Hello! I'm a fairly new D&D player and have only been the DM once before, but it wasn't the most pleasant experience.
I was the DM for a homebrew campaign that lasted for around 14 sessions before I decided to cancel it. I decided to homebrew because I didn't own any module books at the time and didn’t have the money to get any.
The campaign had 5 players, 2 being good friends from school, one being my older sister and the other 2 being my friend’s online buddies. Almost all of us were inexperienced with the game, except one of the online buddies (We played through Roll20 and Discord). I helped most of them through character creation, with my good friends being an Elf Bard named Lei and the other being a Life Cleric Halfling named Nellie; my older sister played a Heraldic (Homebrewed race we found online) sorcerer named Starshine; and lastly the 2 online buddies played a Firbolg Barbarian named Gurtok and the other a Aasimar paladin named Nerram. Everyone will be called by their character name for simplicity sake.
The first few sessions went great. The players seemed to enjoy it and we even went through a dungeon and a boss fight without any major issues. (They also manage to tame a Death dog they named Frank). But after that, Nerram had some real life stuff so he couldn’t play with us for a few months. He and I sorted it out privately so the campaign could run along smoothly, things were cool.
This is also when things slowly fell apart. Something that was very consistent was the fact that the sessions always started an hour late because some players were unable to show up on time (Mostly being Nellie and Lei.). I asked if they wanted to reschedule multiple times, but they said it was fine as it was. This also caused a lot of Sessions to be delayed by a week or two. But we continued on, a lot of plot happened and I’ll be honest, my writing skills weren't the best, so the story became slightly convoluted with a lot of variables. Tried to make a story that highlighted political struggles and that things aren’t just black and white. Though Starshine didn’t think it was confusing and basically was the only one who paid attention.
This leads to the Second issue, that many of the players weren’t paying attention and that they rarely left any feedback. I could tell that their later sessions bored them alot. It also bored me as well because if i'm being blunt, some of their characters didn’t give me much to work with.
Nellie, basically barely did anything through most the sessions, she healed in combat and summoned a spectral Trident in combat but that's about it (She also never updated her character sheet after level ups). Lei on the other hand was incredibly unpredictable, She just did whatever she wanted, not in a “Murderhobo” way, but in a “I'm gonna kill the boss with a Chess piece” kind of way. It was very funny and great a lot of the time, but she also didn’t roleplay much.
Gurtok actively roleplayed a lot of the time but also played a character that had an interesting tendency to create enemies and allies at every corner. This was fine, the problem was the fact that Gurtok didn’t note a lot of things down so he eventually forgot the entire plot. Though that isn’t his fault entirely, because at the very end of the game's life, before the cancellation I decided to take a hiatus to sort through my thoughts on the entire thing. Nerram came back at the end of the campaign and stayed for 1 or 2 sessions before writing to me that he would leave the game (Tho once again it was for personal reasons and not because of my skills as a DM).
None of the players took notes to my knowledge. Starshine just had the most information because she has a really good memory and was the only one actively engaged from start to finish.
When it comes to feedback; it was almost impossible to get any. As mentioned before. I felt that many of them weren’t enjoying the game. That gave me a lot of stress and made me lose a lot of passion for Dming the game because I felt I was failing. So I asked my players what they wanted to improve or change. Didn’t get an answer until Starshine helped me get an answer. All i got was from Gurtok saying that he just lost passion for D&D in general and Nellie said that she couldn’t pay attention on stuff she wasn’t engaged with and that my NPCs had “original shadow the hedgehog OC plz don't steal” vibes (Still unsure what she really meant by that) but that it wasn’t a big issue for the game. This also caused Nellie to play World of Warcraft or Sims 4 when it wasn’t her turn in combat and during roleplay heavy parts.
Later sessions seemed to suffer the most from a combination of all of these things, also my insecurities and inexperience wasn’t helping. It eventually led to the hiatus I mentioned earlier because I had to tell them how I felt about the entire thing, how tired I was of the session being late and how I felt like they didn’t care about my time or the game (Could have handled it better I’ll admit). Lei basically responded with that it wasn’t their fault i take things personally and that they aren’t responsible for my low self-esteem. Ouch...I mean she isn’t 100% wrong, but ouch. Eventually I just gave up and ended the game.
Due to all of the above I'm kind of scared to Dm again. I guess I'm worried that I was the problem or a bad Dm. Starshine has tried to comfort me and say they were just problem players. But I guess I have just been really discouraged from this entire thing. Any advice? I really want to try Dming again with a simpler Homebrew story or a module but this entire thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean they were engaged to begin with and I did make Lei so immersed that a scene made her cry during the session. ( I hope it was in a good way and not a bad way). So I think I can become a good Dm but i'm just really anxious about trying again.
TL;DR: Newbie Dm tries to run a homebrew game for 5 players Online. 3 out of the 5 had a tendency to show up late making the session be an hour late. Players didn’t take notes for a variety of reasons and 3 out of the 5 barely paid any attention to the game, and one player played World of Warcraft and Sims 4 during the game. Tried to get feedback but didn’t get any that was helpful or informative. Dm canclled the game and is now worried that it was their fault for being a bad Dm and is now anxious about Dming again.
PS: I hope this isn’t super messy. English isn’t my first language and I just wrote what came to mind. So i apologize if this is confusing!
My first tip, if you run for the same people again (or even if you don’t) is talk to them. It’s challenging to get vulnerable, and you don’t need to wear your heart totally on your sleeve, but if these people are worth being friends with at all they’ll be understanding if you’re honest. Don’t make accusations, just say “guys, I’m learning to do this and I want it to be fun for everybody, so please be patient cause it’s hard and it’s gonna be a process.” And ask them to help you keep the game interesting (and put away other games when you guys are playing). It’s okay to firmly ask for this. And it’s difficult, but it’s a brave thing to do, and it really can help!
My second tip is not to expect too much. Maybe you’ve seen Critical Role, or you want to be an author, or you feel like you’re directing your favorite TV show. D&D, unfortunately, doesn’t work out like that. Nor, fortunately, is it meant to! It’s a fun game you play with your friends, and if everyone’s engaged and having fun, it doesn’t matter so much if the roleplay is deep or the story is on track or the fights are balanced or whatever.
Just like your players, you need to accept that your first campaigns will be full of mistakes. Years later, you’ll go back and say “What was I thinking?” Every great veteran DM has run some utterly bad campaigns: it’s part of the learning process! I know I’ve run my fair share. Just have fun, enjoy the ride, and know that, with some real life XP, you and your friends can create even more awesome stories later on.
You’ll do great! We’ve all been in your shoes, we’ve all had tough games and tough players, and we’re cheering for you. Focus on fun.
Oh, and tell everyone to get there a half hour to hour before you actually plan to start. Some people are just like that. :)
P.S. About the “shadow the hedgehog” thing: do you have NPCs who are very powerful, key to the plot, and/or simply super cool? That might seem awesome in a movie (I love Gandalf), but it’s no fun for players because it’s their job to be the most powerful, plot-important, and cool people on screen 99.9% of the time. Don’t let NPCs steal their spotlight: ditch the cool NPCs, no matter how deep or epic they might be, and let the players be the heroes!
P.P.S. While few problems are as clear-cut as “they were just problem players,” hence the other advice, those two do sound annoying and not the most supportive friends. Most players by far, in my experience, do a better job. (And many bad players mature as they get older, though you shouldn’t wait around for it.) So don’t put this all on yourself! They were definitely an issue.
I really wouldn't recommend a "newbie" DM do a Homebrew game. The game is difficult enough to DM without having to deal with such things. You don't say now "newbie" you are though. Have you run any of the published Adventures? If not, I'd suggest that you drop all homebrew and run one or more before complicating your life.
You don't sound like a Bad DM at all. You wanted the game to be fun, you tried to get feedback from your players, and you appear to have been willing to cater to their wishes. Nellie seems to have been your biggest problem. She doesn't seem to have had any interest from the start, and I'd bet her attitude did not help the other players feel as engaged with the game. Lei seems to have been a minor problem. It's very rude to be late to games. Did she ever give a reason for this? Gurtok lost interest with D&D, not necessarily your game, so that's not a sign of you being bad, that's on him. Starshine was actively helpful, and Nerram had Real Life happen, so that's no reflection on you.
You'll probably have to keep all the notes. Unless someone enjoys that and volunteers to do it, it's really the DM's job to keep track of anything important to their game. I confess, I'm bad about that too, so each game session starts out with a short recap to make sure the players are up to speed. My own games have survived my bad habits so it's not going to ruin you.
I'd have kicked out Nellie had I been you. I'd have talked with her first, but I'd have little patience if things did not improve and her being rude enough to play video games during play sessions would drive me wild. Lei would also get asked about what was going on, but I'd be inclined to let her stay unless she got worse, her reasons were not good, or I had someone else who was actually enthused about joining the game. Putting up with marginal players is all part of the deal. I've had friends in my game that I wouldn't have suffered if they had not been my *friends*.
Grab something easy like the Lost Mine of Phandelver and run that if you haven't got much experience. Otherwise you seem good to go.
Putting up with marginal players is all part of the deal. I've had friends in my game that I wouldn't have suffered if they had not been my *friends*.
I’d add to this that just because someone is laid-back doesn’t mean they’re not having fun. One of my longtime players doesn’t talk much, knows only basic rules, and is a bit uncomfortable roleplaying. But she shows up to almost every session, she’s a good friend, and she really enjoys rolling dice, watching roleplay, and seeing the story unfold. Her enjoyment of the game doesn’t always show, but it’s definitely there! Everyone is unique.
Gotta say, friend, if you were able to keep the game going for 14 sessions, that's actually an admirable accomplishment for a first time DM, not a failure by any measure. You're actually critical and willing to own some mistakes and also identify problems on the player side of the table. What you need to do is pivot to take those critical instincts and make them more constructive to improve your game. Talking to other DMs is how you learn to do that, and this board is the right place to do so, so again another accomplishment.
I'll second the poster above me. Frozen Sick is a fun adventure. And flexible enough that you can adapt it to however you want your world to work.
I'd also seek out some of the writing out there that describes "styles of players." It sounds like you got a normal mix, not really a problematic one. The thing is to learn the DMing tricks to maximize what everyone brings to the table. Best way to learn that is to take a published work, again Frozen Sick is fun but also easy to run, and break it down into what you know about the players and their characters so everyone has a chance to shine in a way that reflects their play style (which may be just along for the ride, so let them tag along).
So you've come the right place and don't sell yourself short, a lot of first time DMs quit after their first session or two.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Mmm... Think you need a win to reclaim that mojo you definitely have otherwise you would never have started on this adventure in the first place...
My advice would be go for a shorter senario/adventure look though FlairFan excellent links to some free adventures and then edit them a little to your taste but keep the basic structure so your not doing the heavy lifting... Go for a smaller group max 3 people it just gives more time to each player per session
Another source of 5e adventures is the https://www.dmsguild.com/ some free some pay what want some premium and the review system seem ok
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
I've been playing and 'mastering' role-playing games for 30 years. Still quite a few of the campaigns I start ends before session 14. It happens for numerous reasons. Sometimes I as a DM run out of ideas for tgat campaign, sometimes the players get bored, sometimes it's covid... Don't take that to hard. It WAS fun in the beginning, so you certainly CAN be a good DM.
If you found it difficult to homebrew, go play a module. But as a DM who has always homebrewn, Im not sure that was your "problem".
I would have considered starting next "campaign" as a live, not online campaign. (It should be possible in the not to far future). That at least solve the Wow-playing (but no phones at the table).
I don't know if this was yours "issue", but I've had a DnD campaign ending because the players got bored because the player leveled up (it happened to us somewhere between lvl 5-10). Although it is "cool" to have new powers, the combats started to become so long that some of my players who are much more into RPG got bored.
And you don't have to plan for a campaign. Plan for a small "story" of perhaps 5 sessions. If you still want to play more with that party after that, nobody denies you and your group to do that.
Schedule a time and stick too it. I give the players 20 minutes after my declared starting time. After that if I don't have enough players, I don't dm.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.
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Hello! I'm a fairly new D&D player and have only been the DM once before, but it wasn't the most pleasant experience.
I was the DM for a homebrew campaign that lasted for around 14 sessions before I decided to cancel it. I decided to homebrew because I didn't own any module books at the time and didn’t have the money to get any.
The campaign had 5 players, 2 being good friends from school, one being my older sister and the other 2 being my friend’s online buddies. Almost all of us were inexperienced with the game, except one of the online buddies (We played through Roll20 and Discord). I helped most of them through character creation, with my good friends being an Elf Bard named Lei and the other being a Life Cleric Halfling named Nellie; my older sister played a Heraldic (Homebrewed race we found online) sorcerer named Starshine; and lastly the 2 online buddies played a Firbolg Barbarian named Gurtok and the other a Aasimar paladin named Nerram. Everyone will be called by their character name for simplicity sake.
The first few sessions went great. The players seemed to enjoy it and we even went through a dungeon and a boss fight without any major issues. (They also manage to tame a Death dog they named Frank). But after that, Nerram had some real life stuff so he couldn’t play with us for a few months. He and I sorted it out privately so the campaign could run along smoothly, things were cool.
This is also when things slowly fell apart. Something that was very consistent was the fact that the sessions always started an hour late because some players were unable to show up on time (Mostly being Nellie and Lei.). I asked if they wanted to reschedule multiple times, but they said it was fine as it was. This also caused a lot of Sessions to be delayed by a week or two. But we continued on, a lot of plot happened and I’ll be honest, my writing skills weren't the best, so the story became slightly convoluted with a lot of variables. Tried to make a story that highlighted political struggles and that things aren’t just black and white. Though Starshine didn’t think it was confusing and basically was the only one who paid attention.
This leads to the Second issue, that many of the players weren’t paying attention and that they rarely left any feedback. I could tell that their later sessions bored them alot. It also bored me as well because if i'm being blunt, some of their characters didn’t give me much to work with.
Nellie, basically barely did anything through most the sessions, she healed in combat and summoned a spectral Trident in combat but that's about it (She also never updated her character sheet after level ups). Lei on the other hand was incredibly unpredictable, She just did whatever she wanted, not in a “Murderhobo” way, but in a “I'm gonna kill the boss with a Chess piece” kind of way. It was very funny and great a lot of the time, but she also didn’t roleplay much.
Gurtok actively roleplayed a lot of the time but also played a character that had an interesting tendency to create enemies and allies at every corner. This was fine, the problem was the fact that Gurtok didn’t note a lot of things down so he eventually forgot the entire plot. Though that isn’t his fault entirely, because at the very end of the game's life, before the cancellation I decided to take a hiatus to sort through my thoughts on the entire thing. Nerram came back at the end of the campaign and stayed for 1 or 2 sessions before writing to me that he would leave the game (Tho once again it was for personal reasons and not because of my skills as a DM).
None of the players took notes to my knowledge. Starshine just had the most information because she has a really good memory and was the only one actively engaged from start to finish.
When it comes to feedback; it was almost impossible to get any. As mentioned before. I felt that many of them weren’t enjoying the game. That gave me a lot of stress and made me lose a lot of passion for Dming the game because I felt I was failing. So I asked my players what they wanted to improve or change. Didn’t get an answer until Starshine helped me get an answer. All i got was from Gurtok saying that he just lost passion for D&D in general and Nellie said that she couldn’t pay attention on stuff she wasn’t engaged with and that my NPCs had “original shadow the hedgehog OC plz don't steal” vibes (Still unsure what she really meant by that) but that it wasn’t a big issue for the game. This also caused Nellie to play World of Warcraft or Sims 4 when it wasn’t her turn in combat and during roleplay heavy parts.
Later sessions seemed to suffer the most from a combination of all of these things, also my insecurities and inexperience wasn’t helping. It eventually led to the hiatus I mentioned earlier because I had to tell them how I felt about the entire thing, how tired I was of the session being late and how I felt like they didn’t care about my time or the game (Could have handled it better I’ll admit). Lei basically responded with that it wasn’t their fault i take things personally and that they aren’t responsible for my low self-esteem. Ouch...I mean she isn’t 100% wrong, but ouch. Eventually I just gave up and ended the game.
Due to all of the above I'm kind of scared to Dm again. I guess I'm worried that I was the problem or a bad Dm. Starshine has tried to comfort me and say they were just problem players. But I guess I have just been really discouraged from this entire thing. Any advice? I really want to try Dming again with a simpler Homebrew story or a module but this entire thing has left a bad taste in my mouth. I mean they were engaged to begin with and I did make Lei so immersed that a scene made her cry during the session. ( I hope it was in a good way and not a bad way). So I think I can become a good Dm but i'm just really anxious about trying again.
TL;DR: Newbie Dm tries to run a homebrew game for 5 players Online. 3 out of the 5 had a tendency to show up late making the session be an hour late. Players didn’t take notes for a variety of reasons and 3 out of the 5 barely paid any attention to the game, and one player played World of Warcraft and Sims 4 during the game. Tried to get feedback but didn’t get any that was helpful or informative. Dm canclled the game and is now worried that it was their fault for being a bad Dm and is now anxious about Dming again.
PS: I hope this isn’t super messy. English isn’t my first language and I just wrote what came to mind. So i apologize if this is confusing!
it's a totally new group? Then you're probably fine and should try again.
Come up with a skeleton for your story, put in some hooks and enemies to fight, leave the world open for them to explore, and you'll be fine.
My first tip, if you run for the same people again (or even if you don’t) is talk to them. It’s challenging to get vulnerable, and you don’t need to wear your heart totally on your sleeve, but if these people are worth being friends with at all they’ll be understanding if you’re honest. Don’t make accusations, just say “guys, I’m learning to do this and I want it to be fun for everybody, so please be patient cause it’s hard and it’s gonna be a process.” And ask them to help you keep the game interesting (and put away other games when you guys are playing). It’s okay to firmly ask for this. And it’s difficult, but it’s a brave thing to do, and it really can help!
My second tip is not to expect too much. Maybe you’ve seen Critical Role, or you want to be an author, or you feel like you’re directing your favorite TV show. D&D, unfortunately, doesn’t work out like that. Nor, fortunately, is it meant to! It’s a fun game you play with your friends, and if everyone’s engaged and having fun, it doesn’t matter so much if the roleplay is deep or the story is on track or the fights are balanced or whatever.
Just like your players, you need to accept that your first campaigns will be full of mistakes. Years later, you’ll go back and say “What was I thinking?” Every great veteran DM has run some utterly bad campaigns: it’s part of the learning process! I know I’ve run my fair share. Just have fun, enjoy the ride, and know that, with some real life XP, you and your friends can create even more awesome stories later on.
You’ll do great! We’ve all been in your shoes, we’ve all had tough games and tough players, and we’re cheering for you. Focus on fun.
Oh, and tell everyone to get there a half hour to hour before you actually plan to start. Some people are just like that. :)
P.S. About the “shadow the hedgehog” thing: do you have NPCs who are very powerful, key to the plot, and/or simply super cool? That might seem awesome in a movie (I love Gandalf), but it’s no fun for players because it’s their job to be the most powerful, plot-important, and cool people on screen 99.9% of the time. Don’t let NPCs steal their spotlight: ditch the cool NPCs, no matter how deep or epic they might be, and let the players be the heroes!
P.P.S. While few problems are as clear-cut as “they were just problem players,” hence the other advice, those two do sound annoying and not the most supportive friends. Most players by far, in my experience, do a better job. (And many bad players mature as they get older, though you shouldn’t wait around for it.) So don’t put this all on yourself! They were definitely an issue.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
I really wouldn't recommend a "newbie" DM do a Homebrew game. The game is difficult enough to DM without having to deal with such things. You don't say now "newbie" you are though. Have you run any of the published Adventures? If not, I'd suggest that you drop all homebrew and run one or more before complicating your life.
You don't sound like a Bad DM at all. You wanted the game to be fun, you tried to get feedback from your players, and you appear to have been willing to cater to their wishes. Nellie seems to have been your biggest problem. She doesn't seem to have had any interest from the start, and I'd bet her attitude did not help the other players feel as engaged with the game. Lei seems to have been a minor problem. It's very rude to be late to games. Did she ever give a reason for this? Gurtok lost interest with D&D, not necessarily your game, so that's not a sign of you being bad, that's on him. Starshine was actively helpful, and Nerram had Real Life happen, so that's no reflection on you.
You'll probably have to keep all the notes. Unless someone enjoys that and volunteers to do it, it's really the DM's job to keep track of anything important to their game. I confess, I'm bad about that too, so each game session starts out with a short recap to make sure the players are up to speed. My own games have survived my bad habits so it's not going to ruin you.
I'd have kicked out Nellie had I been you. I'd have talked with her first, but I'd have little patience if things did not improve and her being rude enough to play video games during play sessions would drive me wild. Lei would also get asked about what was going on, but I'd be inclined to let her stay unless she got worse, her reasons were not good, or I had someone else who was actually enthused about joining the game. Putting up with marginal players is all part of the deal. I've had friends in my game that I wouldn't have suffered if they had not been my *friends*.
Grab something easy like the Lost Mine of Phandelver and run that if you haven't got much experience. Otherwise you seem good to go.
<Insert clever signature here>
I’d add to this that just because someone is laid-back doesn’t mean they’re not having fun. One of my longtime players doesn’t talk much, knows only basic rules, and is a bit uncomfortable roleplaying. But she shows up to almost every session, she’s a good friend, and she really enjoys rolling dice, watching roleplay, and seeing the story unfold. Her enjoyment of the game doesn’t always show, but it’s definitely there! Everyone is unique.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Ditto on perhaps not starting off immediately w/homebrew. D&DBeyond has a free starter adventure under the 'Quarantine Resources' banner on the homepage: "Frozen Sick" <Quarantine Resources - quarantine - D&D Beyond (dndbeyond.com)>
And the WotC site also has a couple of freebies under Stay at Home. Play at Home. | Dungeons & Dragons (wizards.com).
Gotta say, friend, if you were able to keep the game going for 14 sessions, that's actually an admirable accomplishment for a first time DM, not a failure by any measure. You're actually critical and willing to own some mistakes and also identify problems on the player side of the table. What you need to do is pivot to take those critical instincts and make them more constructive to improve your game. Talking to other DMs is how you learn to do that, and this board is the right place to do so, so again another accomplishment.
I'll second the poster above me. Frozen Sick is a fun adventure. And flexible enough that you can adapt it to however you want your world to work.
I'd also seek out some of the writing out there that describes "styles of players." It sounds like you got a normal mix, not really a problematic one. The thing is to learn the DMing tricks to maximize what everyone brings to the table. Best way to learn that is to take a published work, again Frozen Sick is fun but also easy to run, and break it down into what you know about the players and their characters so everyone has a chance to shine in a way that reflects their play style (which may be just along for the ride, so let them tag along).
So you've come the right place and don't sell yourself short, a lot of first time DMs quit after their first session or two.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Mmm... Think you need a win to reclaim that mojo you definitely have otherwise you would never have started on this adventure in the first place...
My advice would be go for a shorter senario/adventure look though FlairFan excellent links to some free adventures and then edit them a little to your taste but keep the basic structure so your not doing the heavy lifting...
Go for a smaller group max 3 people it just gives more time to each player per session
Another source of 5e adventures is the https://www.dmsguild.com/ some free some pay what want some premium and the review system seem ok
“It cannot be seen, cannot be felt, Cannot be heard, cannot be smelt, It lies behind stars and under hills, And empty holes it fills, It comes first and follows after, Ends life, kills laughter.” J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Tjena :-)
I've been playing and 'mastering' role-playing games for 30 years. Still quite a few of the campaigns I start ends before session 14. It happens for numerous reasons. Sometimes I as a DM run out of ideas for tgat campaign, sometimes the players get bored, sometimes it's covid... Don't take that to hard. It WAS fun in the beginning, so you certainly CAN be a good DM.
If you found it difficult to homebrew, go play a module. But as a DM who has always homebrewn, Im not sure that was your "problem".
I would have considered starting next "campaign" as a live, not online campaign. (It should be possible in the not to far future). That at least solve the Wow-playing (but no phones at the table).
I don't know if this was yours "issue", but I've had a DnD campaign ending because the players got bored because the player leveled up (it happened to us somewhere between lvl 5-10). Although it is "cool" to have new powers, the combats started to become so long that some of my players who are much more into RPG got bored.
And you don't have to plan for a campaign. Plan for a small "story" of perhaps 5 sessions. If you still want to play more with that party after that, nobody denies you and your group to do that.
Ludo ergo sum!
Honestly do some one shots to get the feel for the game again. It helps a lot with gaining experience as a DM.
1 shot dungeon master
Schedule a time and stick too it. I give the players 20 minutes after my declared starting time. After that if I don't have enough players, I don't dm.
No Gaming is Better than Bad Gaming.