1) When you were a first time DM, what are 3-5 things you wish someone had told you before running your first campaign (a module or Homebrew campaign)?
2) Looking back to when you created your first campaign or world (not run a premade module or pre-existing campaign setting), what 3-5 things would've made the process easier?
Never underestimate how lost Players can get with clues that are intuitively obvious ( to you - and probably only you )
Don't over plan plot. You really don't know how the story is going to unfold. Players will kill crucial information conveying NPCs, wander off into the wilderness, and probably fall down a well.
Do plan your NPCs ( individuals and factions ) and reasons for the current adventure conflict in great detail; understand them thoroughly. That way, you know how the world and the NPCs will act and react when players wander off the plot line you thought was going to happen, and it allows you to judge when the conflict/adventure is over even if the resolution is one you'd never considered.
Related to #2 - have a handful of seemingly random events in your back pocket that can point the party to a clue scene/encounter - but make them subtle so that it's not obvious you're nudging the party. Also, learn to ad-lib inserting clues into situations and encounters you'd never planned on. This latter tactic allows you to roll with Player choice, and still allow them to push the conflict forward, without trying to force them back on the expected story flow.
You are not only a DM - you can be pressed into being a social coordinator and a conflict negotiator.
Campaign/World Building Advice
Understand the assumptions built into the "default setting" of "Fantasyland" , and remember that you can violate them for your campaign. You don't have to follow all the stereotypes - in fact don't, make your campaign world unique.
Don't overdo your customization in point #1! Make your world your own - but remember that Players need to be able to relate it to their assumptions as to how the world works based on what they've read in the sourcebooks ( or to real-world cultures they're familiar with ).
Keep your world dynamic outside of what the players do in the world. Having events independent of the party going on around them makes the world seem alive and real to the party. On the flip side, make sure that the things the party does do have an effect of the world; Players want to make a difference.
You like writing lore and building your world; your Players don't. Don't tell the players what your world is like, show them what it's like. A corollary of this is that the only details you really need to build is the details that the Players interact with - and just enough extra detail to make what they can see/hear/interact with dynamic and seem alive. Learn to invent world details on-the-fly, but write it down when you do, and keep in mind that is now a fact of your world that needs to be consistent from now on.
Use your Players' backstories and ideas to inspire and shape aspects of your world. I've invented whole nations, cities, schools of magic, historical events, and mystical factions - all based off Player backstories, comments players have made, and questions they've asked in game about things I'd never considered.
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1) When you were a first time DM, what are 3-5 things you wish someone had told you before running your first campaign (a module or Homebrew campaign)?
2) Looking back to when you created your first campaign or world (not run a premade module or pre-existing campaign setting), what 3-5 things would've made the process easier?
Game Running Advice
Campaign/World Building Advice
Hope that helps :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.