TEE in the road but go right. e.g. the road to the right leads to a bridge guarded by an irritated ogre with issues that has a massive dislike for a particular race or class.
I also like to leave a safety valve in case things start to south. Nothing is more demoralizing as a TPK. But likewise, a party mowing through everything that they face without breaking a sweat is not enjoyable too. As you progress, you will learn and be able to tune encounters to your players abilities.
I second what Armolad says. Few things can suck the fun out of a campaign quite like balancing issues. If you pit your level 2 party against a werewolf, they are likely going to have a rough time, maybe even losing a few party members. On the other hand, it's no fun if your now level 9 party decked out with silver weapons face that same werewolf. Try to avoid it being a one-sided smackdown for either side. A little power trip for your characters is good once in a while, as is a tense match, but they do their best work in small doses.
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Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
As said on another thread: Plan for and indeed; expect all your carefully laid plans to not survive contact with your players. Some of the most memorable moments of my campaigns happened because I was flexible enough to let players solve problems in ways I hadn't thought of.
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I'm thinking of possibly trying my hand at dming at some point, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips for a good first time one shot? I already know the group won't be big, maybe like 3 or 4 players at most depending on schedules, and I have a rough outline for a story I want to try out that I don't think is too complicated. It's more like just trying to get back home than anything like a grand, kill the dragon save the kingdom kind of story. (I guess the closest thing I could think of would be like Over the Garden Wall but like, d&d in a sense?)
I guess I'm more worried about the actual down and dirty stuff that comes with dming, like building balanced encounters and keeping track of the rules (I'm still kind of new to d&d in general so I'm still learning!), as well as trying to think of things on the spot if the players go off the rails since you know, I want it to be fun for them too. I guess what I'm asking is are there any tips for a scared new dm that you wish you got for your first time? (I'm also not totally married to only using dnd rules if there are easier ones out there to start with! I just know d&d has lots more resources and help than like others might)
Thanks in advance everyone! (＾▽＾)/
Since this is a broad question, here's the broadest possible advice I can give you: give this guy a listen:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUk42GiU2guNzWBzxn7hs8MaV7ELLCP_
I’m going to second the recommendation to listen to Mathew Colville, he is a River unto his people.
You’ll do fine, though.
Just remember as DM you can tune encounters as you go, if it looks like the players are going to die, and you don’t want them to, send some help in. Legolas shows up with a snipers rifle or something, if it’s going too easy, Legolas still shows up, but he’s on the other team!
Again, you’re going to make mistakes, and have gaffes and goofs but also, you’re going to do fine. It’s all a learning process. After 34 years in the DM chair I find I’m still learning from other people and most importantly, from my players.
Good luck! You can do it!
i will third this. i have not watched it but it looks good enought that i will watch. i will also reer you to captain cold
make the plan
execute the plan
expect the plan to go off rails
forget the plan
basically the more of a plan you have the worse the game can be messed up by players. I suggest using bullet points for instance
even this can be unusable if they simply walk past the man. but it's a good place to start
1. Start with a world for your campaign. It can be templates or maps or just ideas in your head. It's always a good idea to have somewhere for your players to go if they head somewhere you didn't expect.
2. Try not to get too attached to one particular side quest or mission. The players are unpredictable, so there's a good chance tat if something comes up, that quest will be put to the side.
3. Try not to plan ahead too much. The players will probably subvert around 70% of your ideas for the campaign. Stick to a few key details to your story, and leave the rest open.
4. Be prepared for mayhem to commence, and have slight consequences or caveats in mind to respond to certain actions. If the players kill that shady merchant, maybe the town guard will get involved.
5. If all else fails, and your players completely trash your story, pause the campaign and talk it over with them. Don't yell at them or punish their characters for your player's actions.Just be civil about it.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
Anything from the Yawning Portal could be a good way to test the water. There's plenty of adventures that could be a short mini adventure that will give you and your players a taste of whats to come! Best of luck to you, however, and always remember its your game so your rules.
omg guys I leave this for a couple of days and I come back to so much good advice! Thank you so much everyone! I'm already trying to start writing down the nitty gritty stuff like a few encounters and and big bad at the end and you guys made me feel so much better about doing this for the first time. Y'all are too kind! :'D
My biggest piece of advice is to plan what everyone decides to do Except the Players.
As soon as you write down "The players will go to the cave and be ambushed by a Roper", you've made something the players can, and will, scupper.
Instead, say "the cave has a roper in the entrance, disguised as a slatacmite. It's hungry, and wil ltry to eat one person and then defend itself. The party are pointed towards the cave by a mysterious man".
Now, whatever the players do, they cannot erase this plan - it's all past tense - there's already a roper at the cave, there's already a man who wants the party to go there. If the party decide to build a spaceship and nuke the cave from orbit, which I don't recommend you let them do, you're not going to have to cross out "they get ambushed by a roper", you just accept the roper is dead, and it died hungry!
Obviously, you'll need to plan what will happen in your story, but keep it loose and don't rely on the players perfectly navigating this story. Bear in mind that if you write the story then expect the players to act it out perfectly without deviation, it's the same as expecting a monkey at a typewriter to write Hamlet!
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All good advise, but I would say to make sure to communicate with ur players. U guys are really just writing a story together, so u are all on the same team. Explain that u are new and unsure about the rules, and ask for grace and patience with the mistakes u will inevitably make.
l also agree with big lizard, using a pre made, normally lv1-3 is the best idea for a new dm. ( I would suggest frozen sick by CR. It’s simple and fun, and if u want to edit it it’s very easy. It’s also free😉)
Yeah. I'm a new DM and if I dared to create a campaign using my own tiny brain, I would get carried away with magic items. A module would be good for a new dm. I remembered in 1e (not even ad&d) you didn't need to think to much about like plot twists and exploring because there was no role playing involved and the basic set had no exploration rules. Simplest of all, the players spend their whole level in some ruined tower. The bad thing is because the players leveled up with treasure, they'd have alot more gp to know what to do with (the fighters don't spend all their money on plate mail because it only cost 60 bucks). But this is 5e and it turns my brain to mush so I would suggest a module.
When you thought you knew about spellcasting - you played a warlock
Why are most bard colleges a pain to type? I mean bard college of valor, compare to champion or evoker. Same goes for sacred oaths: paladin oath of devotion. That's even worse.
I don't think WoCE were very creative with the rogue and ranger subclass titles. I mean ranger archeotype? Roguish archeotype? Bro! Fighters are better but still is somewhat unsatisfying compare to a monastatic tradition or sacred oath.
Good for you! I am pretty new to DMing too. When we play, it is laid back while keeping it ROW.
#1 rule. It has to be fun.
I am not a 100% expert on anything other than putting together some story threads together and flying by the seat of my pants oftentimes but there is usually a story arc that develops as the party tackles objectives. If I am mistaken or misguided on a rule, my players will point out the error of my ways. Myself and the players in our groups are all learning as we go.
Players do not always go where you would like them to go so put together simple and intriguing encounters for when players are meant to go left at the TEE in the road but go right. e.g. the road to the right leads to a bridge guarded by an irritated ogre with issues that has a massive dislike for a particular race or class.
I also like to leave a safety valve in case things start to south. Nothing is more demoralizing as a TPK. But likewise, a party mowing through everything that they face without breaking a sweat is not enjoyable too. As you progress, you will learn and be able to tune encounters to your players abilities.
I second what Armolad says. Few things can suck the fun out of a campaign quite like balancing issues. If you pit your level 2 party against a werewolf, they are likely going to have a rough time, maybe even losing a few party members. On the other hand, it's no fun if your now level 9 party decked out with silver weapons face that same werewolf. Try to avoid it being a one-sided smackdown for either side. A little power trip for your characters is good once in a while, as is a tense match, but they do their best work in small doses.
Former Spider Queen of the Spider Guild, and friendly neighborhood scheming creature.
"Made by spiders, for spiders, of spiders."
My pronouns are she/her.
Web Weaver of Everlasting Narrative! (title bestowed by Drummer)
As said on another thread: Plan for and indeed; expect all your carefully laid plans to not survive contact with your players. Some of the most memorable moments of my campaigns happened because I was flexible enough to let players solve problems in ways I hadn't thought of.