I think I'd really like to try being a DM. How would you all suggesting getting started? I was thinking either running a few one shots to get my feet wet, or maybe start with a prewritten campaign? Any suggestions as to a good first time one shot or.campaign from a dm perspective?
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For premades, Lost Mines of Phandelver was the one I started with. It is definitely geared towards new players and DMs, with it taking only a few sessions to play through. It is also pretty easy to transition from LMoP into one of the longer campaign books, such as Dragon Heist. One shots are good, but I do feel that they require some experience to condense a story into only a few hours of game-play. If you decide to do a one shot, don't worry too much about fitting time constraints.
I am a very experienced GM and I still learned a lot from him. He's not just a good DM... he's good at explaining things and also interesting to watch.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Best way to learn is to do ive found. I started with youtube videos and streams and then got LMOP and you quickly realise that when your a DM vs watching a DM, there is a massive difference.
I recommend playing a module like LMOP or other quick campaigns just to get the feel for it and learn what your players are like and which things they prefer, you might want to play like a youtuber but find it isnt your style, you'll find a playstyle that is comfortable and comes easily to you and that will be the best for the players as it will flow much better. then you can try a oneshot or homebrew and play around with the things that didnt work in the module to make them work for you.
You will have you own play style but the things i recommend the most is planning as much as possible, doesnt need to be specific, this can include things like lists of names for random NPCs or possible monsters you want to use that you can throw in at a quiet lull. Improvisation is also a must! you will never be able to predict what your players will do, so being able to pull something from thin air when they throw you a curve ball is always good.
A Lot of DMing is making the players believe that you know everything thats happening and have a plan for any situation, all while staring blankly at a DM's guide and bluffing your way through their random hijinks.
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If your players think you're reading from a module while you're making everything up, you're doing better than you think!
Yes, learning by doing is the #1 way to become a good DM.
Expect to have a lot of bumps and make a lot of mistakes, and have a lot of Monday Morning Quarterback moments after a session in which you think to yourself, darn, I should not have allowed that or dang, I missed that golden opportunity. Even heavily experienced DMs do this and the less experienced you are the more it will happen. Don’t get upset by it... just use it to be a learning experience. As you gain more experience you will get better and better as a DM. And you will learn the “beats” of your players and be able to expect things they will do and respond more adroitly.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I have been DMing for about 5 months now so definitely still learning the ropes but starting to feel like I at least know the basics. Matt Colville's videos are a great place to start. He is very good at making complicated concepts seem simple which is what you want from someone that is teaching you. We started jumping straight into a campaign but I used a lot of one shots and melded them in to the campaign for the first few sessions. It helped me understand the general layout of a session and gave me some crutches when things went off the rails slightly.
One piece of advice I would give is to listen to your players talking to each other after a session. You'll know you've had a good session when they're all enthuisatically talking about what has just happened. And don't be hard on yourself when it doesn't work out. I had a player leave because they didn't like my style of DMing and that sucked. It knocked my confidence a lot but finding a couple of new players and adding them to the group when they fit really well has taught me that everyone has their own preferences and you can give a good experience to some but will never be able to do so for others because they are looking for something different.
Don't be afraid of making mistakes either. No one is perfect and they especially didn't start out that way. All those great DMs you can see on youtube or podcasts or maybe in person have all had sessions that have been absolutly crap. They became good because they learnt from those sessions.
And as others have said, the best way to get started being a DM is to just jump in and do it!
Keep in touch with your players. Find out what they want from the game, hack and slash, role playing, more of one less of the other. Also find out what they want their character to achieve short term and long term. Ask them what they see their character as at 20th level. It will keep a players interest if they see campaigns leading towards their goals. Try to be careful though, and make sure the entire campaign isn’t just about one character. Also keep in mind one or two players may be happy to let other players do the role playing, as long as they get to beat up plenty of stuff.
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I think I'd really like to try being a DM. How would you all suggesting getting started? I was thinking either running a few one shots to get my feet wet, or maybe start with a prewritten campaign? Any suggestions as to a good first time one shot or.campaign from a dm perspective?
I would recommend starting by watching this gentleman's series on getting started as a new DM.
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
For premades, Lost Mines of Phandelver was the one I started with. It is definitely geared towards new players and DMs, with it taking only a few sessions to play through. It is also pretty easy to transition from LMoP into one of the longer campaign books, such as Dragon Heist. One shots are good, but I do feel that they require some experience to condense a story into only a few hours of game-play. If you decide to do a one shot, don't worry too much about fitting time constraints.
+1 for Matt Colville's videos.
I am a very experienced GM and I still learned a lot from him. He's not just a good DM... he's good at explaining things and also interesting to watch.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Best way to learn is to do ive found. I started with youtube videos and streams and then got LMOP and you quickly realise that when your a DM vs watching a DM, there is a massive difference.
I recommend playing a module like LMOP or other quick campaigns just to get the feel for it and learn what your players are like and which things they prefer, you might want to play like a youtuber but find it isnt your style, you'll find a playstyle that is comfortable and comes easily to you and that will be the best for the players as it will flow much better. then you can try a oneshot or homebrew and play around with the things that didnt work in the module to make them work for you.
You will have you own play style but the things i recommend the most is planning as much as possible, doesnt need to be specific, this can include things like lists of names for random NPCs or possible monsters you want to use that you can throw in at a quiet lull. Improvisation is also a must! you will never be able to predict what your players will do, so being able to pull something from thin air when they throw you a curve ball is always good.
A Lot of DMing is making the players believe that you know everything thats happening and have a plan for any situation, all while staring blankly at a DM's guide and bluffing your way through their random hijinks.
If your players think you're reading from a module while you're making everything up, you're doing better than you think!
Yes, learning by doing is the #1 way to become a good DM.
Expect to have a lot of bumps and make a lot of mistakes, and have a lot of Monday Morning Quarterback moments after a session in which you think to yourself, darn, I should not have allowed that or dang, I missed that golden opportunity. Even heavily experienced DMs do this and the less experienced you are the more it will happen. Don’t get upset by it... just use it to be a learning experience. As you gain more experience you will get better and better as a DM. And you will learn the “beats” of your players and be able to expect things they will do and respond more adroitly.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
I have been DMing for about 5 months now so definitely still learning the ropes but starting to feel like I at least know the basics. Matt Colville's videos are a great place to start. He is very good at making complicated concepts seem simple which is what you want from someone that is teaching you. We started jumping straight into a campaign but I used a lot of one shots and melded them in to the campaign for the first few sessions. It helped me understand the general layout of a session and gave me some crutches when things went off the rails slightly.
One piece of advice I would give is to listen to your players talking to each other after a session. You'll know you've had a good session when they're all enthuisatically talking about what has just happened. And don't be hard on yourself when it doesn't work out. I had a player leave because they didn't like my style of DMing and that sucked. It knocked my confidence a lot but finding a couple of new players and adding them to the group when they fit really well has taught me that everyone has their own preferences and you can give a good experience to some but will never be able to do so for others because they are looking for something different.
Don't be afraid of making mistakes either. No one is perfect and they especially didn't start out that way. All those great DMs you can see on youtube or podcasts or maybe in person have all had sessions that have been absolutly crap. They became good because they learnt from those sessions.
And as others have said, the best way to get started being a DM is to just jump in and do it!
Keep in touch with your players. Find out what they want from the game, hack and slash, role playing, more of one less of the other. Also find out what they want their character to achieve short term and long term. Ask them what they see their character as at 20th level. It will keep a players interest if they see campaigns leading towards their goals. Try to be careful though, and make sure the entire campaign isn’t just about one character. Also keep in mind one or two players may be happy to let other players do the role playing, as long as they get to beat up plenty of stuff.