I am getting ready to run the Lost mine of Phandelver campaign with a group of friends. This will be my first time DMing and for most of them their first time playing D&D. Do you guys have any advice for me as a DM or things that I can do to help make learning D&D easier for my players?
I am getting ready to run the Lost mine of Phandelver campaign with a group of friends. This will be my first time DMing and for most of them their first time playing D&D. Do you guys have any advice for me as a DM or things that I can do to help make learning D&D easier for my players?
Best thing I’ve found with new players is not to overload them with too much all at once. You can pretty much get away with just “this is a d20, it’ll be important later” and then only explain something as it comes up. Tell them what a skill check is and where it is on the character sheet when a skill check comes up, tell them where to find their AC the first time someone attacks them, where the HP is the first time they’re injured, where actions are the first time they attack. That way they have a frame of reference for how things are used to give it meaning rather than it just being numbers on a page
I'd probably give the party a non-combat NPC wagon driver. That way they can go explore the cave after the goblin ambush without fear of the wagon being stolen.
And come up with some idea of how much it will cost to rebuild the manor in case the players decide to make it their home after clearing out the basement.
Hi, I did lost mine of phandelever as my first campaign. I kind of over planned way too much. But after a few sessions, realised what I needed and didn't.
I would definitely recommend reading the whole thing before starting. Not word for word but the main plot line.
I made maps of all the locations, labeled what monsters were where. I had a notebook, which contained a list of who was in the village and where. I made bullet points of what each main NPC knew, like Sildar and Glasstaff and Black Spider. So I could read off that when role playing them.
Also changed a few parts but that was just my ideas and thoughts. I made Sildar in love with Iarno ( Glasstaff) as it made more sense to me. That if Sildar was in love he didn't notice that Glasstaff had gone to the dark side. Also the BlackSpider was a lady in gothic victorian outfit just because that's how she popped into my head when reading it.
I would recommend getting a pack of pencils in for players character sheets and pack of dices.
Get the players to read the different characters they could be and discuss different classes and races. ( Which is something I didn't do for my first group which lead to players playing characters that they found too complicated but I did for my second group. )
These are just my ideas and how I played it. Just remember it's a game and there to have fun. Enjoy.
Only prep as much as you need to. If you have played enough, I feel like you can understand how quickly or slowly a module runs at certain points. Only have the stats sheets prepared that you absolutely need. The less extra stuff you have around, the less time it will take for you to find what you need.
I also found it very necessary to paraphrase every script in block text, just because my players start to realize that I'm reading from a book and it is clearly more important than whatever else I say. If I paraphrase and use my own words, it all sounds like it's coming from me.
Gobins can kill a lv 1 party with just a bit of bad luck. They have a high AC for a low level monster so a string of missed attacks can end up with dead players.
Make the Goblins goal to rob their wagon and run back to the cave. This ensures you wont kill your party first session and leads them to the cave.
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I am getting ready to run the Lost mine of Phandelver campaign with a group of friends. This will be my first time DMing and for most of them their first time playing D&D. Do you guys have any advice for me as a DM or things that I can do to help make learning D&D easier for my players?
Tell them to look at the New Player Guide. For you How to DM.
GL and happy DMing!
Monster Fact of the Day: Tarrasque
Tarrasque's have a magical regeneration and are able to reflect spells back at its enemies
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DoomJOY to Come!!!!!Best thing I’ve found with new players is not to overload them with too much all at once. You can pretty much get away with just “this is a d20, it’ll be important later” and then only explain something as it comes up. Tell them what a skill check is and where it is on the character sheet when a skill check comes up, tell them where to find their AC the first time someone attacks them, where the HP is the first time they’re injured, where actions are the first time they attack. That way they have a frame of reference for how things are used to give it meaning rather than it just being numbers on a page
If you can, introduce the Black Spider earlier somehow - even in Phandalin.
(S)He's (probably) Glasstaff's boss.
If you don't it can all get a bit... "Wait a minute - who is that?"
Just finished an overly-embellished version and have loads more tips if that's helpful!
RPGs from '83 - 03. A fair bit of LRP. A big gap. And now DMing again. Froth.
I'd probably give the party a non-combat NPC wagon driver. That way they can go explore the cave after the goblin ambush without fear of the wagon being stolen.
And come up with some idea of how much it will cost to rebuild the manor in case the players decide to make it their home after clearing out the basement.
Hi, I did lost mine of phandelever as my first campaign. I kind of over planned way too much. But after a few sessions, realised what I needed and didn't.
I would definitely recommend reading the whole thing before starting. Not word for word but the main plot line.
I made maps of all the locations, labeled what monsters were where. I had a notebook, which contained a list of who was in the village and where. I made bullet points of what each main NPC knew, like Sildar and Glasstaff and Black Spider. So I could read off that when role playing them.
Also changed a few parts but that was just my ideas and thoughts. I made Sildar in love with Iarno ( Glasstaff) as it made more sense to me. That if Sildar was in love he didn't notice that Glasstaff had gone to the dark side. Also the BlackSpider was a lady in gothic victorian outfit just because that's how she popped into my head when reading it.
I would recommend getting a pack of pencils in for players character sheets and pack of dices.
Get the players to read the different characters they could be and discuss different classes and races. ( Which is something I didn't do for my first group which lead to players playing characters that they found too complicated but I did for my second group. )
These are just my ideas and how I played it. Just remember it's a game and there to have fun. Enjoy.
Only prep as much as you need to. If you have played enough, I feel like you can understand how quickly or slowly a module runs at certain points. Only have the stats sheets prepared that you absolutely need. The less extra stuff you have around, the less time it will take for you to find what you need.
I also found it very necessary to paraphrase every script in block text, just because my players start to realize that I'm reading from a book and it is clearly more important than whatever else I say. If I paraphrase and use my own words, it all sounds like it's coming from me.
Gobins can kill a lv 1 party with just a bit of bad luck.
They have a high AC for a low level monster so a string of missed attacks can end up with dead players.
Make the Goblins goal to rob their wagon and run back to the cave. This ensures you wont kill your party first session and leads them to the cave.