I'm going to be DMing for the first time pretty soon, and I would love some tips! Whether it's the most important advice in the world, or a really cool feature that often gets overlooked, what do I need to know?
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For god's sake. Find a hobby or something. Sheesh. Please stop using this font.
What you need to know most of all is this: It's perfectly normal to make mistakes - it's how you handle making them that will determine whether you are any good as a DM or not (hint: good DMs all acknowledge their fallibility, embrace that they will never be infallible, and focus on fixing mistakes and learning from them rather than on trying to put forward the false appearance of not screwing up).
Second-most important advice I can give: Focus on fun. You don't need anything other than to know what you and your group find fun, and to fill your time playing the game with as much of that stuff as you can. Don't do things some way because you see some "pro" or "experienced" DM do it that way, find the way that works best for you and the folks you play with (yeah, it might be that the best fit for you and your group is to ape Matt Mercer, I'm not saying it can't be good to copy other DMs, I'm just saying you have to be open to the idea that some other thing will work better for your specific group - seek always a better way, rather than acting as if you have already found the best way you'll ever find).
I'm going to be DMing for the first time pretty soon, and I would love some tips! Whether it's the most important advice in the world, or a really cool feature that often gets overlooked, what do I need to know?
What you need to know most of all is this: It's perfectly normal to make mistakes - it's how you handle making them that will determine whether you are any good as a DM or not (hint: good DMs all acknowledge their fallibility, embrace that they will never be infallible, and focus on fixing mistakes and learning from them rather than on trying to put forward the false appearance of not screwing up).
Second-most important advice I can give: Focus on fun. You don't need anything other than to know what you and your group find fun, and to fill your time playing the game with as much of that stuff as you can. Don't do things some way because you see some "pro" or "experienced" DM do it that way, find the way that works best for you and the folks you play with (yeah, it might be that the best fit for you and your group is to ape Matt Mercer, I'm not saying it can't be good to copy other DMs, I'm just saying you have to be open to the idea that some other thing will work better for your specific group - seek always a better way, rather than acting as if you have already found the best way you'll ever find).
Honestly, i will just recomend this; https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7atuZxmT9570U87GhK_20NcbxM43vkom
Here, my favorite DM gives his tips, tricks and point of view on certan challanges and problems a DM comes across.