I was new to being DM. My older brother helped me a bit on the story, but not much. I had a party of 3 including a paladin, cleric, and a fighter (there sure is too much magic). My campaign was a little short however and my party said it needed more detail. That I would agree because I wasn't 100% satisfied of the campaign myself, but at the end, my party enjoyed it a little bit. My brother is currently running the Dungeon of the Mad Mage campaign with me and my original party as a sequel to my campaign (the party didn't seemed interested in Dragon Heist).
Now all I'm asking is that if anyone has any tips on being a DM, please tell me!
You should think out the whole idea of your campaign instead of rushing through details. Once you got all the stuff you need for your campaign, people will enjoy them. And I notice that people love campaigns that can be really long. You can always do published campaigns and DM those to get the jiff on creating campaigns as well.
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
You can also go on you tube, there is a lot of DM giving tips and tricks such as The Dungeon Dudes, HowToBeAGreatDM, Ginni Di and of course Matt Mercer and his friends in Critical Role
1. Watch above references mentioned by Angelius and see what strikes you, than using those as inspiration, go all in on your style and really make it your own.
2. Listen or read a high fantasy novel like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones to get inspiration for descriptions of environments, scenes, characters, whatnot.
3. Make the players feel cool. Make their smallest actions feel awesome. Don't make players feel stupid for trying things.
4. Have a story in mind but know none of it can happen the way you plan
5. Don't be afraid to do silly, goofy things just for the luls. I had one of my PC's meet "Elongatus Maximus" a troll hunting gladiator whose sword enlarged when near trolls. They stole his sword and it turned into a huge thing (literally) with the group and it was all for the luls.
6. Bring food for your players.
7. Emphasize having fun!
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Dungeon Master and player. Homebrewed multiple campaigns with 5-6+ party members. Currently DM'ing a homebrew campaign in 5e, while getting ready to play Pathfinder 2e. Also homebrewing a Cyber Punk campaign with some buddies.
3. Make the players feel cool. Make their smallest actions feel awesome. Don't make players feel stupid for trying things.
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5. Don't be afraid to do silly, goofy things just for the luls. I had one of my PC's meet "Elongatus Maximus" a troll hunting gladiator whose sword enlarged when near trolls. They stole his sword and it turned into a huge thing (literally) with the group and it was all for the luls.
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7. Emphasize having fun!
I totally agree, and I would like to add, that even failure can be awesome and fun. It should not be overused, and preferably used to something relatively harmless, but whenever players critically fail, I try to think of plausible and funny way how their action could backfire. It works especially well when players do something really stupid. But I also try to reward critical success. Those 1s and 20s mean something crazy is about to happen. You might need to tone it down in a more realistic campaign, but my players usually enjoy when things get out of hand.
Do not be afraid to experiment with stuff to see what works with your party and what does not. The more you DM the better DM you will be. No one is perfect the first time they are in a new role.
I was new to being DM. My older brother helped me a bit on the story, but not much. I had a party of 3 including a paladin, cleric, and a fighter (there sure is too much magic). My campaign was a little short however and my party said it needed more detail. That I would agree because I wasn't 100% satisfied of the campaign myself, but at the end, my party enjoyed it a little bit. My brother is currently running the Dungeon of the Mad Mage campaign with me and my original party as a sequel to my campaign (the party didn't seemed interested in Dragon Heist).
Now all I'm asking is that if anyone has any tips on being a DM, please tell me!
This as a sword... That's a link. Click on it!
You should think out the whole idea of your campaign instead of rushing through details. Once you got all the stuff you need for your campaign, people will enjoy them. And I notice that people love campaigns that can be really long. You can always do published campaigns and DM those to get the jiff on creating campaigns as well.
Monsters: Brathkal
Weapons: Sword of Ni , Bow of Ni
Spells: Zone of Ni
I also love d̶̡̼̥̻͙̣̼̿͂͐͘ę̴̢̨̛̼̙̤̻̞̠̗̳̝̦̹̹̦͍̉̏͛̽͠͠sţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏ru̸̮̭̪̠͆̑̍́̈́̑̾̒̑̂̕ͅc̶̢̜͓̮̩͎͕̄́͑̃̈͋̈͌̑̽͠ͅͅţ̵̢̼̹̭̖͔͎̞̪͇͚̞̇̀̇̀̒͂̇̍͊̏io̵̪̭̞̗̝͙̝̬̥͕̒ͅn̸̨͖̳͓͍̜̬̗̪̜̪̗̺͆̏̆̊́̈́̿̎̅̈͠͝͝ in my campaigns! In other words, i'm an evil DM.
If you haven't seen those, i suggest you take a look and develop your own way to DM with all those tips
So you're going to DM - Tips for beginners - Dungeon Masters Only - Dungeons & Dragons Discussion - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
What are your 1-3 most important DM lessons learned - Dungeon Masters Only - Dungeons & Dragons Discussion - D&D Beyond Forums - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)
You can also go on you tube, there is a lot of DM giving tips and tricks such as The Dungeon Dudes, HowToBeAGreatDM, Ginni Di and of course Matt Mercer and his friends in Critical Role
1. Watch above references mentioned by Angelius and see what strikes you, than using those as inspiration, go all in on your style and really make it your own.
2. Listen or read a high fantasy novel like Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones to get inspiration for descriptions of environments, scenes, characters, whatnot.
3. Make the players feel cool. Make their smallest actions feel awesome. Don't make players feel stupid for trying things.
4. Have a story in mind but know none of it can happen the way you plan
5. Don't be afraid to do silly, goofy things just for the luls. I had one of my PC's meet "Elongatus Maximus" a troll hunting gladiator whose sword enlarged when near trolls. They stole his sword and it turned into a huge thing (literally) with the group and it was all for the luls.
6. Bring food for your players.
7. Emphasize having fun!
Dungeon Master and player. Homebrewed multiple campaigns with 5-6+ party members. Currently DM'ing a homebrew campaign in 5e, while getting ready to play Pathfinder 2e. Also homebrewing a Cyber Punk campaign with some buddies.
I totally agree, and I would like to add, that even failure can be awesome and fun. It should not be overused, and preferably used to something relatively harmless, but whenever players critically fail, I try to think of plausible and funny way how their action could backfire. It works especially well when players do something really stupid. But I also try to reward critical success. Those 1s and 20s mean something crazy is about to happen. You might need to tone it down in a more realistic campaign, but my players usually enjoy when things get out of hand.
Do not be afraid to experiment with stuff to see what works with your party and what does not. The more you DM the better DM you will be. No one is perfect the first time they are in a new role.
Thanks for the advice!
This as a sword... That's a link. Click on it!