I'm a new DM and I just ran my first ever session. It felt very rough around the edges and I'm just looking for advice on how to fix the problems that cropped up during this session. I noticed that the party was pretty disorganized at times. The party was splitting very frequently and one half was just making up random stuff that they were doing while I was trying to sort out what the other half was doing. They had just left a bar after a battle with some large rats, and two players left, while the other half was still sorting stuff out with the keeper of that bar. While I was RPing as the barkeeper with the players who stayed, the other two just made up that they went to a nearby park and started talking to a homeless guy while bowling. I had never mentioned any of those things, because I never got a chance to even describe the park to them yet. I kinda just went with it but I feel like it is my fault for not being as present in the game and not consulting with them often. I also felt like the players were pretty unengaged at times. They all unanimously agreed to end the session early after about 2 ish hours of playing. I felt like it was a mix of my inexperience with DMing and the players' lack of engagement that made the session kind of go sideways. I want to give my players the best experience they can have. If anyone has any advice they would like to share I'd greatly appreciate it.
I see. Mikey, the problem that you ran into is that you didn't have a dungeon and a dragon ready for your game of Dungeons and Dragons. You need to give your player something tangible to do, that is what will hold their attention. What I mean by something tangible is that you need a dungeon. A dungeon is somewhere where the players can go and fight monsters, dodge traps, complete quest objectives, and die trying. That is what this game is all about. You saw firsthand when you don't have a dungeon, players just wander off to "the park" to talk to "a homeless guy" and your session implodes from there.
So lets get you a dungeon for your second session so that this doesn't happen again. I'll help you out. What kind of dungeon tickles your fancy? What sorts of monsters are in there? Describe something for me. I'll help you get your first dungeon ready and from there explain my process, so you can replicate it from here on.
I agree there could have been some sort of follow up to the fight, perhaps with the bartender.
But it is your job to reign in the players too. The ones that wanted to leave? Tell them to wait. Just a "ok you two head out the door toward the park" and then tell them to wait and listen to the others. You cannot run 2 games at once and your players should be expected to listen to what others are doing, whether their characters are involved or not. That's good table manners. Set that expectation next time before you start.
Then do what I said first, give some follow up, maybe at both places (with information that leads both parties to the same place so they have a reason to get back together as a group).
You said they fought rats... build on that the city is having a rat problem everyone they sent has never been heard from again
1st encounter Trapped Grate into the Sewers Spear trap(+4 to Hit 1d10 Damage + Con save DC12 for filth fever or something (it is a sewer) 100XP 2nd encounter 300 feet in when if a player fails a dc 15 perception check they step off the path and drop into sludge over their head .. cons save dc 15 to avoid a delbilitating illness. 3rd encounter 3 small children who have been living down in the sewers Does the party escort them out and help them join polite society or just leave them to their own device. They Tell the party that there is a bipedal rat who walks the sewers and the rats answer to him. 100 xp 4th encounter the rats nest 1 more giant rat than there is Characters Assuming 4 player that is 5 rats (125) Final encounter : The Ratman Cometh A single wererat (450 XP + Loot) Bear in mind that the first time the players encounter the were rat they may be forced to flee and it gives you the perfect chance to introduce an NPC sage who can give basic information as to what the monster is and what the players need to do in order to defeat the monster
for a total of 775+1 exp so that when we divide it up it is a nice round whole number
Honestly? For a first session I think you did well. You made things up on the fly while letting the players try things. It was a good learning experience.
The others are right about preparation and player management - these are skills you'll be working on for decades of play! This may not have been your ideal session, but it's one you can learn from and build on. The improv part is a struggle for many and you did it! I want you feeling good about getting through the first two hours. Work with SireSamuel and learn how they prep a dungeon. It'll be a great experience!
First off, don't sweat it. Take it as a learning experience and work on the problem areas. I agree that a confined space, a dungeon, is a much easier adventure to run then an open world for a new DM. The hallway breaks left and right, but the physical confines keeps options limited. Also, being well practiced in the key points of the adventure will keep things from dragging. Keep the story moving.
Also, I would not let a group split up. It is boring for the players who are not being able to play, breeds conflict in the party and is very difficult to run as a DM. If you aren't used to being in authority (eg teacher, parent, etc) time to get used to telling people what they can and can't do. As another post suggested, if half the party wants to leave the fight scene and avoid the aftermath, perfect. "You decide to wait outside, where the air is less foul, until your friends loot the bodies." If they persist that they want to go onto the next room, kill NPCs, etc. you need to have a discussion that for the vast majority of the time, the group will stay together. If they still won't...well that depends on you. For me, time for them to come upon a really nasty monster the next time that they wonder off. The monster may have been defeated by the whole party (perhaps even has a weakness to a spell or ability of one of the less rambunctious players) but waxes the meandering PCs easily.
Lastly, are your wandering players into the game overall? Are these kids? If they don't like the game, all the above is moot and you may consider revising your group. To me, that is what this sounds like more than a DM problem.
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Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
If the party decides to split, then you really need to start running the adventure in a 'cut scene' type of style.
For example. Player 1&2 say they're leaving, heading to the park. Fine. They walk out the door and you continue with Player 3&4 interacting with the barkeep. After doing this for 5-10 mins, you find a useful place to stop and CUT. Then you switch narrative to the other group. 'You arrive at the park, it's well maintained with a couple of benches, trees providing a pleasant amount of shade in the late afternoon. You notice a couple of trees have early season apples, and there seems to be a homeless man picking some for his supper.'
Then Players 3&4 sit there while you talk about the park scene for 5-10 mins. Then you CUT again and go back to the bar, continuing until the party reunites.
This means that players only sit uninvolved for a few minutes. If they try to interrupt or offer suggestions for the other group, cut them off politely with a 'you're not there, you can't get involved.'
There may be other ways other DM's deal with this type of thing, but honestly, this is what has worked the best for me.
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Hello everyone,
I'm a new DM and I just ran my first ever session. It felt very rough around the edges and I'm just looking for advice on how to fix the problems that cropped up during this session. I noticed that the party was pretty disorganized at times. The party was splitting very frequently and one half was just making up random stuff that they were doing while I was trying to sort out what the other half was doing. They had just left a bar after a battle with some large rats, and two players left, while the other half was still sorting stuff out with the keeper of that bar. While I was RPing as the barkeeper with the players who stayed, the other two just made up that they went to a nearby park and started talking to a homeless guy while bowling. I had never mentioned any of those things, because I never got a chance to even describe the park to them yet. I kinda just went with it but I feel like it is my fault for not being as present in the game and not consulting with them often. I also felt like the players were pretty unengaged at times. They all unanimously agreed to end the session early after about 2 ish hours of playing. I felt like it was a mix of my inexperience with DMing and the players' lack of engagement that made the session kind of go sideways. I want to give my players the best experience they can have. If anyone has any advice they would like to share I'd greatly appreciate it.
I see. Mikey, the problem that you ran into is that you didn't have a dungeon and a dragon ready for your game of Dungeons and Dragons. You need to give your player something tangible to do, that is what will hold their attention. What I mean by something tangible is that you need a dungeon. A dungeon is somewhere where the players can go and fight monsters, dodge traps, complete quest objectives, and die trying. That is what this game is all about. You saw firsthand when you don't have a dungeon, players just wander off to "the park" to talk to "a homeless guy" and your session implodes from there.
So lets get you a dungeon for your second session so that this doesn't happen again. I'll help you out. What kind of dungeon tickles your fancy? What sorts of monsters are in there? Describe something for me. I'll help you get your first dungeon ready and from there explain my process, so you can replicate it from here on.
I agree there could have been some sort of follow up to the fight, perhaps with the bartender.
But it is your job to reign in the players too. The ones that wanted to leave? Tell them to wait. Just a "ok you two head out the door toward the park" and then tell them to wait and listen to the others. You cannot run 2 games at once and your players should be expected to listen to what others are doing, whether their characters are involved or not. That's good table manners. Set that expectation next time before you start.
Then do what I said first, give some follow up, maybe at both places (with information that leads both parties to the same place so they have a reason to get back together as a group).
You said they fought rats... build on that the city is having a rat problem everyone they sent has never been heard from again
1st encounter Trapped Grate into the Sewers Spear trap(+4 to Hit 1d10 Damage + Con save DC12 for filth fever or something (it is a sewer) 100XP
2nd encounter 300 feet in when if a player fails a dc 15 perception check they step off the path and drop into sludge over their head .. cons save dc 15 to avoid a delbilitating illness.
3rd encounter 3 small children who have been living down in the sewers Does the party escort them out and help them join polite society or just leave them to their own device. They Tell the party that there is a bipedal rat who walks the sewers and the rats answer to him. 100 xp
4th encounter the rats nest 1 more giant rat than there is Characters Assuming 4 player that is 5 rats (125)
Final encounter : The Ratman Cometh A single wererat (450 XP + Loot) Bear in mind that the first time the players encounter the were rat they may be forced to flee and it gives you the perfect chance to introduce an NPC sage who can give basic information as to what the monster is and what the players need to do in order to defeat the monster
for a total of 775+1 exp so that when we divide it up it is a nice round whole number
Honestly? For a first session I think you did well. You made things up on the fly while letting the players try things. It was a good learning experience.
The others are right about preparation and player management - these are skills you'll be working on for decades of play! This may not have been your ideal session, but it's one you can learn from and build on. The improv part is a struggle for many and you did it! I want you feeling good about getting through the first two hours. Work with SireSamuel and learn how they prep a dungeon. It'll be a great experience!
First off, don't sweat it. Take it as a learning experience and work on the problem areas. I agree that a confined space, a dungeon, is a much easier adventure to run then an open world for a new DM. The hallway breaks left and right, but the physical confines keeps options limited. Also, being well practiced in the key points of the adventure will keep things from dragging. Keep the story moving.
Also, I would not let a group split up. It is boring for the players who are not being able to play, breeds conflict in the party and is very difficult to run as a DM. If you aren't used to being in authority (eg teacher, parent, etc) time to get used to telling people what they can and can't do. As another post suggested, if half the party wants to leave the fight scene and avoid the aftermath, perfect. "You decide to wait outside, where the air is less foul, until your friends loot the bodies." If they persist that they want to go onto the next room, kill NPCs, etc. you need to have a discussion that for the vast majority of the time, the group will stay together. If they still won't...well that depends on you. For me, time for them to come upon a really nasty monster the next time that they wonder off. The monster may have been defeated by the whole party (perhaps even has a weakness to a spell or ability of one of the less rambunctious players) but waxes the meandering PCs easily.
Lastly, are your wandering players into the game overall? Are these kids? If they don't like the game, all the above is moot and you may consider revising your group. To me, that is what this sounds like more than a DM problem.
Velstitzen
I am a 40 something year old physician who DMs for a group of 40 something year old doctors. We play a hybrid game, mostly based on 2nd edition rules with some homebrew and 5E components.
If the party decides to split, then you really need to start running the adventure in a 'cut scene' type of style.
For example. Player 1&2 say they're leaving, heading to the park. Fine. They walk out the door and you continue with Player 3&4 interacting with the barkeep. After doing this for 5-10 mins, you find a useful place to stop and CUT. Then you switch narrative to the other group. 'You arrive at the park, it's well maintained with a couple of benches, trees providing a pleasant amount of shade in the late afternoon. You notice a couple of trees have early season apples, and there seems to be a homeless man picking some for his supper.'
Then Players 3&4 sit there while you talk about the park scene for 5-10 mins. Then you CUT again and go back to the bar, continuing until the party reunites.
This means that players only sit uninvolved for a few minutes. If they try to interrupt or offer suggestions for the other group, cut them off politely with a 'you're not there, you can't get involved.'
There may be other ways other DM's deal with this type of thing, but honestly, this is what has worked the best for me.