Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
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Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
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Hello,
I have been wanting to become a good and clean GM/DM for premade (e.g. 5e) and homebrew adventures for quite some time. I would like to have my homebrew adventures to have a bit of everything that an adventure/campaign has to offer. I have tried to GM once or twice before, but was not very successful at it. Can I get some ideas on what I can do to have a successful campaign?
Thanks in advance
Look up "Running the Game" on YouTube. It's a series of videos by Matt Coville as he talks about just that.
Having a bit of everything is probably not the way to go. Instead, figure out what your players want to do. Have a session -1 one, if you will. Ask them what they want to get out the game, and insert some suggestions of your own. Take what they give, and write up a starting point. Let them make their characters, and brew in some of the plot hooks they give you. That way, they see some of he things they've come up with in your game, and it will help them be more invested in the story. Trying to set up an entire plot in advance will feel hollow. Let the story emerge organically, through their actions, and not by how you think things should go. There is no trick to successful DMing, only listening to what others want and trying to make it happen. It's a collaborative game, not a one-man show.
He doesn't have much besides the skin on his bones. Me: I'll take the skin on his bones, then.
"You see a gigantic, monstrous praying mantis burst from out of the ground. It sprays a stream of acid from it's mouth at one soldier, dissolving him instantly, then it turns and chomps another soldier in half with it's- "
"When are we gonna take a snack break?"
First, let yourself off the hook. D&D is an awesome way to have fun with friends and other gamers. If you're trying to DM, you're already succeeding. And everyone at the table contributes to the game! It's not on any one player if people aren't having fun, very much including the DM. (Obviously except for if someone decides to be an a**hat.)
Otherwise, talk to the group and keep talking to the group as you play. Definitely ask what people like up front, so you can work with it, but people aren't always going to be great at telling you what they want. They'll usually be better at telling you what they enjoyed most about the last session. For example, in my current group, it took a while for me to figure out that they really prefer narrative and creativity over rules and tactics. So, when they were about to face a banshee, I gave them a chance to save an NPC, who could then tell them the ghost they would face has a deathly wail, then gave them a haunted library where they could figure out to make ear plugs out of candlewax. Some groups would much rather roll the dice and use battlefield tactics to manage the aftermath of a banshee's wail. This group would rather solve that problem through storytelling, so that's what we do.
But that's what I mean about this being a collaborative game. It's just as much on them to talk to you. Do your best, tell a story you love, and let your players let you know what parts work best for them. The rest will sort itself out. You'll do great!