Im still new to being a DM, and I'm having lots of fun with it running the game as well as telling a good narrative/story. I've only had 10 sessions so far, and I started off with a small game guide for how my game initially ran while using the Players Handbook.
First session went well up until the end, where I accidentally TKO'd the party, but we corrected that by rewinding and saying that it never happened and the party managed to get away with a special ability.
However, after each session, Ive had to change the rules a bit, mostly to have better explanations, clear limitations, an additional action, and so forth. However, the 10th session brought up misinterpretation of how the extra attack action worked, which the players read in their interpretation that it doubled their action for attack, potentially having 4 attacks they can make. I knew that was not the interpretation of the wording, but that created tension and issues with the game and how my adjusted homebrew rules conflicted with the Players Handbook. So, I had to read through the PHB thoroughly and multiple times, and add the rules (and adjust them accordingly to my game) to my game guide so the players have only one source to reference instead.
It took me a good while to compile it and word it so the wording matches with the intent, and I got down 70+ pages, as well as recreate the character sheet that's easier to manage, along with a couple cards to keep track of weapons and armor.
As we went over the new stuff and got more than halfway through the sheets and cards. They liked the new set up and that I've tackled this so it's more understandable as I work with them. However, after the session, they dropped the bomb on me, and basically said that if next session doesn't go well, they'll drop out of my game. This has put me under alot of stress, and has me rethinking of approaching this.
Honestly, I never had a proper session zero, because I started the campaign with the PHB to reference rules with a few homebrew mods to it, as well as a general story to go on. So my thought process is that I look at the PHB one more time (read word-to-word), transfer and modify any rules I left out into my game guide, and think of questions to ask the players what kind of game they'd like to have. They haven't played 5e before, or any homebrew variants of it, and they're more attuned to Starfinder game mechanics. What should I do?
Your question is a difficult one, because whatever you do, it's more likely that things that you can't control are going to affect the outcome more than the things that you can control.
If a group of players - as a whole, not just an individual - have suggested that they might all quit the game, then this implies that there are bigger issues at stake than just the occasional misinterpretation of a rule.
First up, being given such an ultimatum, I would tell them that the game is over and find a new group of players. They've put you in an impossible situation, because now you're worried and concerned about your performance as DM, essentially telling you that you are a problem (despite the fact that you are the one that puts in 99% of all the work going into the game).
If you really want to keep this group of players though, then you need to sit down with them and ask them, specifically, what the problem is. If the issue is with occasional rules interpretation then they're weird players. If the issue is that you keep killing characters in situations that they think that they can't avoid, then that's something else.
I have to ask why you are including a load of homebrew - 70 pages?? - rules when by your own admission you are still finding your feet. Homebrew rules are fine, until they contradict the way that the players want to play the game. Personally I have three homebrew things: one is that crits always deal max weapon damage dice, plus the dice again instead of doubling the number of the dice. I asked the players if they wanted this in session zero, and they all agreed that it sounded fun, so subsequently that's how we've played. Secondly, my monsters are just have way more hit points than standard monsters, since my players are power gamers who deal 25 damage per attack at level 6, without magic items. Lastly, I have a permanent injury table; I discussed the outcomes on the table with the players, and lowered their impacts because they felt that the outcomes were too debilitating. That's fine - it works for everyone.
If I was to start homebrewing all sorts of basic rules differently though then this wouldn't work for them. It may be that at its core, they don't like how you've changed the game. Maybe it doesn't feel balanced. If you are continuing with this group, stop changing the rules. You should never need to do that to explain something, and monsters and the like can have any homebrew rule you want, but don't change the things that affect the player characters. Overall, if you feel a rule is not working for you, discuss it with the group. Explain why you want a change, and ask their feelings.
My biggest advice to you as a brand new DM, scrap the house rules. If your home brew and alternative versions are going to 70+ pages then you are effectively creating a brand new game, with all the issues of balance and understanding the plus and cons still to come. Session 10 your players are still very low level, they are meant to be squishy, and only have limited actions a turn because it makes gaining those class traits so much more enjoyable. You are seriously risking further issues as each player gains access to better abilities and spells.
My advice, reset, tell the players you are going back to basics and applying rules as written and use this resource to help understanding any rules you are struggling with.
Not to get too specific, but it’s definitely possible to have four attacks in a round. If you have a level 5 fighter, they attack twice, action surge, the can attack twice again. They can only do it 1/ short or long rest. But it’s very possible.
And as others said, you shouldn’t be house ruling yet. Try to understand the game better first.
Yeah, it is very stressful and worrisome that they gave me that Ultimatum, especially if the players I know are close friends.
A lot of what stemmed from the confusion is that I gave them 2 Actions (which is interchangeable with either movement, attack, or standard action), and that really ****ed with the later rulings when it came to the Dash action (which a player 4x their speed) and the Extra Attack action (which doubled their attack instead of giving them the additional attack action). During the campaign, there were some bits of confusion where it came to the duration of conditions (which I clarified for them) and now attack of opportunity when it came to thrown weapons (specifically a weapon that's chained to a handle, and can be thrown at a distance of 20/60ft), which I figure doesn't apply to that, as I'd think the PHB rules says that Attack of Opportunity applies to melee weapons with a "reach" distance. For their comfort, I'm allowing thrown and ranged weapons to have attack of opportunity, since it does cost a reaction to use.
Yeah, I'm thinking on it still, and reading more comments/inputs here as they come in, and it was pointed out to me that I basically created a different game, which I'm clearly not ready for (and I agree). Changing the rules for the players comfort while some of those changes conflicted with the PHB rules created problems that I had to make changes to during the campaign, which in turn they didn't like. So I guess I was kind of in a looped trap.
The biggest challenge for me when running the game is combat, because 3 of the players I allowed to choose a homebrew class. I did check them, but with no base of understanding of the game, which is my downfall, and that created problems, because the 4th player had a standard Monk class, and now he's having trouble matching up to the players, so I had to throw some features and more ki points at him to try and balance them all out (doubling the ki points was recommended by a friend according to arguments that they read about Monks not having enough Ki points).
At this point, I need to sit on the thought "do I want to continue with a group that gave me an Ultimatum and work with a possibly continuous changing game, or call the game over, and look for a new group of players?"
I think that is best direction to go in, and it was definitely horrible on my end to let them choose homebrew classes, which threw the game off, as well as they complained they didn't have enough actions to play off of (which I adjusted to their comfort, but, in turn, **** up the game).
I'm just sitting on the thought to continue playing with them as a reset with the standard rules, or call it game over for us and I find a new group of players
Yeah, I saw that when I read the Fighter class, because I think in the PHB, they're the only class that can do the most attacks in 5e. 3 of my player's classes get only one extra attack feature with no action surge. With the change in how many actions they can use and interchange with movement, attack, or standard action; and based on HOW they read the wording of the feature, they thought the extra attack doubled their attack actions, making it possible to make 3-4 attacks at their current level (which is level 5).
And yeah, I was mostly going for PHB 5e rules at the beginning, but after changing the number of actions they can use, it really changed the direction of the mechanics of the game. They know it's my first time, and they still expect a lot of me for someone who's starting out, and still adapting to their comforts.
Yeah. Maybe just chalk this up to a learning experience. Let the group end, because it sounds like no one is having fun. Then take some time to learn the game. Then try to find another group, with no, and I mean no, homebrew or house rules. Run a published adventure. It can be a good way to learn for you and the players both.
I'd say, the situation calls for a group talk. Explain to them, that you maneuvered yourself in a dead end and ask them, how all of you want to proceed.
For me a fresh start (even with the same people) might be the best?
Most likely planning on doing that now, as I'm not certain of any way of backtracking/resetting this situation I've been cornered into. Will commit to PHB 5e rules while keeping the story I want to tell for next group of players.
That is an option, but with what I mentioned about the Ultimatum, I'm more mentally prepared to just end the game from there, and find another group of players, this time committing to only the 5e rules laid out in the PHB
If you are new to 5e then I'd suggest stepping back to be a player until you've got the flow of the game. Jumping into the DM slot without the game experience makes things harder and more stressful. If you can play with someone who is an experienced DM until you have hit level 8-10, then you should have a clear idea of the skills, combat flow, magic, level progression etc, so that in turn when you teach other newbies how to play its clear in your mind.
Also consider what setup you want to use. Are you doing it all physically at the same table or are you using a virtual system? If you are using online chat but nothing else virtual then perhaps consider online options for character sheets, dice rolling, battle maps and the like. Automatic systems can make the game faster and remove some areas of stress.
A new player should be able to play having read pretty much nothing. They would need to read their class options and spell choices as they level up but from the first session you can explain the game as you go. Within an hour or two players should understand what they can do and how to do it. Being asked to read a novel in advance would put a lot of people off. At most a paragraph or two giving the backstory as that might influence character selection.
Yeah. Maybe just chalk this up to a learning experience. Let the group end, because it sounds like no one is having fun. Then take some time to learn the game. Then try to find another group, with no, and I mean no, homebrew or house rules. Run a published adventure. It can be a good way to learn for you and the players both.
A published adventure for a brand new group is def the way to go, lost mines of Phandelver or Dragon of icespire peak are 2 good ones, I would also say for brand new players and a brand new DM restrict them to just the classes, subclasses and races in the players handbook, there is plenty of choice and scope for interesting character arcs and lots of fun. To be honest even now as an experienced DM I never allow a free for all choice of race or subclass, player wants to be a changling, really sorry that isn’t in my world.
I would reset and talk to them explain you are not having fun and you want to reset and start over, explain you will be starting a new campaign and these are the races available, these are the rules you will be following and if you do fudge some thing in a session because your not sure make it clear that rule doesn’t get added to all the rules, but you will go away between sessions and learn what the rule should have been and apply it in future. I do that all the time even now, I will have a quick flick through the books, be unable to find the exact reference, or decide I need to read it carefully, so hand wave something for now and then revisit it and let all my player know moving forward how I intend to resolve that situation in future.
The other day I realised that I have been running off hand attacks wrong in my remote campaign the last few weeks, partly because we had not set it up right in DnD beyond, up until now my players are happy they have had an extra bonus to the offhand attack, but moving forward we go to rules as written. They are not pushing back insisting the way we do it now has to stick.
That is an option, but with what I mentioned about the Ultimatum, I'm more mentally prepared to just end the game from there, and find another group of players, this time committing to only the 5e rules laid out in the PHB
The great thing about lost mines and dragon of icespire is they take characters from level 1-5/6 and end in a good way that lets you then move into your own campaign. You can change the setting, the land, the world you play that campaign in. From experience levels 1-5 are generally going to be more local issues, players are not strong enough to deal with world ending situations, and it can be a nice progression for players to move from small fish in small pond, to large fish in small pond, to small fish in large pond again at level 6 onwards. At this point your story can kick in (with pointers or hints earlier on) and you get a nice sense of how to pace a tabletop RPG.
If you are new to 5e then I'd suggest stepping back to be a player until you've got the flow of the game. Jumping into the DM slot without the game experience makes things harder and more stressful. If you can play with someone who is an experienced DM until you have hit level 8-10, then you should have a clear idea of the skills, combat flow, magic, level progression etc, so that in turn when you teach other newbies how to play its clear in your mind.
Also consider what setup you want to use. Are you doing it all physically at the same table or are you using a virtual system? If you are using online chat but nothing else virtual then perhaps consider online options for character sheets, dice rolling, battle maps and the like. Automatic systems can make the game faster and remove some areas of stress.
A new player should be able to play having read pretty much nothing. They would need to read their class options and spell choices as they level up but from the first session you can explain the game as you go. Within an hour or two players should understand what they can do and how to do it. Being asked to read a novel in advance would put a lot of people off. At most a paragraph or two giving the backstory as that might influence character selection.
I kind of disagree with this, personally I have never really been a player in any game system and mainly always DM, also playing to level 8-10 can mean commuting to a game for a year-18 months when you want to tell your own story. Sometimes you just are meant to be a dm and being a player can put you off.
If you are new to 5e then I'd suggest stepping back to be a player until you've got the flow of the game. Jumping into the DM slot without the game experience makes things harder and more stressful. If you can play with someone who is an experienced DM until you have hit level 8-10, then you should have a clear idea of the skills, combat flow, magic, level progression etc, so that in turn when you teach other newbies how to play its clear in your mind.
Also consider what setup you want to use. Are you doing it all physically at the same table or are you using a virtual system? If you are using online chat but nothing else virtual then perhaps consider online options for character sheets, dice rolling, battle maps and the like. Automatic systems can make the game faster and remove some areas of stress.
A new player should be able to play having read pretty much nothing. They would need to read their class options and spell choices as they level up but from the first session you can explain the game as you go. Within an hour or two players should understand what they can do and how to do it. Being asked to read a novel in advance would put a lot of people off. At most a paragraph or two giving the backstory as that might influence character selection.
I kind of disagree with this, personally I have never really been a player in any game system and mainly always DM, also playing to level 8-10 can mean commuting to a game for a year-18 months when you want to tell your own story. Sometimes you just are meant to be a dm and being a player can put you off.
I can certainly understand the wish to jump in the deep end and learn as you go and that might work well enough in some cases but if you are the one teaching the others but have no idea how the game flows then its definitely an uphill battle. If you have been a DM in comparable systems then at least you are starting with a degree of experience to call on. If you're not then things can go badly wrong as per this thread.
You can gain some experience via YouTube, either tutorial videos or watching live games, and if you have experienced players at your table then they will assist with making things flow. Going in completely cold is a challenge, but you can prepare in various ways to make sure you have a good understanding.
If you are new to 5e then I'd suggest stepping back to be a player until you've got the flow of the game. Jumping into the DM slot without the game experience makes things harder and more stressful. If you can play with someone who is an experienced DM until you have hit level 8-10, then you should have a clear idea of the skills, combat flow, magic, level progression etc, so that in turn when you teach other newbies how to play its clear in your mind.
Also consider what setup you want to use. Are you doing it all physically at the same table or are you using a virtual system? If you are using online chat but nothing else virtual then perhaps consider online options for character sheets, dice rolling, battle maps and the like. Automatic systems can make the game faster and remove some areas of stress.
A new player should be able to play having read pretty much nothing. They would need to read their class options and spell choices as they level up but from the first session you can explain the game as you go. Within an hour or two players should understand what they can do and how to do it. Being asked to read a novel in advance would put a lot of people off. At most a paragraph or two giving the backstory as that might influence character selection.
I kind of disagree with this, personally I have never really been a player in any game system and mainly always DM, also playing to level 8-10 can mean commuting to a game for a year-18 months when you want to tell your own story. Sometimes you just are meant to be a dm and being a player can put you off.
I can certainly understand the wish to jump in the deep end and learn as you go and that might work well enough in some cases but if you are the one teaching the others but have no idea how the game flows then its definitely an uphill battle. If you have been a DM in comparable systems then at least you are starting with a degree of experience to call on. If you're not then things can go badly wrong as per this thread.
You can gain some experience via YouTube, either tutorial videos or watching live games, and if you have experienced players at your table then they will assist with making things flow. Going in completely cold is a challenge, but you can prepare in various ways to make sure you have a good understanding.
The main thing as a brand new dm with brand new players is for everyone to just take the time and learn together, that is why lost mines is so great the early encounters the dm book walks you through how to play the game.
To be honest, having read more of what you've said about changing the way that Actions work, and the homebrew classes, with the ultimatum then I kind of understand it. You said that the players aren't familiar with 5e but you've changed the most important core combat rule, so classes are going to play totally differently to the way that they're intended. This in turn will make the game feel heavily unbalanced.
You can try to salvage the current game, but doing so will mean going back to the basics. Maybe offer the current players a do-over.
I didn't have the time to read the whole thread, but try to look up some of the D&D Youtubers, and if nothing else works then going to the basic rules and if you want something a little different then go with the rule of cool
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Hello,
Im still new to being a DM, and I'm having lots of fun with it running the game as well as telling a good narrative/story. I've only had 10 sessions so far, and I started off with a small game guide for how my game initially ran while using the Players Handbook.
First session went well up until the end, where I accidentally TKO'd the party, but we corrected that by rewinding and saying that it never happened and the party managed to get away with a special ability.
However, after each session, Ive had to change the rules a bit, mostly to have better explanations, clear limitations, an additional action, and so forth. However, the 10th session brought up misinterpretation of how the extra attack action worked, which the players read in their interpretation that it doubled their action for attack, potentially having 4 attacks they can make. I knew that was not the interpretation of the wording, but that created tension and issues with the game and how my adjusted homebrew rules conflicted with the Players Handbook. So, I had to read through the PHB thoroughly and multiple times, and add the rules (and adjust them accordingly to my game) to my game guide so the players have only one source to reference instead.
It took me a good while to compile it and word it so the wording matches with the intent, and I got down 70+ pages, as well as recreate the character sheet that's easier to manage, along with a couple cards to keep track of weapons and armor.
As we went over the new stuff and got more than halfway through the sheets and cards. They liked the new set up and that I've tackled this so it's more understandable as I work with them. However, after the session, they dropped the bomb on me, and basically said that if next session doesn't go well, they'll drop out of my game. This has put me under alot of stress, and has me rethinking of approaching this.
Honestly, I never had a proper session zero, because I started the campaign with the PHB to reference rules with a few homebrew mods to it, as well as a general story to go on. So my thought process is that I look at the PHB one more time (read word-to-word), transfer and modify any rules I left out into my game guide, and think of questions to ask the players what kind of game they'd like to have. They haven't played 5e before, or any homebrew variants of it, and they're more attuned to Starfinder game mechanics. What should I do?
Your question is a difficult one, because whatever you do, it's more likely that things that you can't control are going to affect the outcome more than the things that you can control.
If a group of players - as a whole, not just an individual - have suggested that they might all quit the game, then this implies that there are bigger issues at stake than just the occasional misinterpretation of a rule.
First up, being given such an ultimatum, I would tell them that the game is over and find a new group of players. They've put you in an impossible situation, because now you're worried and concerned about your performance as DM, essentially telling you that you are a problem (despite the fact that you are the one that puts in 99% of all the work going into the game).
If you really want to keep this group of players though, then you need to sit down with them and ask them, specifically, what the problem is. If the issue is with occasional rules interpretation then they're weird players. If the issue is that you keep killing characters in situations that they think that they can't avoid, then that's something else.
I have to ask why you are including a load of homebrew - 70 pages?? - rules when by your own admission you are still finding your feet. Homebrew rules are fine, until they contradict the way that the players want to play the game. Personally I have three homebrew things: one is that crits always deal max weapon damage dice, plus the dice again instead of doubling the number of the dice. I asked the players if they wanted this in session zero, and they all agreed that it sounded fun, so subsequently that's how we've played. Secondly, my monsters are just have way more hit points than standard monsters, since my players are power gamers who deal 25 damage per attack at level 6, without magic items. Lastly, I have a permanent injury table; I discussed the outcomes on the table with the players, and lowered their impacts because they felt that the outcomes were too debilitating. That's fine - it works for everyone.
If I was to start homebrewing all sorts of basic rules differently though then this wouldn't work for them. It may be that at its core, they don't like how you've changed the game. Maybe it doesn't feel balanced. If you are continuing with this group, stop changing the rules. You should never need to do that to explain something, and monsters and the like can have any homebrew rule you want, but don't change the things that affect the player characters. Overall, if you feel a rule is not working for you, discuss it with the group. Explain why you want a change, and ask their feelings.
My biggest advice to you as a brand new DM, scrap the house rules. If your home brew and alternative versions are going to 70+ pages then you are effectively creating a brand new game, with all the issues of balance and understanding the plus and cons still to come. Session 10 your players are still very low level, they are meant to be squishy, and only have limited actions a turn because it makes gaining those class traits so much more enjoyable. You are seriously risking further issues as each player gains access to better abilities and spells.
My advice, reset, tell the players you are going back to basics and applying rules as written and use this resource to help understanding any rules you are struggling with.
Not to get too specific, but it’s definitely possible to have four attacks in a round. If you have a level 5 fighter, they attack twice, action surge, the can attack twice again. They can only do it 1/ short or long rest. But it’s very possible.
And as others said, you shouldn’t be house ruling yet. Try to understand the game better first.
Thank you for the input, I really appreciate it.
Yeah, it is very stressful and worrisome that they gave me that Ultimatum, especially if the players I know are close friends.
A lot of what stemmed from the confusion is that I gave them 2 Actions (which is interchangeable with either movement, attack, or standard action), and that really ****ed with the later rulings when it came to the Dash action (which a player 4x their speed) and the Extra Attack action (which doubled their attack instead of giving them the additional attack action). During the campaign, there were some bits of confusion where it came to the duration of conditions (which I clarified for them) and now attack of opportunity when it came to thrown weapons (specifically a weapon that's chained to a handle, and can be thrown at a distance of 20/60ft), which I figure doesn't apply to that, as I'd think the PHB rules says that Attack of Opportunity applies to melee weapons with a "reach" distance. For their comfort, I'm allowing thrown and ranged weapons to have attack of opportunity, since it does cost a reaction to use.
Yeah, I'm thinking on it still, and reading more comments/inputs here as they come in, and it was pointed out to me that I basically created a different game, which I'm clearly not ready for (and I agree). Changing the rules for the players comfort while some of those changes conflicted with the PHB rules created problems that I had to make changes to during the campaign, which in turn they didn't like. So I guess I was kind of in a looped trap.
The biggest challenge for me when running the game is combat, because 3 of the players I allowed to choose a homebrew class. I did check them, but with no base of understanding of the game, which is my downfall, and that created problems, because the 4th player had a standard Monk class, and now he's having trouble matching up to the players, so I had to throw some features and more ki points at him to try and balance them all out (doubling the ki points was recommended by a friend according to arguments that they read about Monks not having enough Ki points).
At this point, I need to sit on the thought "do I want to continue with a group that gave me an Ultimatum and work with a possibly continuous changing game, or call the game over, and look for a new group of players?"
I think that is best direction to go in, and it was definitely horrible on my end to let them choose homebrew classes, which threw the game off, as well as they complained they didn't have enough actions to play off of (which I adjusted to their comfort, but, in turn, **** up the game).
I'm just sitting on the thought to continue playing with them as a reset with the standard rules, or call it game over for us and I find a new group of players
Yeah, I saw that when I read the Fighter class, because I think in the PHB, they're the only class that can do the most attacks in 5e. 3 of my player's classes get only one extra attack feature with no action surge. With the change in how many actions they can use and interchange with movement, attack, or standard action; and based on HOW they read the wording of the feature, they thought the extra attack doubled their attack actions, making it possible to make 3-4 attacks at their current level (which is level 5).
And yeah, I was mostly going for PHB 5e rules at the beginning, but after changing the number of actions they can use, it really changed the direction of the mechanics of the game. They know it's my first time, and they still expect a lot of me for someone who's starting out, and still adapting to their comforts.
Yeah. Maybe just chalk this up to a learning experience. Let the group end, because it sounds like no one is having fun. Then take some time to learn the game. Then try to find another group, with no, and I mean no, homebrew or house rules. Run a published adventure. It can be a good way to learn for you and the players both.
I'd say, the situation calls for a group talk. Explain to them, that you maneuvered yourself in a dead end and ask them, how all of you want to proceed.
For me a fresh start (even with the same people) might be the best?
Most likely planning on doing that now, as I'm not certain of any way of backtracking/resetting this situation I've been cornered into.
Will commit to PHB 5e rules while keeping the story I want to tell for next group of players.
That is an option, but with what I mentioned about the Ultimatum, I'm more mentally prepared to just end the game from there, and find another group of players, this time committing to only the 5e rules laid out in the PHB
If you are new to 5e then I'd suggest stepping back to be a player until you've got the flow of the game. Jumping into the DM slot without the game experience makes things harder and more stressful. If you can play with someone who is an experienced DM until you have hit level 8-10, then you should have a clear idea of the skills, combat flow, magic, level progression etc, so that in turn when you teach other newbies how to play its clear in your mind.
Also consider what setup you want to use. Are you doing it all physically at the same table or are you using a virtual system? If you are using online chat but nothing else virtual then perhaps consider online options for character sheets, dice rolling, battle maps and the like. Automatic systems can make the game faster and remove some areas of stress.
A new player should be able to play having read pretty much nothing. They would need to read their class options and spell choices as they level up but from the first session you can explain the game as you go. Within an hour or two players should understand what they can do and how to do it. Being asked to read a novel in advance would put a lot of people off. At most a paragraph or two giving the backstory as that might influence character selection.
A published adventure for a brand new group is def the way to go, lost mines of Phandelver or Dragon of icespire peak are 2 good ones, I would also say for brand new players and a brand new DM restrict them to just the classes, subclasses and races in the players handbook, there is plenty of choice and scope for interesting character arcs and lots of fun. To be honest even now as an experienced DM I never allow a free for all choice of race or subclass, player wants to be a changling, really sorry that isn’t in my world.
I would reset and talk to them explain you are not having fun and you want to reset and start over, explain you will be starting a new campaign and these are the races available, these are the rules you will be following and if you do fudge some thing in a session because your not sure make it clear that rule doesn’t get added to all the rules, but you will go away between sessions and learn what the rule should have been and apply it in future. I do that all the time even now, I will have a quick flick through the books, be unable to find the exact reference, or decide I need to read it carefully, so hand wave something for now and then revisit it and let all my player know moving forward how I intend to resolve that situation in future.
The other day I realised that I have been running off hand attacks wrong in my remote campaign the last few weeks, partly because we had not set it up right in DnD beyond, up until now my players are happy they have had an extra bonus to the offhand attack, but moving forward we go to rules as written. They are not pushing back insisting the way we do it now has to stick.
The great thing about lost mines and dragon of icespire is they take characters from level 1-5/6 and end in a good way that lets you then move into your own campaign. You can change the setting, the land, the world you play that campaign in. From experience levels 1-5 are generally going to be more local issues, players are not strong enough to deal with world ending situations, and it can be a nice progression for players to move from small fish in small pond, to large fish in small pond, to small fish in large pond again at level 6 onwards. At this point your story can kick in (with pointers or hints earlier on) and you get a nice sense of how to pace a tabletop RPG.
I kind of disagree with this, personally I have never really been a player in any game system and mainly always DM, also playing to level 8-10 can mean commuting to a game for a year-18 months when you want to tell your own story. Sometimes you just are meant to be a dm and being a player can put you off.
I can certainly understand the wish to jump in the deep end and learn as you go and that might work well enough in some cases but if you are the one teaching the others but have no idea how the game flows then its definitely an uphill battle. If you have been a DM in comparable systems then at least you are starting with a degree of experience to call on. If you're not then things can go badly wrong as per this thread.
You can gain some experience via YouTube, either tutorial videos or watching live games, and if you have experienced players at your table then they will assist with making things flow. Going in completely cold is a challenge, but you can prepare in various ways to make sure you have a good understanding.
The main thing as a brand new dm with brand new players is for everyone to just take the time and learn together, that is why lost mines is so great the early encounters the dm book walks you through how to play the game.
To be honest, having read more of what you've said about changing the way that Actions work, and the homebrew classes, with the ultimatum then I kind of understand it. You said that the players aren't familiar with 5e but you've changed the most important core combat rule, so classes are going to play totally differently to the way that they're intended. This in turn will make the game feel heavily unbalanced.
You can try to salvage the current game, but doing so will mean going back to the basics. Maybe offer the current players a do-over.
I didn't have the time to read the whole thread, but try to look up some of the D&D Youtubers, and if nothing else works then going to the basic rules and if you want something a little different then go with the rule of cool