hello I'm a new dm and I need help with a lot predominately campaign creation, being descriptive and fair and challenging encounters any help would be great thank you all so much
I recommend starting with a premade adventure for your first time DMing (especially if you are relatively new to d&d as a whole). I hear lost mine of phandelver and Waterdeep dragon heist are good ones (I haven't gotten to them myself yet).
Secondly, i highly recommend you to read all the player's handbook and, then, the Dungeon Master Guide. Yeah, you dont need to read them all to play, but you will discover how smooth the game goes when you are the one knowing the rules in the table.
In the Dungeon Master guide you will find plenty of tips, hints and tables that will help you building our homebrew campaing. I HIGHLY reccomend you to start with a module, just as DxJxC did, because you will find there all you need to start as a new DM and avoid derailing too much.
For the future, once you have ended your reading, you could give a look to Xanathar's guide to everything, since there are some rules revisited to make our life easier as DM's, also you have new traps, spells...lot's of stuff, basically.
If you are decided to make a world of your own, pay close attention to the dungeon master guide first chapters. Remember; you can allways play on the core world and create an island where the situation is closer to the final result you want to achieve, just as a beta world into the world of Faerün. That will be helpfull if your players decide to go crazy (with happens a lot), and you need a quick background setting to put your hands on.
Thank you I'm new to 5e but I've been a 4e player for a while I will take your advice and hopefully, it will help my campaign move more smoothly and be fun for my pcs and me as for a prebuilt module ill try that next campaign
hello I'm a new dm and I need help with a lot predominately campaign creation, being descriptive and fair and challenging encounters any help would be great thank you all so much
Are you just new to being a DM and you have played before, or are you a complete newcomer to the hobby? As a newcomer I would strongly advice you to listen to what my fellow posters have written down for you (get familiar with rules, use a premade adventure to start)
If you have experience with RPGs and you want to create a new world for your players to live in, you should ask yourself a few questions: 1. What are my personal resources... ... in terms of story and creativity (do I read a lot of fantasy fiction, have I played in other system's game worlds, am I a imaginative writer, do I have inspiring TV shows to use as inspiration) ... in terms or presenting (am I good with "voice acting" my NPCs; am I good at drawing maps and sketches of items; am I a crafter and will be able to create game terrain out of cardboard or foam) 2. What are my means of preparation ... do I need lots of written down information before I can start my sessions? "Railroad" sessions will be better for you to plan ... am I creative for new ideas that come up during gameplay and I want to be driven my player ideas? "Sandbox" adventures where a lot is possible off the tracks will be very spontaneous and exciting. 3. Which of the "Three Pillars of RPGs" am I most exited about ... the aspect of role play, player/NPCs interaction, developing characters with deep backgrounds and ambitions for the future? ... the aspect of exploration, riddles and wondrous locales to challenge player wits and skill checks? ... the aspect of combat, that involves tactics of skill use and a lot of fate determined by dice rolls?
An final tip (from 30 years of being a DM): Don't try to invent the wheel again! A good mix of inspiration from existing stuff freshly arranged will do very well and takes a lot of preparation off your shoulders. e.g. I kind of use the "organizations of magic and clergy" from GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire books for my campaign world. The organized magic use society has "maesters" (including the symbolism of the chains) and most of the humans worship a slight alteration of "The Seven" with priests called Septons.
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hello I'm a new dm and I need help with a lot predominately campaign creation, being descriptive and fair and challenging encounters any help would be great thank you all so much
I recommend starting with a premade adventure for your first time DMing (especially if you are relatively new to d&d as a whole). I hear lost mine of phandelver and Waterdeep dragon heist are good ones (I haven't gotten to them myself yet).
First of all, wellcome to the forums, Yay!
Secondly, i highly recommend you to read all the player's handbook and, then, the Dungeon Master Guide. Yeah, you dont need to read them all to play, but you will discover how smooth the game goes when you are the one knowing the rules in the table.
In the Dungeon Master guide you will find plenty of tips, hints and tables that will help you building our homebrew campaing. I HIGHLY reccomend you to start with a module, just as DxJxC did, because you will find there all you need to start as a new DM and avoid derailing too much.
For the future, once you have ended your reading, you could give a look to Xanathar's guide to everything, since there are some rules revisited to make our life easier as DM's, also you have new traps, spells...lot's of stuff, basically.
If you are decided to make a world of your own, pay close attention to the dungeon master guide first chapters. Remember; you can allways play on the core world and create an island where the situation is closer to the final result you want to achieve, just as a beta world into the world of Faerün. That will be helpfull if your players decide to go crazy (with happens a lot), and you need a quick background setting to put your hands on.
Hope it helped! May the mayo pot be with you.
Thank you I'm new to 5e but I've been a 4e player for a while I will take your advice and hopefully, it will help my campaign move more smoothly and be fun for my pcs and me as for a prebuilt module ill try that next campaign
Are you just new to being a DM and you have played before, or are you a complete newcomer to the hobby?
As a newcomer I would strongly advice you to listen to what my fellow posters have written down for you (get familiar with rules, use a premade adventure to start)
If you have experience with RPGs and you want to create a new world for your players to live in, you should ask yourself a few questions:
1. What are my personal resources...
... in terms of story and creativity (do I read a lot of fantasy fiction, have I played in other system's game worlds, am I a imaginative writer, do I have inspiring TV shows to use as inspiration)
... in terms or presenting (am I good with "voice acting" my NPCs; am I good at drawing maps and sketches of items; am I a crafter and will be able to create game terrain out of cardboard or foam)
2. What are my means of preparation
... do I need lots of written down information before I can start my sessions? "Railroad" sessions will be better for you to plan
... am I creative for new ideas that come up during gameplay and I want to be driven my player ideas? "Sandbox" adventures where a lot is possible off the tracks will be very spontaneous and exciting.
3. Which of the "Three Pillars of RPGs" am I most exited about
... the aspect of role play, player/NPCs interaction, developing characters with deep backgrounds and ambitions for the future?
... the aspect of exploration, riddles and wondrous locales to challenge player wits and skill checks?
... the aspect of combat, that involves tactics of skill use and a lot of fate determined by dice rolls?
An final tip (from 30 years of being a DM): Don't try to invent the wheel again! A good mix of inspiration from existing stuff freshly arranged will do very well and takes a lot of preparation off your shoulders.
e.g. I kind of use the "organizations of magic and clergy" from GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire books for my campaign world. The organized magic use society has "maesters" (including the symbolism of the chains) and most of the humans worship a slight alteration of "The Seven" with priests called Septons.