I am planning my first longterm campaign. Any tips anyone can give me? As of now, we are just starting the character building process. I am still finalizing world building, etc.
Don't work harder than you have to. Work outward from where your players are going to be adventuring. Also, be sure to give out lots of suggestions to move the game along. Nothing is worse than everyone sitting around the table not sure of what they should be doing.
Is there anything in particular you'd like help on?
Hey Jordan! Good on you for facilitating the fun. I'm a relatively green DM myself (I've been running my game for about a year now), but I pretty much threw myself into the deep end when I started out. The good news is that you really do just figure it out as you go and as long as you're enthusiastic and passionate about giving your players a fun time (in other words, if you really get into it), then you'll have a blast.
On that note, I really feel like DMing is way more about playing the descriptive storyteller than it is about rules lawyering. I have one sticky note on the back of my DM screen which has proved more useful than all the rest combined. It reads something like this:
BE DESCRIPTIVE
How does it smell? How does it taste? How does it feel? How does it sound? How does it look?
That one little sticky note reminds me to paint the table a picture, rather than just stating what happens. There's kind of a golden mean with regard to descriptive language. You don't want to saturate the scene with it and ramble on for ten minutes about every tiny smell and feel, but I'd rather err on the side of overkill than give bland one-line statements about what the players perceive. I put that note on my screen after one of the first sessions I ran with rich descriptions of the scenes that were playing out, and I realized that the players were eating it up.
One more thing...: I have found that great background audio can really amp up the immersion factor. If you haven't checked out Tabletop Audio, I highly recommend doing so. If you're on Spotify, there's a whole genre out there now of what is, in my opinion, quintessential D&D music. If you go to an artist page like Sound Adventures, Two Steps from Hell, or Audiomachine, the "Related Artist" links will take you down a deep rabbit hole with more of the same. Lots of great combat tracks.
"There is a wide world out there, my friend, full of pain, but filled with joy as well. The former keeps you on the path of growth, and the latter makes the journey tolerable." --Montolio Debrouchee
This was immensely helpful! Thank you both. I have done a couple oneshots before but never a full scale long term campaign. I’m trying to figure out where best to start everyone and I guess the right amount of creatures to face when they do have their first encounter. Rather not tpk.
This was immensely helpful! Thank you both. I have done a couple oneshots before but never a full scale long term campaign. I’m trying to figure out where best to start everyone and I guess the right amount of creatures to face when they do have their first encounter. Rather not tpk.
Good news! There's a calculator for this sort of thing online.
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"The mongoose blew out its candle and was asleep in bed before the room went dark." —Llanowar fable
This was immensely helpful! Thank you both. I have done a couple oneshots before but never a full scale long term campaign. I’m trying to figure out where best to start everyone and I guess the right amount of creatures to face when they do have their first encounter. Rather not tpk.
The right amount of creatures for an encounter can be however many you want to use, honestly. You are the DM, so you can alter enemies (or not) as you see fit. And you can easily enough not cause a TPK. Sometimes enemies flee or knock the heroes out and laugh as they tie them to train-tracks; they're funny like that. Just think of the story you want to tell, or even better, think how to tell a story the players want and BOOM, there you go.
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It's more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules
What help me stop over planning and let the story grow more organically was Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeon Master. The techniques for planning helped me immeasurably. Might not work for everyone but it's worth a look.
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I am planning my first longterm campaign. Any tips anyone can give me? As of now, we are just starting the character building process. I am still finalizing world building, etc.
Don't work harder than you have to. Work outward from where your players are going to be adventuring. Also, be sure to give out lots of suggestions to move the game along. Nothing is worse than everyone sitting around the table not sure of what they should be doing.
Is there anything in particular you'd like help on?
Hey Jordan! Good on you for facilitating the fun. I'm a relatively green DM myself (I've been running my game for about a year now), but I pretty much threw myself into the deep end when I started out. The good news is that you really do just figure it out as you go and as long as you're enthusiastic and passionate about giving your players a fun time (in other words, if you really get into it), then you'll have a blast.
On that note, I really feel like DMing is way more about playing the descriptive storyteller than it is about rules lawyering. I have one sticky note on the back of my DM screen which has proved more useful than all the rest combined. It reads something like this:
BE DESCRIPTIVE
How does it smell? How does it taste? How does it feel? How does it sound? How does it look?
That one little sticky note reminds me to paint the table a picture, rather than just stating what happens. There's kind of a golden mean with regard to descriptive language. You don't want to saturate the scene with it and ramble on for ten minutes about every tiny smell and feel, but I'd rather err on the side of overkill than give bland one-line statements about what the players perceive. I put that note on my screen after one of the first sessions I ran with rich descriptions of the scenes that were playing out, and I realized that the players were eating it up.
One more thing...: I have found that great background audio can really amp up the immersion factor. If you haven't checked out Tabletop Audio, I highly recommend doing so. If you're on Spotify, there's a whole genre out there now of what is, in my opinion, quintessential D&D music. If you go to an artist page like Sound Adventures, Two Steps from Hell, or Audiomachine, the "Related Artist" links will take you down a deep rabbit hole with more of the same. Lots of great combat tracks.
And one more thing...(haha, just kidding...)
"There is a wide world out there, my friend, full of pain, but filled with joy as well. The former keeps you on the path of growth, and the latter makes the journey tolerable." --Montolio Debrouchee
This was immensely helpful! Thank you both. I have done a couple oneshots before but never a full scale long term campaign. I’m trying to figure out where best to start everyone and I guess the right amount of creatures to face when they do have their first encounter. Rather not tpk.
I just worry I’ll either over plan or underplan
It's more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules
Follow my Campaign!
Ardanian Calendar
It's more what you'd call "guidelines" than actual rules
Follow my Campaign!
Ardanian Calendar
What help me stop over planning and let the story grow more organically was Sly Flourish's Lazy Dungeon Master. The techniques for planning helped me immeasurably. Might not work for everyone but it's worth a look.