Im running my first game in a while (Just gonna be Waterdeep Dragon Heist and maybe Out of the Abyss later if everyone's up for it) and wanna know a few things:
Do I need figures?
Does Waterdeep or Out of the Abyss come with a DM/GM screen?
Any tips like how to keep players entertained how stricy would I need to be etc.,( Just the small stuff idk)
Do I need one or more than set of dice and would I need a D100?
Whats the ideal number of players?
If you have anything else you'd feel like informing me about that would be really appreciated!
All of these questions really have varying answers from table to table. To start off I have never personally used figures mostly because my players and I are all broke college students so we cannot afford that. So we just play on Roll20 where they are free. So for that one, I would recommend talking to your table and seeing what works out best for you guys and what you would enjoy the most. The three factors you would want to consider is money, time, and just your basic preference. Whether you make your own figures or you buy them off of some store they end up costing a decent sum so you would want to see what you can afford and how much your players would be willing to chip in. Then when it comes to the time it is a basic known fact that figures and handmade maps take a much longer time to make than an image drawn out on your pc. They both take time but the digital version takes less time. Lastly, you would just figure out what you and your table want because some tables love the satisfaction of seeing those handmade maps and really appreciate it while others just want to keep it cheap. My table uses Roll20 and Dungeon Painter Studio (which is 15 USD on Steam) to keep things cheap without sacrificing too much. For the DM screen, it would depend on what version you get so just look at the contents and find out if one is included. If not I would recommend getting one or making one. They can be bought pretty cheap and are very useful. Once again, when it comes to rules, in order to keep the table entertained you just need to talk with your table about what they want in the game before you start playing. Some prefer a very loose ruled game other like the strict rules so find out what they like and balance it. If they all want loose rules then that is fine but do not let them walk all over you, you are the DM what you say is what happened. The second you let them say no they will take advantage of it. If they all want a strict ruled game that is fine too but you must make sure you are consistent with the rules or else they will feel cheated (That note really goes for both types of games). If the table is split on how they want it ruled just balance it out to where the game is not really strict but you also can't pick a lock with a piton even if you roll a nat 20. When it comes to dice I love my dice and I have tons of them including a few D100s, but that is not needed. You can just have a few and roll those and just use the 2 different types of D10s to make a percentile roll or have no dice and just use a computer or phone to roll dice. You all can have your own system when it comes to how you roll your dice which is great because no one will feel like they have to do what everyone else is doing. If the whole table but one guy wants physical dice they can roll them and that one player can use his phone to roll. Whatever they decide to do will work out as long as they have the dice/device to do it. For table size, especially for a new DM, I would say 3 to 5 PCs and if you are pushing the upper limit of that, you want to have at least one experienced player. Overall when it comes to being a DM a major part of the job is just going wherever the party takes you. Try your best not to railroad it or get annoyed because they completely walked away from your story. You will find that everyone, including yourself, will have the most fun if you just roll with what happens and not be too uptight about everything. If they want to do something that seems slightly not possible but is really cool I say just allow it with a skill check. Also, a big thing to ask about when you talk to your table about all of this is how much they want to roleplay. For some people that seems like such a minor thing but for others roleplaying is the best or worst part of the game so make sure to find out how they feel about it and respect their wishes. If one of your players doesn't feel very comfortable roleplaying allow them to not roleplay as much and if they get more comfortable doing it at a later time ask them if they would like to amp it up. I say from here just meet up with your table and find out how they want to do it and make sure you are all having fun. For any more help, I would recommend watching GMTips on youtube by Geek & Sundry. They are really helpful and made by the best DM of all time Matt Mercer. Good luck and have fun!
Im running my first game in a while (Just gonna be Waterdeep Dragon Heist and maybe Out of the Abyss later if everyone's up for it) and wanna know a few things:
Do I need figures?
Does Waterdeep or Out of the Abyss come with a DM/GM screen?
Any tips like how to keep players entertained how stricy would I need to be etc.,( Just the small stuff idk)
Do I need one or more than set of dice and would I need a D100?
Whats the ideal number of players?
If you have anything else you'd feel like informing me about that would be really appreciated!
Figures are not needed. Mike Mearls and crew designed 5e to cater to the Theater of the Mind crowd. Just describe the action and let the PCs imaginations embellish the rest.
GM screens are a separate purchase. Some GMs don't even use them. I do, but I like to hide my notes and tablet as well as being able to "bluff roll" my Players.
It is not your job to entertain the Players. They came to you expecting to play a game. You should do a session zero to establish what kind of game everyone (including you!) are interested in. During that session, you set up the basics of what you want to do. You have indicated the desire to run a pre gen, that means that total sandboxing is right out. By agreeing to play in your game, the Players are agreeing (buying a ticket) to at least a little bit of Railroading, since they have to stay fairly on module.
Yes, you must buy *all* of the dice. Just open up your wallet and give everything to Chessex. I find that if "sets" are something you can live without, that Chessex's Pound 'o Dice is a good investment. Plus you are guaranteed a complete speckled dice set! d100s are silly, just roll either the d10 or the funny d10 with number that range from 10-00 and and add it to another d10.
Use the internets. Loads of DMs have given are literal "Rivers to their people," as Matt Colville says. Speaking of which go to Matt Colville's Youtube page and watch all of his "Running the Game" series, checkout Web DM for Pruitt and Davis's wisdom, Matt Mercer or Satine Pheonix's GM Tips a chock full of great advice, and to round out my subscribed list of faves is Taking20 with Cody. His Youtube channel runs the gamut of DnD advice.
if you're short on funds and have no figures, then there are printable tokens out there which aren't difficult to find. for a battle mat, the simplest thing is a large sheet of graph paper, cover it in clear plastic, draw your encounter area with drywipe marker. this will help you visualise positions and lines of sight and suchlike dice, there is no such thing as too many dice. you can also get dice quite cheaply, you don't need a 30 quid set of dice when the 6 full sets for 5 quid does the same job and more.
screens do come in useful for hiding your rolls and notes behind, if you don't have one use a folder, if you're really cunning, make yourself a few tables of info you know you're going to need frequently, print it out and stick it on the inside of the folder covers. these things help you keep things flowing. if it flows people will have fun and be entertained
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
My party uses figures, but only because my warlock has a 3d printer. But really, you don't need them.
I use a DM screen but my warlock, when playing with his sister, uses a shoebox.
Let the players have fun, but keep the game reasonable.
My number of players ranges form 4-10 per session ( Depends who's available) But 5 is the best, from my opinion. 2 strength based, 2 spellcasters and 1 dex based ( rogue is ideal)
Im running my first game in a while (Just gonna be Waterdeep Dragon Heist and maybe Out of the Abyss later if everyone's up for it) and wanna know a few things:
Do I need figures?
Does Waterdeep or Out of the Abyss come with a DM/GM screen?
Any tips like how to keep players entertained how stricy would I need to be etc.,( Just the small stuff idk)
Do I need one or more than set of dice and would I need a D100?
Whats the ideal number of players?
If you have anything else you'd feel like informing me about that would be really appreciated!
All of these questions really have varying answers from table to table. To start off I have never personally used figures mostly because my players and I are all broke college students so we cannot afford that. So we just play on Roll20 where they are free. So for that one, I would recommend talking to your table and seeing what works out best for you guys and what you would enjoy the most. The three factors you would want to consider is money, time, and just your basic preference. Whether you make your own figures or you buy them off of some store they end up costing a decent sum so you would want to see what you can afford and how much your players would be willing to chip in. Then when it comes to the time it is a basic known fact that figures and handmade maps take a much longer time to make than an image drawn out on your pc. They both take time but the digital version takes less time. Lastly, you would just figure out what you and your table want because some tables love the satisfaction of seeing those handmade maps and really appreciate it while others just want to keep it cheap. My table uses Roll20 and Dungeon Painter Studio (which is 15 USD on Steam) to keep things cheap without sacrificing too much. For the DM screen, it would depend on what version you get so just look at the contents and find out if one is included. If not I would recommend getting one or making one. They can be bought pretty cheap and are very useful. Once again, when it comes to rules, in order to keep the table entertained you just need to talk with your table about what they want in the game before you start playing. Some prefer a very loose ruled game other like the strict rules so find out what they like and balance it. If they all want loose rules then that is fine but do not let them walk all over you, you are the DM what you say is what happened. The second you let them say no they will take advantage of it. If they all want a strict ruled game that is fine too but you must make sure you are consistent with the rules or else they will feel cheated (That note really goes for both types of games). If the table is split on how they want it ruled just balance it out to where the game is not really strict but you also can't pick a lock with a piton even if you roll a nat 20. When it comes to dice I love my dice and I have tons of them including a few D100s, but that is not needed. You can just have a few and roll those and just use the 2 different types of D10s to make a percentile roll or have no dice and just use a computer or phone to roll dice. You all can have your own system when it comes to how you roll your dice which is great because no one will feel like they have to do what everyone else is doing. If the whole table but one guy wants physical dice they can roll them and that one player can use his phone to roll. Whatever they decide to do will work out as long as they have the dice/device to do it. For table size, especially for a new DM, I would say 3 to 5 PCs and if you are pushing the upper limit of that, you want to have at least one experienced player. Overall when it comes to being a DM a major part of the job is just going wherever the party takes you. Try your best not to railroad it or get annoyed because they completely walked away from your story. You will find that everyone, including yourself, will have the most fun if you just roll with what happens and not be too uptight about everything. If they want to do something that seems slightly not possible but is really cool I say just allow it with a skill check. Also, a big thing to ask about when you talk to your table about all of this is how much they want to roleplay. For some people that seems like such a minor thing but for others roleplaying is the best or worst part of the game so make sure to find out how they feel about it and respect their wishes. If one of your players doesn't feel very comfortable roleplaying allow them to not roleplay as much and if they get more comfortable doing it at a later time ask them if they would like to amp it up. I say from here just meet up with your table and find out how they want to do it and make sure you are all having fun. For any more help, I would recommend watching GMTips on youtube by Geek & Sundry. They are really helpful and made by the best DM of all time Matt Mercer. Good luck and have fun!
Figures are not needed. Mike Mearls and crew designed 5e to cater to the Theater of the Mind crowd. Just describe the action and let the PCs imaginations embellish the rest.
GM screens are a separate purchase. Some GMs don't even use them. I do, but I like to hide my notes and tablet as well as being able to "bluff roll" my Players.
It is not your job to entertain the Players. They came to you expecting to play a game. You should do a session zero to establish what kind of game everyone (including you!) are interested in. During that session, you set up the basics of what you want to do. You have indicated the desire to run a pre gen, that means that total sandboxing is right out. By agreeing to play in your game, the Players are agreeing (buying a ticket) to at least a little bit of Railroading, since they have to stay fairly on module.
Yes, you must buy *all* of the dice. Just open up your wallet and give everything to Chessex. I find that if "sets" are something you can live without, that Chessex's Pound 'o Dice is a good investment. Plus you are guaranteed a complete speckled dice set! d100s are silly, just roll either the d10 or the funny d10 with number that range from 10-00 and and add it to another d10.
3-5 is a good number of players.
Hawk
More.
Use the internets. Loads of DMs have given are literal "Rivers to their people," as Matt Colville says. Speaking of which go to Matt Colville's Youtube page and watch all of his "Running the Game" series, checkout Web DM for Pruitt and Davis's wisdom, Matt Mercer or Satine Pheonix's GM Tips a chock full of great advice, and to round out my subscribed list of faves is Taking20 with Cody. His Youtube channel runs the gamut of DnD advice.
if you're short on funds and have no figures, then there are printable tokens out there which aren't difficult to find.
for a battle mat, the simplest thing is a large sheet of graph paper, cover it in clear plastic, draw your encounter area with drywipe marker. this will help you visualise positions and lines of sight and suchlike
dice, there is no such thing as too many dice. you can also get dice quite cheaply, you don't need a 30 quid set of dice when the 6 full sets for 5 quid does the same job and more.
screens do come in useful for hiding your rolls and notes behind, if you don't have one use a folder, if you're really cunning, make yourself a few tables of info you know you're going to need frequently, print it out and stick it on the inside of the folder covers. these things help you keep things flowing.
if it flows people will have fun and be entertained
All plans turn into, run into the room waving a sword and see what happens from there, once the first die gets rolled
My party uses figures, but only because my warlock has a 3d printer. But really, you don't need them.
I use a DM screen but my warlock, when playing with his sister, uses a shoebox.
Let the players have fun, but keep the game reasonable.
My number of players ranges form 4-10 per session ( Depends who's available) But 5 is the best, from my opinion. 2 strength based, 2 spellcasters and 1 dex based ( rogue is ideal)