So a few friends and I want to start playing DnD, but none of us ever have before, aside from one but he's not very experienced either. One of their friends who has played and DMed before was going to run a campaign for us, but it's starting to look less and less likely to happen. The rest of us are really bummed out and we still want to play, so I figured I would give DMing a shot since the whole group was my idea in the first place. I haven't played DnD or any other tabletop games before, but I have played other RPGs and fantasy games. I've also listened to several podcasts of people playing the game and I've been watching Critical Role for a while now, so I understand how the game works, I just have no actual experience playing it.
I have the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I've poured through everything available on this website I possibly can. I also used to write stories all the time back in high school and I've taken some creative writing courses. If anyone has any tips how to go about creating a campaign and what to be prepared for while playing or just anything I should keep in mind I would be super appreciative.
TL;DR: I'm a new player trying to DM a campaign for other new players. Help me. Please.
Really recommend starter set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver - under $20 on Amazon. It will last for many sessions , and give you an area to fill out and expand upon.
There is is also some great stuff at dmsguild but it can be baffling sorting through it all. Check out some reviews and see what appeals to you.
If all your friend are pretty inexperianced, you'll do pretty fine. Talk to them, tell them your struggle. God knows as players they'll be telling you theirs and asking for help and rules and what not. You'll all take turns being a bit overwhelmed, but with everyone being new and learning the game together it makes it much more fun. So long as everyone is on board to hash out rulings and ideas together, you'll be gold.
Good of you to watch streams and read up. Take in as much knowledge as you can. If you're talking about content to start, I agree with the Lost Mines suggestion. Sunless Citadel (from the Tales from the Yawning Portal book) is also good, perfect for first time DM's as well as players. I would also suggest the Wizard in a Bottle module on DM's Guild. It's a nice little one shot for 1st level that may or may not still be available for free through Dragon+ (another good resource to leaf through in your spare time). It was the first game I ever ran as a DM and it was perfectly suited.
Thank you both for your input, I will definitely be looking into all these resources you have mentioned. I don't know why I didn't think about using a pre-written campaign. /facepalm
Guys, I am also going to be a new GM, I have played some variation, but not proper D&D, and I am being GM for my dad and my friend. My dad has played for 5 years in his childhood, but hates being GM, and my friend has played the same variation I played. I am already doing my pre-written campaign (lost mines of phandelver) but my dad played it when he was 14, and I think he might remember the traps. Please reply, as I am playing soon
Guys, I am also going to be a new GM, I have played some variation, but not proper D&D, and I am being GM for my dad and my friend. My dad has played for 5 years in his childhood, but hates being GM, and my friend has played the same variation I played. I am already doing my pre-written campaign (lost mines of phandelver) but my dad played it when he was 14, and I think he might remember the traps. Please reply, as I am playing soon
Um, I doubt that your dad played Lost Mines when he was 14, as I'm pretty sure that it is an original adventure for 5e, which wasn't around when your dad was 14.
I would wager ArwensDaughter is correct and he's probably remembering a similarly named module. But, even if not, just have a talk with him to try to avoid metagaming (i.e., a character using player knowledge that the character would not be privy to, such as the location of traps in a dungeon the character has never been to but the player experienced as a different character).
If there's no reason his character should know there's a pit trap in the next hall, then he doesn't.
Using the already generated Module Campaigns can definitely be a good way to start. If you are planning on running your own custom campaign afterwards I would recommend also picking up the Monster Manual, as it provides a large starting collection of fantastic creatures for your party to fight, so that you don't have to custom create all your monsters (which while fun can also be very time consuming in order to balance them out properly).
When preparing your material I also recommend starting reasonably small with the region for functional notes, and try not to script anything too far down the line. The old saying "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy" has been adopted by DMs for good reason as "no plan survives contact with the players". Although you can also save that unused material for later in a different spot. I had once designed an entire dungeon that I had positioned in one location of my world, which the players never even heard about before they left on their own path, but later I was able to have stumble upon it later and still use it.
The most important thing is to have fun, so stay flexible and enjoy the grand adventures that you will all soon share together.
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So a few friends and I want to start playing DnD, but none of us ever have before, aside from one but he's not very experienced either. One of their friends who has played and DMed before was going to run a campaign for us, but it's starting to look less and less likely to happen. The rest of us are really bummed out and we still want to play, so I figured I would give DMing a shot since the whole group was my idea in the first place. I haven't played DnD or any other tabletop games before, but I have played other RPGs and fantasy games. I've also listened to several podcasts of people playing the game and I've been watching Critical Role for a while now, so I understand how the game works, I just have no actual experience playing it.
I have the Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide, and I've poured through everything available on this website I possibly can. I also used to write stories all the time back in high school and I've taken some creative writing courses. If anyone has any tips how to go about creating a campaign and what to be prepared for while playing or just anything I should keep in mind I would be super appreciative.
TL;DR: I'm a new player trying to DM a campaign for other new players. Help me. Please.
Really recommend starter set adventure Lost Mines of Phandelver - under $20 on Amazon. It will last for many sessions , and give you an area to fill out and expand upon.
There is is also some great stuff at dmsguild but it can be baffling sorting through it all. Check out some reviews and see what appeals to you.
Best way to learn is play!
If all your friend are pretty inexperianced, you'll do pretty fine. Talk to them, tell them your struggle. God knows as players they'll be telling you theirs and asking for help and rules and what not. You'll all take turns being a bit overwhelmed, but with everyone being new and learning the game together it makes it much more fun. So long as everyone is on board to hash out rulings and ideas together, you'll be gold.
Good of you to watch streams and read up. Take in as much knowledge as you can. If you're talking about content to start, I agree with the Lost Mines suggestion. Sunless Citadel (from the Tales from the Yawning Portal book) is also good, perfect for first time DM's as well as players. I would also suggest the Wizard in a Bottle module on DM's Guild. It's a nice little one shot for 1st level that may or may not still be available for free through Dragon+ (another good resource to leaf through in your spare time). It was the first game I ever ran as a DM and it was perfectly suited.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone
Thank you both for your input, I will definitely be looking into all these resources you have mentioned. I don't know why I didn't think about using a pre-written campaign. /facepalm
Guys, I am also going to be a new GM, I have played some variation, but not proper D&D, and I am being GM for my dad and my friend. My dad has played for 5 years in his childhood, but hates being GM, and my friend has played the same variation I played. I am already doing my pre-written campaign (lost mines of phandelver) but my dad played it when he was 14, and I think he might remember the traps. Please reply, as I am playing soon
Trying to Decide if DDB is for you? A few helpful threads: A Buyer's Guide to DDB; What I/We Bought and Why; How some DMs use DDB; A Newer Thread on Using DDB to Play
Helpful threads on other topics: Homebrew FAQ by IamSposta; Accessing Content by ConalTheGreat;
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I would wager ArwensDaughter is correct and he's probably remembering a similarly named module. But, even if not, just have a talk with him to try to avoid metagaming (i.e., a character using player knowledge that the character would not be privy to, such as the location of traps in a dungeon the character has never been to but the player experienced as a different character).
If there's no reason his character should know there's a pit trap in the next hall, then he doesn't.
Thanks
I accidentally typed this
Using the already generated Module Campaigns can definitely be a good way to start. If you are planning on running your own custom campaign afterwards I would recommend also picking up the Monster Manual, as it provides a large starting collection of fantastic creatures for your party to fight, so that you don't have to custom create all your monsters (which while fun can also be very time consuming in order to balance them out properly).
When preparing your material I also recommend starting reasonably small with the region for functional notes, and try not to script anything too far down the line. The old saying "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy" has been adopted by DMs for good reason as "no plan survives contact with the players". Although you can also save that unused material for later in a different spot. I had once designed an entire dungeon that I had positioned in one location of my world, which the players never even heard about before they left on their own path, but later I was able to have stumble upon it later and still use it.
The most important thing is to have fun, so stay flexible and enjoy the grand adventures that you will all soon share together.